The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “It is just sealing” plus 9 more

It is not a complicated task; it is just sealing.

Most football fans would want the English Premier League season to be a roller-coaster ride of emotions, so perhaps we should expect some dips in the Cellcard Fantasy League, following gameweeks of soaring highs.

The second round of the latest campaign was inglorious on most fronts, save a few flashes of brilliance from unheralded heroes.

Very, very few would have predicted that newly promoted Cardiff would beat 2012 champions Manchester City, with striker Frazier Campbell emerging as the pick of the week.

The 25-year-old Englishman netted twice and assisted the Welsh club's third goal to tally 16 points, easily making him the cream of the Dream team and the pride purchase for the 2.6 per cent of penny-wise fantasy managers that selected him.

Interestingly, in just two games Campbell has already surpassed his total from the whole of last season, when he was with Sunderland.

Of course, nobody actually had the foresight to hand Campbell the captain's armband, and not many did the same for his closest rival in the weekly charts, Lukas Podolski of Arsenal, the only other player to find the back of the net more than once. The German forward's double and bonus points took him to 13, while Liverpool's Jose Enrique amassed 12 thanks to a clean sheet and assist.

Top tactician of Gameweek 2 was Roeun Noresa with his team Strategos on 83 points. Roeun's squad included Enrique along with a skipper choice of Manchester City's Edin Dzeko for 16 points.

Along with the weekly spoils of a $20 phone voucher and T-shirt from sponsors Cellcard, Roeun also shot to the summit of the overall standings.

Gameweek 3 fits snuggly into the weekend and features a Liverpool v Manchester United blockbuster and a North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham.

In response to a growing number of strikes in the country's highly profitable garment sector, the government trained 15 handpicked commune officials yesterday to mediate and resolve factory disputes.

The training was designed to teach commune councillors to defuse and resolve conflict, Buth Ji, director of the World Bank's Demand for Good Governance (DFGG) project, said, noting that candidates were strategically selected from provinces where industrial disputes are frequent.

"We want commune officials to use the same techniques used by the Arbitration Council to solve the problems created when strikes occur in their communities," he said.

Liv Sovanna, a trainer and arbitrator working at the Arbitration Council, said minimising social disorder stirred up by industrial disputes was important.

He added that the training would help alleviate the strain placed on provincial courts when faced with a barrage of labour-related lawsuits.

"People are the creators of conflict, and conflict does not allow a society to do well … leading people to use police for conflict resolution," he said.

What local authorities can't do without the courts, however, is resolve crime-related disputes, Sovanna added.

The program follows a government directive signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on June 17, aimed at having industrial disputes solved more often on the local level.

According to the decree, select provincial and municipal officials are given the autonomy to maintain public order during strikes, monitor factory productivity and examine worksites.

Kong Athit, vice president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), said any government trainings touted as being key to conflict resolution in the garment sector should be conducted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

"In my opinion, it won't work. We need highly trained people experienced with labour arbitration who are capable of working at the same level as the factory workers," he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AMELIA WOODSIDE

A man appeared in Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday to stand trial for possessing an illegal weapon that he allegedly bought from a bodyguard of a high-ranking government official.

The firearms charge was one of a number of crimes Heng Seng, 32, faced, presiding judge Seng Neang said.

Heng and five others, including two teenage boys, faced a number of charges relating to possessing, using and trafficking drugs in Phnom Penh in January.

Heng Sim, 25; Oum Vanny, 17; Sok Anann, 16; Sovann Sithika, 23; and Kong Liza, 22, were tried on drug use, possession and trafficking charges.

"Vanny and Anann were arrested while they were transporting drugs … from Heng Seng and Heng Sim for sale … on January 8," Neang said, adding police confiscated methamphetamine during the arrest.

The other four were arrested at a rental property in Tuol Kork district the next day. Police allege they seized more drugs at that time.

A verdict is due on September 12.

