130701-The Post English

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WORLD – page 12

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Issue NUMBER 1658

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MONDAY, july 1, 2013

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Philippines takes aim at China Karl Malkunas

THE Philippines accused China yesterday of a “massive” military buildup in the disputed South China Sea, warning at a regional security forum that the Asian giant’s tactics were a threat to peace.

The statement by Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario ensured that the growing row over rival claims to the strategically vital and potentially resource-rich sea would again be a key focus of the annual four-day Asia-Pacific talks.

“Del Rosario today expressed serious concern over the increasing militarisation of the South China Sea,” said a Philippine government statement released on the first day of the event in the Brunei capital.

Del Rosario said there was a “massive presence of Chinese military and paramilitary ships” at two groups of islets within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, called Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal.

Del Rosario described the Chinese presence at these islets as “threats to efforts to maintain maritime peace and stability in the region”.

Continues on page 11

Murky water Frontier defence soldiers participate in a drill aiming at enhancing combat capability in China’s Heilongjiang on Friday.

REUTERS

And the ban played on May Titthara and Abby Seiff

T

HE Ministry of Information issued a reversal of a highly criticised ban on foreign radio broadcasts for the monthlong campaign period on Saturday night, but made no such turnabout on a previously unreported ban blocking election-related broadcasts starting five days before the poll.

According to a notice dated June 21 and obtained by the Post yesterday, Minister of Information Khieu Kan-

One broadcast order reversed, another lingers harith ordered a stop to “broadcasting and direct relay from all foreign radio stations about the survey or the results of the survey related to the election process for five days before election . . .

[And] stop the broadcasting of all campaign activities within 24 hours before the election and on Election Day.” Stations that do not follow the directive will be punished “according to the law”, the letter continues.

In June 2012, the government issued a similar – though more narrow – directive to foreign broadcasters, banning them from the airwaves on the eve and day of commune elections, they said in order to maintain a peaceful atmosphere.

The five-day ban was the second of two issued in late June. One, dated June 25 and signed by Secretary of State Ouk Pratna, imposed a 31-day block and drew widespread outrage when news

of it was released on Friday. No such condemnation has been proffered over the five-day ban, which has never before been reported on.

On Saturday, amid mounting criticism, along with pressure from the US government, the ministry revoked the 31-day ban.

“The reason that the ministry allows to [broadcast again] is thanks to the requests from those radio station own-

ers,” reads a brief statement from the ministry, which bears no signature.

The reversal only applies to the notice dated June 25 and makes no mention of the June 21 notice.

Kanharith declined to comment, telling the Post that, as an election candidate in Kampong Cham province, he had temporarily left his position and therefore “can’t make any comment on the issue”.

On his Facebook page, however, he Continues on page 4

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

National Dr.Beat Richner, Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospitals Phnom Penh / Siem Reap Angkor, 27. June 2013

Semi Annual Report Of The Kantha Bopha Hospitals (1 January -24 June 2013) Admissions for hospitalization of severely sick children: 52053 Severe cases of the Hemorrhagic Dengue Fever: 4127 Surgical operations: 7849 Head Trauma: 1847 !!! (12,5% to be operated by our surgery) Deliveries: 8259 During the speech of President Barack Obama in Berlin I think having heard the following words being shouted to the cheering crowds waiting 3 hours in the heat: We should think on the poor too! No more children should suffer and pass away from diseases, which could be healed.

We should find other and new models in the global health sector not depending on charity.

Kantha Bopha is a world model functioning the day and the night without corruption. It is a model of justice and medical committement.

All treatment is free for all. But although its correlation between costs and healing rate is worldwide the best, still 80% of the budget are depending on charity.

Why the states who have caused whole the misery in Cambodia bringing and supporting the war, supporting the following civil war, supporting the Khmer Rouges, do not contribute a single Dollar to the budget of Kantha Bopha which is actually preventing a passive genocide of Cambodian children by the hard and highly professional work in the heat by 2450 Cambodian staff, the day and the night?

Maybe President Barack Obama is questioning this too and is aware on the Model Kantha Bopha –unique in the world- from the article in November 2012 “What President Barack Obama could have learned in Cambodia”. This article you can find in Google (putting in its title) or on our home page.

The Model Kantha Bopha is no dream, it is reality. But it depends still today, after 21 years, on charity by 80%. We thank you for all your financial contributions.

Dr. Beat Richner, Head and Founder of the Kantha Bopha Hospitals www.beatocello.com

Top US think tank sees trouble ahead Abby Seiff

A

TOP American think tank has warned that Cambodia will grow dangerously unstable in coming years, should it fail to overhaul its democratic institutions.

Pointing to trends of “politically related violence, corruption, and nepotism”, in the run-up to the July 28 elections, researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies conclude that “Cambodia is not moving forward with its Asean partners and instead is home to a political instability that should concern its neighbors and Asean colleagues, including the US.” The public policy research institute is widely considered one of the most expert focusing on Southeast Asia. In June of last year, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong was a keynote speaker at a panel hosted by the think tank, which also featured Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretaries of state Ouch Borith and Kao Kim Hourn.

In the policy brief published on Thursday, researchers commend Cambodia’s strong economic growth and increased foreign investment

but note that poor distribution of that wealth has led to growing unrest.

“Violent landgrabs, extrajudicial killings, crackdowns on activists, and corruption have continued alongside Cambodia’s impressive economic performance. Regional history has shown this is a recipe for political instability,” they write.

“Hun Sen is safe for now, but his sons would be wise to pay close attention to the trajectory of Southeast Asian politics.

Strong-arming, corruption, intimidation, and a refusal to play by the rules will not secure votes forever, likely not even for long,” the paper warns.

Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan brushed aside the conclusions, calling the message “really biased”.

“It’s a part of the campaign against the ruling party as well as against government achievements. If you compare to the rest of the region, Cambodia is the most stable,” he said.

“I appreciate what they raised,” he continued, “but the government from day to day makes it better.”

Siphan also noted that, given the country’s bloody past, few would prize unrest above stability.

Kilo of meth at border Lieng Sarith

STUNG Treng provincial military police at the Trapaing Kriel Lao border crossing arrested a man and a woman yesterday for allegedly attempting to smuggle a kilogram of methamphetamine into Cambodia from Laos, military police officials said.

Lao suspects Khampho Sisovath, 67, and his alleged accomplice Ath Sonpaseut, 30, were busted with tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of yama in an area that has

earned increased scrutiny due to its location on the route in Cambodia from the notorious Golden Triangle drug production region, military police commander Ork Borin said.

“We have seized one net kilogram of drugs from them, which is worth from $40,000 to $50,000,” he said.

“I am checking with the prosecutor, and we will send the suspects and evidence to the provincial military headquarters to prepare documents for submitting them to the court to take legal action.”

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

National

Cries of foul over gifts Complaints roll in as

campaigning begins

Phak Seangly

ELECTION committee officials in Ratanakkiri are investigating claims that commune authorities and a local development company illegally handed out campaign season gifts to local villagers.

Cambodia National Rescue Party candidate Rin Kanha said he had demanded that the Serei Mongkol commune election committee investigate gifts of rice, salt and sugar that commune authorities and the Vietnamese agroconcessionaire Hoang Anh Lumphat distributed to 447 families on Friday.

“Commune authorities wore hats with a CPP logo to get support for votes,” Kanha said.

Provincial election committee chief Pen Chhundy said he had received the complaint from the commune election committee and would investigate.

He added that the company regularly gave the villagers gifts and had planned to distribute the food before the campaign season began, but the villagers had been busy.

Chuon Phinnara, provincial secretary for the Committee on Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia, said Comfrel and rights group Adhoc had found that the 447 families from three vil-

Meas Sokchea

N Environmental officers and commune officials distribute rice to more than 400 villagers in Ratanakkiri on Friday. photo supplied

lages each had received 50 kilograms of rice, two kilograms of salt and two kilograms of sugar.

“Those gifts were sponsored by the company, but commune councillors, who were wearing the CPP’s logo on their hats, distributed them,” he said. By associating the gifts with the CPP during the campaign season, the party had violated the National Election Law, he said.

If found guilty of vote buying, a political party could be removed from the election list for five years and be fined five to 10 million riel ($1,200 to $2,400), he added.

Villager Laiy Sun, 55, said that the village chief from the CPP party had given her gifts but had not told her how to vote. Village chief Ki Thy said he was not aware that giving gifts during election season was illegal.

He added that local authorities had just observed the gifts’ distribution, and only one had worn a CPP hat.

Kem Ley, a political analyst, said that the authorities’ participation in the event was nevertheless illegal during campaign season. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JUSTINE DRENNAN

INE complaints have been filed against political parties for alleged campaign violations during the first four days of the election campaign, the National Election Committee said yesterday.

The figure comes just days after the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party released a statement accusing Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling party of encouraging supporters to deface CNRP propaganda.

“Six complaints are currently being resolved. Four [complaints] are in Phnom Penh and two are in Kandal province,” NEC secretarygeneral Tep Nytha said.

The Phnom Penh complaints were filed by the municipal authority against the CNRP for hanging party flags on city street posts, while in Kandal, the CNRP has accused the ruling Cambodian People’s Party of defacing its propaganda, Nytha said.

Lun Chheng Kay, Phnom Penh president of the Provincial Election Commission (PEC), said representatives from both parties as well as authorities would debate the street posts issue on Tuesday.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann called the complaint “laughable”, claiming election laws do not prohibit the placement of propaganda on street posts.

“There is nothing illegal.

There is no law banning [this],” Sovann said, pointing out that the CPP have also used street posts to display propaganda.

In a statement issued late last week, the CNRP claimed its election posters, featuring party logos and pictures of hand-holding leaders Kem Sokha and Sam Rainsy, were being destroyed in many parts of the country.

The party then went on to complain about the inaction by government authorities on the issue, going as far as directly accusing Hun Sen of encouraging activists to deface opposition propa-

ganda to prevent a free and fair election.

In his final speech before taking a month-long speaking sabbatical during the election campaign period, Hun Sen early last week denied his party’s involvement in the defacing of signs and vowed to hunt down antiCNRP vandals, but, conversely, also promised to reward those who turned themselves in.

“The destruction of [CNRP] election propaganda . . . has taken place after Prime Minister Hun Sen’s statement that encouraged illegal actors by promising to acquit them and offer an award [to them] if they confessed,” the CNRP statement read.

The statement also accused the ruling party of “tricking” CNRP activists into tearing down or defacing their own party’s signs, using the financial reward offered for confession to entice them.

National Assembly spokesperson and CPP lawmaker Chheang Vun declined to comment on the issue.

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

National Reversal on ban leaves one in place

Pedo bust for B’bang Brit Sen David

T

Continued from page 1

was quick to distance himself from the incident, writing yesterday that: “I was not the one who decided the suspension and the reverse of decision.”

Asked why the ministry was not reversing the smaller of the two bans – which he himself had signed into action – Kanharith did not reply.

Several officials at the Ministry of Information, including Pratna, could not be reached for comment.

By not reversing the five-day ban, the government was only paying lip-service amid the backlash from rights groups, the stations and the US government, senior Licadho investigator Am Sam Ath said.

“This is just to mitigate the situation. The ministry still bans for five days before the election and on the election day, so the voters will still not get enough information before deciding to vote for any political party.”

Others called for a broader ban – one that would affect local, fre-

Dyna Seng, Editor-in-chief of Radio France Internationale’s (RFI) Khmer Service, broadcasts news in Phnom Penh earlier this month. AFP

quently government-affiliated outlets as well as foreign.

“If the government insists on suspending those radio stations for five days before the election and election day, they must do the same for all radio stations; not only for some,”political analyst Kem Ley said.

Cambodia had come under intense pressure from the US government in the wake of the 31-day ban and it took barely 24 hours once the news had come out for the ministry to reverse its decision.

According to US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell, the embassy had made a case “directly to the government.”

Speaking at a daily press briefing in Washington on Friday, Ventrell said the directive was “a serious infringement on free-

dom of the press and freedom of expression, and starkly contradicts the spirit of a healthy democratic process”.

“We are deeply concerned by this action and urge the Royal Government of Cambodia to reconsider this decision,” he continued, adding the media restriction called into question the “credibility of the electoral process”.

Embassy spokesman John Simmons yesterday declined to discuss meetings between the government and embassy, but said they “welcome[d] the Cambodian government’s decision to rescind the ban”.

“We urge the Royal Government to ensure full press freedom, including during the campaign period up to and including the day of the national elections,” he said.

HE British owner of Battambang town establishment Café FLIRT was arrested on Saturday on accusations of sexual harassment and child prostitution for allegedly molesting several underage boys, an anti-human trafficking official said.

According to provincial anti-trafficking and child protection police chief Thol Yothea, café owner Jonathan Guy, 48, was arrested at his shop, where he also lived, in Battambang’s Svay Por district after it came to light that

he had allegedly offered five young boys, all less than 15 years old, money in exchange for sex.

Yothea said that after police received a complaint from a parent and an NGO, police raided Guy’s café, rescuing the five boys, and seizing evidence including sexually explicit photographs. Presented with the evidence, the suspect reportedly confessed.

“The suspect lured the boys in by giving them 2,500 riel to 5,000 riel, each, for sexual acts and to take sexual photos for him in his room, as he is the café owner,” Yothea said.

The suspect allegedly told

police that he had rented the building to open the café some six months ago, and that he had repeatedly called young boys, some of whom were beggars, onto the premises with the promise of money when the shop closed.

Yothea said that police had sent the victims to stay and study at an NGO, and that the suspect would be sent to court for official charges.

The Post was unable to reach Guy and police said he had yet to obtain a lawyer. www.phnompenhpost.com check the post website for breaking news

Prison meth transfer goes awry Sen David

A MAN allegedly doing a favour for his incarcerated friend may soon be doing time himself after guards caught him trying to smuggle drugs into Prey Sar prison.

Nop Piseth, 25, of Dangkor District’s Prey Veng Commune, was arrested on Friday, while trying to sneak methamphetamine to his friend, said Major Yim Sarann, chief of Dangkor district police.

“He put a small black package of [methamphetamine] into a big package of foods,

and sent it to his friend who was a prisoner,” Sarann said. “He was arrested by our police after the prison security guards checked his prisoner friend, and confiscated a small package of drugs from him.”

Piseth initially fled the scene, but Prey Veng commune police and Prey Sar Prison’s security guards found him about 15 minutes later, Sarann said. He was taken into custody and is scheduled to be charged at Phnom Penh Municipal Court today.

Prey Sar Prison Chief Srun Leang could not be reached for comment.

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

National Mob violence

Man beaten unconscious in capital

A

SUSPECTED burglar was handed over to police by villagers yesterday, but only after a mob of locals detained and beat the man unconscious for allegedly breaking into the Phnom Penh house of a Chinese garment factory employee, police said.

In a second instance of mob justice in as many weeks, suspect Pov Sopheak, 26, was caught by the group of vigilantes upon escaping the house in Choam Chao commune after a brief fight with the tenant, according to Por Sen Chey district deputy police chief Chab Chantha.

“The suspect was accused of stealing, and was caught and hit by an angry mob of villagers,” he said. “We detained him, and prepared the case for sending him to the court.”

Sopheak, also a resident of Choam Chao, was accused of trying to steal two mobile phones and $100. During the robbery, Chantha said, Sopheak was confronted by the victim, and managed to escape the house, only to be apprehended when the victim called for help.

KIM SAROM

Refugee laws ignored: report Sean Teehan

C

AMBODIAN government officials have done little to enforce laws meant to protect the rights of Kampuchea Krom refugees, a recent report compiled for the UN says.

The five-page report, written by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO), will be submitted to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ahead of its 2014 periodic review of Cambodia and Vietnam.

“In the areas of civil and political rights enough mechanisms are in place to adequately guarantee the rights of minorities, however, the implementation thereof is severely lacking,” the report says.

“It takes political will from the Cambodian government.”

Despite the Cambodian government’s official stance that those who live in Kampuchea Krom – an area of southern Vietnam that was once part of the Khmer empire – are considered Cambodian nationals, they face discrimination and difficulties when trying to claim refugee status or obtaining identity cards in

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CLOSING DATE: 14 JULY 2013

Kampuchea Krom monks and supporters demonstrate against the Vietnamese government and appeal to the international community at Freedom Park in Phnom Penh last week. pha lina

Cambodia, the report states.

When applying for ID cards, applicants must show proof their parents are of Khmer ancestry, proof of their occupation and a permanent address – documentation people fleeing discrimination in Vietnam rarely possess.

“They didn’t have the rights

that other Cambodian citizens have,” said Denise Coghlan, Cambodia country manager for Jesuit Refugee Services, an Australian Catholic NGO that focuses on refugee rights. The exact legal status for Khmer Krom remains fuzzy, she said.

The Cambodian constitution guarantees religious freedom

in the Kingdom, but the UNPO report notes Khmer Krom Buddhist monks suffer systematic harassment and persecution in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Khmer Kampuchea Krom have been detained, tortured and had their freedoms of speech and assembly trampled upon, the report notes.

About 200 people gathered in Phnom Penh last week to demand the release of two Khmer Krom monks Liv Ny and Thach Thoeun, both 30, who were arrested by Vietnamese authorities on charges they associated with pro-Khmer Krom organisations abroad.

UNPO’s report mentioned that although protections guaranteed by the constitution are often ignored by authorities, their existence is a step in the right direction.

“Despite widespread violations of human rights inflicted upon members of the Khmer Krom and Degar [montagnard] minorities, the government of Cambodia should be commended for incorporating key human rights . . . in their national constitution,” the report notes.

In order to improve its human rights standing for minorities, Cambodia should simplify the process in which Khmer Krom refugees can apply for ID cards, commit to investigating allegations of abuses by law enforcement among other steps toward inclusiveness.

The Cambodian government’s Human Rights adviser, Om Yentieng, declined to comment yesterday.

