The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “It's easier without clothes” plus 9 more

But they complain about it, saying they've been doing it this way for years and it's easier without clothes. I usually just have to let them go.

Cambodia checked out of the AFF U16 Championships on Wednesday after a 2-1 loss to hosts Myanmar at the Wunna Theikdi Stadium in Naypyidaw, while Vietnam confirmed their progression along with Group A toppers Australia to tomorrow's semi-finals thanks to an 11-0 drubbing of Brunei.

The Kingdom's boys, lead by Swiss coach Sam Schweingruber, got off to a poor start, gifting Myanmar's Sa Aung Pyea the opening goal early on.

It wasn't until the 82nd minute that Cambodia were breached again with Suon Noeut turning the ball into his own net. Myanmar were then reduced to 10 men as Ye Min Thu was sent off for a professional foul, and Ouk Sovann converted a free kick at the death as consolation.

The hosts finished third in the group on six points, as Cambodia settled in fourth thanks to a sole victory over whipping boys Brunei, who conceded an astounding 43 goals without answer from four games.

The grand final and third-place playoff is slated for Monday.

The Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association has grown to 150 members since it started last year. As the only representative of women in the private sector, the CWEA connects and trains women in business, a field still dominated by men. Seng Takakneary, president of the association, sat down with the Post's Laura Ma to discuss women's presence in Cambodian business.

Why did you start the CWEA?
Women in private sectors, especially micro, small and medium enterprises, still have a hard time in the business world. We are the platform for women to voice issues and concerns to. We then compile those issues to bring them to the government.

We didn't have this kind of representation before. Women had not a single voice at the government level, except for the Ministry of Women's Affairs. But there was no private sector representative.

How do you go about assisting these entrepreneurs?
There are many issues in running SMEs. They need support from the government, technical assistance, infrastructure. We bring in professionals to deliver courses on the logistics of starting a business. The CWEA plays a very important role by facilitating all kinds of business requirements and capacity building.

The CWEA also meets with delegations to present opportunities for other countries to support Cambodian women entrepreneurs. Last year, I was honoured to receive Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, to share our concerns and to look for ways to strengthen women empowerment with female entrepreneur leaders.

Why do women have a harder time as entrepreneurs?
Due to cultural aspects. Women have a lot of responsibilities, work and family combined, but less income. Because of this, they have less time to learn and network. Especially for women without higher education, it's important for the CWEA to give them access to business information and knowledge. We invite successful women business owners to share their experiences at workshops so other members can learn.

What is the difference in the difficulties male and female entrepreneurs face?
It is harder for women because we are perceived as less capable in business. We don't want to fight with men, just prove we can also lead and own businesses. Society hasn't reached that level of acceptance yet. Also, government officials are used to dealing with businessmen. Men have an easier time in resolving issues they bring to officials. Men still have an advantage opening businesses.

What presence do women have in business?
As of 2011, 65 per cent of Cambodia's SMEs were owned by women. The single largest industry that over 30 per cent of CWEA members are in is the food and beverage industry. For large businesses, I think only one or two per cent are run by women. Women are reaching middle management levels, but they are not yet at the top level.

How does CWEA influence the aspirations of young women?
We have activities and public speaking events that they can attend. We show them how women can be entrepreneurs. We want to give a girl a picture of how her future will look if she becomes an entrepreneur and what kind of preparations are needed.

They can have role models to look up to. Expectations from parents have also grown. Parents now have equal expectations of success from their daughters and sons.

How big is the gender gap in Cambodia's business world?
Gender equality in Cambodia still lags behind other countries, and women in business here still have a harder time than those in the United States and the United Kingdom. The glass ceiling is still high and we haven't broken it yet. We don't have enough numbers yet to break the glass ceiling. We still have a few more decades of struggle.

How would you help fix that gender gap?
It is an easy question, but difficult to answer. Through education, training and motivation, we find as many possible ways to help women as we can. It is hard to narrow that gap, but at least the CWEA can vouch for women's ability to other ASEAN countries.

If a new office from another country opens in Cambodia, they know to find the CWEA to introduce them to the talent and business connections they want. Women's economic power is the backbone of the society. Women's presence in the private sector is improving. It's not growing as fast as I would like it to but we are achieving that step by step.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Reaching the top is a lot easier than staying there. Unbeaten in their last six outings, Alaxan FR Patriots may well remember this harsh reality when they take on an all-fired-up Sela Meas at the Beeline Arena tomorrow in the Cambodian Basketball League sponsored by Western Union and Coca Cola.