That's my song," Sok Chanphal says over his shoulder on his moto as we pass a clothing store blasting a chord-heavy pop ballad onto Sihanouk Boulevard.

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Chanphal, 29, has written the lyrics of more than 100 songs for Cambodian music monolith Hang Meas productions, many of them for pop star and Coca-Cola ambassador Aok Sokunkanha. With FM radio and TV stations under its banner, the production company is the most successful in the country and churns out around 10 new song releases a month.

While his words find commercial success through the mouths of Hang Meas's best-known crooners, Chanphal is now finding recognition for a somewhat less-popular (and profitable) art form: literary fiction.

The songwriter has been nominated for the 2013 Southeast Asia Writers Awards (or SEA Write), one of the more prestigious regional literary awards for prose and poetry. His is the first Cambodian entry after a four-year hiatus.

In his FM tunes, the songwriter sticks to love, empowerment and achy-breaky hearts, but in his short fiction he treads more complex themes. Cambodian society is critiqued in fable-like narratives about corruption, extreme wealth and indifference.

In Chanphal's "Buried Treasure", published in the short story collection Just A Human Being, the first fiction collection translated into English and published by the Nou Hach Literary Association earlier this year, a villager dreams he finds hidden riches under a palm tree, only to discover that everyone in the village has had the same dream.

Corrupt officials arrive to claim the buried treasure for their own National Working Group, but the tale ends abruptly when the unearthed metal box over which everyone is squabbling, turns to be a landmine and explodes.

Chanphal has been involved with the Nou Hach association for a number of years and has self-published his work, including the slim volume Tale of the Lamp, which he hasn't the resources to promote or distribute to book stalls (a notoriously unprofitable system) but will often give away copies.

With an endearingly open smile and calming presence, the author is humble about the different sides to his craft. As the only child of a single working mother, he lived in nine different provinces before settling in Kampong Cham to complete high school. Books and short fiction were not in huge supply for his childhood, but music was – the poetry of Sinn Sisamouth's lyrics and 1960s songsmith Ma Lapy.

The first popular song he wrote was 2009's "Cheam Pich" ("Diamond Blood"), a heartfelt ballad from a son to his mother and released by pop star Chhorn Sovanreach.

"My mother liked the same music as me. In fact I didn't know I would be a songwriter in the future. I just listened like normal people to music, until I came to Phnom Penh and I had to find a job."

In Phnom Penh, Chanphal saw an advertisement for a short story writing workshop run by Nou Hach and rang to inquire.

"In high school we studied some literature – novels – but when I called the association, they said I had to write a short story.… I didn't know what [that] was so they told me to check in the library. I read a book of short stories and then came home and wrote one for them and they agreed to let me study."

A friend whom he worked with on a magazine recommended him to Hang Meas, writing lyrics to songs by the company's in-house composers or else re-writing hits from Asia and the US into Khmer.

"It's not a translation.… Sometimes it's the same or similar, sometimes it's [a] new meaning that we can accept in our country."

One of his most successful re-writings has been of Beyonce's power ballad "Halo", whose lyrics were re-modelled into "Krouk Cheu" ("Stand Up") and sung by Sokunkanha.

"It's hard to write good songs," he says. "Just to write a song is not too hard but if we want to write a good song, it's [very] hard."

Inspiration comes from TV and movie storylines, but also members of the public, who send him suggestions over Facebook, detailing their own love dramas and family stories.

The SEA Write awards began in 1979, attracting literary big guns like Iris Murdoch and Gore Vidal as guest speakers. Cambodia joined the program in 1979 and nominated its own writers for the next 10 years. The nominee in 2000 was the now-exiled writer Kong Bun Chhoeun, who had just published a book about the acid attack on singer Tat Marina, the girlfriend of a high-profile politician and the writer Oum Suphany won the prize in 2007 for her book Under the Drops of Falling Rain. For the past four years the country has not offered up an entry.