6

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

National

In brief Man shoots teenage neighbour with arrow

A KRATIE province man faces an attempted murder charge after he allegedly shot a teenage girl who lives in his village with a crossbow on Friday night. As the 16-yearold girl walked home from a paddy field in Kbal Romeas commune’s Chrob village that night, Phat Sophal, 27, allegedly shot at her, hitting her shoulder, Ork Borin, provincial military police commander, said. “The suspect shot the victim and he also had a plan to kill the victim,” Borin said. The victim was taken to the provincial hospital, where staff treated her for a serious shoulder wound. Kim Sarom

Parents: school head took money and ran

A PRIVATE school director was arrested on Friday by Battambang police in cooperation with Preah Sihanouk police after scamming money from students and fleeing earlier this month. Chet Vanny, deputy chief of the Battambang provincial police, said the director of Universe of Language, Long Polin, 30, had opened two schools – one in Battambang town and the other in Samlot district. “[Polin] collected money from nearly 200 registered students in the two locations, but after the students all paid their tuition, the director escaped to Preah Sihanouk province,” Vanny said. Lieng Sarith

Motorbike cleaner accused of dirty deeds

A MOTORBIKE cleaner was arrested and charged with robbery yesterday after allegedly stealing more than 110,000 Thai baht ($3,540) from a businesswoman in Battambang province’s Kamrieng district on Friday night. Chet Vanny, deputy chief of Bat-tambang police, said Seng Narom, 36, was charged by the provincial court and is now being detained in Battambang provincial prison. “He climbed the victim’s roof while she was sleeping alone on Friday around 4am,” Vanny said. Narom also allegedly stole jewellery. Buth reaksmey kongkea

Playing with a bad hand Shane Worrell and Khouth Sophak Chakrya Banteay Meanchey province

Pailin puppy pincher pounced on by police

THE dog days are just beginning for an alleged thief, 21, arrested for pilfering puppies in Pailin province’s Sala Krao district on Friday. According to police, the newly broke suspect stole three dogs,10 chickens and other property from his stepmother to fuel his drug habit. When she asked where her things had gone, the suspect allegedly flew into a rage, punching her several times in the face. Police soon arrested the man, who reportedly confessed to the crimes. Nokorwat

I

T’S been more than a year since union leader Sat Sep was fired from the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Poipet town, a dismissal that sparked strikes and ended in senior members of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers Federation being driven from the casino’s gaming rooms.

“Since then, the company has terminated the contracts of about 300 workers. Some were given compensation – but not the full amount they were entitled to under the law,” Sep claimed yesterday.

Rulings from the Provincial Department of Labour and the Arbitration Council ordered the reinstatement of Sep – an employee of the casino for more than 10 years. To this day, he remains banned from the casino and says he is still owed a significant amount of money.

In recent weeks, hundreds of disgruntled workers have been protesting at the Kingdom’s most prominent casino, NagaWorld in Phnom Penh.

But far from the capital, workers and unions say Sep’s case is an example of the “illegal” and substandard treatment of employees that often passes unseen in Poipet.

“Working conditions here are poor,” said Malis – not her real name – an employee of the Holiday Palace Hotel and Casino.

After more than five years in the casino, Malis still works a rotating shift that makes it almost impossible to slip into a regular pattern of sleep, she said.

“I’m now working 7pm to 3am. Customers complain when you’re tired. And we get written warnings if customers complain. Then we get fired,” she said.

When Malis spoke to Post reporters, she was wandering in the dark streets outside the casino in search of food.

“The food in the casino isn’t good,” she said.

Other workers said their casinos took money from their salary for food – whether they ate it or not – and for transport in crammed trucks.

The bright lights of Poipet’s flourishing casinos lie between the passport checkpoints of Cambodia and Thailand.

police blotter

Thick thieves try to take lady’s moto, lose theirs

Motorists ride past the Diamond Slot Club and Tropicana Casino in the border town of Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province last year. pha lina

Thais are not allowed to gamble at home and can cross into the casino zone without having to go through Cambodia’s passport control.

Cambodians can also enter the area but, by law, cannot gamble in the casinos.

But many still do.

“My casino allows Khmer customers in 24 hours a day,” said one worker, who feared dismissal if his name was printed. “It’s simple – when Cam-

terior had the duty to stop illegal activity.

A security guard from the Holiday Palace, who gave her name as Srey Leap, said Cambodians were not allowed to gamble at her casino.

“But sometimes we don’t always follow those rules,” she said.

A representative of Tropicana declined to comment, while Banteay Meanchey provincial police chief Kheng Sum said he

My casino allows Khmer customers in . . . When Cambodians are in the casino, the cameras are turned off bodians are in the casino, the cameras are turned off.”

He said many Cambodians tried to speak Thai when they entered the casino but added this was a ruse easy to spot.

“Often, when they lose, they snap and curse in Khmer,” he said.

Workers said they objected to contributing to illegal activity, but felt powerless to do anything.

“Authorities seem to turn a blind eye to this problem.

Maybe they need bribes from the casinos,” one Holiday Palace casino worker said.

The man – an experienced worker who was wearing a suit – said the Ministry of In-

was not aware of any unlawful activity at casinos in Poipet.

“The central security police at the Ministry of Interior in Phnom Penh have the duty to investigate,” he said.

Sok Phal, Ministry of Interior central security department director, said he was busy, referring questions to the National Police, whose spokesman could not be reached.

Dave Welsh, country manager for Solidarity Center/ ACILS, said authorities were not doing enough to ensure the casinos, many of which were foreign owned, followed Cambodian laws.

“None of the casinos [there] are poster children for ad-

herence to the Labour Law and freedom of association,” he said.

Workers’ rights would remain in jeopardy if freedom of association remains off limits to workers in Poipet, Welsh said.

“No industry in the country should be without the presence of real trade unions. But foreign power is dictating terms in Poipet,” he said.

Sacked union leader Sep, who still represents more than 100 employees in Tropicana – albeit from a remote location – says conditions in the casino have improved somewhat since the strikes.

“The casino has changed its administration from Thai to Khmer. Now they respect Khmer annual holidays,” he said.

But seniority bonuses were still not being paid and workers were receiving salaries in Thai baht, which they then had to exchange into riel.

However, one Tropicana casino worker, who declined to be named, said conditions had improved markedly since the strikes.

“Working at this casino gives me the opportunity to learn and speak Thai,” he said.

“Things are fine now.”

Workers still awaiting money owed to them – and those wanting to lobby for better conditions in the future – might disagree.

Announcement The Post would like to inform all of our customers that Ms. Nget Thach is no longer working for The Phnom Penh Post.

Please be advised to direct all your inquiries directly to Borom Chea, National Sales Director. Mobile: 012 763 481 or email at : borom.chea@phnompenhpost.com

POR SEN CHEY district police are on the lookout for two alleged thieves who lost their own moto after failing to steal that of a Phnom Penh woman on Saturday. Police said the woman was heading home when the two men stopped her. One of the scoundrels began slapping and punching the woman, who shouted for help. A group intervened, but was forced away when one of the men brandished a gun and the pair escaped on foot into a market, leaving their own moto behind. nokorwat

Embarrased egg-head makes up story to cops

A MAN hoping to save a little face might be losing a little freedom after he allegedly lied to police about an accident in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district on Friday. Police said the man was on his way home from a drinking session when he hit a dog, wrecking his moto and sustaining a head injury. The man claimed that a friend had attacked him in an attempt to steal his moto. Police are questioning the man over his false report, made, they say, because he was ashamed of the accident. NOKORWAT

Moto group finds out why traffic lights are useful LATE night games of intersection chicken rarely end well.

Such was the case for a motoriding quartet, who were badly injured on Saturday in the capital after failing to slow at an intersection. As the hapless bike ploughed through the light, they were met head-on by a speeding taxi. The group sustained extensive injuries, while the cabbie – unsurprisingly – hoofed it. Police impounded the vehicles and are searching for the driver.

NOKORWAT

Familial farming foils cow-thieving outlaw

A SNEAKY sister took down a cow rustler on Friday after the hapless thief made the mistake of asking her for directions.

Police say the alleged robber swooped in on the grazing cows in Kampong Thom’s Stoung district. Leading the cows to the road, the unlucky outlaw lost his way, eventually asking – you guessed it – the owner’s sister for directions.

The smart sis snuck a call to the cops and distracted the bandit with small talk until they hauled him to the pen. NOKORWAT Translated by Phak Seangly

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

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98.63

USD / HKD

7.7571

USD / SGD

USD / THB

1.2668

31.13

Foreign investment rises 73 pct A Anne Renzenbrink

MID global economic fragility, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Cambodia grew a whopping 73 per cent in 2012 from the year before, a huge increase helping to fuel a record-setting amount of money pouring into least developed countries, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Released at the end of last week, the UN group’s World Investment Report says that FDI in Cambodia reached almost $1.6 billion in 2012, compared with $902 million in 2011, an increase largely credited to businesses looking to invest in the inexpensive, labour-intensive garment and manufacturing industries, as well as rising production costs outside of Cambodia.

Regionally, Southeast Asia saw a two per cent rise in FDI inflows, reaching $111 billion. And for the first time, the report noted that developing economies absorbed more FDI – accounting for 52 per cent globally – than developed nations.

Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Mauritania, Mozambique and Uganda drove much of the growth that amounted to a global FDI in least developed nations of $26 billion, according to the UN tally. “[Countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam] are the emerging bright spots of the subregion, particularly for

The Rose City Condominiums in the capital’s Chamkarmon district in 2011. Construction on the four towers finished last year. meng kimlong

labour-intensive FDI and value chain activities,” the report said According to the UN, foreign direct investment in Myanmar totaled $2,2 billion in 2012, a 1.96 per cent increase compared to 2011. Vietnam FDI reached $8,4 billion last year, a 12.6 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

The UN refers to FDI as “an investment made to acquire

lasting interest in enterprises operating outside of the economy of the investor”.

Chan Sophal, president of the Cambodian Economic Association, said yesterday that FDI sources, other than the garment industry and manufacturing, include agriculture and tourism.

“If the increase is true . . . I think it’s due to the good po-

tential for investment in Cambodia,” he said. “In manufacturing, electronics, agriculture, tourism, in every sector, there are many opportunities for investment.”

It doesn’t take long to find the projects. Last December saw the ground-breaking ceremony of the Aeon Mall in Phnom Penh. The 68,000 square metre building worth $205 million

is being built by Japan-based AEON Group.

Japan, alongside China and South Korea, is one of the top investors in Cambodia.

The UN report, subtitled Global Value Chains: Investment and Trade for Development, also said countries are increasingly considering “how to position and promote themselves” as locations for global

value chain activities, “either in a segment or part of the chain or the entire chain”.

Against the background of Delta Electronics (Thailand)’s plans to expand to Cambodia, Asian Development Bank Deputy Country Director Peter Brimble told the Post in May that firms expanding operations in Cambodia are the same firms that moved to Thailand some 20 to 25 years ago and are producing the same products.

He said this was contributing “to the increasing diversification of the Cambodian economy, and reflects the rapidly improving business climate here”.

Attracting labour-intensive FDI is driven by “continued intraregional restructuring”, the report said, adding that companies who relocated primarily produced clothes and footwear in China and Taiwan, where labour costs are about three times as high compared with Cambodia.

Many economists agree, however, that a lack of skilled labour and high electricity costs, especially in the manufacturing sector, are still challenges investors face in Cambodia The glowing picture also stands in stark contrast to a Cambodia Country Risk Report released in April by UK-based global risk and strategic consulting firm Maplecroft, which compared Cambodia negatively with Vietnam and Thailand in most risk indices. Poor business practices, heavy bureaucracy and corruption were listed as stumbling blocks undermining a government otherwise sympathetic to foreign investors.

8

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Business

Singapore adopts property loan rules Sharon Chen

SINGAPORE unveiled new rules governing how financial institutions grant property loans to individuals, extending efforts to curb speculation as prices in Asia’s second-most expensive housing market continue to rise.

As of Friday, a new framework requires that lenders take a borrower’s debt into consideration when granting property loans, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said last week. Home loans should not exceed a total debt servicing ratio of 60 per cent and those that do will be considered “imprudent,” it said.

In January, the government unveiled a seventh round of measures in about four years that included an increase in stamp duties for home buyers by five percentage points to seven percentage points.

While private residential property prices rose to a record in the three months through March, the gain was the slowest in three quarters after the government’s January curbs.

“It may not appear as draconian as the seventh round but when applied with the existing property market curbs, the

effects can be very potent,” said Nicholas Mak, executive director at SLP International Property Consultants.

The MAS said it will also refine how existing loan-to-value rules are applied to ensure limits put in place to cool investment demand in the housing market are effective. These rules are aimed at preventing borrowers from circumventing tighter limits on second and subsequent housing loans.

The total debt servicing ratio level of 60 per cent will be reviewed over time, the central bank said.

Lenders will also be required to deduct at least 30 per cent from all variable sources of earnings, such as bonuses, and rental revenue when determining an applicant’s income streams, the regulator said.

When calculating a borrower’s ability to repay using the total debt servicing ratio, banks will have to apply the prevailing market rate or 3.5 per cent for housing loans and 4.5 per cent on non-residential property loans, whichever is higher.

Singapore is Asia’s mostexpensive housing market behind Hong Kong, according to a Knight Frank LLP and Citi Private Bank report. BLOOMBERG

Farmers’ support at risk Supunnabul Suwannakij and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

T

HAI Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra risks a backlash from farmers who helped put her in power after cutting guaranteed rice prices following criticism that the program put the country’s finances at risk.

The Cabinet on June 19 approved a 20 per cent reduction in rice-purchase prices to help stem losses from the program the government estimates at about 137 billion baht ($4.4 billion) last year.

Moody’s Investors Service said on June 3 that the subsidies hurt Thailand’s goal of achieving a balanced budget by 2017 and are negative for Thailand’s sovereign ratings.

“If the government doesn’t listen to farmers’ voices, the Pheu Thai party won’t have farmers as a shield to protect them,” said Charin Sing-dee, head of the farmer council from Singburi province, referring to Yingluck’s ruling party that won a parliamentary majority in 2011 elections.

Yingluck raised minimum wages, handed incentives to first-time car buyers and paid rice farmers as much as 50

A worker sits in front of sacks of rice in a warehouse at a rice mill in Suphan Buri, Thailand in April. bloomberg

per cent more than domestic market rates since taking power two years ago with support from poorer areas in northern Thailand. The Moody’s report and opposition attacks prompted her to establish a committee to verify losses and lower prices.

“The fiscal burden arising from this program is one of the key concerns of foreign investors,” said Santitarn Sathirathai, a Singapore-based economist at Credit Suisse.

“But beyond the fiscal cost, the program also distorts incentives for people. Thailand already has labour shortages

in many productive sectors and this program encourages more rice growing by many people who perhaps should not be doing so.”

Agricultural exports slipped 4.4 per cent in April, led by an 8.4 per cent decline in rice shipments. The Bank of Thailand cut its policy interest rate on May 29 for the first time this year to boost growth after expansion slowed more than estimated to 5.3 per cent last quarter.

Thailand has spent 588.7 billion baht since October 2011 to buy 40.47 million tonnes of unmilled rice from farmers.

The program has increased domestic demand and purchasing power by two percentage points and helped improve farmer income by about 115 billion baht a year, the government says.

The Thai government is carrying debt of almost 160 billion baht for 2012-2013 from implementing the rice program, according to official estimates. By setting purchase limits, it will lose about 80 billion baht a year, calculated from the difference between the support price and market price, including interest and storage costs.

Yingluck has said the government wants to restructure the agricultural sector and adjust plantation zoning. The administration has started to survey areas to determine which crops they are best suited for, she said on June 22.

Revising the program helps, “but a gradual phase-out and a move to other transfer programs will be better”, Santitarn said.

Parties linked to Yingluck’s brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, won the last election on support from rice-growing areas that are poorer and more populous than the rest of Thailand.

BLOOMBERG

9

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Markets Business Largest MFI Prasac gets loan boost for coffers Hor Kimsay

CAMBODIA’s largest microfinance institution, (MFI) Prasac, has received a $60.5 million loan to strengthen its capacity in offering broader financial services in the country.

On Friday, Prasac signed the agreement for the syndicate loan – provided by more than one lender – with the Netherlands Development Finance Company. The Den Hague-based development bank provides $12.5 million, the rest is shared among five other countries.

Sim Senacheert, Prasac’s chief executive, said yesterday that the new loan has an interest rate of between six and 6.5 per cent per year and will partly be used to refinance several lenders that his company owes, while a larger amount serves to expand Prasac’s loans to small and medium enterprises needed to drive growth in Cambodia.

“It will boost our capacity to offer the full range of financial services,” Senacheert said.

Map connects factories and buyers Daniel de Carteret

I

N light of ongoing disputes over working conditions in the garment sector, the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) released yesterday details on hundreds of factories it believes will offer greater transparency along the garment supply chain – from producers to buyers – and shine a light on those responsible for rights violations within Cambodia’s largest export industry.

Posted on the CCHR website, the “Garment Factory Map” details 559 factory locations, the nationality of owners, the number of employees and, where information is available, the international brands that the local producers supply.

To scroll through the report is to see the endless variety of products made by Cambodians and worn abroad, from the normal – underwear and footwear – to the unexpected – hospital gowns and ballet shoes.

CCHR president Ou Virak said by allowing consumers, workers, unions, investors, governments and buyers greater insight into an often complex supply chain, all players can be held to greater

account, ultimately highlighting and applying greater pressure on the factories where violations occur.

Virak also hopes that consumers will be more closely connected to the conditions in which their purchases are made.

“While more work needs to be done to trace the supply chains for specific factories where human rights abuses are most prevalent, this map is a step in the right direction towards providing shareholders, consumers and all other interested parties with the necessary information about these factories and their suppliers,” he said.

Activists argue that though companies have policies in place to protect workers rights, the policies are not always extended to contracting factories from which they source.

Virak said that it’s in the best interests of companies to mitigate the business risks of rights violations by publishing the details of their sourcing factories and creating greater accountability up front. “[The garment factory map] is the beginning; hopefully the companies will take responsibility,” he said.

The Garment Manufactur-

Thais expect spending dip Pitseenee Jitpleecheep

THAI manufacturers and retailers plan to launch offensive sales strategies in the second half of this year to open consumers’ pockets after their spending was projected to be worse than expected.

They blame the state’s firsttime car buyer policy as a major reason for the decline, as it leaves people with little to spend.

They said shoppers have changed their behaviour, tending now to buy goods in smaller portions and closer to home to avoid heavy traffic around shopping complexes.

These conditions have led to declining retail sales in the first half, and many operators are expected to miss their full-year sales projections.

To cope with these negative factors, manufacturers and

retailers must reduce costs, improve stock inventory management and arrange more sales events near customers’ workplaces, suggests a Saha Group executive.

Boonchai Chokwatana, chairman of Saha Pathanapibul Plc, the distributor of Mama instant noodles, said over the weekend that first-half sales are expected to grow by only eight per cent compared with the more than 10 per cent it saw in recent years.

Even Mama instant noodles, a low-cost dish, showed only six per cent growth, the same level the firm saw in crisis-hit 1997.

“Of the 10 stores we surveyed, nine said their sales in the first half were sluggish,” he said.

But Boonchai said Saha Pathanapibul will not cut prices to boost second-half sales, as the tactic does not work.

Signs of slow consumption

have been seen since March, and competition among retailers will intensify over the rest of the year. To improve sales, Boonchai said Saha will expand its product distribution network.

The Mall Group will use several strategies to make consumers spend more in the second half.

“Organising marketing events and promotion campaigns, as well as exploring new markets and customer groups while managing customer relationships, are our tasks,” executive vice president Chamnarn Maytaprechakul said.

Unlike most retailers, The Mall found that spending at its branches did not decline much, Chamnarn said.

“But it’s true, shoppers are spending more cautiously and need more value products and services.” BANGKOK POST

Workers at M&V garment factory, a supplier of Swedish clothing giant H&M, demonstrate in Phnom Penh earlier this month. vireak mai

ers Association in Cambodia secretary-general Ken Loo acknowledges the complexity of the garment supply chain, and while he agrees that it could lead to greater pressure applied to buyers during worker disputes, this would occur only “on the basis if the factory is at fault”.

