Wednesday, April 24, 2019

ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​នៅ​ក្នុង​ខេត្ត​​ព្រះសីហនុៈ មាន​កង្វះ​ខាត​អត្តសញ្ញាណ​ខ្មែរ និង​បរិយាប័ន្ន




ភ្នំពេញប៉ុស្តិ៍ (ថ្ងៃទី ២៤ ខែមេសា ឆ្នាំ២០១៩)

ក្រុងព្រះសីហនុលែង​ជា​តំបន់​​​​ដែល​គ្មាន​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​ និង​ជា​ឆ្នេរ​ដ៏ស្ងប់ស្ងាត់​សម្រាប់​ភ្ញៀវ​ទេសចរ​​​សាក់​កាដូ​ទៀត​ហើយ​។ តថភាព​​ថ្មី​នេះ ​គឺ​ជា​អ្វី​ដែល​យើង​គ្រប់​គ្នា​ស្វាគ​មន៍។​ ប៉ុន្តែការវិវត្ត​យ៉ា​ង​លឿន ​នៃ​ទីក្រុង​បាន​ជះឥទ្ធិ​ពល​សង្គមនិង​បរិស្ថាន​ដែល​មិន​អាច​មើ​ល​រំលង​បាន​។​ កង្វះខាត​ “អត្ត​​សញ្ញាណ​ខ្មែរ” និង​ “បរិយា​ប័ន្ន” គឺជា​បញ្ហា​ដែល​យើង​គួរ​តែ​ពិចារណា។

ទីក្រុង​ទាំងមូល​ស្ថិតនៅ​ក្នុង​ស្ថា​ន​ភាពកំពុង​សាងសង់ ជាមួយ​​​នឹង​ឡាន​ដឹក​ស៊ីម៉ងត៍ជាច្រើន​បរចុះឡើង​លើ​ផ្លូវ​ដែល​​មិន​ទាន់​ធ្វើ​រួច។ ​គ្រឿងយន្តស្ទូច​នៅពាសពេញ​ទីក្រុង ហាក់​កំពុង​ត្រៀ​ម​រៀបបន្តុប​អគារខ្ពស់ៗ​ពីមួយ​ទៅ​មួយ​​​។​
 
ទីក្រុង​ព្រះសីហនុ​បាន​​កែប្រែ​​ដល់​កម្រិត​មើល​លែងស្គាល់ ទៅ​ជា​ទីក្រុង​ដែល​ផុស​ផុល​ដោយ​ឧស្សា​ហកម្ម​សំណង់ និង​កាស៊ីណូ។

សម្រាប់​ប្រជាជន​ខ្មែរ​គ្រប់​រូប នៅ​ពេល​ដែលទៅ​ទស្សនា​ក្រុង​ព្រះសីហ​​​​នុ យើង​តែង​តែ​ចោទ​សួរ​ខ្លួន​ឯង​អំពី​​អត្ត​សញ្ញាណជាតិ​​របស់​ខ្លួន​​។​ ភាព​អន្ទះ​អន្ទែ​ង​កើតឡើង​ដោយ​សារ​សមត្ថ​ភា​ព​គ្រប់គ្រង​កំណើន​យ៉ាង​គំហុក​នៅមាន​កម្រិត​ និង​កង្វះខាត​អត្តសញ្ញាណខ្មែរ​នៅក្នុង​ដំណើរ​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ។​ ក្រុង​ព្រះសីហនុ​ត្រូ​វ​ទទួល​​ការ​ហូរ​ចូល​​យ៉ាង​គំហុក​​នូវ​មូលធន​នៅពេល​ដែល​ហេដ្ឋារ​ចនា​សម្ព័ន្ធរូ​បវន្ត​មូល​​ដ្ឋា​ន​នៅ​ពុំ​ទា​ន់​មាន​លទ្ធភាព​គ្រប់គ្រាន់​​នៅ​ឡើយ។

ទីក្រុង​ហុយដីនៅខែប្រាំង និង​មាន​ភក់ជ្រាំនៅខែវស្សា ជាមួយ​នឹង​ផ្លូវ​ដែល​ធ្វើ​មិន​ទាន់រួច។ ផ្លូវ​ខ្លះពុំ​ទាន់ត្រូវ​បាន​រៀបចំ​ដោយសារ​តែ​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​ថ្មី​ពេក និង​លឿន​ពេក។ តម្រូវ​ការ​មូល​ដ្ឋាន​ដូច​ជា​ការ​គ្រប់​គ្រង​សំរាម លូទឹក​​កខ្វក់​ និង​ប្រព័ន្ធទឹក​ស្អាត​ បាន​កើ​ន​ហួ​ស​ពីកម្រិត​សមត្ថ​ភាព​ដើម​របស់​​ទីក្រុង។​