As the top-ranked team with half of the season gone, the Patriots are the obvious prime targets for every side they line up against. They have to bring out their best every time they are on court and so far they have been doing that with great gusto.

There were moments of anxiety for the Patriots last week when they crossed paths with the second favourites for the title, IRB The Lord. But Aimar Sabayo's versatile display got them through to a victory that was far more convincing in the end than the margin suggested.

The Patriots may find Sela Meas an equally harsh proposition and will have to be in their best form to deal with the purely Cambodian combination, which counts reputation-bashing as one of its traits.

Sela Meas are endowed with the strength and skill that could trouble the best in the business, and if the team succeeds in getting its act together on the day, the Patriots may have some hard time on court.

The top-ranked side will have to be on the look out for baskets coming from behind the perimeter, an area of Sela Meas forte, while keeping their own aggressive stream flowing.

First up at 10am tomorrow morning, Extra Joss Warriors have a relatively easy task of playing the all-Chinese Galaxy, a side that is completely out of depth right now. Despite the impressive stats that he has put in, one Kelvin Chan is just not enough to make Galaxy more competitive than they are.

Against a well balanced side that has the added incentive of height like the Warriors, Galaxy will probably find the going real tough.

The Warriors may find this easy picking to turn around two successive defeats unless they allow these reverses to prey on their minds and let Galaxy take advantage of that.

The teams ranked ninth and tenth – Pate 310 and NSK Dream – will be locked in a fight that could well determine their futures in the league this season. The winner will stay in the hunt for a play-off slot, while the loser may be a step closer to packing up.

An interesting aside to this game is the individual rivalry between Pate's Sok Tour and Dream's Samnang Sok.

In tomorrow's final game, a high stakes battle is on the cards when Ganzberg take to the court against Cellcard Eagles.

Credited with the second best offence among the 12 teams in the league, Ganzberg has showcased some great combinations involving Jeff Cruz and Sander David. The team has managed to post an average of 68 points per game, and if they can reproduce that progression, the Eagles could be in hot water.

But can the Eagles' reputed tight zone defence keep Ganzberg at bay? Therein lies the key to the success of either team.

Saturday's Schedule
Galaxy v Extra Joss Warriors – 10am
Pate 310 v NSK Dream – 2pm
Sela Meas v Alaxan FR Patriots – 4pm
Ganzberg v Cellcard Eagles – 6pm

The triple-header following MotoGP's summer break comes to an end at Silverstone with this weekend's British Grand Prix, which is set to be hotly contested as the field try to find a way past the near-unstoppable Marc Marquez of Repsol Honda.

The 20-year-old Spaniard – firmly at the top of the championship after taking four successive victories since Germany – remains the man to beat, with his team-mate Dani Pedrosa and reigning champion Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo keen to claw back points in their respective title bids. Sunday's main race starts at 7pm Cambodian time.

A prisoner was knocked unconscious and sent to hospital on Wednesday after he fell from a tree while cutting branches at a kindergarten in Sihanoukville.

The incident sparked outrage from police and commune officials who said Preah Sihanouk prison bosses had not told them of the prisoners' presence in the community.

"This case has shocked and scared people," said Kong Sear, the chief of Commune 2 in Sihanoukville. "Police had not been informed that those prisoners were carrying out work in the community."

Five workers had been cutting the branches of trees at the kindergarten – for firewood for the prison's kitchen – when Von Ret, 30, lost his footing and fell three metres to the ground, villagers told police. Prison officials took him to the provincial hospital.

Som Prak, the Commune 2 police chief, said prison officials should have told him prisoners were working outside, so that officers could ensure the safety of residents.

"Prison officials have to take responsibility for a case like this, but we're also partly accountable if a prisoner dies, disappears or is violent," he said.

Som Sophal, director of Preah Sihanouk prison, said the prisoners that had been working outside had not committed any serious crimes and had shown signs of reform behind bars, and confirmed that they had been up the tree because the prison needed firewood.

"We regret that one of our prisoners fell. But scans show no serious damage has occurred and he is … walking around as usual," he said.

