The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “To generate martyrs” plus 9 more

I have always felt that Sam Rainsy was hoping for an overreaction by security authorities to generate martyrs for his movement.

Last week, an event occurred in Singapore that had been on the cards for years, if not decades, and the wonder was that it had not happened sooner.

Like the Arab Spring, the masses toppling the Berlin Wall, the marches for gay rights and myriad other public eruptions, it seemed like everyone said to themselves: Yeah, that's been a-coming awhile.

It came on Sunday, December 8, and it was not just a racial riot, not just disadvantaged Indians venting their despair. No, it was the first sign that Singapore's demographic pressure cooker had started to blow its lid.

Those who know the conditions under which more than a quarter of the city state's population live and work were less shocked that the riot occurred than that it did not spread and cause greater carnage.

For he who rides a tiger cannot dismount. And in contracting more than one million South Asians to do its dirty work – all the harsh, grotty jobs that effete Singaporeans will not do – the island republic mounted a very fearful tiger.

It cannot now get off without effectively committing economic suicide.

As the local academic Mukul Asher once told me: "Singapore has been able to use these foreign workers and their low wages and conditions to maintain its competitiveness and high growth rates."

The trashed stores, overturned police cars and torched buses in its Little India district, however, exposed the danger of this exploitative policy.

But instead of dwelling on forensic analysis, let's try to personalise the plight of those who, wrongly, but understandably, ran amok last week.

After I'd interviewed Asher for a story about Singapore's poor, a colleague from the Straits Times directed me to districts where the down and out live.

The areas were a real eye-opener and would not have been out of place in the seedier parts of Pathein or Phnom Penh.

Walking around, I met some Bangladeshi workers who had come out to shop and meet friends – it was a Sunday, their one day off each week.

We chatted and then went to Serangoon Road for something to eat. No one drank any booze; in fact, I don't recall seeing anyone drinking, let alone getting drunk – the spurious official reason for last Sunday's riot.

When it grew dark, they took me to Kaki Bukit in eastern Singapore, where there are vast sheds housing hundreds of thousands of foreign workers.

One of them loaned me his key card to go through the turnstile and we climbed the bare stairs to the third floor where we entered a long, narrow dormitory with rows of bunks stacked to the ceiling.

My first thought was of a concentration camp. My second was of the doss house in George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier with its stifling dank air and suffocating stench of boiled cabbage and sweaty socks.

The workers crowded round and told me about the irregular water supply, the endemic bedbugs, the lack of air-con and many other gripes.

There were 3,200 of them staying at this Kaki Bukit site, most from Bangladesh, India and Myanmar.

They get up at 5.30am, go to work at seven and normally do two hours overtime, meaning they finish at 7.30pm and get back to their bunks at 8.30. They do this six days a week and get about US$20 a day for it.

Last December, 200 of their colleagues, mostly construction workers and bus drivers, staged Singapore's first strike in three decades to protest poor pay and unhygienic dorms.

Calling the stoppage "a threat to public order" the government sent in the riot squad and the workers were variously jailed, fined and deported.

Belatedly, their employers agreed to fumigate the bedbug-infested dorms and investigate unpaid back wages and other grievances.

Reporting this, I concluded: "The message is clear. The workers are not all right, Jack. Quite the opposite, they are angry and ready to rumble."

Last Sunday they started to rumble.

For the first time in three weeks, the top-seeding was justified as Taiwan's Chen Ti defeated fourth seeded Toshihide Matsui of Japan 6-3, 6-4 to win the final leg of the Cambodian US$10,000 ITF Futures Series for the GLF Tep Khunnah Trophy at the National Training Center on Saturday.

Close matches between these two circuit regulars go back a long way and their recent brush was two months ago at an event in Shanghai.

In his address to spectators after the match, Chen Ti said he was happy to win on this occasion. "Matsui is a great competitor. I feel tennis is all about long term improvement. I won this week, may be the outcome is different next week."

In yet another hard-fought encounter, what made the difference on Saturday was that Matsui didn't play well enough, by his own admission, and Chen didn't miss much.

"Today was not just my day," Matsui told the crowd, while complimenting his rival for his consistency. That, indeed, was the snapshot of the final.

The first seven games stayed with the servers in the first set but when he came around to serve the eighth, Matsui was the one to lose his resolve after the first two points had been shared.

Matsui, ranked as high as Japan's No 1 in doubles, rushed to the net behind his serve only to be cleverly lobbed over by Chen.

