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Issue NUMBER 1664
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Successful People Read The Post
TUESDAY, july 9, 2013
4000 RIEL
PM makes rare visit with royals Cheang Sokha and Abby Seiff
LESS than three weeks before voters decide whether he will retain his seat, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday made his first public appearance of the campaign period. After more than a week of restricting his movements to official duties in Phnom Penh, the premier made his way down to Preah Sihanouk province, stopping on the way to greet workers and villagers. By his side, for the duration of a twoday trip that concludes today, stood a pair of unlikely compatriots: King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath. “The King and Queen Mother, accompanied by Prime Minister Hun Sen, visited a new rice mill machine in Kandal, then they visited the palm oil farm of Oknha Mong Reththy and looked at some of the products of the company and met workers,” said Kem Gunnawadh, director general of TVK, one of only two media outlets – both government-aligned television stations – permitted to cover the trip. “In the afternoon of the same day, they visited the port and met about 1,200 port workers.” Today, the trio is set to plant trees to Continues on page 2
Death toll rising Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi react to protest-related deaths in front of the Republican Guard headquarters in a suburb of Cairo yesterday. REUTERS
sTORY > 12
Political eyes on youth vote Kevin Ponniah
I
T WILL be the youngest Cambodian election in history. On July 28, more than 3.5 million people between 18 and 30 years of age will have the opportunity to dip their fingers in indelible ink, cast a ballot and vote. More than 1.5 million of them will do it for the first time, and with many of these new voters likely undecided, political parties are pulling out all the stops to capture the vital demographic.
With far different needs than their parents, however, these voters are looking beyond charismatic speeches and promises of stability. But be they ruling party youth gyrating to blasting pop songs in central Phnom Penh or teenage garment workers eking out a living at a rural factory, “the youth” are by no means a cohesive unit. For youngsters like Ou Ritthy, a 26year-old political science graduate who organises informal political discussions in the capital, the election should be less about party shenanigans and more about the issues.
“Even though more youth are participating in politics these days . . . they are still blindly following [the parties],” he said. “I want everyone around me, youths especially, to know about politics. It’s
very important because we are all in the same boat, and we need to know who the rudder is.” At Ritthy’s so-called “Politikoffee” meetings, announced via Facebook and Twitter, anywhere from a handful
to several dozen young people gather at a café or public spot for lively, and often contentious, discussion. Recently, Kem Sokha’s alleged genocide denial comments – and who believes them – were up for analysis. “The people who live in the rural areas, for example, my father, he thinks [these claims] are true,” 27year-old Ly Malin told the group before Ritthy interrupted and proclaimed that older Cambodians are close-minded. Malin however, quickly bit back. “My father is educated. It’s his personal opinion. People who are at the
rural area, they think it’s true, and why [should they] not?” For this diverse group of youngsters – a teacher, entertainment reporter and even a Ministry of Interior employee were present when the Post attended – discussion is not about parties. “To us, we don’t discuss whether we support this party or that party, but I think people around us might think [we are opposition] because it’s quite abnormal to talk about politics in a public space,” 31-year-old teacher Chheng Channy said. Continues on page 4