With the threat of a strike on the Khmer Rouge tribunal's Cambodian side looming ever larger, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday called for donors to come up with additional financing for a court "in crisis" or risk losing it entirely.

"Cambodian staff have not been paid since June," he said in a speech, according to a transcript of the remarks. "The very survival of the Court is now in question."

Open Society Justice Initiative tribunal monitor Heather Ryan said it was "noteworthy" that Ban had addressed the court's struggle, but added that the tribunal still required "creative and practical solutions".

"One possibility would be for the UN to contribute to the court from general funds rather than relying on voluntary funding from individual countries," she said in an email.

Though the "solution has the disadvantage of letting the Government of Cambodia and the historic donors of the court off the hook", she added, such a measure may be the only option left.

A two-week strike in March over unpaid wages was ended by a similar "bridging fund" from the UN, a measure that court spokesman Neth Pheaktra said might be "necessary" to avert the strike, which is scheduled for September 1.

Meanwhile, UN special expert to the tribunal David Scheffer, who recently completed a tour of four ASEAN capitals, said in an email that member states had received him "warmly", but that the prospect of funding was still tentative.

"My best judgement is that these ASEAN governments are considering financial support for the ECCC but the timing of that support remains uncertain," he said.

The head of the National Police has issued a directive to all departments, provinces and municipalities, ordering them to stop deducting money from officers' salaries for so-called "charitable work" each month, according to a copy of the document obtained.

In the August 22 directive, signed by National Police chief Neth Savoeun, all police forces under the purview of the National Police were ordered to restrict their deductions to those intended for the officers' professional organisation, the Police Association, whose purpose is to disburse funds to officers in times of hardship.

The announcement comes on the heels of allegations in a note stuffed in a ballot box on July 28. In it, a soldier stationed in Preah Vihear accused his commanding officers of skimming money from soldiers' salaries.

"In departments, entities and provincial/municipal police sta­tions that fail to implement the instruction, the leaders must be held responsible under the regulations, disciplines and laws," the directive reads.

According to one police officer, who declined to be named, not all of the money deducted from salaries for "charitable work" goes to charity.

"My superior has deducted from my money since the Preah Vihear conflicts. One police officer has 40,000 riel (about $10) deducted per month, and a cut of the money is for the [Cambodian People's] Party – more than 10,000 riel depending on their rank," he said. He added that he welcomed the directive but those above him were none too happy to lose out on their cut of subordinates' pay.

"Our salary is low, and it is almost all deducted, so I was happy when I heard this news."

A normal officer's salary, he added, ranges from $125 to $150 per month, but monthly cuts of more than $12.50 made it almost impossible to support his family.

Chan Soveth, a senior investigator for rights group Adhoc, said collecting money for charity is one thing, but such deductions "should be discussed beforehand, to see whether or not it is agreed to".

Prime Minister Hun Sen will leave for China on Monday to lead a delegation to attend the two-day ASEAN-China Expo in Nanning, Guangxi province, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, in the latest of a flurry of diplomatic exchanges between the two countries.

The trip, which will focus on regional economic and trade cooperation, will include a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Premier Li Keqiang. The prime minister will be accompanied by Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh.

Foreign Minister Hor Namhong visited China this week for the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers Meeting, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Kingdom earlier this month, where he congratulated the ruling party on its election win and pledged his nation's support for Cambodia in preventing any act of "external disturbance".

Foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong declined to give further details about the planned meetings yesterday, while the premier's spokesman could not be reached.

Thousands of striking garment workers are set to return to work today, as more than two weeks of demonstrations at one of Asia's largest garment factories come to a close.

Meas Sotha, a shareholder at SL Garment Processing (Cambodia) Ltd, and Kong Athit, vice president of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), which represents SL employees, yesterday confirmed that the 6,000 workers intended to return to their posts.

Striking began on August 12, as workers demanded that SL remove military police standing guard inside the factory and cut all ties with Sotha, the man who hired them.

The workers' return to work comes after a meeting between C.CAWDU, SL management and the Phnom Penh municipal government, during which government officials ordered SL to cut ties with Sotha, Athit said.

Sotha yesterday evening said he had not received any information about his alleged dismissal. Officials from City Hall could not be reached.