Matsui completely misread the flight. He preferred to leave it alone. The ball landed in, bang on the line. Just the kind of a shock Robin Kern had gone through when his judgment in a similar situation had gone wrong on set point against Ramkumar Ramanathan in the quarter-finals.

What followed was a Matsui outburst at the chair umpire and the loss of his serve. Chen seized the break and served out the first set.

A break in the third game of the second set allowed Chen to free his arms as he began to get on top of almost every return. As the 30-year-old grew in confidence it was seemingly draining out of Matsui, though he stayed sharp on his service games and retained them till the end of the match. Unfortunately for 35-year-old Matsui, Chen would also remain as sharp.

Serving for the match 5-4, Chen saw Matsui save one match point with a delicate shot at the net but on the second, the top seed produced a passer that left his Japanese opponent stranded, having moved up behind his sliced return.

"I had a good time here in Cambodia," said Matsui, who brought out a peal of laughter from the crowd when he said in a lighter vein: "I want to thank the officials, chair umpires, line judges and ball boys, even though they gave me a hard time this week."

He also offered his special thanks to GLF President Mitsuji Konoshita for sponsoring the last two weeks of the competition.

Interestingly enough, the year Matsui came on to the Japanese pro circuit scene fresh from Hawaai University, Konoshita was bowing out of his professional career to pursue business interests.

At the closing ceremony, Konoshita spoke about his own playing days and his long relationship with Matsui. "Personally I was rooting for Matsui, but in my mind I wanted both players to have a good match.

"I thank His Excellency Cham Prasidh for not only his excellent leadership but to make time to be with us here", he added.

Minister for Industry, Mines and Energy Cham Prasidh, who is also the president of the Tennis Federation of Cambodia, highlighted the significance of GLF's partnership with the Futures events for the last two years.

"It is not easy to find sponsors these days. I thank Mitsuji Konoshita for this great support to Cambodian tennis," the TFC President said.

Indians win doubles
Friday turned out to be sweet and sour for the two Indians competing in the singles semi-finals and doubles final.

Last week's GLF Cham Prasidh Cup winner Ramkumar Ramanathan and his compatriot Karunuday Singh combined very well to win the doubles final against the Japanese duo of Takuto Niki and Arata Onozawa 6-4, 6-3. But on the same day their singles campaigns came to an end.

Toshihide Matsui defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-2, 7-5, while Chen Ti had to battle hard all the way to down Karunuday Singh 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Troubling times continue to be afoot at the Football Federation of Cambodia as their U23 national team look likely to complete a second successive SEA Games campaign without a single point won.

The Kingdom's men, led by the lambasted head coach Lee Tae Hoon of South Korea, take on current Group B leaders Thailand today from 4:30pm at Yangon's Thuwunna YTC Stadium. Cambodia have lost 4-0 to their neighbouring rivals in both of the past two SEA Games group stages as well as losing 2-1 in the semi-final of the 2013 BIDC Cup at Olympic Stadium on November 8.

Hosts Myanmar also booked their place in this Thursday's semi-finals after drawing with Thailand 1-1 on Saturday. East Timor and reigning silver medalists Indonesia fought out a goalless stalemate on Saturday to ensure Cambodia would finish bottom of the group.

A 3-2 loss to East Timor last Thursday was a bitter pill to swallow for Cambodia, with Sos Souhana's 23rd-minute opener cancelled out by Felipe Santos moments later.

The Timorese then went ahead just before half-time through Pedro Gois, but Prak Mony Udom drew things back level on 71 minutes.

With three minutes left on the clock, Diogo Rangel was at hand to grab all three points for East Timor, although Cambodia would at least have been pleased to have finally found the back of the net.

Today's 7:15pm kickoff in Yangon sees Myanmar face Indonesia. The hosts are equal on points and goal difference with Thailand, so will need to get a better result than them to assume top of the table honours.

Little had been expected of Cambodia's chances in Myanmar following news that four players had been kicked off the team just hours before flying out to Yangon.

However, the FFC stated it would not release information on the matter until after the squad returns home.

Football fans here will yet again be demanding the immediate sacking of Lee as coach and it will be interesting to see how the federation responds to reports that the Korean tactician failed to train with his players a week before their departure to the SEA Games as well as unsubstantiated rumours that he had been arrested and then quickly released for engaging in illegal activities close to that time.

Cambodia's official FIFA world ranking has recently improved to 188th from an all-time low of 198th in July, but a slide down again appears probable considering they presently sit just above Brunei and East Timor.

The Kingdom's best ever ranking of 154th came during Lee's initial stint in March 2011.