“Sometimes I don’t know what customers source from which factory because it is difficult to track,” he said.

Loo said that, for the moment, such transparency will have little affect on consumer

decision-making. “I don’t think consumers are at that level of sophistication yet,” he said. “The consumer is trying to make a distinction between garments made in country “A” between garments made in country “B”, to go down to the factory level is another 10 years or more away.”

But Dave Welsh, country manager for Solidarity Center/ACILS, said that “any sort of information is helpful”, and that buyers should be held to greater account. He cites the example of Sweden-based

H&M for its move in March to reveal factories from which they source.

“The MO [for the brands] is, whenever anything goes awry in a garment factory, to buy time by saying these are subcontractors and, ‘we don’t really know the ins and outs of the situation, we will investigate,’ which is routinely untrue but it gives them cover, so by providing transparency on the contracting level is really the key.”

Until very recently Cambodia was spared associations with Bangladesh, where a factory collapse killed more than 1,000 workers on April 1.

In May, however, two people died after a mezzanine floor collapsed at the Wing Star Shoes factory in Kampong Speu province. Just days later a kiosk and connecting walkway collapsed at Top World Garment factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, injuring over 20 workers.

Leading brands highlighted in CCHR’s garment factory map include Macy’s, Levi’s, Puma, Nike, Gap and Walmart, all listed as having factory suppliers in Cambodia. Representatives from the companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

10

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Business

Snowden’s actions may hurt US government contractors Greg Roumeliotis and Soyoung Kim

T

HE Edward Snowden saga may be a headache for his former employer Booz Allen Hamilton Corp and its 67 per cent owner, the private equity firm Carlyle Group LP, but it could turn out to be a bigger problem for Carlyle’s rivals.

Like Carlyle, a whole host of other private equity firms piled into the defence and intelligence sector between 2007 and 2011, snapping up various contractors and consultants. Unlike Carlyle, though, most have not recouped their original investments and some of them may be staring at losses if they sold the assets today.

The industry is under growing pressure because of a series of apparent security problems that allowed Snowden to leak details of secret US surveillance programs and, according to government officials, badly compromise US national security.

Among the questions being asked by lawmakers and investigators are how Snowden, who worked as a Booz contractor at a National Security Agency facility in Hawaii, obtained security clearance despite red flags in his background. There is also concern about how he was able to download many top-secret documents and flee for Hong Kong only about a month after starting in the job, without triggering massive alarm bells.

The result will likely be increased scrutiny of government contractors by the NSA and other parts of the defence establishment, and greater oversight from Congress. Some contracts may be reduced or taken away from individual firms.

All of that could hurt revenue and margins in a business that

A television screens the image of former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden during a news bulletin at a café at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Wednesday. reuters

is already under increasing stress because of defence industry cuts, including the sequestration that began hitting in recent months.

Still, while the storm could damage some companies, most experts think it will blow over for the industry as a whole. It isn’t as if the Pentagon and related agencies are going to be able to reduce their massive reliance on contractors overnight.

NSA head General Keith Alexander said on Thursday that “we couldn’t do our job without the support we get from industry. One individual has betrayed our trust and confidence, and that shouldn’t be a reflection on everybody else.”

Hardest hit may be Providence Equity Partners. A US government watchdog is already examining USIS – the largest private provider of fed-

eral government background checks – which conducted a 2011 background investigation into Snowden. USIS is a unit of Altegrity Inc, which in turn is owned by Providence.

On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that federal investigators have told lawmakers they have evidence USIS repeatedly misled the government about the thoroughness of its background checks, citing people familiar with the matter. The Post said that the problem is so serious that the watchdog plans to recommend to the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees most background checks, that it end its relationship with USIS unless it can show it is performing responsibly.

This could exacerbate Altegrity’s serious financial woes. In April, Moody’s Investor Service Inc downgraded Altegrity’s

debt deep into junk territory, warning that unless its revenue and earnings rebound significantly in the near term, its capital structure may be unsustainable.

“USIS has been fully cooperating with the government throughout this process and we continue to work closely with the Office of Personnel Management to resolve this matter,” Altegrity spokesman Ray Howell said in an email.

Carlyle, Providence, KKR & Co LP and General Atlantic LLC all bought businesses in recent years on the assumption that areas such as cyber defence and intelligence remained relatively safe from government spending cuts.

The theory has turned out wrong so far for most of these firms, with Carlyle the exception. The buyout firm was smart enough to take Booz Al-

len public right before cutbacks in US defence spending triggered a downturn in the sector and reduced investors’ appetite for such IPOs. Part of that decision was due to the desire to have publicly traded shares as part of the compensation of Booz Allen executives.

Booz is also better-established than some, given its long history of government contracting. Over the past two years, Booz Allen’s competitors have seen their revenue take a hit and their valuations punished by spending cutbacks. They are now stuck with deals that look expensive in hindsight.

The leaks by Snowden are likely to increase scrutiny of defence contractor hiring and tighten surveillance practices, Moody’s Investor Service Inc said earlier this month.

Moreover, few industry buyers are likely to come to their rescue as long as the future of defence spending remains up in the air amid the larger budget argument in Washington, bankers said.

Representatives for the contractors and their private equity backers declined to comment on their business prospects. To be sure, these private equity firms still have time to improve on their investments before they exit them.

Despite being at the centre of the scandal as Snowden’s former employer, Booz has held up better than rivals, thanks to its position of working for the most complex and classified government projects.

The McLean, Virginia-based firm has been on the US government’s payroll since 1940, starting off by helping the Navy prepare for World War Two. With Carlyle’s help, the firm shed a private sector consultancy business to focus on government work. REUTERS

Billions in spending cuts ahead for France FRANCE will pursue €14 billion ($18.2 billion) in spending cuts next year as it attempts to reduce the public deficit to three per cent of economic output by 2015, Le Monde reported.

On Thursday, the finance ministry said government bonds maturing in 2013 through the first quarter of 2016 would be replaced with five new issues holding the same coupon rate and at five10 year maturities.

France’s Socialist government aims to tame the deficit by trimming ministerial budgets, cutting state aid to companies and reducing local government funding.

With the economy back in a shallow recession, jobless claims at an all-time high and his approval ratings around 30 per cent, President François Hollande has been reluctant to accelerate the cuts.

Annual growth in overall wage costs for French public employees will be cut to 0.15 per cent from three per cent, chiefly through pay restraint, the French daily said on its website.

Ministries will also be expected to trim two per cent from operating budgets through public purchasing reform, according to the report.

Funding for services such as the CNRS research institute and Meteo France weather forecaster will be cut four per cent, it said. French lawmakers are scheduled to hold a preliminary debate on the government’s 2014 budget on July 2.

The Cour des Comptes, which overseas France’s public accounts, warned on June 27 that the deficit could overshoot its 3.7 per cent target for 2013.

It recommended spending cuts of €13 billion next year and €15 billion in 2015 to meet the three per cent goal. REUTERS

Fixed Deposit Interest Rates Cambodian

Financial Institutions A Sunway International Hotels & Resorts business unit, subsidiary of Malaysian Public Listed company, SUNWAY BERHAD, would like to invite industry professionals to apply for the position of;

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Fundamentals; 1. Strong business acumen, develops and implement strategies focused on enhancing revenues and maximizes financial performance.

2. Excellent communicator, analytical skills, proactive problem solver and team player.

3. Self-starterandmotivator,capableofhandlingmulti-facetedprojectsandworkingunderpressure.

4. Aware of market and industry trends and ensures up to-date knowledge of competitors; demonstrates an awareness of new business opportunities and seizes and acts upon them.

5. Works with an orientation to the future; setting clear, appropriate and well defined tangible objectives while ensuring that company’s policies and governing regulations are complied.

6. Supervises, coach and mentor peers, delegates and accountable in achieving results.

7. Formulate Marketing and Business Plan for onward strategy and budgeting purposes.

The Individual; 1. Minimum 10 years Sales & Marketing experience within the hospitality industry with proven network database of corporate, travel trade, governmental and NGO business associates.

2. An extrovert, pleasant, matured and approachable disposition.

3. Strong traits of reliability, leadership and diplomacy.

4. Excellent written and spoken English, knowledge of Mandarin an added advantage.

5. Immaculate grooming, good brand ambassador, between 35-45 years old.

Competitive salary and remuneration awaits the successful qualified individual.

Applications are to be submitted online with recent passport size photo to; hrmshpp@sunwayhotels.com or call +855 2343 0333 (ext. 8070) Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and closing date of application is on 15th July 2013.

As of JUNE 28, 2013

On Deposits 3 Months

6 Months

USD

RIEL

USD

RIEL

12 Months USD

RIEL

Prasac

5.50%

6.50%

6.50%

7.50%

8.00%

9.75%

ABA Bank

3.50%

N/A

4.50%

N/A

5.50%

N/A

ACLEDA Bank

2.50%

5.00%

3.75%

6.00%

5.00%

7.00%

ANZ Royal Bank

1.45%

3.50%

2.75%

4.00%

3.75%

5.50%

Bank of India

2.25%

N/A

3.00%

N/A

4.00%

N/A

Cambodia Asia Bank

3.50%

N/A

4.50%

N/A

5.50%

N/A

Cambodia Mekong Bank 2.75%

N/A

3.25%

N/A

3.50%

N/A

Cambodian Public Bank 2.25%

N/A

3.25%

N/A

4.00%

N/A

Canadia Bank

2.50%

5.00%

3.50%

6.00%

4.75%

7.00%

Maybank

2.25%

N/A

3.25%

N/A

4.25%

N/A

Maruhan Japan Bank

2.00%

2.00%

3.00%

3.00%

4.50%

4.50%

RHB Indochina Bank

2.75%

4.00%

3.50%

5.00%

4.75%

6.00%

SBC Bank

3.00%

N/A

3.50%

N/A

4.50%

N/A

Union Commercial Bank 3.50%

N/A

4.50%

N/A

5.50%

N/A

11

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

World Manila aims at Beijing over military ‘build-up’ Continued from page 1

Time for action

Buddhist monks attend a protest march against US magazine Time in Yangon yesterday. Myanmar banned a controversial Time magazine cover story on Buddhist-Muslim religious violence on Wednesday ‘to prevent further conflict’, according to a government spokesman, after days of angry reaction to the article. AFP

He did not give details of the alleged build-up but said the Chinese actions violated a pact in 2002 in which rival claimants to the sea pledged not to take any actions that may increase tensions.

The declaration on conduct signed by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China also committed claimants to settle their disputes “without resorting to the threat or use of force”.

China claims nearly all of the sea, even waters approaching the coasts of neighbouring countries.

ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia, as well as Taiwan, also have competing claims to parts of the sea.

The rivalries have for decades been a source of regional tension, with China and Vietnam fighting battles in 1974 and 1988 for control of some islands, in which dozens of Vietnamese soldiers died.

Tensions have again grown in recent years, with the Philippines, Vietnam and some other countries expressing concern at increasingly assertive Chinese military and diplomatic tactics to stress control of the sea.

Setting the tone for the Brunei event, a powerful arm of China’s state-run media warned the Philippines on Saturday that its defiance could lead to aggressive Chinese action.

“If the Philippines continues to provoke China . . . a counterstrike will be hard to avoid,” said a com-

mentary run by the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party.

Del Rosario on Sunday expressed alarm at such rhetoric.

“The statement on counterstrike is an irresponsible one. We condemn any threats of use of force. We condemn that. And we continue to pursue the resolution of our disputes in a peaceful way,” he said.

ASEAN has been trying for more than a decade to secure agreement from China on a legally binding code of conduct that would govern actions in the South China Sea. China has resisted agreeing to the code, wary of making any concessions that may weaken its claim to the sea.

Nevertheless, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said ASEAN would continue to press its case with China in Brunei.

“We will be really zeroing in on the need for the code of conduct,” Natalegawa told reporters on Saturday.

Toxic smoke from uncontrolled burning of Indonesia’s enormous rainforests that has drifted across to neighbouring countries was also discussed on the first day of the Brunei talks.

Natalegawa said on Saturday that the fires had been greatly reduced and were coming under control.

The talks will expand today and tomorrow to include the United States, China, Japan, Russia and other countries across the AsiaPacific, providing the platform for face-to-face diplomacy on many of the world’s hot-button issues. AFP

Indonesia feels heat over fire prevention S Philippines’ VP calls off Martin Abbuga

OUTHEAST ASIAN nations urged Indonesia Sunday quickly to ratify a treaty aimed at preventing fires in its giant rainforests that regularly inflict choking smog on its neighbours.

Thick grey smoke from the fires on Sumatra island sent air pollution to record levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia this month, forcing people to wear face masks and schools to close.

The crisis prompted the two nations to raise the problem at the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers’ meeting in Brunei yesterday.

Indonesia is the largest member of the 10-nation bloc.

“We . . . stressed the importance for regional countries to uphold their international obligations and work together to tackle the haze pollution problem,” the foreign ministers said in a joint communique.

The countries “called upon ASEAN member states that have not yet ratified and operationalised the

[treaty] to do so expeditiously”.

Indonesia is the only member that has still not ratified an ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution brokered in 2002.

The treaty aims to stop cross-border smog pollution caused by forest fires by requiring parties to prevent burning, monitor prevention efforts, exchange information on the

We . . . stressed the importance for regional countries to uphold their international obligations problem and provide mutual help.

It also binds signatories to “respond promptly” to requests for information from a country affected by the smoke and take steps to implement their obligations under the treaty.

Indonesia, a freewheeling democracy since the fall of strongman Suharto in 1998, blamed its parliament for the long delay. The government had sought legislators’ approval to ratify the haze agreement but the proposal was rejected in 2008.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Mar-

ty Natalegawa said the treaty had been resubmitted to the current legislature, although no timeline for ratification was given.

Environmental group Greenpeace International, however, said Indonesia was reluctant to ratify the treaty because it would affect the expansion plans of palm oil companies in the country.

The Sumatra fires have been largely blamed on palm oil firms using the illegal but cheap method of burning vast tracts of rainforests and peat lands to clear them for planting.

Indonesia is the world’s top producer of palm oil, which is used for many everyday items.

Some of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests cover vast areas of Sumatra and other parts of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago.

But environmental campaigners warn these forests are being cleared at a disastrous rate to make way for palm oil plantations, as well as for mining and logging. Singaporean Foreign Minister K Shanmugam voiced satisfaction at progress on the haze issue at the talks. AFP

China trip over prisoner PHILIPPINES Vice President Jejomar Binay called off a proposed visit to China yesterday to save a Filipina from being executed there for drug trafficking, saying Beijing had declined to receive him.

Binay said he was to have left during the day, carrying a letter from President Benigno Aquino to Chinese President Xi Jinping asking him to spare the woman.

“This Saturday, I was informed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China has sent word that now would not be a convenient time for me to visit China,” Binay said in a statement.

“I wanted to go to China to personally appeal for compassion. I am sad however that China has chosen to

take this position regarding my visit,” he added.

“Given this development, I am left with no option but to cancel my trip to China. I ask for prayers for our compatriot and her family.”

The woman was one of two Filipinos arrested for smuggling more than 12 kilograms (26 pounds) of highgrade heroin into China in 2011.

The execution is due to take place tomorrow, Binay’s office has said, while the man had his execution set back by two years.

Aquino had previously sent Binay to China in February 2011 to seek a reprieve for three Filipinos also convicted of drug trafficking, but the three were executed the following month. AFP

12

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

World

Clan leader moves closer to taking key Somali port A CLAN leader opposed by Somalia’s federal government has strengthened his grip on Kismayu after three days of fighting against rival militias battling for control of the strategic southern port city, residents said yesterday.

Scores are feared to have been killed in clashes since Ahmed Madobe, head of the Ras Kamboni militia, was chosen in May by a regional assembly to preside over the Jubaland region, where the port lies. He now appears to have extended his control.

Madobe’s election had prompted rival claims to the regional presidency, including a clan leader viewed as backed by the Mogadishu government, Barre Hirale. The fighting has raised worries it could spark broader clan warfare across Somalia.

The African Union peacekeeping force, AMISOM, said the city was now calm and its troops had intervened to facilitate talks between rivals, although it said its mission was not to mediate.

“Most of my relatives have been killed today,” Faiza Nur, a mother of seven, said by telephone, without giving numbers. “I hear the sound of gunshots far out to the outskirts. I understand Ras Kamboni now controls all of Kismayu.”

The fate of Kismayu is viewed as a test of Mogadishu’s skill in building a federal system of government in a nation riven by two decades of conflict and still fighting Islamist rebels who were driven from power by African troops.

The government has said it is ready to compromise but has not spelled out how. Diplomats with a close knowledge of the Kismayu situation say Mogadishu is expected to back down and let Madobe hold the presidency, but only in an interim capacity.

Controlling the port is a lucrative prize for clan leaders, bringing with it revenues generated from port taxes, charcoal exports and levies on arms and other illegal imports.

REUTERS

UN aims to curb AIDS spread Nina Larson

N

EARLY 10 million more people infected with the AIDS virus now meet medical standards for receiving HIV drugs, according to revised UN guidelines released yesterday, which experts say could avert 6.5 million deaths or new infections by 2025.

But achieving this goal will be a challenge, because it will add approximately $2 billion a year to the bill to fight the 32year AIDS epidemic, they acknowledged.

“Treating people with HIV earlier . . . can both keep them healthy and lowers the amount of virus in the blood, which reduces the risk of passing it to someone else,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said in new recommendations for combatting the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

About 34 million people worldwide were living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 2011, nearly 70 per cent of them in subSaharan Africa, according to WHO statistics.

The UN agency’s previous treatment guidelines, set down in 2010, called for drug initiation when the tally of CD4 cells – the key immune cells targeted by HIV – reached 350 cells or less per microlitre of blood.

Under this benchmark, 16.7 million people in low and middle-income countries were medically eligible last year to receive the drug “cocktail”, which rolls back infection although it does not

A woman gets an instant HIV/AIDS test inside a moblile clinic on June 5 in Los Angeles, California.

cure it. Despite years of fundraising and efforts to build medical infrastructure in poor countries, only 9.7 million of the 16.7 million currently get the treatment.

On Sunday, WHO said that, after weighing evidence for drug efficacy, benefits for the immune system and potential side effects, it recommended raising the CD4 threshold to 500 cells per microlitre of blood.

That means treatment

should start at a much earlier stage of infection.

This, along with the recommendation to treat all infected pregnant women and children under five – as well as other vulnerable groups, regardless of their cell-count – brings the number of patients who are advised to take these drugs to some 26 million, the WHO said.

“These guidelines represent another leap ahead in a trend of ever-higher goals and ever-

REUTERS

greater achievements,” WHO chief Margaret Chan said.

“With nearly 10 million people now on antiretroviral therapy, we see that such prospects – unthinkable just a few years ago – can now fuel the momentum needed to push the HIV epidemic into an irreversible decline,” she added.

