He kills the real actor and rob his star? ~Reader
Khmer Times/Mom Kunthear Friday, 22 July 2016
Prime Minister Hun Sen started his countrywide tour yesterday in Battambang, where he plans to meet with local citizens and government officials to discuss issues affecting everyday Cambodians.
At the inauguration ceremony for a clean water system in Battambang province, the premier said he will visit every province to see whether his “reforms” had been implemented and survey the challenges still facing each province’s residents.
After Battambang province, he will go to Banteay Meanchey, followed by Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces. He said he will take a short break before continuing the rest of his tour of the country.
“I have to go there to check all of the problems and see the progress made on certain issues so that I can be sure it has been resolved because we are through half of my mandate,” he said.
Mr. Hun Sen posted the details of his trip to all 25 provinces on Facebook Wednesday night.
“This is an opportunity to visit officials and citizens and also review the achievements in the provinces and any challenges that they face. I would like to urge and appeal to civil servants to work hard and tackle the required services effectively for the people as fast as possible. They must eliminate any mistakes and inactivity and try to build as many good things as they can.”
He praised the governor of Battambang province, Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) official Chan Sophal, and said he hoped other governors “truly” served the people as he did.
Despite Mr. Hun Sen’s praise, Mr. Sophal was recently slammed by Anti-Corruption Unit Chairman Om Yentieng for refusing to allow the government watchdog to investigate a district governor in the province accused of stealing thousands of dollars provided to him for the construction of two roads that were never built.
Only two weeks ago, the two were involved in a nasty exchange, with Mr. Sophal telling a local newspaper that he “was the boss,” and Mr. Yentieng should back off.
But the premier heaped on the praise and dreamed of a day when every province could have a similar governor.
“I say honestly, that if we had good governors for every province, city and district, it would help us a lot and would not give the prime minister so many headaches. I hope that the whole country has good officials to serve the people from their heart,” Mr. Hun Sen wrote.
The clean water supply system, which will provide clean water to residents of Battambang and Kampong Cham provinces, was built with a grant from the Japanese government totaling $33.5 million. The plant will produce 30,000 cubic meters of clean water per day and allow local residents to drink straight from the tap.
San Chey, executive director of the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability Cambodia, said yesterday that the prime minister’s tour is eerily similar to efforts by Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha and prominent government critic Kem Ley, who was killed before he could finish his “100 nights” campaign.
Mr. Ley was crisscrossing the country before his murder earlier this month, spending nights at the homes of the country’s poorest residents and speaking with a wide cross-section of Cambodian citizens.
“At this moment, it seems it is a way to shift popularity back to him by going to each place directly. But I foresee problems if some people with different ideas do not want to meet with him or he does not want to meet with them,” Mr. Chey said.
He added that the prime minister should make every effort to meet with people of all political leanings rather than just members of his own party. This tour should be about all Cambodians, and as head of the government, he should be willing to meet with everyone regardless of their party affiliations, he said.
If he only meets with CPP supporters, then the initiative will benefit no one, Mr. Chey added.
The biggest problem Mr. Hun Sen has to deal with, he said, was the vitriol with which his supporters engage with opposition members and their blatant efforts to use the law to shut down any non-government-approved events, citing multiple gatherings and programs that have been interrupted or shut down by ruling party officials within the local government.
“If other party meetings are interrupted and the only coordination allowed by the authorities is for the ruling party, then I think that it is something which will bring criticism and make the value of these local visits meaningless,” he said.