Madame President of the Cambodian Red Cross
ប៉ុន្មានអាទិត្យកន្លង ទៅនេះ ខ្ញុំមាន កិច្ចការមមាញឹកខ្លាំងណាស់ ខ្ញុំទៅជួយច្រូតស្រូវ ម៉ែខ្ញុំនៅឯ ភូមិកំណើត បានជាខ្ញុំ មិនមានពេលចូលមក internet. For the past weeks I was so busy. I was helping my mom harvesting rice at my birth village. That's the reson I was away from computer.
Oh how I could ever getting away from the internet ! Reading news from all over the world. Here from our home last Saturday and Sunday 15 & 16 of December, there appeared to be some quite important event was happening!!. In Tuol Kork district, Phnom Penh all TV stations were broadcasting live on the grand opening of a new Cambodian Red Cross building.
Huge canvas tents were erected. Loud speakers incessantly made announcement on praising of the current CPP leaders with 'great guidance' of leading the country. The attendees responded with " Jeyo jeyo jeyo ! ". I thought there's nothing great about the current government. For nearly 30 years (Since January 1979) the same party is still running and ruining the country. My Cambodia is still one of the the poorest and most corrupted countries on earth.
There were a lot of important people. They stepped out from shiny black Mercedes onto the red carpet. Prime Minister Hun Sen was there and also King Sihamoni.
Among all the people who came the grand opening ceremony of the building, I couldn't help noticing the Madame President of the Cambodian Red Cross, Chumteav Bun Rani Hun Sen. To me she seems to getting a little fatter ក្រមាប់ ម៉ាប់ each time I see her on TV. It's true. Her face is getting bigger. A click of thought came to me. How did Madame Bun Rani Hun Sen become the President of the Cambodian Red Cross? What is her qualification ? Who elected her ?
OK. I think too much. Bye for now.
Vanak.
Phnom Penh
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19 comments:
Looking through Cambodia politics trendency nowadays, there is no doubt that many government oppositions take chances to criticize on particular people in power while looking at the bright of those, I must admire the cleverness of their performance to have led this society for more than 20 years. If you think you can make revolution, then you should make believe that you really make this country a better without doubt. Ortherwise, the only result of your revolution
Thank you for having found my blog and voiced your opionion.
Government leaders or any public figures including Madame Bun Rani Hun Sen should not be immune from criticism. Like I already said for nearly 30 years (not 20 years) , under CPP Vietnamese boss government, our Cambodia is not getting any better. The mental ego of PM Hun Sen is very self-serving: Only me can lead the country . I'm going to be the prime minister until I'm 90 years old and beyond. You may believe he's clever. I would say he is "clever" in clinging on to power. There are many Cambodians out here who have true vision of leading our country. Sorry, not PM Hun Sen.
Please don't mention about "revolution". This is old tactic normally coming from PM HUN SEN and his CPP government. Anything people voice their opinion, show displeasure against the leading government, the same old phrases are coming: "Do you want a revolution ? Do you want a civil war ? " This is a scare tactic of intimidation used over and over by PM Hun Sen himself and the rest of his pro-Vietnamese government party .
ដូចជា ថោកទាប ខ្លាំងណាស់ It is so cheap for CPP to scare our villagers of the impending "revolution" or "civil war" if the PM Hun Sen CCP is not winning the election. Unless our Khmer minds have been brainwashed by Hanoi, no sensible Cambodian would believe in this revolution or civil war "scare tactic" at all.
Erase the mentality that the Prime Minister is the one who could only lead the country. No Khmer blood shall shed in the name of revolution. We love to embrace the real democracy, like America, Japan, Australia, Europe... etc. They change leaders more often and resulted those countries in more advance and prosperous nations.
Incompetence leader and officials should step down. Let us think deep for the suffering of our people due to poverty. Throughout our country we want to have reliable roads to travel. Clean water to drink. Electricity to lighten up our villages. We also want the economy that is not based on begging nor borrowing. Our Cambodians must come together and believe we can rebuild the country under justice for the benefits of us all.