ផល​ប៉ះពាល់​អវិជ្ជមាន​ដែល​ផ្សារភ្ជាប់​ជាមួយ​នឹង​ឧស្សាហកម្ម​កាស៊ីណូ​ ក៏ជាបញ្ហាកង្វល់​រួម ដែល​សូម្បីតែ​ស្ថាន​ទូត​ចិន​ នៅ​កម្ពុជា ក៏ជារឿយៗ​តែង​តែ​អំពាវ​នាវ​ឲ្យ​មាន​ការ​ពង្រឹង​​ការអនុវត្ត​ច្បាប់ ដើម្បីការពារ​មុខមាត់​ចិន ដែ​ល​បាន​ចូលរួម​ចំណែក​ដល់​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​របស់​កម្ពុជា។​

កង្វះខាត​អត្ត​សញ្ញាណខ្មែរ​​គឺបាន​ស្តែង​ចេញ​យ៉ាង​ច្បាស់​។​ ស្លាក​សញ្ញា​នានា​ ត្រូវ​បាន​សរសេរ​លើ​ផ្ទាំង​ពណ៌​ក្រហម​ ហើយ​ចាប់​ផ្តើម​ដោយ​ពាក្យ “ចុង​​គ័រ” ដែល​ប្រែថា “ប្រទេស ​ចិន”។ ស្លាក​សញ្ញា​ខ្លះ​បាន​សរសេរ​ខុស​អក្ខរា​​​​វិរុទ្ធខ្មែរ ដោយ​ចម្លង​ចេញ​ទាំងស្រុងពី Google-translate ដោយ​គ្មាន​ការ​ផ្ទៀងផ្ទាត់​ ហើយ​ឈ្មោះទាំង​នោះបែរ​ទៅ​ជា​មាន​ន័យ​ផ្សេង និង​ចម្លែក។

ទោះបី​ជាឆ្នេរ​សមុទ្រ​គឺជា​សម្ប​ត្តិ​សាធារណៈក្តីប៉ុន្តែពុំ​មាន​ហេដ្ឋារចនា​សម្ព័ន្ធ​គ្រប់​គ្រាន់​ដើម្បី​ឲ្យ​ប្រជាជន​ខ្មែរ​​ជាច្រើន​ស្រទាប់ អាច​មក​លំហែ​កាយ​បាន​ ឧទាហរណ៍​ដូចជា​កង្វះ​ខាត​សណ្ឋា​គារ ផ្ទះសំណាក់​និ​ង​ភោជ​នីយដ្ឋាន​ខ្មែរ ដែល​មាន​តម្លៃ​សមរម្យ​សម្រា​ប់​ប្រជា​ជន​ក្នុង​ស្រុក​ជាដើម។​

ការវិនិយោគ​ជាច្រើន​សន្ធឹក​សន្ធាប់​របស់​ចិន​ មាន​ធាតុ​ចូល​របស់​កម្ពុជា​តិច​តួច។​ ប្រជាជន​ខ្មែរ​ទទួល​ផល​ប្រយោជន៍​តែ​អំពី​​ការ​ជួល ឬទិញ​លក់​អចលនវត្ថុ​ ហើយផល​ទាំង​នេះទៀត​សោត ​មាន​តែ​ប្រជាជន​ដែល​មាន​អចលន​វត្ថុ​ប៉ុណ្ណោះ​ដែល​អាច​ទទួល​បាន​។ ផល​ប្រយោជន៍​ចេញ​ពី​តម្លៃ​បន្ថែម​នៃ​ការ​អភិវឌ្ឍ ​ក្រៅពីការជួល និង​ទិញ​លក់​អចលន​វត្ថុ​​ ​ហាក់ពុំ​ទាន់​បាន​រីក​សាយ​ភាយ​ដល់​ស្រទាប់​ប្រជាជន​ទូលំ​ទូលាយ​នៅ​ឡើយ។​