Michel Sidibe, who heads the UN’s AIDS prevention agency agreed, saying the new guidelines were “bring-

ing us closer to what I would call the end of the AIDS epidemic”.

The aim is to get at least 15 million HIV patients onto antiretroviral therapy (ART) by 2015 and, by 2025, reach 80 per cent coverage of those then in need.

But both goals will require a major rise in funding.

“It’s not coming for free,” acknowledged Gottfried Hirnschall, the head of WHO’s HIV/AIDS department. AFP

China vows to crack down on ‘terrorist groups’ CHINA has vowed to ramp up patrols and “crack down upon terrorist groups” after staging large military exercises in the ethnically-divided Xinjiang region following clashes that killed at least 35 people.

Beijing also dispatched two highranking officials to the far western region on Saturday following a top level Communist Party meeting presided over by President Xi Jinping.

“We will step up actions to crack down upon terrorist groups and

extremist organisations and track the wanted,” Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the party’s Politburo Standing Committee, said after arriving in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi, the state news agency Xinhua reported late on Saturday.

China often labels outbreaks of sporadic unrest in the region as terrorism – claims denied by rights groups for the mostly Muslim Uighur minority who blame unrest on economic inequality and religious repression.

Meng Jianzhu, another senior party official, was also in Urumqi making “detailed anti-terror arrangements”, Xinhua said.

Meng called for “24-hour patrols (in) all weather conditions”, according to a report by the state news agency yesterday.

Their visit and the exercises suggest Beijing sees maintaining stability as a priority ahead of the fourth anniversary on July 5 of riots in Urumqi between members of Uighur and Han

Chinese communities which left about 200 dead. Xinhua also called for tough measures against those responsible for the recent “terror attacks” in a commentary yesterday.

Saturday’s exercises saw large sections of the city shut down as military vehicles took to the streets with at least 1,000 personnel from the People’s Armed Police, part of China’s armed forces responsible for law enforcement and internal security during peacetime. AFP

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

World

Car bomb kills 16 as Cameron in Pakistan A CAR bomb aimed at a Pakistani security force convoy killed 16 people and wounded 28 others yesterday on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, an official said.

The attack happened not far from the semi-autonomous tribal belt where Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked groups have bases, as British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the capital Islamabad.

Jamil Shah, spokesman for the government-run Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, said 16 people were killed and 28 others injured.

At least three children were among the dead, and two children and a woman were among those hurt, he added.

Police said most of the victims were civilians because the bomb targeting the Frontier Corps (FC) convoy exploded in a bustling market area.

“The car bomb was parked in a market packed with the general public. When the FC convoy comprising of three vehicles passed by, the bomb exploded and hit a vehicle in the convoy,” police official Shafiullah Khan said.

“But many civilians were

killed and wounded in the attack because there was a big rush in the market at the time,” he added.

Javed Khan, a local administration official, told reporters that one policeman was also among the dead in Badaber, a flashpoint for violence south of Peshawar.

“This is a very sad incident.

There have been targeted operations in that area in the last few days,” Khan said.

Shops and cars were damaged in the attack, a reporter said. Pieces of human flesh, broken glass, lost shoes and vegetables from nearby carts were flung across the scene.

It was not immediately clear whether anyone from the paramilitary Frontier Corps had been killed.

“So far, we have reports that two Frontier Corps soldiers have been injured. We don’t know about any other losses,” a military official said on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Pakistani Taliban frequently target security forces as part of a seven-year domestic insurgency that has killed thousands of Pakistanis. AFP

Kerry’s efforts produce little

U

S SECRETARY of State John Kerry squeezed in final meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders yesterday as he wrapped up a fifth peace-brokering visit to the region with little sign of progress.

After six hours of overnight talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Kerry drove to see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the nearby West Bank city of Ramallah.

He was to leave for Asia in the afternoon.

Netanyahu, in public remarks at the weekly cabinet meeting after his session with Kerry, gave no indication Israel and the Palestinians were any closer to resuming peace talks frozen since 2010 by a dispute over Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

“Israel is prepared to enter into negotiations without delay, without preconditions, and we are not placing any barriers on the resumption of final-status talks on a permanent peace agreement between the Palestinians and us,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said he is ready for negotiations in the past. But he has baulked at Abbas’s demand Israel first halt settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas it captured in a 1967 Middle East war and which Palestinians want for a future state.

An Israeli official, who asked not to be identified, said Abbas was also seeking the release by Israel of scores of longserving Palestinian security prisoners as a goodwill gesture. But Netanyahu believed the issue should be addressed only after talks resume, the official added.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (right) waves as he stands next to chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in the West Bank city of Ramallah yesterday. REUTERS

Kerry has met Netanyahu and Abbas several times in separate locations since Wednesday in the hope of finding a formula to revive the talks.

The top US diplomat and his hosts have divulged little about the discussions, some of which took place in Jordan. But Israeli and Palestinian officials on Saturday saw little chance of a diplomatic breakthrough.

Abbas has said that, for new talks to be held, Netanyahu must also recognise the West Bank’s boundary before its capture

by Israel as the basis for the border of a future Palestinian state.

Israel, seeking to keep major settlements under any peace accord, has rejected those terms, deeming them preconditions, and has said its security forces would not be able to defend the pre-1967 frontiers.

A US State Department official said Kerry’s marathon discussions with Netanyahu and advisers in a Jerusalem hotel suite ended shortly before 4am (0100 GMT) yesterday. REUTERS

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

World

India searches for cause of floods Maseeh Rahman

A

S India recovers from the worst-ever flash floods in the Himalayas, the nation is beginning to wonder to what extent human intervention – specifically religious tourism and hydroelectric projects – contributed to the disaster.

About 1,000 people have been confirmed dead in Uttarakhand state from last week’s flooding, and state authorities say the actual toll could be three to five times higher.

The Himalayas are a relatively young mountain range with a fragile geology prone to landslides. The deluge on June 17 destroyed towns, villages, roads and bridges for more than 100 kilometres along the banks of the Mandakini and the Alaknanda, two important tributaries of the Ganges River.

The origin of the disaster is beyond dispute: a glacier ruptured under the pressure of water from a severe cloudburst, raining tonnes of ice, water and rock on the Hindu pilgrimage town of Kedarnath, on the left bank of the Mandakini.

Uttarakhand has experienced flash floods in the

past. The latest disaster occurred at the peak of the pilgrim season, increasing the number of casualties.

The boom in religious tourism has put a severe strain on the state’s shaky infrastructure.

The region has some of Hinduism’s most sacred pilgrim destinations. Domestic tourist traffic has shot up by 300 per cent in a decade, to more than 30 million a year. This number is expected to double by 2017.

“There’s a spurt in religiosity across India,” said the sociologist Arshad Alam. “After two decades of rapid economic growth, the middle class has expanded and has more money to spend. So pilgrimages have become very popular.”

As a result, hundreds of new multi-storey hotels, apartment blocks and religious centres have sprung up in Uttarakhand, often on the flood plains of the capricious Mandakini and Alakananda rivers, in defiance of building regulations. Several were washed away last week.

“There has to be a check on the mindless, uncontrolled religious tourism in the Himalaya,” said Maharaj K Pandit, director of Delhi University’s centre for interdisciplinary studies of mountain and hill

environment. But most analysts believe restricting the number of pilgrims would be political suicide. “The desire to worship at Kedarnath is almost like an irresistible force,” said Pavan Srinath, of the Chennai-based thinktank Takshashila Foundation.

“Despite the tragedy, people are already talking about when they will undertake the sacred journey. No government can bar the devout from the Himalayas.”

Pandit acknowledged it was a “ticklish issue” but said the tourist boom was putting unbearable strain on the Himalayan ecosystem. During the season, for instance, there is bumperto-bumper traffic spewing diesel smoke on badly constructed mountain roads. “I once counted 117 buses go over a bridge in eight minutes,” he said.

In recent years Uttarakhand has also seen a boom in hydroelectric projects. Seventy projects are up or under way in the mountain state, some of nearly 300 planned by Delhi for the entire Himalayas. A few come with dams, but a majority are run-of-the-river projects requiring tunnelling through the mountainside. A recent official audit revealed that in

The World Bank SELECTION OF CONSULTANT FIRM REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST Electronic Submissions through World Bank Group eConsultant2 https://wbgeconsult2.worldbank.org/wbgec/index.html

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW Assignment Title: 1112278 - Cambodia National Single Window Preparation technical assistance team ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION With financing from the multi-donor financed Trade Facilitation Facility, the World Bank intends to finance consulting services to support the Cambodian National Single Window (CNSW) team in the design of a National Single Window for trade facilitation including the development of a clear conceptual design and practical implementation blueprint or roadmap for the CNSW. This assignment will focus on the CNSW’s main business functions and underlying processes, ICT Architecture, functional and technical requirements, and the development of options for a sustainable governance and operational model including appropriate cost recovery mechanisms.The duration of this assignment is estimated to be five calendar months to commence on or about August 2013.

SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST The World Bank now invites eligible consultant firms to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested consultant firms should make available of a team of mixed full-time, part-time, international and national professionals, with multi-year proven track records of successful delivery of similar assignments. Interested

consultant firms must submit their expressions of interest and clearly indicate that they are qualified to perform the services (with supporting documents such as brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate key professional staff, etc.) and meet all the following criteria. Consultant firms may associate to enhance their qualifications.

Key qualification and experience requirements:          

International experience in the governance, systems and technologies related to Single Windows for Trade. Extensive knowledge and/or experience in developing governance frameworks, operational models and organizational structures for the operation of a National Single Window for Trade would be highly desirable; Extensive experience in business process analysis particularly as it relates to the processing of import, export and transit of cargo; Extensive experience in developing strategic information systems plans for trade facilitation, complex enterprise software systems implementation, extensive knowledge in informatics management and current technology trends; Extensive international experience in trade related legal and regulatory issues. Knowledge of legal and regulatory impacts on ICT systems for trade and trade facilitation highly desirable; Extensive experience in the development of functional and technical specifications of scalable complex ICT systems; Extensive experience in the development and implementation of change management strategies in the public sector of developing countries; Extensive experience in public sector procurement including in the competitive acquisition of large scale complex ICT systems as well as the competitive procurement of service providers or operators is desirable; Knowledge of development and trade issues facing Cambodia or other developing countries particularly related to implementation of National Single Windows for tradefacilitation; International experience with complex projects of similar nature in low-income developing countries; and Relevant experience of Single Window development in ASEAN countries would be highly regarded;

Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through the World Bank Groupe Consultant2 (https://wbgeconsult2.worldbank.org/wbgec/index.html) no later than July 11th, 2013. Please refer to assignment title and number above. Please note that the total size of all attachments should be less than 5MB.For further information, please contact Mr. Julian Latimer Clarke, World Bank Phnom Penh Office, Cambodia.

Tel: + 855 23 861 300 ext. 1321 and Fax: + 855 23 861 301 E-mail: jclarke1@worldbank.org.

Following this invitation for Expressions of Interest, a short-list of qualified firms will be formally invited to submit proposals.

A submerged concrete truck is stuck in mud after floods in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on Thursday. India is looking for answers after devastating floods last week. AFP

some parts of the upper Ganges basin there is a hydroelectric project planned for every couple of kilometres of river.

There were reports of serious damage to some of these proj-

ects in last week’s deluge, with the debris causing havoc to the neighbouring environment, both natural and man-made.

One of the worst-hit towns was Srinagar, downstream

from a newly constructed dam on the banks of the Alaknanda tributary. Much of the low-lying town was buried under thick Continues on page 15

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

World

Hong Kong set for mass protests on anniversary Aaron Tam

A

S Hong Kong marks the 16th anniversary of its handover to China today, hundreds of thousands are set to protest against the city’s proBeijing leader amid growing frustration over the pace of political reforms.

The demand for universal suffrage, and livelihood issues such as a widening income gap and soaring property prices, are expected to drive the massive rally as protesters focus anger on unpopular chief executive Leung Chun-ying.

“The main goal of the rally is to push through for genuine democracy and to ask for Leung Chun-ying to step down” Jackie Hung of the Civil Human Rights Front, which is organising the protest said.

Hung said Hong Kongers are fed up with Leung and his administration, adding that she expects to see more than 400,000 people march from the city’s landmark Victoria Park to its glittering

financial district of Central.

The annual protest comes as a survey published by the Hong Kong University on Friday found that only 33 per cent of Hong Kongers took pride in becoming a Chinese national, the lowest level since 1998, as the territory chafes under mainland rule.

Leung was appointed by a pro-Beijing committee last July, promising to improve governance and uphold the rule of law in the former Brit-

This year, the cry for Leung Chin-ying to step down will be very loud ish colony of seven million.

He is also charged with overseeing the transition to universal suffrage, which the city was promised by 2017, though critics say little or no progress has been made on the issue as the deadline draws nearer.

Leung and his administration have been plagued by scandals from the start, including controversy after il-

legal structures were found at his luxury home after criticising rival Henry Tang over illegal structures at Tang’s home.

Residents are also unhappy over property prices that have surged over the past few years due to record low interest rates and a flood of wealthy people from mainland China buying homes, while widening income inequality has become a cause of major concern.

In an effort to address his declining approval rating, which fell to 46.2 per cent according to a poll conducted by the Hong Kong University released on Wednesday, Leung published a report card this week boasting of his accomplishments which he said addressed “several thorny issues” in a short period of time.

These included placing a limit on the amount of baby milk formula that may be exported to the mainland after residents complained of severe shortages, and stopping an influx of pregnant mainland mothers from giving birth in the territory.

Indian soldiers open fire at demonstrators in Kashmir INDIAN soldiers opened fire on demonstrators in restive Kashmir yesterday, killing one person during protests over the shooting of a teenager in a military operation, a police chief said.

Soldiers shot dead a 17-yearold man late on Saturday during a military operation to hunt for suspected militants in Markondal village, 25 kilometres north of the main city of Srinagar, the chief said.

Hundreds of villagers gathered to protest the teenager’s death early on Sunday, throwing rocks at withdrawing soldiers who opened fire, killing one person and injuring three others, Kashmir’s police chief Abdul Gani Mir said.

“The army had laid a cordon during which a firing incident took place. One person was

killed,” Mir told AFP of the military operation.

Police have launched an investigation into the army’s actions to determine what happened in both incidents, Mir said.

“Police have registered a case against the army,” he said.

An uncle of the 17-year-old man said they noticed two private vehicles outside their home late at night. They went outside to investigate, thinking someone was trying to steal their cattle, he said.

“Suddenly the soldiers fired a burst of bullets at us. My nephew was hit in his head and he died on the spot,” Nazir Ahmad said by phone.

Security has been stepped up across Indian Kashmir after a series of attacks by militants on security forces in recent

months, including two last week in Srinagar in which eight soldiers and two policemen were killed.

The attack was one of the deadliest by militants in years and came on the eve of a rare visit to the disputed region by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by a UN monitored line of control, but both countries claim the Himalayan region in full and have fought two of their three wars over the territory.

About a dozen armed rebel groups have been fighting Indian forces in Kashmir since 1989 for independence or merger with Pakistan.

The fighting has left tens of thousands, mostly civilians, dead. AFP

India floods

ance of 29 species of flowering plants and terrestrial and aquatic life.

“Nobody is saying there should be no dams,” said Pandit, the article’s co-author. “But the emphasis should be on securing the Himalayan landscape after understanding its fragility, not on uncontrolled development.”

Not all experts are in agreement. Srinath maintains that the devastation would have been even more widespread if the reservoir of the region’s biggest dam at Tehri had not contained a significant volume of the deluge. “Dams can also prevent disasters,” he said.

“The critical issue is not dams,

but proper dam management.

In India, we just don’t have a culture of public safety.”

Pandit was not convinced.

“Dams do hold water, but once they reach their maximum capacity they become ticking bombs,” he said.

Tehri dam is dangerously full, even though the monsoon has just begun. Next month a million pilgrims are expected in Uttarakhand for the annual Kanwar Yatra at Haridwar, downstream from Tehri.

“The Himalaya is an earthquake-prone zone so, God forbid, if a major dam ever bursts the destruction it will cause will be unimaginable,” said Pandit. THE GUARDIAN

Continued from page 14

sludge over three metres high, that destroyed even large government buildings and warehouses.

A recent article in Science magazine warned against damage to the ecosystem from badly planned, poorly monitored projects. The region is known for its biodiversity – its flowers, butterflies and Mahseer fish.

Science estimated that habitat degradation from dam building in the Himalayas could lead to the disappear-

Tensions between Hong Kongers and their mainland visitors have soared in recent years and the measures were seen as an attempt to address such concerns.

“Our administration is here to serve the whole society.

Give more space and time to the government” to complete its tasks, he said on Friday.

But critics say the report card and his words will do little to dampen support for today’s rally.

“This year, the cry for Leung Chun-ying to step down will be very loud because he doesn’t seem to have achieved much in one year,” Democratic Party lawmaker Emily Lau said.

The biggest issue that Leung made no progress on was working towards universal suffrage, Lau said.

“This is the burning desire for many Hong Kong people,” Lau said, adding that even Leung’s unpopular predecessor, Donald Tsang, brought up the issue of democracy in Hong Kong with Chinese leaders.

AFP

A protester holds a mask of Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-Ying as he helps push a mock meat grinder containing a dummy of a dock worker at a May Day rally in Hong Kong on May 1. REUTERS

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

World

Buddhist monks walk around the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon in June last year.

REUTERS

Best Buddhas: Thais drive tourism E Mon Mon Myat

VERY day, dozens of tour buses stop outside Yangon’s Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda and unload their cargo of Thai tourists eager to view the 65 metre long reclining Buddha inside.

Brought to the site in 1966 after decades of neglect, the Buddha image has been restored with the help of foreign donations. Its porcelain head with kindly blue-shaded eyes made from Japanese glass has earned it the lyrical name of the “Sweet-Eyed Buddha”. The Thais, it seems, can’t get enough of the cultural and religious attractions their neighbour has to offer, which echo their own traditions, but in an unspoiled environment due to Myanmar’s long period of isolation.

The Chauk Htat Gyi Buddha is surrounded by small shrines each representing a day of the week. Just across the road is the equally impressive Ngar Htat Gyi Pagoda containing a large seated Buddha bedecked in an ornate golden robe.

Not far away is the heart of Myanmar Buddhism – the gilded and bejewelled 100 metre high Shwedagon Pagoda – said to house eight hair relics of the Buddha.

“We just follow what the tour company has arranged for us,” Suang, a Thai visitor on a tour of Yangon’s religious sites, said.

“We have found a lot of similarities here in religion, culture and food.”

Thais are the largest single group of visitors to Myanmar and the so-called “pilgrimage tours” play no small part. According to Myanmar’s Tourism Regulation Department, 40,000 Thai people visited the country in the first three months of this year, an increase of 143 per cent from the same period of 2012.

“Thailand will once again this year account for the largest number of visitors to Myanmar,” Myint Tyn Oo, assistant director of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said.