Part of the problem is translation, says Heng Sreang, director of PEN Cambodia, the Kingdom's wing of the global organisation that promotes literature.

Sreang has decided to take up the SEA mantle and ensure a local writer is nominated every year. This year he and a group chose Chanphal, based on his work published in Nou Hach.

"That's the plan. I have been calling out to all the Cambodian writers who have short stories that are good enough. Again, translation [into English] is still a barrier to us, but I'm trying to get more and more people involved in it."

Since forming officially in 2010, PEN Cambodia has been trying to establish links with other Asian literary scenes to make Cambodia part of the region's events and encourage a stronger, and freer, writing community. PEN will be holding "meet the writer" events and composition workshops at Pannasastra University and, later, in Siem Reap in November.

Chanphal is thrilled about his nomination, but is already onto his next writing project: a romantic comedy movie, directed by his friend.

"We have no experience with film, but we wanted to it start now," he says cheerfully.

After spending $30 on clothes, Chan Pheavy sat down for lunch in the food court of Sorya Mall, plunking her shopping bags on the floor beside her.

The midday traffic at the mall near Central Market last Sunday was at its peak. Escalators glided customers up and down through the five floors of densely packed shops and a movie theatre. Adults and teenagers stared at displays, while others milled around outside.

"It is very comfortable to do shopping here," Pheavy, 25, who works for a commercial bank in Phnom Penh, said as she ordered a soup for lunch. "I can find many products that are not available at traditional markets, and at the same time, I can check out changes in lifestyle."

As Phnom Penh develops and consumer spending grows, the demand for full-service shopping centres is increasing, and investors are moving in to meet heightened expectations.

"Consumers want much higher standards for shopping malls," said Hiroshi Suzuki, chief economist at the Business Research Institute for Cambodia.

Suzuki pointed to several projects in the making that would have a "good potential to lead the retail sector in Cambodia."

The Japanese-funded, 68,000- square-metre Aeon mega-mall is expected to open on Sothearos Boulevard near the Sofitel in July 2014. Parkson, a Malaysian retail chain, has said in the past it plans to enter Cambodia. Naga 2, a multi-purpose building on National Assembly Street that will accommodate five-star hotels, a department store and gambling, is set for completion in 2015 and will attract customers from NagaWorld casino.

As early as next month, the Young Commercial Center and Resort, a $15 million shopping complex on National Road 6 near Chroy Changvar Bridge, is expected to open its doors.

In Phnom Penh, there are 68,000 square metres of shopping-centre space filled by six suppliers, including Sorya Mall, according to a July report from CBRE, a real estate research firm. By the end of 2014, however, the supply of shopping space is set to rise 142 per cent. In 2015, the report said, the space should go up by a further 21 per cent, and an additional 13 per cent at the end of 2016.

Compared with other Southeast Asian countries, there's room to grow. The report found that the net internal area of high-quality shopping centres equates to 0.04 square metre per capita, compared with 0.07 in Ho Chi Minh, and 0.59 in Bangkok.

Owen Williams, manager of CBRE Cambodia, said mall mania is being driven by a combination of positive economic growth, an aspirational middle class and a young demographic with larger amounts of disposable income.

"Supply is set to grow at a rapid rate in the coming years, but we feel this supply will be met by demand due to improved quality of retail space, international management and the sector growth potential," he said in the July report.

Cambodia's youth, who make up a majority of the total population, are gradually moving away from traditional market shopping and finding their way into malls.

Since Sorya opened a decade ago, developers quickly followed suit, bringing to Phnom Penh shopping centres that include Sovanna Super market, Ratana Plaza, City Mall and Lucky Mall.

Chea Sokheak, general manager at Sorya, said that around 10,000 visitors arrive during working hours, but the number doubles on the weekends and holidays.

The mall is out of space to rent, Sokheak said, and though she's watching the growing competition carefully, she still thinks there's room for a diverse group of offerings.