ក្រៅពីការងារ​ដែល​មិន​ត្រូវ​ការ​ជំនា​ញ យើង​ក៏ត្រូវ​ចោទសួរ​ថា តើ​ប្រជាជន​ខ្មែរ​មាន​ឱកាស​ទទួល​ការងារ​កម្រិត​​​គ្រប់​គ្រង​ ឬ​ការងារ​ជំនាញ​ ឬការងារ​វិស្វកម្ម​ បាន​កម្រិត​ប៉ុនណា​ពី​ការ​វិនិយោគ​របស់​ចិននៅ​ក្រុង​ព្រះសីហនុ​​? តើ​ផលិត​កម្ម​ក្នុង​ស្រុក​ ទាំង​ផ្នែក​ទន់ និង​ផ្នែក​រឹង ត្រូវបាន​ប្រើប្រាស់​ជាធាតុ​ចូល​បាន​ច្រើន​ប៉ុនណានៅក្នុង​ដំណើរ​​ការ​​អភិវឌ្ឍ​ទីក្រុង​ព្រះសីហនុ?​

ចំពោះសំណួរ​ខាងលើ អាច​មាន​ចម្លើយ​ថា​ មក​ពីកម្ពុជា​ខ្វះខាត​កម្មករ​ជំនាញ ប៉ុន្តែ ការលើក​ឡើង​បែប​នេះ​មិន​អាច​ផ្តល់​ទឡ្ហីករណ៍គ្រប់​គ្រាន់​ចំពោះ​តថភាព​បច្ចុប្បន្ន​ ដែល​ចិន​គ្រប់-​គ្រង​​សកម្ម​ភាព​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​មូលដ្ឋាន​តាំងពី​ការ​លក់​គ្រឿង​ទេស​កំប៉ិក​កំប៉ុក រហូត​ដល់​ជាង​កាត់​សក់ អាហារដ្ឋាន​តាម​ផ្លូវ និង​គ្លីនិក​សុខភាព​នោះ​ទេ។​
ពិតណាស់​ថា យើង​ស្វាគមន៍​ការ​វិនិយោគរបស់​ចិន​ ដែល​បាន​មក​ដាស់​ទីក្រុង​មួយ​ ដែល​ធ្លាប់​តែ​​ដេក​លក់​ដោយ​គ្មាន​សកម្ម​ភាព​សេដ្ឋកិច្ច​ ប៉ុន្តែ ដំណើរការ​វិវត្ត​ហាក់ផ្តេក​ផ្តួល​​ទាំងស្រុង​ទៅ​លើ​យន្តការ​ទីផ្សារសេរី​ឬ​ដែល​សេដ្ឋវិទូ​​លោក​ អាដាម ស្មុីត ហៅ​ថា “​បាតដៃ​អរូបីរបស់​ព្រះ”។ ប្រសិន​បើយើង​គ្មាន​ ការ​គ្រប់​គ្រង​បាន​ល្អ​ និង​គ្មាន​ការ​បញ្ចូល​ឲ្យ​បាន​គ្រប់​គ្រាន់​​នូវ​ទស្សន​វិស័យ​របស់​កម្ពុជា​ យន្តការ​ទីផ្សារសេរី ឬ “បាតដៃអរូបី​របស់​ព្រះ" ក៏​​អាចប្រែ​​ក្លាយទៅ​ជា​ផល​​ប៉ះពាល់​មិន​​ល្អ​​ដល់​ផល​ប្រយោជន៍​ប្រជាជន​មូលដ្ឋាន​ដែរ។

យ៉ាង​ណា​មិញ​ បញ្ហា​ដែល​បាន​លើ​ក​ឡើង​ខាង​លើ​ពុំ​មែន​ជា​ការ​ពិភាក្សា​អំពីការ​បាត់​បង់​អធិបតេយ្យ​ភាព​ជាតិ​នោះ​ទេ ព្រោះថា សិទ្ធិសម្រេច​ និង​អំណា​ច​​អនុវត្ត​ច្បាប់​ គឺស្ថិត​នៅ​លើ​ដៃ​កម្ពុជា​ទាំងស្រុង​ ហើយ​បន្ថែម​លើ​នេះ ស្ថាន​ទូត​ចិន​នៅ​កម្ពុជាក៏តែង​តែ​ថ្កោ​ល​​ទោស​ជា​សាធារណៈ ចំពោះ​រាល់​សកម្ម​ភាព​ខុស​ច្បាប់​របស់​ចិន​នៅ​កម្ពុជា និង​បាន​ស្នើ​ឲ្យ​កម្ពុជា​ពង្រឹង​ការ​អនុវត្ត​ច្បាប់​ដើម្បី​ជួយ​ការពារ​មុខ​មាត់​ចិន ដែល​ខំ​ជួយ​អភិវឌ្ឍ​កម្ពុជា។​

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Practical cooperation between Cambodia and US



Opinion, Khmer Times, 23 April 2019 (Link)

Cambodia-US bilateral relations should be viewed beyond the paradigm of a superpower’s geopolitical rivalry. It is the principle of Cambodia’s foreign policy that seeks to make friends with all whilst being an enemy to no one.