Peacefully,
ពីខ្ញុំ វណ្ណះ
Phnom Penh
Very good post Blog by Khmer.
Radio fm 93.5 f.m on Dec. 13 2007 is very good. you have to finish listen to the end.
http://www.fm935kh.org/play.php?data=eventofnews/news_13-12-2007.mp3
Dear Vannak,
Please share some pictures of the countryside in your area with us.
Thank you,
Faithful reader from US
Riot police chase Buddhist monks in front of the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh Monday.
http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/khmer/2007_12/Audio/mp3/071217%20Monks_CS.mp3
Some radio station and song writer is like Khmer rouge. They don't speak the truth. They con you with the beautiful sound of the music to convince you that they are good people. Same like Khmer people had done. If you listen to Khmer songs.
I was listening to the live radio from srok Khmer..
http://www.kflivetv.com/tv.html
The first radio station, the singer hem sivorn sing with choeun odom said, that Bun rany Hunsen is a great person. And everything is wonderful.
Constructive criticism is a tool for democratic debate in the Western society. But in Cambodia, there is no taste of true democracy. The current regime still rules the country in the communist style. Freedom of expression and rights to peaceful assembly is strictly prohibitted by the regime even this rights is explicitly written in the constitution. The police brutal crackdown against the Khmer Krom monks who peacefully gathered in front of the Vietnamese embassy is a real example that freedom of expression is severely restricted by the regime. Most leaders in the Western society rule the country according to their people opinions; if the publics discontent with the government policy, this government won't last longer--the leader of the government resign or new election will take place-- this case senario is not applicable in Cambodia. Cambodian leaders like to rule the country forever regardless of public opinions. Cambodian leaders never learn to accept criticism from their own people as well as from outside world. Recently, Mr. Hun Sen strongly fought back the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Mr. Jass Guay who constructively criticized the Hun Sen regime record on human rights abuse, and this criticism based facts and reality in the country, there is no fabrication or exageration. But Mr. Hun Sen angrily rejected all the Mr. Quay's comments and threatened to shut down the UN office. So if Mr. Hun Sen does not learn to accept the constructive criticism or partially acknowledge his mistake, he cannot be immune from criticism, and he deserves stronger than these. If you live in Cambodia and don't see the government makes mistake, you are spiritally and mentally blind.
from the US.
1:30am,
Thank you for your comment. Very well said. PM Hun Sen treated the UN Human Rights Commissioner Mr. Yash Ghai very badly. And now Mr. Khieu Kanharith, Cambodia Minister of Information came out on interview with RFA saying things that are so bad on Mr. Yash Ghai -- like Mr. Yash Ghai is an uncivilised savage.
I'm sad and ashame of my leaders. They should have hold their tongues.
neak An,
Thank you for being a loyal reader to my writings. I will try to post some pictures.
I read in the newspaper yesterday (I'm working in Manila) that the Vietnamese government plans to "regulate" blogging as they think that blogging in Vietname has been marred by sexually-explicit content and subversion. It really bothered me. Is this a start of another State-sponsored censorship of the internet and media in Southeast Asia. I just pray that they won't do the same thing in Cambodia.
Yours is a good site and I think your criticisms contribute to a healthy exchange of ideas in your country.
Jake,
Thank you for coming back to visit and your compliment my blog.
I hope our Cambodia government won't have such regulation. I think it's hard to restricting things on the internet. Vietnam governemtn is Communist -- they use the excuse of "pornography" to restrict the internet access, but actually they fear the most on the freedom of expression !!
Again, Thank you.
Vanak.
Hi! I came across ur page and read this post of yours, it's quite interesting. Oviously..they elected themselves. I really feel sorry for those University students with degrees and qualifications, yet they couldn't get a job. I wonder if Madame president of red cross even have primary school qualification?