"The newcomer could be a sign of more competition, but it is good because it pushes us to upgrade our service and quality," she said. "Earlier, when people overcame hunger, they only preferred normal food to survive. But now, [with a growing living standard] they prefer healthy and tasty cooking."

With bigger and glitzier options, there could be more recogniseable brands. Most malls in Cambodia still have largely individual, local retailers. Aeon mall said yesterday it was currently in discussion with representatives from global suppliers.

There could also be tough times ahead for the existing malls.

The CBRE study found that average ground floor rents in shopping centres have decreased 15.7 per cent year-on-year, from $39.5 per square metre to $33.2 per square metre. The decreases are a result of outdated shopping centres, the report said.

"With the new supply coming onto the market, expect stress and increased vacancy amongst those developments that are badly designed and poorly positioned," the report said.

Over her lunch at Sorya, Pheavy said that she's heard about the Japanese-funded AEON mall, and is "looking forward to see modern things in the centre".

Ou Seathong sells one of the most expensive foods in the world: edible bird spit. At her shop on Street 182 in Phnom Penh, she sorts edible bird nests on the shelves. Hundreds of years old, the Chinese delicacy is made of the congealed saliva of Asian swiftlets.

Business had been good, with Chinese tourists coming to her shop and buying the nests as souvenirs before going home. But a year ago, the Chinese government put a spoke in her wheel – a ban on imports of Cambodian bird nests.

"My clients, the majority of them, came from China," she said. "Commonly, in Cambodia there are not many people who know about bird nests, but it is well-known in China and Vietnam," she said.

"Now Chinese authorities banned the import and it is difficult to find a market."

It's still some of the most expensive spit around, but the ban has caused prices to drop, with Cambodian bird nests costing around $1,500, and imports from Malaysia being worth up to $2,000 per kilogram. In the Chinese tourist heyday, the Cambodian nests went for around $2,200 per kilogram.

Processed into food or beverages, the white nests and red nests are supposedly rich in nutrients and believed to have health benefits.

"The majority of my clients are pregnant women and elderly who need more nutrition," Seathong said.

She added that a bird's nest can last for up to four years before losing quality if preserved well.

Before operating the shop, around seven or eight years ago, she bought some nests from other local raisers and some which were imported from Malaysia.

The motivation for Seathong to start the business stemmed from her Chinese parents, who used to cook food from the nests when she was young. At the time, prices soared to $5,000 per kilogram.

But following her decision to start a shop, more and more people built houses for birds to collect their nests, and prices plummeted before being resuscitated by the Chinese tourists.

She said that even today, the number of bird-nest raisers is increasing, along the coastline, National Road 5 as well as in Phnom Penh. Generally, however, the bird's nests collected in coastal areas are of better quality.

Seathong's relatives live in Kampot and have three houses for birds to live in and make nests. They collect about eight kilograms for three months, and get the remaining supplies from Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk provinces.

Because of the difficulties she faces today, Seathong said she does not intend to operate a processing factory for producing beverages from the nests because it's expensive.

"It is high-class product," she said. "Right now it is difficult to sell."

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday urged Malaysian investors to buy into Cambodia's rice-milling sector to enable more exports and contribute to the country's economic growth.

Speaking at the Peace Palace during a meeting with Tun Datuk Sari Utana Mohd Khalil bin Yaakob, governor of the Malaysian state of Melaka, he said Cambodia has already been making progress in building more roads and other infrastructure in order to promote its economic growth.

But he said of this year's 7.6 per cent growth projection, the agricultural sector is playing a crucial role.

"Cambodia is trying to attract more Malaysian investors to invest in rice processing for export. [This] is what Cambodia wants," Hun Sen said.

Khalil said he will inform Malaysian companies to conduct feasibility studies about the sector in Cambodia.

From 1994 until the end of 2012, Malaysian investment in Cambodia reached $2.6 billion, according to official government statistics.