As a small state, without prejudice to the protection of sovereign independence and territorial integrity, Cambodia sees no interest in creating animosity against any powers or relying heavily on any single source of security or market access. In other words, Cambodia is implementing a hedging and diversification strategy.

Recently, the gradual and quiet increase of practical cooperation between Cambodia and the US provides strong hope for positive amelioration of bilateral ties. Those fields include, inter alia, humanitarian cooperation, cultural preservation, environmental protection, law enforcement and military cooperation. Functional cooperation is critical to restoring political and strategic trust.

Beyond the tit for tat, efforts from both sides to manage the relationship in difficult times should be recognized. It is normal for countries to have differences, but these should overshadow the entirety of the bilateral relationship. The win-win scenario for both sides is to narrow down the differences, while expanding the areas of functional cooperation. Pragmatism should matter much more than political ideology.

The early sign of warming ties arose from the resumption of cooperation in October 2018 on finding the remains of Prisoners Of War/Missing in Action (POWs/MIA) on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Ann Mills-Griffiths, Chairman of the board and CEO of the National League of POW/MIA Families acknowledged Cambodia’s act of goodwill and considered the latter as a country of “Golden Standard of cooperation”.

The US has offered remarkable assistance for cultural preservation via the Preah Vihear Authority. Support for demining activities was not disrupted and educational exchanges remain vibrant. For Cambodian students, pursuing their higher education in the US is their dream as the US remains the leading country in terms of the quality of education and innovation.

In terms of military cooperation, in March 2019 Cambodia and the US signed a bilateral military cooperation agreement with the aim of strengthening ties in humanitarian affairs, education and military training.

In April 2019, Army commander Lieutenant General Hun Manet also visited the US on the invitation of US Brigadier General Jonathan Braga, commander of the Special Operations Command Pacific, to attend a Pacific Area Special Operation Conference. The visit marked a significant milestone in normalizing the troubled bilateral ties.

In the same month, National Police Commissioner Neth Savoeun also led a delegation to the US to sign the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to promote cooperation in law enforcement against transnational crimes.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) also supports the Greening Prey Lang project to conserve biodiversity and the ecological system of the forest, which is one of Southeast Asia’s last remaining lowland evergreen woodlands. Prey Lang was designated a protected wildlife sanctuary in May 2016.

Among various endeavours, Greening Prey Lang project deserves special attention in terms of how both countries can cooperate on the supposedly sensitive issues. It is a hard truth that deforestation remains a key issue for Cambodia.

The core moral of the story is that instead of criticizing and pondering on weaknesses that stemmed from limited institutional capacity, which is commonplace for any developing nation, the US is working together with and giving a helping hand to the Cambodian government.

The “name and shame” tactic does not work for Asian mentality. Such approach often provokes a vicious cycle of defensive retaliation that discourages intention to cooperate. Attacking each other’s weak points is not constructive and is the major obstacle for the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation.

Without discrediting the US’s support to advocacy activities, it would be mutually beneficial if the US could balance between supporting the means of advocacy and the means of delivery of state actors. The approach of the Greening Prey Lang project should be replicated in other areas of practical cooperation.

It is imperative that both countries need to mitigate the differences and widen understandings by capitalizing the spill-over effect from increased practical cooperation across various sectors. Inter-personal friendship and trust is also important. Hence frank and open dialogue between the leaders of the two countries need to be encouraged. Both countries should put the people’s interests first. In the eyes of many Cambodians, the US remains one of the most trustworthy friends.

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Sihanoukville: A Cambodian City Losing Its ‘Cambodian-ness’





Sihanoukville: A Cambodian City Losing Its ‘Cambodian-ness’

Unchecked development by Chinese investors has come at a cost, freezing out locals and changing the city’s character.

The Diplomat, April 20, 2019

 Sihanoukville, the coastal city and only deep sea port of Cambodia, is no longer a sleepy, undeveloped town for backpackers. This is a fact that should be welcome. But the rapid urbanization has caused social and environmental impacts that cannot be ignored. The lack of “Cambodian-ness” and “inclusiveness” is something that needs to be discussed.
The whole city is under construction, with cement trucks running across unfinished roads; large-scale cranes sweep across the whole city landscape ready to erect high-rise buildings one after another. At a very fast speed, the city has changed unrecognizably into a construction and casino boom town.

For any Cambodian, a visit to the city always sparks a soul-searching exercise. The frustration is caused by the city’s limited capacity to manage growth and the lack of Cambodian-ness in the development process.