“They mostly visit the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon and the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda at Kyaik Hto,” the official said.

Phyo Wai Yar Zar, joint secretary of the Myanmar Tourism Federation, said that the surge in Thai tourists is not only restricted to Yangon. Community-based heritage tourism has also begun in Shan State in

areas such as Kyaing Tone, Inle and Kalaw.

Depending on the program arranged by the travel agency, tourists usually visit pagodas in several different places, including Bago, Bagan and Kyaiktiyo.

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, also known as Golden Rock, is located in Kyaiktiyo, Mon State. As well as being a tourist attraction, the site is popular with local Buddhists, many of whom make a pilgrimage there every year.

“During the Thai holiday periods, hotels in Kyaikhto and around Kyaiktiyo Pagoda are packed,” Su Mon, from Wide View Travel and Tour, said.

The wide range of available package deals and cheap flights has contributed to Myanmar’s growing popularity among Thais, Su Mon said.

“With low-cost airlines like AirAsia, it’s now more affordable for Thai people to visit Myanmar. They also tend to stay in budget hotels, and by travelling in groups of up to 60 can negotiate the best rates.”

Beyond the pagoda While the influx of Thai visitors is welcome, the fledgling Myanmar tourism industry knows that it must expand its range of attractions and improve customer service if it is to establish itself as a genuine regional tourist destination.

In its tourism master plan, the government has set a target to attract three million international tourists in 2015, or triple the number who visited last year.

The nascent tourism strategy includes hosting regional meetings, participating in international tourism fairs and easing visa restrictions.

The historic city of Mandalay has also been opened to direct international flights.

At a forum of tourism experts from the AsiaEurope Foundation held earlier this month in Yangon, it was suggested that the government consider increasing its investment in its old buildings and architectural landmarks as part of a plan to develop several “heritage cities”.

During her presentation, Hlaing Maw Oo Hock from the Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development, said the government has already identified 11 ancient monuments and 189 buildings in Yangon for

conservation. And according to the Yangon City Development Committee, there are about 189 listed buildings in Yangon, each of which is at least 100 years old.

Before the government spends its money, however, it should develop a clear investment plan, Hlaing Maw Oo Hock said.

“Before we invest [in urban heritage] we really need to consider what we should conserve,” she said.

Khin Than Win, director of the Tourism Promotion Department, said that customer service is another area in need of improvement.

“We have to give priority to customer satisfaction,” she said.

“As we extend entry the points beyond Yangon, it will become easier for tourists to travel upcountry. If those first tourists give good feedback, more will follow.”

While Myanmar does offer some budget accommodation – as preferred by many Thai tourists – room rates at upmarket establishments have gone through the roof. At most five-star hotels in Yangon, the typical rate for a basic room is $300 per night. It’s a problem the private sector needs to address.

Diethelm Travel Group last year described the country’s hotel sector as “shortsighted”, saying room rates were overpriced and exploited the high demand from the corporate and leisure sectors.

According to figures from the tourism department, across the country, Myanmar had 787 hotels, motels and guesthouses last year, though most were criticised for their poor standards of service.

“If hotels set their prices at a reasonable level and make it easy for people to book, more tourists will come,” Khin Than Win said.

Panida Panlabute, a Thai businesswoman who for the past year has owned the Nacha Spa in Yangon, said she previously trained staff at the Mandalay Hill Resort. Based on her experiences, she said the country still has a lot to learn about customer service.

“We tried to get the staff to realise the importance of having service in mind,” she said.

Many of Myanmar’s hotels are poor value for money, she said.

“The rates are very high. If you come here on business, you have to pay about $75 a night, but even for that you will only get an

old room with a smelly carpet,’’ she added.

The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is not unaware of the problem. Officials have been quoted as saying that “high quality hotels that satisfy tourists are essential for the country” and the ministry has appealed for more foreign direct investment in the sector.

Foreign investment According to the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, Thailand, behind Singapore and Vietnam, is the thirdlargest rates investor in hotels and commercial complexes in Myanmar.

Thai investors have pumped more than $235 million into 10 hotels and commercial complex projects in Myanmar.

Among them is LP Holding Co Ltd, which, in a joint venture with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, invested $100 million in the Centrepoint Towers project.

The mixed-use development in the heart of Naypyidaw, the Myanmar capital, which is scheduled to be completed this year, comprises office and retail space, as well as 300 high quality hotel rooms.

LP Holding signed a deal with the ministry in 1993 giving it a 30-year lease on the site, according to a report in the New Light of Myanmar.

Panida, whose spa shares a compound with her sister’s restaurant, Le Nacha, said the siblings are waiting for the right opportunity to expand their businesses in Myanmar.

“The financial system is still not yet fully opened yet. So we’ll wait until the government sorts that out.”

Four Thai banks – Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and Kasikornbank – have opened offices in Yangon, but the Central Bank of Myanmar has yet to grant banking licences to any foreign financial institutions.

But Panida remains optimistic, saying that there are plenty of opportunities for Thai investors and businesspeople, especially in the hotel and service industries.

“If you start doing one thing here, you can do many things. And everything makes money here,” she said.

BANGKOK POST

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THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

World

Rudd has altered his style, his deputy says A

USTRALIA’S newly reinstalled Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is a changed man, his deputy Anthony Albanese said yesterday, as a national poll showed the switch in leadership had revived the government’s election hopes.

Rudd dramatically retook the leadership on Wednesday, three years after he was suddenly ousted by his centreleft Labor Party, members of which had accused him of non-consultative and dysfunctional government.

But with Labor flagging dismally in the polls, the party dumped Rudd’s predecessor Julia Gillard in much the same way, in favour of the man who had led them out of opposition by beating then prime minister John Howard in a landslide vote in 2007.

“He has changed,” Deputy Prime Minister Albanese told journalists.

“One of the things that occurred during the first term were there were circumstances that weren’t foreseen of the global financial crisis. That meant that there were shortcuts in terms of processes. Kevin Rudd has learnt from that.”

Rudd himself has admitted to not discussing some issues with colleagues during his first term as prime

minister, saying he had learnt “the absolute importance” of consultation.

“We can all say it’s too busy, there’s a global financial crisis going on, sorry colleagues, don’t have time, we’ve got to save the banks from falling,” Rudd said on Friday.

“These all seem pretty good justifications at the time, but frankly decision making is always much better when it can be done collegiately.”

Albanese said the sudden removal of Rudd by Gillard back in 2010 had had consequences with Australians who had voted for him in droves.

“People know Kevin Rudd. People trust Kevin Rudd. People like Kevin Rudd,” Albanese said, adding that Labor now had a chance of winning the upcoming election.

The Galaxy poll published in News Limited papers appeared to support this view, showing that Labor was ahead 51 per cent to 49 per cent in a race between the two major parties.

The survey of 1,002 voters also revealed that 51 per cent of those polled believe Rudd would make a better prime minister than opposition leader Tony Abbott (34 per cent). Fifteen per cent were uncommitted.

The poll follows a survey of 3,018 voters conducted by polling firm

ReachTEL for the Seven television network which on Saturday put Labor at 48 per cent against the opposition’s 52 per cent – much closer than polls conducted when Gillard was leader.

Opposition leader Abbott said the latest polls came as no surprise.

“I always have said winning government from opposition is like climbing Mount Everest,” he told reporters.

“We’ve always said that the polls would tighten, they would have tightened under Julia Gillard, of course they have tightened under Kevin Rudd. That’s what I would expect.”

Rudd, whose ascent to the top job prompted the resignations of several high-ranking ministers including former treasurer Wayne Swan and former trade minister Craig Emerson, is expected to have his new-look cabinet sworn in today.

The election date, originally scheduled for September 14, in part so as not to clash with the National Rugby League or the Australian Rules grand finals, could be brought forward, Albanese said.

But he said there was no “rush” to confirm the date.

“There might be some slight change . . . it won’t be on grand final day,” Albanese said. AFP

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd smiles after his swearing-in ceremony at Government House in Canberra on Thursday. REUTERS

18

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Opinion www.phnompenhpost.com

editorial personnel Publisher Ross Dunkley Editor-in-Chief Alan Parkhouse Managing Editor David Boyle Editor-in-Chief Post Khmer Kay Kimsong Managing Editor Post Khmer Sam Rith Chief of Staff Cheang Sokha Deputy Chief of Staff Chhay Channyda National News Editor Chad Williams Deputy National News Editor Abby Seiff Deputy News Editor Vong Sokheng Group Business Editor May Kunmakara Deputy Business Editor Joe Freeman Property Editor Rupert Winchester Foreign News Editor Dan Besant Sports Editor Dan Riley Pictorial Editor Kara Fox Lifestyle and 7Days Editor Poppy McPherson Deputy Head of Lifestyle Desk Pan Simala Special Projects Officer Stuart Alan Becker Chief sub-editor Michael Philips Sub-editors Emily Geminder, Shane Worrell, Stuart White, Joseph Freeman, Justine Drennan, Joe Curtin, Julius Thiemann, Rosa Ellen, Claire Knox, Daniel de Carteret, Anne Renzenbrink Reporters Meas Sokchea, Mom Kunthear, Khouth Sophak Chakrya, May Titthara, Khuon Leakhana, Kim Yuthana, Roth Meas, Ung Chamroeun, Sen David, Phak Seangly, Rann Reuy, Buth Reaksmey Kongkea, Chhim Sreyneang, Sieam Bunthy, Lieng Sarith Photographers Vireak Mai, Sreng Meng Srun, Heng Chivoan, Pha Lina, Hong Menea Regional Correspondent Roger Mitton Web Editor Leang Phannara Webmasters Seng Sovan, Uong Ratana, Horng Pengly

Vietnamese voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Hanoi in 2011. Vietnam voted in elections with only one party on the ballot.

The Harish and Ernie show

Siem reap bureau

Bureau Chief Peter Olszewski Office Manager Thik Skaline Distribution Manager Seng Sech Reporters Thik Kaliyann, Miranda Glasser Marketing Executive Sophearith Blondeel production & printing

Head of Desktop Publishing Nhim Sokphyrak Desktop Publishing Suon Savatdy, Tep Thoeun Thyda Chum Sokunthy, Yousos Hafisoh, Aim Valinda, Meng

head office

Post Media Co, Ltd. 888, Building F, 8th floor, Phnom Penh Center, Cnr Sothearos & Sihanouk Blvd, Chamkarmon, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel: 023 214 311, 0214 311-017 Fax: 023 214 318 siem reap

No 629, Street 6 Dangkum Commune Tel: 063 966 290, Fax: 063 966 590 Chief Executive Officer Chris Dawe sAles department National Sales Director Borom Chea Account Directors Chap Narith Post Khmer Sales Manager Toun Chanreaksmey Classified Ad Manager Lim Bunthoeun circulation & distribution

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www.phnompenhpost.com

AFP

Regional Insider Roger Mitton

R

EADERS of this column know that when it comes to aiming a kick at the wedding tackle of the region’s high and mighty, this writer has few peers.

So keep that in mind and squash any notion that some of the comments that follow might appear to be lickspittle sycophancy of the worst kind.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Capiche? Right, let’s now launch into what might be called the Harish & Ernie Show.

I first met my old mate Harish Mehta in Singapore 23 years ago when he was a journalist for the Business Times and his main regional focus was investment prospects in Vietnam.

Occasionally, he also wrote about Cambodia and years later he penned what was claimed to be the first biography of Prime Minister Hun Sen. Ten days ago, this newspaper published an interview with Harish and

his petite wife Julie, who co-authored a new second edition, aptly titled Strongman: The Extraordinary Life of Hun Sen. The book was something of a curate’s egg and the reviews were mixed.

But that’s fine, we authors expect that kind of thing. After one of my plays opened, the review next day was headlined “Theatre at its Worst”.

Some people have no appreciation of comedic parody. Harish and I do, and we take such critical reviews to the bathroom and put them behind us.

So, good on you, Harish. Samdech Decho loyalists will devour your polished tract, though the same cannot be said about your co-star for this column, Ernest Bower, who also happens to be a good mate of mine.

I first met Ernie, the Southeast Asia program director at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, at the Oceanaire restaurant on F Street, not far from the White House.

He became a frequent lunch companion and a tried and trusted friend with arguably the best bank of contacts in America and across this region.

Why, then, has he just co-authored an article with a CSIS colleague Amy Killian that is utterly at odds with Harish’s paean?

It is not easy to explain, especially in the current pre-election climate when officials urge us to remember that Cambodians are simple people unused to calmly rationalising divergent opinions.

That said, let us consider Ernie’s robust commentary which appeared last week on the CSIS website, where you may check it out assuming it is still accessible here.

The introduction, which asserts that in recent years there has been a kind of ASEAN spring, is perfectly valid.

“Citizens and voters across Southeast Asia have told their governments about their new and rising expectations for empowerment, governance, and rule of law,” Ernie writes.

Fair enough, yet bizarrely he cites Vietnam as among those enjoying this springtime of liberty, while he claims Cambodia is “at the top of the list” of those bucking the trend.

One wonders if he remembered the number of opposition parties that exist in Cambodia? Never mind

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if they are minuscule or ruthlessly monitored, there are 14. In Vietnam, there are zero.

Did he tot up all the Vietnamese academics, lawyers and journalists languishing in jail because they proposed a peaceful evolution to a multi-party system?

Did he recall that all of our dear neighbour’s newspapers are owned and run by the Vietnam Communist Party and are rigorously censored?

And did he ask NGO leaders and diplomats to compare freedom of expression and the right to publicly criticise the government here and in Vietnam?

If he had, he would not have said that when it comes to democratisation, “Cambodia is not moving forward with its ASEAN colleagues and instead is home to a political instability that should concern its neighbours”.

Give me a break, Ernie, you make Harish’s book seem objective.

This is not some Laurel & Hardy “Impress the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Show”, it is serious business.

And Cambodians deserve better from both of you.

19

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Lifestyle In brief

Drip, drip for rising artist as Kep images head to France Chloe Cann

Singapore gripped

by Hello Kitty frenzy

TEMPERS flared and police had to be called in as anxious Singaporeans rushed to McDonald’s outlets to buy Hello Kitty plush toys being sold by the fast-food chain as a promotion. Hundreds had begun queueing from the night before to get their hands on a kitten in a skeleton outfit, depicting a character from the German fairy tale The Singing Bone. It was the last of a series of six limitededition Hello Kitty characters dressed in different outfits from popular fairy tales which were being sold by McDonald’s this month. In some outlets, chaos broke out amid rampant queue jumping as supplies ran out soon after opening. afp

British writer, producer dies in Vietnam: report

MEMBERS of the British film industry have paid tribute to Joseph Lang, who has died in Vietnam at the age of 33. The writer and producer was found dead outside a medical centre in Ho Chi Minh City.

The cause of death is not yet known and Lang’s Sussexbased family are awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination.

Lang’s credits include the 2008 film Soi Cowboy, directed by Thomas Clay, described by the Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw as “a thoughtful and disquieting poetic meditation on the Thai experience of globalisation and its complex relationship with foreigners”. the guardian

Turkmen leader celebrates with J Lo

US pop diva Jennifer Lopez sang happy birthday yesterday to Turkmenistan leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in a lavish celebration at a $2-billion Caspian Sea resort in the Central Asian state.

J Lo is believed to be the first major Western star to visit the isolated former Soviet republic, known primarily for its vast gas reserves and dismal human rights record.

Dressed in a clingy outfit, the singer danced with halfnaked backing dancers in a rare performance for the Muslim country, watched by ministers, ambassadors and chief executives. She later appeared in a traditional Turkmen dress to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr President”. afp

My favourite images show what on the wall is affected by human life. For example, how the villagers stripped the wall to find iron, wire and copper.

Through these images I think we can learn a little bit about history.

In one villa there is a drawing of a flag [the flag of the Khmer Republic]. Immediately when I see this I think about the flag between 1970-75 and about the B52s [bombs dropped by the US during the Cambodian Campaign].

I

F it wasn’t for the CPP broadcasts blaring from trucks outside photographer Kim Hak’s workshop, it would have been easy to believe we were in Stockholm.

Within the air-conditioned, minimalist confines of the studio’s white walls and slate-grey floor, the sticky heat of the midday sun outside quickly fades.

Hak, 32, says the studio is personal rather than office space, which he shares only with friends and his students, who come to read books or discuss his pictures.

His most recent photography series, DRIP, is headed for the HASY gallery in France where it will be shown from July 6, after exhibiting at the Institut Francais between April and May. What are your expectations for the French exhibition of DRIP?

My expectation from the exhibition is to make people more aware of heritage. I don’t really think it’s going to be more successful than my exhibition in Phnom Penh but people can understand my work more after seeing my three series of work [his previous two: On and Someone have already shown in France] as I always work with buildings.

What is the story behind DRIP, which features images of walls in very close focus?

What inspired the name DRIP?

The long cracks in Kim Hak’s DRIP series show where iron and copper were removed. KIM HAK

The King-Father Norodom Sihanouk and the French government tried to transform Kep into a luxury city. Around 150 villas were built there in the ’60s and ’70s.

All those villas were nearly destroyed by the Cambodian-Vietnamese war and the Khmer Rouge. Later on they were nearly destroyed by the local people who were in poverty after the Khmer Rouge. They went to those villas and the locals started to destroy them to get the iron and so on.

Since I started working on the project in Kep I’ve seen that the villas have started to disappear. I realised that I needed to

do something, to take pictures, to create new life before all the villas disappear, and to document the layers and the history at Kep. Some reports say that they are ghost villas, but I don’t consider them ghost villas. When I entered them I always saw someone there. People still live in some of the buildings and even the villas where no people live are taken care of by someone local who comes to clean them.

The private owners want to destroy the villas, they just want the land and to create new buildings. They don’t know the history of the villas or perhaps they didn’t really

connect with the buildings.

What can we see in the pictures?

I photographed the walls of these villas, which had been affected by nature. After that I photographed the drawings that people made there, but at the end, after photographing all these paintings, I felt disconnected, so I had to draw something for myself. I drew things related to Kep, to nature: fish, crabs, flowers.

Do you have any particular favourites among the 100+ images from the DRIP series?

When I worked on this series I considered it like painting and when I saw the walls it looked like something had been dripping. The drip is made from many layers, which have been created over the last 40 years.

First the people that lived there painted the house, and afterwards plants and animals.

When the sh*t from animals drips on those walls it’s like painting again.

Do you think there’s a changing tide in perceptions of Cambodian art – or is it more of a drip, drip effect?

Even for myself I start to collect the work of Cambodian artists. Only one or two of the photos here [in the studio] are mine.

Here people buy my work, but not yet any Cambodians, still foreigners.

HK team shoot Snowden film Aaron Tam

FOUR amateur filmmakers in Hong Kong have beaten Hollywood to the draw by producing the first film on Edward Snowden, a five-minute thriller depicting the nail-biting intrigue surrounding the intelligence leaker when he was hiding in the city.

Shot in less than a week on a shoe-string budget, the film imagines the drama which must have unfolded in Hong Kong leading up to Snowden’s bombshell leaks on vast US surveillance programes.