An opposition rally mixed pop and politics last night as a band featuring singers who say they were dropped by entertainment companies after joining the Cambodia National Rescue Party performed for a 5,000-strong crowd.

The Freedom Park concert featured a performance by the five-member Youth Justice Band, who played songs from their debut album, which was released yesterday.

"They are songs that talk about the fight," CNRP lawmaker-elect and public affairs head Mu Sochua said, adding that the record discusses land issues, deforestation and abuses of Cambodian migrant workers abroad.

The title track, Nonviolence is Our Dharma, is an ode to the party's protest tactics and delivers a message of Khmer solidarity: "No arms/no weapons/no violence/we don't take any Khmer as our enemies/our police, our military are also Khmer".

Sochua said she helped bring the band together during rallies in October when she noticed youths performing onstage at Freedom Park. Some of them, she said, had previously held contracts with major entertainment companies before going to work for the CNRP.

"When I heard about their contracts being cancelled, right away I said 'this is not justice for you'," Sochua said.

Although the CNRP does not pay their entertainers, "more than half" of the profits from album sales will be given to the artists, she said. Plans for tours to Australia, the United States and Canada for 2014 are also in
the works.

Band member Sophorn Lary, 29, who has starred in several movies made by the Cambodian Television Network, said the firm stopped calling him after he announced his support for the opposition. However, it recently offered him roles in less high-profile TV shows, he added.

"They are probably disappointed with me that I sing for CNRP events. It's not only me – some other stars who get involved with the opposition party, they won't be invited to star in TV shows or concerts."

Bernard Anthony, general manager of CTN's parent company CBS, said he was unfamiliar with Lary's case but said that CTN enforces an anti-discrimination policy that extends to political beliefs.

Fellow Youth Justice Band member Heng Theara, who performed regularly on a number of stations, said that his participation in the CNRP is part of a lifelong distaste for the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

"I've disliked Hun Sen since I was very young," Theara, who began his career as a six-year-old beggar singing for money, said.

"Most famous people who are singers help the CPP, and I wanted to be the first one to sing for the CNRP, to give encouragement to other people."

He said that he began campaigning for the CNRP in August 2012 under the assumption that the party would win the elections, adding that work dried up afterwards. Although he is now living off friends' generosity, Theara said he has no regrets.

"The CPP will pay you to perform, but I'd rather sing for the CNRP for free," he said.

Phay Siphan, government spokesman, said that any bias against the CNRP within the entertainment industry is out of the government's hands.

"The media has their own choice of how they use their funding," he said.

The value of Cambodia's overall trade volume for 2013 is expected to reach $16 billion, according to the former Minister of Economy and Finance, Keat Chhon. The figure comes to a 14.4 per cent rise from last year.

Speaking at an import-export fair on Koh Pich yesterday, Chhon, now the permanent deputy prime minister, said the growth is thanks to free market policies and the government's effort "to promote trading in all target sectors", a reference to the goal of exporting 1 million tonnes of rice exports by 2015.

"After implementing this policy, rice exports have increased gradually. Exports in the first 11 months of 2013 reached 332,009 tonnes, an increase of almost double from 2012," he said.

Kong Putheara, director of the statistics department at the Ministry of Commerce, said trade was largely unaffected by election-related protests from the opposition party that started earlier this year, or a series of sometimes violent garment factory demonstrations over wages.

"We are still exporting our goods," he said.

Economic recovery in two of the country's biggest importers, the US and EU, was the main driver.

"Because of the better economic situation in US, EU and Japan, Cambodian exports seem to enjoy continuous growth for the time being," Hiroshi Suzuki, chief economist of the Business Research Institute for Cambodia, said in an August interview.

Malaysian-owned company VW Win Holdings Plc launched lottery operation Camloto in the Kingdom this week, making it the second to go live in as many months.

Camloto CEO Jimmy Kong unveiled the new start-up, which will draw its first ball tonight on all major TV stations, on Saturday at the company's office in Phnom Penh.

VW Win Holdings invested $4 million to create its new subsidiary, with another $2 million pledged for phase two of the process in 2014, which includes the establishment of a charitable organisation.

"There is a growing middle class in Cambodia, but penetration of lottery companies is still very low. I believe Camloto has the right product with good locations and right cost structure to sustain ourselves for many years to come," Kong, the CEO, said.

Tickets for Camloto's drawings start at 1,000 riel each.

According to International Labour Organisation figures released in August, 37 per cent of all Cambodians live on about $1.25 per day, or 5,000 riel. Two thirds of all Cambodians live on less than $2 per day, or just more than 8,000 riel.