Thank you blog by Khmer..
hun sen trust and scare vietcongs(hyenas)more than his Khmer blood.viet they can do tricks as much as they want in Cambodia hun sen never dare open his mouth,even vietnam used the acid pooring on ancient stone monuments hun sen said nothing about vietcongs plan to destroy Cambodia symbol,but recently Khmer'monk protesting about viets abusing Khmer Krom peoples,hun sen let the secret polices beat the monks.What a shame Khmer leader!I'll see you in hell..
Tda,
Thank you for dropping by to voicing your opionion. You are so right I have a lot of my friends after they graduated from universities -- they couldn't find any job. But they don't feel giving up at all. We feel education is the only way to gain the self awareness within our community. One day our Cambodia will change for the better through education.
Thank you Anon 11:45 for your visit and comments.
Vanak.
It seems very odd that the prime minister's wife is in charge of an organisation that in many cases is just pretending to clean up the mess his goverment is making, and appealing for international funds to do this. Is there a lot of corruption at the Cambodian Red Cross and how much did they spend to open their almost-palatial new compound. By the way I love your blog.
Hello Vannak,
Hey I know this is an old posting of yours, but I have been busy myself, so have not read your blog recently. Anyway, now that I have read it, allow me to add my thoughts.
You know, Vannak, in Australia there is a saying "It is who you know and not what you" that will get you where you want to be. I am sure that the phrase is used in all the English speaking countries, but my experience is in Australia, so I'll just say it applies in Australia. The saying is true to an extent, because we as human beings do not exist in isolation. We need other human beings to make us happy, to make us sad, to encourage us, to slow us down when we are heading for a fall, etc. In Australia, there are people who make very comfortable livings by advising others how to connect with other people. These "networks", as they are known, are there to help you in your times of need. Perhaps you want to change your job and someone in your network may know someone who is hiring people. Or perhaps you are the hirer and someone in your network is looking for a job. So the people you know alreay can help you in that way. Also, advancing in your career maybe easier if someone can perhaps say a few good words about you. So the phrase "it's who you know" does have validity. But you do need to have some ability of your own as well. Because people who recommend you for the promotion, or the job, don't want to be embarrassed by you. Before recommending you they too must know that you have the ability to handle the new job.
But my dear compatriot, Vannak, in our Cambodia, the phrase seems to be taken to the extreme. How else do we explain the nepotism, the corruption, the distrust, the intimidation that exist in Cambodia? I, for one, do not respect those powerful people in Cambodia at all, especially the Strong Man himself. As for his wife, ask yourself this: have you ever heard of a wife who has joined her name and her husband's name in the way Madame President does? She wants people to know that she is married to him. I have never heard of anyone using her husband's family name and given name as her own. She is trying to cover herself with his glory. That practice has been our downfall over the centuries. We do not admire those who are truly clever, who work hard, who have true leadership abilities, who have compassion. None of those qualities seems to matter to us anymore. We admire those who are boastful, who take credits for other's work, who are not afraid to kill or maim in order to get their way. As long as our thinking remains that way, then we will see many many more Madame Presidents like Bun Nary Hun Sen (I cannot believe the stupidity of the woman for adopting Hun Sen's name that way). She may get a lot of admirers in Cambodia, but outside her circle people are laughing at her. Too stupid to know, and perhaps even too stupid to care, I guess.
Anyway, Vannak, as usual keep up the good work. Hun Sen will not outlive us and perhaps whoever takes charge after him will have a stronger desire to be a better Srok Khmer.
For now, happy New Year. I know it's late but better late than never.
Battambangnative,
Thank you for your taking time to comment a long one.
hmmm....true. I never thought any woman uses her own full name and attach to the husband full name as in Madame Bun Rani Hun Sen. Thanks for pointed that out. She really does want to publicise that she is the real wife of Hun Sen the Prime Minister.
Vannak.
Hello I like what you have to say. I am currently residing in Cambodia and I am seeing and experiencing a lot. I agree that Hun Sen is self-serving and we need someone who is visionary and positive...
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