“To be the first one to really do anything about it . . . it was quite invigorating,” cinematographer and editor Edwin Lee said of the YouTube film that used local actors and shaky camera work reminiscent of the Bourne spy thriller series.

Snowden, 30, abandoned his high-paying job as an IT technician contracted to the National Security Agency and went to Hong Kong on May 20.

He then began issuing a series of leaks on the NSA’s global gathering of phone call logs and internet data, including in China and Hong Kong, before his dramatic escape to Moscow where he remains holed up in an airport transit area.

“This is a spy movie that’s developing,” Lee said of his film, which gets its title from the code name Snowden gave himself – Verax.

The expats from Ireland, Australia, the US and Canada, of which Lee was the only filmmaker by trade, made the film “to catch onto the interest on Snowden and the attention on Hong Kong”, Lee said.

Production for the film took place at breakneck pace as drama, diplomatic intrigue and tensions surrounding Snowden unfolded in the southern Chinese city.

“It was a lot of adrenaline . . . it was all very guerilla filmmaking style,” Lee said.

Though production was rushed, the film, which has gained more than 8,500 views on YouTube since it was released on Tuesday, stayed true to the actual locations in Hong Kong where Snowden was reportedly seen.

The film covered the swanky Mira Hotel where Snowden initially hid out and carried out his sensational leaks to Britain’s Guardian newspaper.

Props such as a Rubik’s Cube, which Snowden reportedly used to identify himself to a Guardian journalist, were also used in the film.

Meanwhile, Hollywood is sure to derive inspiration for new plotlines from the riveting Snowden saga.

Phillip Noyce, director of action thrillers Salt and The Quiet American, is reportedly keen to turn the real-life hunt for Snowden into a Hollywood thriller with Australian actor Liam Hemsworth in the lead role. afp

PATH is seeking dynamic, results-driven, change-oriented candidates for our country manager position in Phnom Penh. PATH is an international, non-profit organization focused on innovative solutions for global health challenges.

We’ve been working in Cambodia since 1995.

The Country Manager will lead PATH’s office in Cambodia. Under the guidance of the Mekong Regional Program Manager in Hanoi, Vietnam, the Country Manager will have primary responsibility for ensuring high quality administrative and financial management of PATH’s work in Cambodia, the smooth running of the office and functioning of project teams. The successful candidate will also be expected to lead strategic interactions with PATH’s Headquarters in the United States and Europe, in-country partners, and provide mentoring to the project teams.

Knowledge, skills and experience required: Advanced degree in public health, business, management, or related field plus a minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience; or 12 years of NGO experience with increasing responsibility; extensive experience in program management, coordination, and development; experience managing US government funding or other major donor funding an advantage; experience working effectively with government counterparts at central and local levels; experience in program representation and program development; proven interpersonal, mentoring, and team building skills; demonstrated creativity, initiative, and ability to meet deadlines; demonstrated report writing and presentation skills; ability to work across cultures and time zones; knowledge of public health and health systems issues; excellent written and spoken English skills.

For full position descriptions and information on the application process, please visit the jobs section of the PATH website (www.path.org).

Deadline: July 15, 2013

20

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Travel PREAH SIHANOUK - SIEM REAP Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 130 1-3-5 12:55 13:55

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT SCHEDULE FROM PHNOM PENH Flighs

Days

Dep

TO PHNOM PENH Arrival

PHNOM PENH - BANGKOK

Flighs

Days

Dep

Arrival

BANGKOK - PHNOM PENH

K6 720

Daily

12:05

01:10

K6 721

Daily

02:25

03:30

PG 938

Daily

06:40

08:15

PG 931

Daily

07:55

09:05

PG 932

Daily

09:55

11:10

TG 580

Daily

07:55

09:05

TG 581

Daily

10:05

11:10

PG 933

Daily

13:30

14:40

PG 934

Daily

15:30

16:40

FD 3616

Daily

15:15

16:20

FD 3617

Daily

17:05

18:15

PG 935

Daily

17:30

18:40

PG 936

Daily

19:30

20:40

TG 584

Daily

18:25

19:40

TG 585

Daily

20:40

21:45

PG 937

Daily

20:15

21:50

PHNOM PENH - BEIJING CZ 324

Daily

BEIJING - PHNOM PENH 08:00

16:05

CZ 323

Daily

14:30

20:50

PHNOM PENH - DOHA ( Via HCMC)

DOHA - PHNOM PENH ( Via HCMC)

QR 605

1.2..5.6

22:35

05:15+1

QR 604

1.2..5.6

08:00

21:00

QR 603

..34..7

15:50

22:25

QR 602

..3.4..7

01:25

14:20

PHNOM PENH - GUANGZHOU Daily

08:00

11:40

CZ 6059

2.4.7

12:00

13:45

CZ 6060

2.4.7

14:45

18:10

CZ 323

Daily

19:05

20:50

09:40

13:00

PHNOM PENH - HANOI Daily

17:30

20:35

VN 841

Daily

HO CHI MINH CITY - PHNOM PENH

VN 841

Daily

14:00

14:45

VN 920

Daily

15:50

16:30

VN 3856

Daily

19:20

20:05

VN 3857

Daily

18:00

18:45

PHNOM PENH - HONG KONG 1.2.4.7

11:25

15:05

KA 208

1.2.4.6.7 08:50

10:25

KA 207

6

11:45

22:25

KA 206

3.5.7

14:30

16:05

KA 209

1

18:30

22:05

KA 206

1

15:25

17:00

KA 209

3.5.7

17:25

21:00

KA 206

2

15:50

17:25

KA 205

2

19:00

22:35

PHNOM PENH - INCHEON Daily

23:40

06:40

KE 689

Daily

18:30

22:20

OZ 740

Daily

23:50

06:50

OZ 739

Daily

19:10

22:50

PHNOM PENH - KUALA LUMPUR

5J - CEBU Airways.

MH - Malaysia Airlines

2 Tuesday

AK - Air Asia

MI - SilkAir

3 Wednesday

BR - EVA Airways

OZ - Asiana Airlines

4 Thursday

CI - China Airlines

PG - Bangkok Airways

5 Friday

CZ - China Southern

QR - Qatar Airways

6 Saturday

FD - Thai Air Asia

QV - Lao Airlines

7 Sunday

FM - Shanghai Air

SQ - Singapore Airlines

K6- Cambodia Angkor Air

TG - Thai Airways | VN - Vietnam Airlines

This flight schedule information is updated about once a month. Further information, please contact direct to airline or a travel agent for flight schedule information.

A cruise ship anchors off Dubrovnik, the main travel destination on the Croatia’s Dalmatian coast. BLOOMBERG

AIRLINES

KUALA LUMPUR - PHNOM PENH

AK 1473

Daily

08:35

11:20

AK 1474

Daily

15:15

16:00

MH 755

Daily

11:10

14:00

MH 754

Daily

09:30

10:20

MH 763

Daily

17:10

20:00

MH 762

Daily

3:20

4:10

20:05

06:05

PHNOM PENH- PARIS

PHNOM PENH - PARIS 20:05

06:05

PHNOM PENH - SHANGHAI 2.3.4.5.7

1 Monday

INCHEON - PHNOM PENH

KE 690

FM 833

KA - Dragon Air

HONG KONG - PHNOM PENH

KA 207

2

COLOUR CODE

2817 - 16 Tigerairways

HANOI - PHNOM PENH

PHNOM PENH - HO CHI MINH CITY

AF 273

AIRLINES CODE

GUANGZHOU - PHNOM PENH

CZ 324

VN 840

SIEM REAP - PREAH SIHANOUK Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 131 1-3-5 11:20 12:20

19:50

AF 273

2

SHANGHAI - PHNOM PENH 23:05

FM 833

2.3.4.5.7 19:30

22:40

Air Asia (AK) Room T6, PP International Airport. Tel: 023 6666 555 Fax: 023 890 071 www.airasia.com

Cambodia Angkor Air (K6) PP Office, #90+92+94Eo, St.217, Sk.Orussey4, Kh. 7Makara, 023 881 178 /77718-333. Fax:+855 23-886-677 www.cambodiaangkorair.com E: mai@royalaviationexpert.com

Jetstar Asia (3K) PP: No. 333B Monivong Blvd.

Myanmar Airways International Tel: 023 220909.Siem Reap: No. 50,Sivatha Blvd.Tel: 063 964388 #90+92+94Eo, St. 217, www.jetstar.com Sk. Orussey4, Kh. 7 Makara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

T:023 881 178 | F:023 886 677 www.maiair.com

Dragon Air (KA) #168, Monireth, PP Tel: 023 424 300 Fax: 023 424 304 www.dragonair.com/kh

Cebu Pacific (5J) Phnom Penh: No. 333B Monivong Blvd. Tel: 023 219161 Siem Reap: No. 50,Sivatha Blvd.

Tel: 063 965487 E-mail: cebuair@ptm-travel.com www.cebupacificair.com

Tiger airways G. floor, Regency square, Suare, Suite #68/79, St.205, Sk Chamkarmorn, PP Tel: (855) 95 969 888 (855) 23 5515 888/5525888 E: info@cambodiaairlines.net

SilkAir (MI) Regency C,Unit 2-4,Tumnorb Teuk, Chamkarmorn Phnom Penh Tel:023 988 629 www.silkair.com

PHNOM PENH - SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE - PHNOM PENH

MI 601

1.3.5.6.7

09:30 12:30

MI 602

1.3.5.6.7 07:40

08:40

MI 622

2.4

12:20

15:20

MI 622

2.4

08:40

11:25

3K 594

1.3.6

12:35

15:55

3K 593

1.3.6

10:40

11:50

3K 599

2.4.7

17:25

20:25

3K 591

5

18:45

20:00

3K 592

5

20:45

23:45

3K 591

5

18:45

20:00

MI 607

Daily

18:10

21:10

MI 608

Daily

16:20

17:15

2817

1.3

16:40

19:40

2816

1.3

15:00

15:50

2817

2.4.5

09:10

12:00

2816

2.4.5

07:20

08:10

2817

6

14:50

17:50

2816

6

13:00

14:00

2817

7

13:20

16:10

2816

7

11:30

12:30

09:10

11:35

PHNOM PENH SORYA BUS TRANSPORT SCHEDULE INTERNATIONAL ROUTES

TAIPEI - PHNOM PENH

PHNOM PENH -TAIPEI BR 266

Daily

12:45

17:05

PHNOM PENH - VIENTIANE

BR 265

Daily

VIENTIANE - PHNOM PENH

Qatar Airways No. 296 Blvd. Mao Tse Toung (St. 245), Ground floor, Intercontinental Hotel PP Tel: +23 42 40 12/13/14 www.qatarairways.com

VN 840

Daily

17:30

18:50

VN 841

Daily

11:30

13:00

PP-HO CHI MINH DEPATURE

HO CHI MINH-PP

QV 920

Daily

17:50

19:10

QV 921

Daily

11:45

13:15

6:45, 8:30, 11:45

6:45, 8:00,11:30

PP-BANGKOK

BANGKOK-PP

6:30

6:30

PP-PAKSE,VIENTIANE

PAKSE,VIENTIANE-PP

6:45

7:30

PHNOM PENH - YANGON 8M 404

3. 6

YANGON - PHNOM PENH 20:10

21:35

8M 403

3. 6

16:45

FROM SIEM REAP

TO SIEM REAP

SIEM REAP - BANGKOK Flighs Days Dep Arrival K6 700 Daily 12:50 2:00 PG 924 Daily 09:45 11:10 PG 906 Daily 13:15 14:40 PG 914 Daily 15:20 16:45 PG 908 Daily 18:50 20:15 PG 910 Daily 20:30 21:55 SIEM REAP - GUANGZHOU CZ 3054 2.4.6 11:25 15:35 CZ 3054 1.3.5.7 19:25 23:20 SIEM REAP -HANOI K6 850 Daily 06:50 08:30 VN 868 1.2.3.5.6 12:40 15:35 VN 842 Daily 18:05 19:45 VN 844 Daily 19:45 21:25 VN 800 Daily 21:00 22:40 SIEM REAP - HO CHI MINH CITY VN 3818 Daily 11:10 12:30 VN 826 Daily 13:30 14:40 VN 3820 Daily 17:45 18:45 VN 828 Daily 18:20 19:20 VN 3822 Daily 21:35 22:35 SIEM REAP - INCHEON KE 688 Daily 23:15 06:10 OZ 738 Daily 23:40 07:10 SIEM REAP - KUALA LUMPUR AK 281 Daily 08:35 11:35 MH 765 3.5.7 14:15 17:25 SIEM REAP - MANILA 5J 258 2.4.7 22:30 02:11 SIEM REAP - SINGAPORE MI 633 1, 6, 7 16:35 22:15 MI 622 2.4 10:40 15:20 MI 630 5 12:25 15:40 MI 615 7 12:45 16:05 MI 636 3, 2 18:30 21:35 MI 617 5 18:35 21:55 3K 599 2.4.7 15:50 20:25 SIEM REAP - VIENTIANE QV 522 2.4.5.7 10:05 13:00 SIEM REAP - YANGON 8M 402 1. 5 20:15 21:25

BANGKOK - SIEM REAP Flighs Days Dep K6 701 Daily 02:55 PG 903 Daily 08:00 PG 905 Daily 11:35 PG 913 Daily 13:35 PG 907 Daily 17:00 PG 909 Daily 18:45 GUANGZHOU - SIEM REAP CZ 3053 2.4.6 08:45 CZ 3053 1.3.5.7 16:35 HANOI - SIEM REAP K6 851 Daily 19:30 VN 843 Daily 15:25 VN 845 Daily 17:05 VN 845 Daily 17:45 VN 801 Daily 18:20 HO CHI MINH CITY - SIEM REAP VN 3809 Daily 09:15 VN 827 Daily 11:35 VN 3821 Daily 15:55 VN 829 Daily 16:20 VN 3823 Daily 19:45 INCHEON - SIEM REAP KE 687 Daily 18:30 OZ 737 Daily 19:20 KUALA LUMPUR - SIEM REAP AK 280 Daily 06:50 MH 764 3.5.7 12:10 MANILA - SIEM REAP 5J 257 2.4.7 19:45 SINGAPORE - SIEM REAP MI 633 1, 6, 7 14:35 MI 622 2.4 08:40 MI 616 7 10:40 MI 636 3, 2 13:55 MI 630 5 07:55 MI 618 5 16:35 3K599 2.4.7 13:50 VIENTIANE - SIEM REAP QV 512 2.4.5.7 06:30 YANGON - SIEM REAP 8M 401 1. 5 17:05

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Go cruising and boozing in Croatia Gwilym Mumford

A

S hangover cures go, it seemed a bit extreme. Perched on the top deck of a Croatian sailing boat just outside Split, I was about to launch myself into the topaz blue of the Adriatic below. My internal organs groaned with foreboding. Couldn’t I just stick with the trusted hangover staple of a gallon of orange Lucozade and 278 back-to-back episodes of Friends?

Apparently not. “It’ll be fun,” Tara, the cheerful Australian beside me chirped. A running jump and we were both heading down into the drink.

I had just flung myself off the Maestral, one of a four-strong convoy of motorised cruising vessels skirting Croatia’s strikingly pretty Dalmatian coast.

Put to bed images of retirees shuffling about in deck shoes though: these boats were stuffed with 21 to 35-yearolds, drinking, partying and the aforementioned kamikaze plunging off the top deck.

In recent years, a combination of low-cost air routes, a burgeoning dance festival culture, plus lots of sunshine, has turned Croatia into one of Europe’s most attractive youth destinations. And, with two of the country’s most popular tourist hotspots, Split and Dubrovnik, linked by a 225-kilometre strip of sun-bleached coastline, it’s also providing fertile ground for the incipient youth cruise revolution.

I took in one such trip, a seven-day cruise along the coastline from Split to Dubrovnik and back, with Sail Croatia’s Navigator Cruises.

We spent the early afternoon and evening in Hvar Town, the “St Tropez of the Dalmatian coast”, first taking in Hula Hula Bar, built among rock pools, and later to noisy port venue Bar Nautica.

Passengers had to be back on board by 5am each night – the time we set sail for our next destination. Any later and you

risked being left behind, forced to hitch a lift on another boat.

Already on day one, a few of the hard-partying passengers barely made curfew, rushing aboard just as the boats left the dock, something that would become a running theme on the trip.

At this point, it seems important to stress that this wasn’t all booze cruise, a point hammered home the next day by our visit to Croatia’s southernmost city, Dubrovnik, a place familiar to quite a few passengers due to it being a filming location for Game of Thrones.

Dubrovnik is a city that demands to be investigated, be it up on top of the vast medieval walls of the old city or down in the steep side streets below.

Those fancying something faster paced were given the option of a buggy safari through the vineyards and dirt roads of the island of Korcula. I took on the latter and returned to the boat several hours later still reverberating from the experience, but energised for the big night ahead. The small fortified town of Korcula is known for being the purported birthplace of Marco Polo rather than for its nightlife, yet we still managed to attend both a street and a foam party there.

By now we were into the final few days of the cruise, and our partying batteries had been drained to critical levels. Makarska, with its long, lazy beach would provide some respite in the daytime.

On our final day I was beyond salvation, sleep starved and perpetually hungover.

Even worse, I was booked onto a river rafting activity, which would surely tip me over the edge. Thankfully the stretch of the Cetina River on which we rafted was fairly sedate.

There was still a final night out in Split to come, though, and I steeled myself for a last hurrah. I needn’t have bothered. When I returned to the deck most of the boat’s occupants were there, all utterly partied out. the guardian

21

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Entertainment NOW SHOWING

Nerd Night @ Score

LEGEND CINEMA

Inspired by the world-renowned Pecha Kucha presentation format, Nerd Night is an exhibition of local talent and ideas.

FAST AND FURIOUS 6 Hobbs has Dom and Brian reassemble their crew in order to take down a mastermind who commands an organisation of mercenary drivers across 12 countries. Payment? Full pardons for them all.

9:30pm

Each presentation is short and sweet – 20 slides, with 20 seconds each slide.

This week’s topics include Cambodian cinema from the ’60s and the science of genetically modified food.

AFTER EARTH A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on Earth, a millennium after events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help. Featuring Jaden and Will Smith.

7:30pm

Score Bar, #5 Street 282 7:30pm

James Voan @ Village Local talent James Voan harks back to the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s with classic rock covers at BKK bar and restaurant The Village.

MAN OF STEEL A young itinerant worker is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race. Starring British actor Henry Cavill as the caped superhero, Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe.

1:50pm, 6:35pm, 9:15pm NOW YOU SEE ME An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money. With Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson.

11:35am

Load up on Lebanese food and get nostalgic.

The Village, #1 Street 360, 7:30pm

TV PICKS

PLATINUM CINEPLEX

8:40am – THE GREY: After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.

FOX MOVIES 10:35am – THE BEACH: Twenty-something Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map. Rumours state that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss – excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it. FOX MOVIES

WORLD WAR Z United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself. Brad Pitt produces and plays a starring role.