The ILO report concluded that approximately 635,000 Cambodians can be "classified" as the developing middle class, earning more than $4 per day and able to afford non-essential goods like a lottery ticket.

Cambodian economist Srey Chanty contested the need for more lottery operators in the Kingdom and called on the government to match the outflow of gaming licences with an increase in gaming tax.

Cambodia's gaming tax currently sits at 10 per cent of all gaming and casino related earnings.

"Poor people especially want to believe they have a chance so they may play a small amount every week or more, but even then, the chance to win does not match the money they could save for their family," he said. "To say that a lottery is in some way going to benefit the middle class is just an advertisement."

The new lottery offering joins a select group of televised operators, including Lucky Dragon, which launched in October, and TAB. It comes a year after casino giant NagaWorld launched and scrapped a similar project in November 2012 due to "unpopularity".

Drawings will occur four days a week and jackpots range between $3,750 up to $12,500.

A Chinese national and three Cambodian brokers were arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport on Saturday after allegedly attempting to sell three Cambodian women as brides in China, police and court officials said yesterday.

In the third human-trafficking case involving the would-be sale of Cambodian women to Chinese nationals in just over a month, 41-year-old Liu Shiping, a Chinese native, arrived at the airport on Saturday afternoon with the intention of picking up the three women and taking them back to his home country, Lieutenant Colonel Keo Thea, chief of Phnom Penh's Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Unit, said yesterday.

Kandal-based couple Kheang Sorphea, 28, and Kheang Sengly, 31, were both arrested along with Doeuk Meth, 53, a farmer living in Kampong Speu, for allegedly collaborating with Liu to sell the three women.

"They were arrested by our Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Unit because they brought three girls from Kandal, Kampong Speu and Kratie provinces to catch a plane to China in order to marry Chinese men there," Thea said yesterday, adding that Liu is suspected of facilitating the trafficking of dozens of Cambodian women.

Police became aware of Liu's human trafficking business in Cambodia earlier this year, Thea said, after women who had been exploited by the broker tipped police off.

Sorphea, Sengly and Meth were paid by Liu to locate women, earning up to $1,500 per woman; Liu allegedly then sold them abroad for anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 each, officials said yesterday.

The three Cambodian women that were rescued on Saturday are 19, 20 and 21 years old, Thea said.

"They now have been sent back to their families after they were educated by our police."

All four suspects are being detained for further questioning at the capital's Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Unit.

The suspects, who could not be reached for comment, were preliminarily charged by police with violating article 16 of the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation law. They are to be charged in court today.

Police knew some of the men guarding artefacts at the Royal Treasury on Oudong Mountain had stolen from the site in the past, an official said yesterday, as four security guards and a villager were charged and referred to an investigative judge.

Kandal Provincial Governor Phay Bunchouen told the Post that authorities knew some of the security guards were stealing statues of the Buddha from the site in 2010. Police also said that when they searched the chief of security's house last week, they discovered numerous statues that had been looted from the site.

Police found several Buddha statues at the house of chief of security Pha Sokhem and took five back to the stupa at Oudong, Bunchouen said, but the statues they discovered were not the artefacts looted
on Tuesday.

"We believe the stupa contains thousands, even tens of thousands, of statues," he said. "There are loads of artefacts buried under the stupa on Oudong Mountain, and some [people] used to comb through the artefacts to sell them in 2010. As a consequence, they [the suspects] have a bad background."

Sokhem was charged by Kandal Provincial Court yesterday with theft along with his colleagues Seang Sarin, Ka Sat and Chom Thai. Kan Sopheak, a villager who drank alcohol with the guards the night before the theft, was also charged, police said.

In 2002, the urn taken last week was transported from Phnom Penh to the Sakyamuni stupa on Phnom Preah Reach Troap – the Mountain of the Royal Treasury – in what was arguably the most important Buddhist event in the post-Khmer Rouge era.

The relics were donated by Sri Lanka in 1957 in anticipation of the 2,500th anniversary of the birth of Buddhism.

Experts in Buddhist archaeology told the Post on Saturday that the relics were likely destined for sale to private collectors in Thailand or elsewhere in Asia.

"Sadly, the urn … will probably end up locked away in someone's private collection," professor Robin Coningham of Britain's Durham University said in an email. "I would strongly advocate clearer protection of sites and surveys of unprotected sites to evaluate their importance."

Dougald O'Reilly, director of Heritage Watch International, which campaigns to preserve Cambodia's cultural legacy, said that the items could potentially fetch a high price.