Simply put, the city’s basic infrastructure was not ready to handle the abrupt influx of massive capital flows. The resulting development is anything but a livable city. It is dusty in the dry season and muddy in the rainy season, with bumpy, unfinished – and sometimes unpaved, due to new development — roads almost everywhere. Utility requirements in regards to waste management, sewage systems, and water supply have gone beyond the city’s original capacity.

The negative effects stemming from the ecosystem of the casino industry has also drawn concern even from the Chinese embassy in Cambodia, which frequently pleads for enhanced law enforcement to ensure the positive image of Chinese contribution to Cambodia’s development.
The lack of Cambodian-ness is self-evident in Sihanoukville.

Signboards are mostly in red, with name prefixes such as “zhong guo” or “China”; some signboards feature misspelled Khmer characters that shop-owners seemingly took directly from Google Translate, giving odd meanings to the names.

Although the beach and coast are public property, there is no sufficient supporting infrastructure — such as affordable hotels, guesthouses, and Khmer restaurants — for a wide range of Cambodians to enjoy their holidays and festivities here.

The huge investment from China manifests itself in little Cambodian content. Other than the benefit from rental fees and real estate speculation, which is reserved only for a limited number of Cambodian people with access to property, there are no success stories wherein local Cambodians across the socioeconomic spectrum can benefit from the value-added interest of the massive investment projects.

One needs to ask: Beyond the menial jobs that Chinese investments offer, how many mid-management level jobs or skilled labor or engineering work do Cambodians have access to? How many local products, both hard and soft, are being used within the development process of Sihanoukville city?

It can be argued that Cambodia lacks the skilled labor to support Chinese investment but such an argument cannot provide sufficient explanation for the way that Chinese are dominating the local economy even in small grocery shops, hair salons, street food, and health clinics.

While Chinese investment has been able to wake up the sleeping town, the process has been left to the mercy of the free market economy — the so-called “invisible hand of God.” Without proper management and a clear projection of Cambodian vision, the free market economy can also turn into the “invisible hand of the devil” at the cost of local people’s interest.

With all the above issues notwithstanding, this is not a case of a loss of sovereignty; clearly the right to decide and authority to enforce the law are totally on the Cambodian side. Moreover, it is an undisputable fact that the Chinese embassy in Cambodia has publicly denounced all illegal acts committed by Chinese in Cambodia and requested stronger law enforcement to ensure that China can protect its good image in terms of positive contribution to Cambodia’s development.

Still, there is a need to ensure that China’s massive investment benefits both Cambodia and China, and that a wide strata of Cambodian people receive the fruit from this rapid development. With all the issues raised, now the questions is how to do this: How to ensure the Cambodian-ness of development and to project Cambodian vision in Sihanoukville? How to ensure more inclusiveness in that development?

Indeed, practical solutions exist, but these require flexible and innovative approaches to governance and development.

As Cambodia aspires to welcome ASEAN leaders in 2022 in Sihanoukville, the current magnitude of development challenges is probably too huge to be handled by the limited institutional capacity of the provincial government. If Cambodia is to develop Preah Sihanouk province into a multipurpose Special Economic Zone, an interministerial committee that is action-oriented and headed by a prominent figure that can coordinate and bulldoze over interministerial bureaucracy is urgently needed.

This committee should have the teeth and power to implement and decide the “development destiny” of the whole Preah Sihanouk province, especially the acceleration of development of public infrastructure such as roads, sewage system, water supply, and waste management. Perhaps local grown knowhow such as the APSARA authority, which oversees the sustainable development of Angkor heritage, can be an inspiration.

In terms of urban planning, there should also be a clear zoning policy for casino areas, family recreational areas, and industrial zones. The city should work to ensure that more public space can be enjoyed by local people with proper supporting facilities such as affordable hotels and Khmer restaurants.

Although it is hard to do in a free market economy, Cambodia should also have policies to limit foreign business activities that can harm local micro-enterprises.

In terms of enhancing institutional capacity for law enforcement, there is reason to hope for improvement with the recent visit of Interior Minister Sar Kheng to China and of Police Commissioner Neth Savoeun to the United States.

Financial regulation and better taxation should also be enhanced to ensure that Cambodia as a whole can benefit beyond rental fees and real estate speculation.

The development of Preah Sihanouk province should not become an example of failure to ensure the Cambodian-ness and inclusiveness of development. To that end, the responsibility falls heavily on the Cambodian side in terms of law enforcement and concrete implementation of national development policies.
Sim Vireak is Strategic Advisor of the Asian Vision Institute (AVI) based in Phnom Penh.