9:15am, 11:20am, 1:25pm, 3:30pm, 8:20pm MAN OF STEEL (See above.)

5:40pm, 8:30pm

Pizza @ Show Box

A speaker on stage at Nerd Night. The bi-monthly night is at Score Bar this evening. PHOTO SUPPLIED

8pm – SPY KIDS: The children of secret-agent parents must save them from danger. Starring Antonio Banderas. FOX MOVIES

Michael Fassbender stars in X-Men: First Class on Fox Movies tonight. BLOOMBERG

9:30pm – X-MEN: FIRST CLASS: In 1962 the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start world war III. FOX MOVIES

Every Monday, Phnom Penh’s favourite mobile pizza chefs, Katy Peri’s Peri Peri Chicken and Pizza, station themselves at the gates of alternative music venue Show Box. A night of fast food and indie tunes.

Show Box, #11, Street 330 6pm

Margaritas @ Riverhouse Margaritas of every flavour are on offer at this Phnom Penh institution tonight – even better is that they’re two-for-one all night. As for the soundtrack, DJ Narata will mash up classic songs.

Riverhouse Lounge, corner of Sisowath Quay and Street 110 8:30pm

Thinking caps “BACK TO THE WALL” ACROSS

1 Exchange street 5 Complete weariness or boredom 10 Kosovo dweller, perhaps 14 Mother of Romulus 15 Deli array 16 Blue dye source 17 Needing mending 18 Type of metabolic rate 19 1970 hit for The Kinks 20 “Let’s get outta here!”

23 Persnickety 24 Captain’s “stop” 25 The majority of the world’s population 28 Start of a wand waver’s utterance 30 Unpopular animal in a china shop?

31 Business department 33 What makes a drink clink 36 Grab a stool and have a drink 40 Superman’s symbol 41 “Have ___” (waiting room words) 42 Safecracker 43 Be familiar with 44 Emulates Mr. Universe 46 Form the cast of 49 Ermine, in summer 51 What a crow-eater has?

57 One of seven deadlies 58 “___ you the clever one!”

59 Lunchbox snack, perhaps 60 “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men” author James 61 “___ porridge hot ...”

62 Winter Palace denizen 63 Julie of “The Talk” 64 Question poser 65 Some actors

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 37 38 39 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 52 53 54

Accompanied by Additive in skin lotions Certain euro forerunner Dry ground sighted from a ship Decorate with an insignia Draws close Inclement Whence the Osmonds came Sea-girt land Glandular output Bomber ___ Gay Little streams Great time or great noise When trebled, a Beach Boys hit Excessively stringent Monastery resident Looks for damages Misery causes Scads Ventured Belch ___ loss for words Long-horned goat Hamster’s home Bits of work One-named New Ager G.I.’s troupe grp.

Canine, but not a dog Young pet “Oh! Susanna” composer On the ___ (fleeing) Company with a duck in its ads Sort of syrup “... off ___ the wizard” Move stealthily On edge California’s ___ Valley Lode loads ___ Major (“Great Bear” constellation) 55 Bears or Bulls 56 ___ d’oeuvre (appetizer)

Friday’s solution

Friday’s solution

22

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Lifestyle 12th anniversary @ Himawari Hotel Chhim Sreyneang Social Life Manager

Chan Bopha, Anthony Galliano,Manager Director @ BG Service Office, and Jay Cohen

Khin Maung, Esther and Winzaw

Andrew Tay, Director at Himawari, and Thong Khon, Minister of Ministry of Tourism of kingdom of Cambodia

Duong Sochivy and Tak Pisith Rethlida

Bunny Sery Wathana,Sale Executive @ Himawari Hotel, and Stephane

Ry Rotha, Sale Department @ RIKUYO Cambodia,and Kong Erika, Legal Assistant @JB Legal Consultancy

Team staff @ Himawari Hotel

Sotheavy, Malyka and Chantha

MiMi Pang, Thavy and Wendy

Eng Sopanha and Ly MouyKov

Yam Luong and Dy Sophea

Himawari Hotel celebrated its 12th anniversary on June 20. For the bash, the riverside chain invited guests, including Minister of Tourism Thong Khnon, who cut the birthday cake along with Andrew Tay, director of Himawari. The buffet was accompanied by white wine, soft drinks and chit chat. To top off the sweetness, everyone went home with a box of cookies.

ACE official launch of Business English the evening of June 17, IDP Education (Camprogram @ Sofitel On bodia) hosted a cocktail reception at the Sofitel

Hotel to launch the Australian Centre for Education's (ACE) Business English program. The program will be available at all ACE campuses both in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The Australian ambassador to Cambodia, Alison Burrows, joined the party as the guest of honour and enjoyed a buffet dinner along with the other guests.

Jeremy LinDec, Paul Cooke and Nicholas Millward

Chan Long, Chairman @ Development Cooperation, Dr Vo Khuong, Vice Chairman @ Mekong PP Clinic, and Suos Ousaphea, VP & Head Of Legal Compliance @ ACLEDA Bank Bin Chorvorn, Dr Tith Hong Yoeu @ Roomchang Clinic, Adam Fogarty

Chou Nakry, Houy Sunny, Head of Human Resources @ Maybank, and Yi Ratha, Senior HR Executive

Khua Sovannethtra, Oum Sokkhoem and Savy Chay

Alison Burrows, Australian Ambassador to Cambodia

Dr Vin McNamara, Ashley Irving, Principal @ IDP

23

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Lifestyle

Socheata and Sontery Social Life Team

Finishing Post @ Cambodiana Hotel

Mark Hanna,Group CFO @ Royal Group, Him Anna,CEO @ Staring Fram, and Pirre Bernard, Sven Thomas,ChanHy Reaksmey, and Lyphong General Manager @ Dara Airport Hotel

Pascal Brandt-Gagnon, Resident Manager @ Cambodiana,and Chris Dawe, CEO @ PhnomPenhPost

Guilnem and Nguyen Thi Lan Anh

Sam Kay and Tarek Genena

Rorn Somphors, Hem Visal and Molika Im Mao Cheng, Pov Sodany and Chann Veasna

Ben Brett, lucky draw winner

Martin and Adrienne Philson

RFI France Radio Opening @ French embassy

Sophanic Meng, Leav Phan and Leav Somphors

Tang Rithy, General Manager @ River Town, and Chhin Samedy, Senior Sales Executive @ River Town

Chan Pisey, winner of the lucky draw

Tep Kunitha, Marketin @ Bonna Ben Whitrod and Kolja Schneider Realty Group, and Heng Piseth

Ly Senleap, CEO @ F.U.G.I, Chin Chanlean and Soeung Panha

Im Tagech, Sales Exeutive @ Intercon, Pisey Udom Nhanh, Assistant Sales Manager @ Intercon,and Tourn Morrokot, Senior Sales Executive @ Medical Asia Group

This month’s Finishing Post, held at Hotel Cambodiana last Friday, mixed business talk with Khmer arts and rock music. The networking event, for clients and friends of Post Media, is organised once every two months in a different Phnom Penh venue – including popular bars and restaurants and exclusive hotels. Last week, traditional dancers and a Filipino band livened up the evening, which also featured a buffet and lucky draw organised by the company.

Khmer traditional dancing for the Finishing Post

Kem Gunawadw, Director General Jean Francois Tain, Managing Pisal Chhauy, Head of Marketing at at TVK, Ruwan Hulugalle, Managing Director at IFI, Seng Vannak, One TV, Hak Chealy, Poth Pheron, Director at Vannak Sathapanak Igor Klimko, CEO at One TV Director at RHC

Nicolas Baudouin, Premier Secretaire at Romain Louvet, Stephanie Seng, Tom Percival, Yun Jung the French Embassy, Charles-Henri ChMa, architect evet and Prince Sisowath Tesso, Secretary Manager at Couleurs D'asie of State at Royal Palace

Madeleine de Lamgalerie, Marie Christine Saragosse, PDG de RFI de France 24, Em Riem and Serge Mostura, French Ambassador to Cambodia

On June 20, Radio France International (RFI) threw a cocktail party at the French embassy to celebrate their station, a public service radio for people around the world which broadcasts in Khmer in Cambodia.

The French ambassador to the country was the star guest on the night, while the GTS trio performed their brand of smooth, soulful jazz during a long evening of dinner and drinks at the diplomatic venue.

Stephane and GTS Trio

Seiichiro Karatsu, Remie Fujiwara, Hajime Fujiwara

Marian Gommard, Rasmei Pech Janody

Dannith Oung, Group Account Director at Riverorchid, Mickael Zeggagh, Business Development at Audiovisuel Exterieur de la France

Reaksmey Yean, Sokunthevy Oeur

Neuv Socheath, Seng Dyna

24

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Sport

Hapkido Federation hits 12-year milestone

The Cambodian Hapkido Federation celebrated its 12th anniversary on Saturday with a special competition held at Princeton Private School. The event allowed several of the local students achieve level promotions, with four obtaining brown belts and six receiving green belts after competing.

Ieng Samrach gave a talk about the activities of hapkido in the Kingdom back in the early 1970s when he was one of six black belt practioners of the South Korean martial art. Two other surviving black belts of that time include Tang Sela and San Kim Sean, who as the former CHF President helped reform the Federation 12 years ago.

Current CHF president Seng Bunsong then hosted a party at the school to cap off the festivities. YEUN PONLOK, TRANSLATED

BY CHENG SERYRITH

Valentino Rossi ends MotoGP drought in style Italian riding legend Valentino Rossi ended a winless run of nearly three years when he won the Dutch MotoGP at Assen on Saturday. The 34-year-old – who had not won since the Malaysian MotoGP in October 2010 – came home clear on his Yamaha ahead of Honda’s Marco Marquez while Briton Cal Crutchlow, who had been on pole, was third on a Yamaha works bike. “I am so happy, but I still can’t believe it,” said Rossi, whose first win in any Grand Prix was in the 125cc category in 1996 in the Czech Republic. “I will have to look at the images again . . . This is probably the most moving victory of my career.” AFP

Australia win first match under coach Lehmann

Australia’s first match under new coach Darren Lehmann saw the tourists ease to a sixwicket win over Somerset on the final day of four at Taunton on Saturday. Usman Khawaja, Phil Hughes and vice captain Brad Haddin all hit 50s as Australia, who last Monday replaced sacked former coach Mickey Arthur with ex-Test batsman Lehmann just 16 days before the Ashes reached a target of 260 on the fourth afternoon. Australia’s second and final Ashes warm-up match is a four-day fixture against Worcestershire starting tomorrow. The first of a fivematch Ashes series, with England holding the urn, starts at Trent Bridge on July 10. AFP

Top pick heralds rise of Canadian basketball

Canada is famed as a hotbed of hockey, but basketball dominated headlines in the Great White North after Anthony Bennett became the first Canadian to be taken first overall in the NBA Draft. With more Canadian talent on the way, Bennett’s selection by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday could serve as a red-letter moment in a golden era for Canadian basketball. Even Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an avid hockey fan, took to Twitter, writing “Congrats to @AnthonyBennett for being the first Cdn ever drafted #1 overall in the NBA draft. Good luck in Cleveland, we’re all behind you.” REUTERS

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns against France’s Jeremy Chardy in their third round men’s singles match on day six of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships tennis tournament.

AFP

Djokovic, Williams march on N ovak Djokovic continued to match title rival Andy Murray stride for stride with a nonchalant march into the last 16 as the leading seeds flourished in the Wimbledon sunshine on Saturday.

The Serbian world number one neutralised Frenchman Jeremy Chardy with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory in 86 minutes and, like Murray, has now won all nine sets he has played.

American Serena Williams, bidding to equal Roger Federer’s 17 grand slam titles by successfully defending her crown, has also been blemish-free and offered no concessions to 42year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm under the Centre Court roof.

The women’s top seed was scheduled last on Court One but with other matches dragging on she was switched across to Centre where she

dispatched the Japanese veteran 6-2, 6-0 in an hour.

While Djokovic and Murray have been in perfect harmony, elsewhere the opening week has been a turbulent one with a head-spinning spate of shocks, injuries and withdrawals.

Surprises were thinner on the ground on day six with men’s fourth seed David Ferrer coming closest to falling through the trapdoor before battling back to beat unorthodox Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in five sets to reach the fourth round.

The 31-year-old was joined there by 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych, the Czech seventh seed, who beat giant South African Kevin Anderson for the ninth time in a row, and Argentine number eight seed Juan Martin del Potro who survived a collision with a court-side chair to overpower Slovenian Grega Zemlja.

As in the men’s draw, only six of the top 16 women have reached Monday’s fourth round, which will feature a total of nine players aged 30 or over – equalling a professional era record at Wimbledon.

Australian 14th seed Samantha Stosur was the main casualty in the women’s singles on Saturday, losing to Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, but there was better news for fellow Australian Bernard Tomic as the 20-year-old continued to shake-off his bad-boy image by knocking out dashing French ninth seed Richard Gasquet.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori also fell short, the 12th seed losing a long match to Italy’s Andreas Seppi, who has now won his last seven matches that have gone the five-set distance.

Women’s fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, last year’s runnerup, ended the run of American teen-

ager Madison Keys in a hard-fought three-setter, while sixth-seeded Chinese Li Na and former champion Petra Kvitova, the Czech eighth seed, remained in contention after also being taken the distance.

The queue at the medical room has shrunk since Wipeout Wednesday when seven players withdrew or retired. But Dutchman Igor Sijsling quit mid-match against Ivan Dodig on Saturday to take the total to a tournament record-equalling 13.

Croatia’s Dodig, who is up against Ferrer next, has reached the fourth round despite finishing only one match.

Home hysteria went up a notch on Saturday when British teenager Laura Robson also reached the last 16.

Robson, a former junior champion, won 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 to become the first British woman to reach the fourth round for 15 years. REUTERS

Cavendish leads chorus of anger at Tour chaos Mark Cavendish was among the most outspoken in his criticism as members of the Tour de France peloton turned their anger towards race organisers after Saturday’s opening stage was marred by a series of crashes.

The 213-kilometre ride from Porto-Vecchio to Bastia, the first stage ever to be held on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, was won in a sprint finish

by Germany’s Marcel Kittel of the Argos-Shimano team.

But his victory became something of a footnote at the end of a chaotic final 20 kilometres as the peloton flew along the narrow roads leading in to Bastia.

The confusion was caused when the bus of the OricaGreenEdge team became stuck under the gantry at the finish line, forcing organisers to propose moving the line forward three kilometres before it was eventually moved into a safe position.

As the peloton approached the finish, they began to up the pace in preparation for the new conclusion to the stage, only to be caught out by the decision to revert to the original plan.

Riders lay in the road after a crash in the final six kilometres of the opening stage of the Tour de France in Corsica on Saturday. AFP

A whole host of riders, including Spain’s two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador, last year’s green jersey winner Peter Sagan of Slovakia, and former world time trial champion Tony Martin went down in a mass crash

six kilometres from the line, with the latter coming off by far the worst.

The German fainted and was later put on a stretcher and taken to hospital in Bastia, fears that he had fractured his shoulder later proving

unfounded, leaving his Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammate Mark Cavendish furious.

“What caused the problems was changing the finish,” he told reporters.

“We heard on the radio with literally five kilometres to go that the sprint was in two kilometres, and then one kilometre later they were like ‘No, it’s at the original finish.’ It’s just carnage.”

Cavendish had good reason to be unhappy, with the confusion putting paid to his chances of winning the stage and getting his hands on the overall leader’s yellow jersey for the first time in his career.

Contador insisted that he would be OK, while Team Sky duo Geraint Thomas and Ian Stannard were declared fit to continue after undergoing tests following their falls, with the British team just happy to see their race favourite Chris Froome come home unscathed.

“Obviously, this was a really unfortunate situation,” explained Matt White, the sporting director of the OricaGreenEdge team at the centre of the controversy.

“The bus was led under the finish gantry, and we took it for granted that there was enough clearance.

“The frantic efforts to clear the bus proved successful, and we had a few minutes notice that the finish line had been moved to its original place.”

The team were later fined 2,000 Swiss francs ($2,116) by the organisers, who blamed them for their late arrival at the finish and insisted they had made the right decisions.

Despite that, there was widespread criticism from elsewhere, including from Marc Madiot, the manager of French outfit FDJ, who launched a stinging attack on the organisers.

“We can’t keep changing the route,” he told French television. “Everyone can understand why you might have to change the finish line if there is a problem. There is nothing wrong with that, but here the organisers have not done their job properly. The Spanish president of the organising committee, who I don’t know, has made a big mistake.

“He should face the consequences. He is Spanish, he can go home.” AFP

25

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Tennis

Clean-up in Kep a smash hit H S Manjunath

T

he coastal city of Kep had its roads and miles of beaches cleared of plastic waste and garbage on Saturday as part of a health and hygiene drive promoted by the Tennis Federation of Cambodia and enthusiastically carried out by the Miss Japan Volunteer Association (MJVA), with the help of students and local community members.

Hisae Arai, one of the leading members of the MJVA and also the TFC’s Global Goodwill Ambassador, led the nearly 1,000-strong taskforce with her sister Kiko, the 2012 Miss Japan beauty pageant winner.

The project, named Kep Kep Clean, was supported by Kep Provincial Authority, Rubbish collection company GAEA and the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan.

Commerce Minister and TFC President Cham Prasidh, who spends a lot of his spare time in his Kep home, played an active role in carrying out this project. Former Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Katsuhiro Shinohara was one of the special invitees along with the Governor of Kep province, Ken Satha.

TFC Secretary General Tep Rithivit played a major part in the campaign by mobilising active participation in the program of scores of tennis playing kids from

several orphanages and schools in Kep. The areas covered in the near four-hour drive included the Crab Market, Kep Market, Kep beach and the road leading to it, as well as roads connecting these strategic locations right up to the City Hall.

The MJVA donated 50 garbage bins for community use in the entire city. A garbage bin will be placed in each one of the 31 schools in Kep along with a huge and informative awareness board. The other 19 bins have been spread across different locations.

“I believe that ‘Kep Kep Clean!’ has delivered many benefits for the people,” Hisae Arai told the Post before listing three major positives from the campaign.

“First, keeping rubbish in the bin improves the health of the environment and the health of residents too.

We can prevent the spread of diseases.

Second, a clean city will be more enjoyable for people. Third, when the city is beautiful, it will attract more tourists. A boost to tourism will help the economy of Kep.” Meanwhile, the municipality bestowed on both Hisae and her younger sister Kiko the rare honour of naming them as Goodwill Ambassadors of Kep. “We hope we can contribute to enhance Kep’s profile throughout Cambodia and the world,” Kiko Arai told the Post.

Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh (third right) unveils a sign and two rubbish bins in Kep on Saturday as part of the Kep Kep Clean campaign organised by the Tennis Federation of Cambodian and the Miss Japan Volunteer Association. EPICERIE FILMS / THOMAS GUILLAUME

26

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Basketball

Warriors make Buffaloes pay for clutch mistakes H S Manjunath

I

n an exciting finish that stretched right down to the wire, Extra Joss Warriors nudged out Post Buffaloes 57-53 in a Cambodian Basketball League encounter at the Beeline Arena on Saturday.