"I'm not sure who would want [the relics], but it may be that [they have] considerable value, especially in Thailand, where Buddhist amulets imbued with 'special powers' are widely exchanged," he said.

Cambodian wrestler Chov Sotheara repeated her success of the 2009 SEA Games in Laos by clinching gold in the women's under-44kg freestyle event on Friday at the 27th edition in Myanmar.

The conclusion of the wrestling competition, held at the National Indoor Stadium in Yangon, saw the Kingdom haul in four gold medals, equaling the total golds won by the entire delegation at Indonesia's Games two years ago.

Back in her favoured weight class after a failing to make the podium at 52kg in 2011, Chov Sotheara beat Thailand's Pimpak Sureeporn into silver as Myanmar's Thidar Soe took bronze.

Meanwhile, Cambodia's Sou Joshua secured bronze in the men's under-96kg freestyle.

Over at the petanque pits near Naypyidaw's Athletes Village, the Cambodian team were unable to reproduce their gold winning exploit in Indonesia, but added another silver and bronze to their collection yesterday.

Douch Sophorn and Ouk Sreymom were beaten 13-4 by Thai pair Wongchuvej Phantipha and Thamakord Thongsri in the final of the women's doubles.

In the men's singles, Ouk Samnang lost his semi-final 13-8 to Myanmar's Than Zaw Oo, who went on to claim gold with a 13-9 win over Thailand's Sonthung Wattanachai.

With no other victories on a busy day of sport yesterday, Cambodia resided in eighth position in the 11-nation medal table on four golds, six silvers and 11 bronzes.

Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam occupied the top three spots respectively, all on 33 golds each with silvers currently dictating the order.

East Timor remained the only country not to boast a gold medal, and only have one bronze to their name.

Cambodian swimmers fared poorly at the Wunna Theikdi Swimming Pool over the weekend, with none of the team members qualifying from the heats.

Maximov Chamraen Youri and Hem Thon Ponleu were both entered into three men's events each, including 50m and 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 100m and 200m backstroke, while Thoeun Thol took part in the 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle races.

Hem Thon Vithiny and Seng Samphors failed to progress in the women's 100m freestyle and 100m backstroke respectively.

Ponleu and Vithiny's fellow London Olympian Kieng Samorn were outclassed on dry land yesterday at Naypyidaw's Wunna Theikdi Sports Complex, finishing marginally but effectively last in the men's 400m heat.

The cycling events held around the complex didn't offer any cheer for Cambodia, with domestic champion rider Ngul Lech and his team-mate Keo Ratha struggling to match the pace of regional rivals in both Friday's men's mountain bike cross country race and yesterday's men's 50km individual time trial.

Thong Sokhamony carded a first round of 87 at the Royal Myanmar Golf Course in Naypyidaw yesterday to assume last place, 19 shots off joint leaders Danthai Boonma of Thailand and Gavin Kyle Green of Malaysia.

In the volleyball tournament at Naypyidaw's Zayar Thiri Indoor Stadium, Cambodia suffered 3-0 shutouts to Myanmar on Friday and Thailand yesterday. They will wrap up their Pool A group stage with a game against Malaysia tomorrow.

In the same arena, Cambodia finished off their hard fought basketball campaign with a 84-48 capitulation to Indonesia yesterday. The loss, which was decided mainly by first and last quarter blitzes from their opponents, means the Kingdom will likely finish sixth in the seven-team table ahead of hosts Myanmar.

The Philippines clinched their 16th gold medal with a game to spare.

Cambodia's bodybuilding beefcake Sok Sopheak fell agonisingly outsided the medals on Saturday in the men's 60kg section at the Myanmar Convention Centre in Yangon, while team-mate Tek Bunvy came fifth in the men's 70kg final.

Cambodia's equestrian team of Hoy Sopharith, Lon Sopheaktra, Sor Puthminea and Sim Narith failed to add to their growing reputation by finishing last out of six nations in the team dressage final at the Wunna Theikdi Equestrian Field in Naypyidaw on Friday.

Sor Puthminea on Myanmar A Hla came 11th and Sim Narith on Gunderman came 12th in individual dressage on Saturday.

And finally, some quite outrageous scenes at the Yangon Hockey Field saw the Cambodian women's team lose 36-0 (a reported new world record for an international match) to Malaysia on Saturday. This most
riotous of routs had come after a 26-0 drubbing on Friday.

Cambodia will play Indonesia today, Singapore tomorrow and Myanmar on Thursday.