With their sights firmly set on the ensuing SEA Games in Myanmar, six Cambodian Equestrian team probables went through a unique experience during a two-week clinic at the Cambodian Country Club horse park and stables sponsored by international charity organisation World Horse Welfare in conjunction with the International Equestrian Federation.

Sharpening their focus on riding skills and enriching knowledge of horse up-keep formed the main plank of this novel equine education that also touched on such vital segments as saddlery and farriery.

One of United Kingdom's well known jumping and dressage trainers, Diana Fischer, who has been running her own competition and training yard for the past 10 years, directed the clinic, which was also attended by Cambodian Equestrian Federation's chief instructor Kathleen Lovatt and a new intern who is assisting her, Hailey Oakley.

Interestingly, the riders doubled up as grooms during the clinic, which taught them the finer aspects of equine care and their differing behavioural patterns to help understand the horses they mount.

"It brought home to the riders a sense of clarity about the basic standard of safety and helped boost their confidence when they get in the saddle," Lovatt told the Post in a wide-ranging conversation about the hectic equestrian activity in the lead-up to December's SEA Games.

"The timing of this clinic is perfect. With more than three months to go for that trip to Myanmar, the riders can practise what they have learnt," the instructor added.

One of Fisher's stated objectives is to help people achieve their equestrian goals. For someone who has worked with two of the best trainers in UK – Carl Hester and Richard Davison, who both competed in the 2012 London Olympics – Fisher put the participants at ease as she gradually took them through the process of understanding the delicate relationship between a rider and a horse.

"Its all about working with the riders to perfect their position and balance, and help them to understand how a horse's mind works and how they move and react in a certain way," the trainer observed in statement made available to the Post.

A typical day during the clinic stretched up to six hours over two sessions for the riders, alternating between workouts in the park and tending horses back at the stables.

"Our riders are now their own and teammates' grooms when we enter competitions, and this bonding with their mounts will help them perform better and that unique horse-sense that they develop will enhance their riding skills," said Lovatt, who will accompany the Cambodian equestrian team to Myanmar.

CEF secretary-general Tep Mona noted that the International Federation had been very helpful in providing the federation with equipment and human resources. "There is another similar clinic in the offing," she added.

Meanwhile, the CEF stable strength has gone up to 30 following the recent addition of four more. Three Argentinian-bred horses – a former polo horse from Thailand named Zoff, Uva Negra and Juanca – joined the CEF yard along with a fairly large-size Vietnam-bred pony named Relay, who was an absolute fresher to jumping but is now picking up the trade quite well.

But interestingly enough, all countries except hosts Myanmar will have to perform on "borrowed horses", making it a somewhat level playing field.

"No one knows the picks since mounts will be assigned on the draw of lots. You can either get a good one or a kinky type. That will keep the riders honest to their skills," Tep Mona told the Post.

"But after this intensive two-week training-learning process, Cambodian riders may well say, 'Give me a leg up. I can handle anyone.' If that happens, it is real good news for us and a big boost for our medal hopes."

The Tennis Academy of Kep will organise a four-day local open men's singles and doubles tennis tournament from tomorrow at the Villa Romonea court.

According to event organiser Sokphal Ngo-Sisowath, attractive prizes are on offer and players of any age with any skill level can take part.

"As a means of encouragement we have chosen six promising young players to participate in the event," Ngo-Sisowath told the Post.

These include Chem Sophors and Sen Sophon from Kep's ASPECA orphanage, Svay Voth and Ngoun Rameun of Ayravady School in Kep, and Timothy Tep and Titi from Phnom Penh.

To cap off the competition, a barbecue party for the players has been arranged at Kepmandou Lounge Bar from 9pm on Sunday.

Registration closes at 9pm today with the entry fee for singles set at $8 and $2 each for doubles.

The Tennis Federation of Cambodia has donated $200 and a box of tennis balls in its support for the tournament.