It was a see-sawing battle all along with the lead changing hands frequently, but poor field goal scoring rates from both sides led to a mad rush in the last few minutes of the final quarter.

With a minute to go, the Buffaloes lost the ball twice in succession and, as if to punish them for those errors, Fred Babida produced two lay ups to give the Warriors a decisive advantage.

Yet, it wasn’t all lost for the Buffaloes even at that late stage.

Tino Pheng was fouled on his three-point attempt.

The ball went in and the basket was counted. Pheng also clicked with a bonus free throw and the Buffaloes were as close as 53-54 with

30 seconds left on the clock.

The full court press that the Buffaloes deployed got them a steal and set up Johnny Lim for a jump shot. He missed and so did the Buffaloes.

In a wild attempt to stop the clock, Jay Roden committed a rather unsportsman-like foul which resulted in the Warriors getting two free throws and ball possession.

Both turned good for the Warriors as Joshua Schmitz turned in one of the free throws and Fred Babida scored the final basket to ensure the Warriors victory.

With 23 points to his credit, Fred Babida was the Warriors top scorer, while Joshua Schmitz chipped in with nine. Kosal Khiev (18) and Jay Roden (15) were the Buffaloes leading scorers.

“The team hasn’t been training together for several weeks and we still need to find the chemistry,” Warriors manager Jonjon Naval told the Post.

“What made the difference in the final minutes of the game were mistakes made by Buffaloes. We were lucky.”

In the opening game of the day, Alaxan FR Patriots scored a blowout 88-52 victory over Pate 310, comprehensively winning with size and their fight against speed.

Game experience and tempo set by the leading Patriots trio of Aimar Sabayo (15), Colin Meyn (14) and John Cornito (13) had a marked impact on the outcome. Dexter Arcenas also propped up Patriots with 12 points. Sok Tour seemingly fought a lone battle with 25 points for Pate.

The all-Chinese Galaxy Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Team

presented themselves with a limited line-up of just seven players, but more significantly their previous game star Kelvin Chan was also missing.

That opened up the game for NSK Dream, who came away with a 65-43 victory.

Sok Pagna led the NSK charge with 27 points even as the side let bench players take the court in the final quarter. Chim Chandara’s 11 was the second best contribution.

For Galaxy, Zheng Chen top scored with 14 points.

Wins Losses Points 2 0 4 Alaxan FR Patriots 2 0 4 IRB The Lord 2 0 4 Extra Joss Warriors 2 0 4 NSK Dream 1 1 3 Sela Meas 1 1 3 Cellcard Eagles 1 1 3 Galaxy 1 1 3 Post Buffaloes 0 2 2 Phnom Penh Dragons 0 2 2 Ganzberg 0 2 2 Pate 310 0 2 2 CCPL Heat

Goal Difference 122 88 168 123 103 84 118 113 115 105 105 99 85 94 94 113 101 108 88 106 119 148 112 149

Pate 310 (in green) and Alaxan FR Patriots players jump for a rebound during their CBL game at Beeline Arena on Saturday. SRENG MENG SRUN

Coming up on Thursday, July 4, The Phnom Penh Post proudly presents

On Friday, July 12, The Phnom Penh Post proudly presents

FRANCE’S NATIONAL DAY /Ŷ ƚŚŝƐ ƐƉĞĐŝĂů ƌĞƉŽƌƚ ǁĞ ůŽŽŬ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ &ƌĞŶĐŚ ĐŽŶƚƌŝďƵƟŽŶ ƚŽ ĂŵďŽĚŝĂ ĚĂƟŶŐ Ăůů ƚŚĞ ǁĂLJ ďĂĐŬ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ &ƌĞŶĐŚ WƌŽƚĞĐƚŽƌĂƚĞ͗ ĐŽŶƚƌŝďƵƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ ĂƌĐŚŝƚĞĐƚƵƌĞ͕ ĨŽŽĚ ĂŶĚ ĐƵůƚƵƌĞ͘

The Fourth of July

tĞ ĂůƐŽ ůŽŽŬ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŶƚƌŝďƵƟŽŶ ŽĨ &ƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶ ĂŵďŽĚŝĂ ƚŽĚĂLJ͕ ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ E'KƐ͕ ƌĞƐƚĂƵƌĂŶƚƐ͕ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐĞƐ ĂŶĚ ŝŶƚĞƌǀŝĞǁƐ ǁŝƚŚ &ƌĞŶĐŚ ƉĞƌƐŽŶĂůŝƟĞƐ ĂƌŽƵŶĚ ĂŵďŽĚŝĂ͘ ^ŚŽǁ LJŽƵƌ ĐŽŶŶĞĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁŝƚŚ &ƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ &ƌĞŶĐŚ ƉĞŽƉůĞ ďLJ ƉůĂĐŝŶŐ LJŽƵƌ ĂĚ ŝŶ ƚŚŝƐ ǀĞƌLJ ƐƉĞĐŝĂů ƌĞƉŽƌƚ ƚŚĂƚ ƐĂLJƐ s/s > &Z E ͘

ͻ American companies doing business in Cambodia including motor vehicles, ͻ A look at what’s happening for the United States of America in Cambodia: ͻ The American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia: what’s happening.

Story ideas? Email stuart.becker@gmail.com borom.chea@phnompenhpost.com or call 012 763 481 / 011 743 998 Booking deadline: Thursday, June 27. Artwork deadline: Tuesday, July 2.

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE READ THE POST

Thursday July 4.

Phnom Penh dŽ ĂĚǀĞƌƟƐĞ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ͗ borom.chea@phnompenhpost.com or call 012 763 481 / 011 743 998 SƚorLJ ŝĚĞĂƐ͍ Email stuart.becker@gmail.com ŽŽŬŝŶŐ ĚĞĂĚůŝŶĞ͗ Friday July 5. ƌƚǁŽƌŬ ĚĞĂĚůŝŶĞ͗ Wednesday July 10; WƵďůŝĐĂƟŽŶ ĚĂƚĞ͗ Friday July 12.

Siem Reap Sophearith Blondeel - call 092 752 801 | 063 964 151 | Email:^ŽƉŚĞĂƌŝƚŚ͘ ůŽŶĚĞĞůΛƉŚŶŽŵƉĞŶŚƉŽƐƚ͘ĐŽŵ

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27

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Football Chonburi crush Crown in U15 Trophy clash

Phnom Penh Crown Academy suffered another loss on the road in the Frenz-FAM U15 ASEAN Champions Trophy, with Thai hosts Chonburi Academy beating them 3-0 on Saturday. A 26th-minute opener and two strikes in quick succession late on put paid to the Cambodian boys’ hopes in a result that kept them one place off the foot of Group A with a single point from five matches in the regional competition so far. Crown will face East Timor U15s, who beat them 4-1 away last Tuesday, at the Old Stadium next Saturday. DAN RILEY

Police arrest 15 for Bulgarian FA attack

Smooth operators The Cellcard XG team celebrate by spraying champagne after winning the Cellcard Soccer Match Day at the 3G Field yesterday morning. In a drama-filled final played in scorching conditions under the midday sun, Cellcard XG downed their company rivals Cellcard Plus 3-0 on penalties following a 3-3 draw in regulation time. Sides named Cellcard Niyeay and Cellcard Regular also competed in the four-team event played on the Astroturf surface. SRENG MENG SRUN

Boeung Ket, Crown book play-offs, four eye berths Dan Riley and Chorn Norn

Almeria hire Francisco to replace coach Gracia

promoted La Liga side Almeria have appointed the inexperienced Francisco as their coach on a one-year deal after failing to agree a contract extension with Javi Gracia, the club said on Saturday. The 34-year-old Francisco, a former Almeria player, has coached the Andalusian club’s B team in the third tier of Spanish soccer for the past two seasons. He will be the youngest coach in the Spanish top flight, the club said on its website (udalmeriasad. com). Almeria secured the third and final La Liga promotion berth last Saturday when a 3-0 win at home to Girona in the return leg of their playoff final sealed a 4-0 aggregate success.

D

efending Metfone CLeague champions Boeung Ket Rubber Field and past winners Phnom Penh Crown secured their berths in the Super 4 playoffs with victories at Olympic Stadium on Saturday.

Naga Corp, Kirivong Sok Sen Chey and Build Bright United all posted wins over the weekend to ensure that the remaining two slots for the post-season, which starts on July 13, would be fought for by themselves and Svay Rieng in the last round of the campaign.

Having slipped out of the top four overnight on Saturday, Naga were determined to claw their way back into playoff contention with a positive result from yesterday’s game at Olympic Stadium against National Police Commissary.

The Hun Sen Cup holders did exactly that, inflicting a 2-0 defeat on the Police through goals from Sun Sovannrithy and Teab Vathanak either side of the interval.

In the earlier kick-off, Kirivong escaped with a 2-1 victory over Ministry of National Defence to stay within a point of fourth placed Naga and ahead of BBU by means of goal difference.

The Army had taken the lead via Ouk Kamol’s 40th minute goal, but an Ung Vita own goal straight after the restart changed the complexion of the tie. Nwakuna Friday then stepped up to net the winner for the Takeo club bang on the hour mark.

On Saturday, two of Boeung Ket’s African contingent were the decisive factor in their 2-0 win over Military Police-backed Svay Rieng with a goal

Fifteen people have been held by police in connection with an attack on the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) headquarters on Saturday, the country’s interior ministry said yesterday. CSKA Sofia fans threw stones and fireworks at the BFU building in central Sofia, smashing windows and hitting a reporter who tried to take a photograph. Supporters of CSKA, who are the most successful Bulgarian club with 31 league titles, have accused the BFU of being too strict in not allowing a merger with another club. Debt-ridden CSKA will play in the amateur championship next season if they fail to merge with another first division club in time for the start of the league on July 20. CSKA condemned the violence, saying in a statement: “We are sure that the millions of CSKA fans in Bulgaria do not admire such behaviour; CSKA has proved it can build, not destroy. REUTERS

REUTERS

Marussia F1 team link up with Reading FC Naga Corp’s Tieng Tiny (left) kicks the ball past National Police’s Nuon Borey during their league match yesterday.

apiece. Nigerian midfielder Befolo Mbarga opened their account with a strike on 39 minutes, before compatriot Bisan George showed why he is the leading scorer this year with his 17th league goal of 2013.

In the later kick-off on Saturday, Crown were simply too hot to handle for their opponents Asia Europe University in a 3-0 drubbing.

Dutch sensation Elroy van der Hooft produced yet another inspired finish to put Crown up as early as the second minute.

However, it took until midway through the second half for Crown

to push further ahead through Sos Souhana.

Hong Pheng then rounded off the rout with his own score as Crown leapfrogged Svay Rieng into second place in the league standings, five points off the pace of Boueng Ket, who are on 37 points.

Saturday’s only fixture at the Old Stadium witnessed yet another Senate smashing as the high-flying BBU got off the blocks late to record a 5-0 win thanks to a late four-goal blitz.

Chan Chhaya nudged the University side in front in the eleventh minute as relegation-bound Senate

SRENG MENG SRUN

battled well to hold back the inevitable onslaught.

In the 78th minute, the floodgates were finally pushed open as Nigerian striker David Ekele-Chukwu put BBU two-up. Heng Sokly notched a third, which was in turn quickly added to

by Ekele-Chukwu.

On the stroke of full-time, Prum Puthsethy put his own stamp on proceedings with a goal.

Senate now head into their remaining game of a morale-sapping season with two points to their name and an average of over five goals conceded each game.

The Russian-owned Marussia Formula One team announced a partnership with second tier English soccer club Reading yesterday. Reading, relegated from the Premier League last season, also have a Russian owner in Anton Zingarevich.

Formula One is scheduled to have its first Russian Grand Prix next year in Sochi. Marussia said the partnership would see both promote the other through joint marketing initiatives, with branding for The Royals on the cars at yesterday’s British Grand Prix, while also collaborating on fitness, nutrition and coaching programs. REUTERS

28

THE PHNOM PENH POST July 1, 2013

Sport UK press blasts ‘fluffy’ Lions T

he British and Irish Lions paid the price for excessive caution and a lack of forward power in a 16-15 second Test defeat by a "canny" Australia side, according to UK press reports yesterday.

Australia's victory in Melbourne on Saturday saw them level the three-match contest at 1-1 and left the Lions' hopes of a much-longed for first series victory since 1997 dependent on the result of next Saturday’s final Test in Sydney.

"Frankly, they [the Lions] sat back when they should have gone out and blasted it," wrote Stephen Jones, the longserving rugby correspondent of the Sunday Times.

As for the pack selected

by Lions coach Warren Gatland, Jones added: "I was amazed how light and fluffy and vulnerable it was, even up against an Australian pack that, frankly, would not even frighten your grandmother at midnight in a dark alley."

Jones highlighted how prop Mako Vunipola, for all his good play in the loose, had endured a torrid match in the scrum, Jones wrote.

"Sadly, the metaphorical cemeteries of rugby are full of props who were rated for other things bar scrummaging, and who were badly exposed for their lack of scrummaging power," he wrote.

Jones's Sunday Times colleague Stuart Barnes, the former England and Lions fly-half, added the Lions had "stopped playing in the last 20 minutes".

Current Lions No 10 Jona-

less than a minute after he was knocked out, was on target with all four of his placekicks in Melbourne.

His injury last week sparked a goalkicking crisis which contributed to Australia's 2321 defeat in the first Test.

"Never mind Leigh Halfpeanny's missed kick, which hurt so much that it left him doubled up in pain," wrote the Observer's Andy Bull.

"The Lions' supposed strengths, their set pieces, have been exposed, and exploited, by this canny Australia side."

Warburton to wait on scan

British and Irish Lions' George North (right) carries Australian Wallabies' Israel Folau on his shoulder during their Test match in Melbourne.

than Sexton said there were times during the second Test when "it felt like were just wishing for the game to finish rather than going after it".

Australia scored the only try of the match when Adam Ashley-Coper crossed four minutes from time and the Sunday Express's Steve Bale

wrote: "The Lions created so little when stretched to bursting point at Docklands Stadium that they can hardly complain this series will now go to a decider."

Bale added that the tension surrounding both sides had contributed to an "errorstrewn affair – the Lions' very

future after their long failure to win a series anywhere and the fate of Wallaby coach Robbie Deans being two key issues riding on this series".

There was widespread sympathy for Leigh Halfpenny after the normally reliable goalkicker had a penalty to win the match, and with it seal the

AFP

Lions' first series success since their 1997 triumph in South Africa.

His kick fell short, an effort from more than 50 metres, the edge of his range, virtually the last kick of the game.

By contrast Australia's Christian Leal'ifano, whose Test debut last week lasted

Lions captain Sam Warburton will undergo a scan on his hamstring in Melbourne before rejoining the squad, officials said yesterday.

Warburton came off 13 minutes from the end of the Lions' cliffhanger and there are doubts over whether he will be able to play in the series decider in Sydney.

"Sam Warburton will remain in Melbourne for a scan on his injured hamstring this evening," the Lions said in a statement.

"The British and Irish Lions captain will then fly to Noosa [in Queensland, today] to rejoin the squad."

After Saturday's match, Warburton said team physios would make an assessment on him over the next 48 hours. "I've got a sore hamstring. I'm not sure, I haven't done it before," he said on Saturday. "This is a new injury, so I'm not too sure to be honest." AFP

Watcharsi the one to watch at Faldo Series event H S Manjunath

Thailand’s Watcharsi Tracheuntong quite literally towered over the rest to pluck top honours in the Boys U21 section of the Faldo Series Asia Cambodia golf championship at the

Sir Nick Faldo-designed Angkor Golf Resort in Siem Reap yesterday.

Light framed and distinctively taller than most golfers of his age at 195cm, Watcharsi slackened a bit over his first round par-72 to finish with a one-over 73 in the final round

The four successful golfers bound for the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in Shenzhen next year, (from left to right) Malaysia’s Aaerishna Shahsthy, Hong Kong’s Andrea Au, Thailand’s Onkanok Soisuwan and Thailand’s Watcharsi Tracheuntong. PHOTO SUPPLIED

for an aggregate 145 to emerge as not only the winner of his class, but also the overall winner of the series.

His two-round effort tied with that of Malaysia’s Aaerishna Shahsthy, who won the boys U16 category with a one-under 71 and two-over 74.

However the Thai, who has a 10 handicap, got the nod ahead of the Malaysian on a better back nine score worked out under the universally followed countback system.

Watcharsi’s closest rival but a friend and Thai team-mate on the tour, Poovadal Leeartharn who plays with a handicap of 4, could only repeat his first round 73 for a two round total of 146 to take the runner-up berth.

Watcharsi fired an eagle on the difficult par-five 13th while poaching three more birdies, but his six bogeys somewhat smudged his score-card.

But in the end he could safely hold his pal at bay.

Asked by the Post whether the difference in handicap was playing out in his mind, a rather shy Watcharsi said: “I wanted to play my best and was not keen on looking at what my rival was doing.”

Seksan Suwannapura, the Secre-

tary of the Thai Students Golf Union who was also playing the role of a coach on tour for the Thai contingent of eight players appearing in Siem Reap, noted that this was Watcharsi’s first tournament success.

“This boy is in fact very tall for a golfer but he is very serious about his career in golf. He doesn’t go to school, he gets his education at home so that he can get more time for golf and that is his family's decision,” added Seksan, whose daughter Thidapa is a pro on the LPGA tour.

Playing in the same category, Cambodia’s only entrant Thong Sakhmony finished in the ruck with a disappointing 19-over in each of the two rounds for an overall 182.

While Watcharsi was munching his lunch and a memorable finish with relish in the dining hall, Shahsthy, a ninth-grade student now studying in Singapore, was well on course to take the overall honours having shot an impressive one-under 71, the best score of the opening round on Saturday.

He was going along well until he lapsed into a couple of crucial errors and edged over par to eventually fin-

ish at 74, a score that was good enough for him to win his division.

Thailand’s Thanaphum Khanchitworakun with a 75 and 72 finished second behind the Malaysian.

It was a virtual dead-heat in the Girls U21 category between Andrea Au of Hong Kong and Onkanok Soisuwan of Thailand. Both finished with an identical 75 and 76 for a tworound total of 151. But Andrea’s better showing in the second round back nine netted her the title.

Incidentally, the organisers merged the Girls U16 contestants with that of U21 and decided to allot two places from this group to the Asia Grand Final at Mission Hills in Shenzhen, China, next year. Andrea Au and Onkanok Soisuwan duly got those tickets to China along with Watcharsi and Shahsthy.

The Angkor Golf Resort’s director of golf, David Baron, who conducted a grassroots clinic earlier in the day, presented the trophies to the winners. On Saturday Tony Maloney, an Australian teaching pro now living in Malaysia, conducted a players clinic.

Both these programes are part of every Faldo Series event.