"My truck is a wreck," Mu Sochua, head of Cambodia National Rescue Party public affairs, warns as she climbs on board and gets into position for her last campaign rally of the election season.

After a month of tireless campaigning, a good deal of which she has spent perched precariously on a wooden stand at the back of this vehicle, it's no surprise that both Sochua and her car are a little beat up.

"I've got a hand infection from holding onto this [rusted] railing…I've got an eye infection too," she says.

Such trivialities, however, do not seem to faze the 59-year-old MP and human rights advocate.
Sochua is leading the CNRP's campaign for Battambang province – home to Cambodia's second-largest city and known as the 'rice bowl' of the Kingdom. Despite this being where she first won a National Assembly seat back in 1998 with the Funcinpec royalists, it won't be an easy fight.

The Cambodian People's Party, led here by Interior Minister Sar Kheng, hold six of eight seats available in the province.

Sar Kheng, whose name is emblazoned on public infrastructure projects across the city and is a longstanding ruling party candidate in the province, is said to be an influential figure in Battambang that will be hard to defeat.

Observers say however, that the lack of media access in Battambang could play just as large a role in hampering the opposition's bid to make significant inroads. The inability of migrant workers that have crossed the border into Thailand to return home to vote has also been fingered as an issue in the province.

"We are aiming for four seats. We will get three for sure, three is a given. But four will be a battle," Sochua says, ducking under an overhanging tree branch between words.

Some analysts, however, have pointed out that winning even an extra seat in Battambang (the former Sam Rainsy Party won two seats here in 2008) could be tough for the CNRP.

In the CPP's fortress-like headquarters near the centre of town – a stark contrast from the CNRP's base in a rundown house on the outskirts of the city – Uk Vong, deputy chief of the party's provincial council, said he had no doubt the party would retain its six seats.



"People will not change, because they are afraid of returning to war like in the Lon Nol and Pol Pot era. They happily believe in Prime Minister Hun Sen's leadership," he told the Post. 


Still, support in Battambang town, where a few thousand young supporters yesterday joined Sochua's final convoy through the bumpy dirt paths and backstreets, could make some difference.

Despite being the female face of the opposition and a key CNRP figure, however, Sochua does not have the populist clout of party leaders Kem Sokha or Sam Rainsy.

As she freely admits, it is the CNRP's 25-strong youth leadership committee that have organised and drummed up support for the party's Battambang rallies, including raising money from individuals to add to the $90,000 provincial war chest.

At a youth concert to end the campaign on Friday, between massive sing-a-longs, party supporters would traipse through the crowd and hand over small amounts of money to the hosts on stage.

Their names and donation amounts – often between $1 and $3 – would then be read out to rapturous applause.

"They are amazing…you have a young guy coming up to us at the rally. He says he earned $1.50 today…and he says, here. Take it. It's for [the party]."

Given that the Battambang race has been characterised as a face-off between Sochua and Sar Kheng, it's surprising that around town, many have not heard of either leader.

Suon Chamroeun, 33, the CNRP's number six candidate for the province, explains: "It's not according to the candidate, it's according to party policy. Both the youth and elders they need change. They don't care about the candidate," he says.
"The rallies are like a magnet…the youth just join."



Tony Visal, a 25-year-old restaurant owner who supports the CNRP because of its strong stance on corruption, says his parents' fears of opposition politics are symptomatic of a generational divide in Battambang.

"My parents, they think about January 7, 1979 [when the Vietnamese invaded and ended the Khmer Rouge regime]. It is hard to change their minds," he says.

"More people are worried about civil war coming again. It's a common fear…and when they hear that, they put faith in our current leaders and stability."


Ny Sreymom, 24, a young CPP supporter, may prove that despite Sochua's efforts, the long-term visibility of the ruling party is likely to trump the opposition's youth card in Battambang.

"I am not sure about [who] the candidates [are]. But some 80 percent of my village and myself support the CPP because the party has developed everywhere," she said.

That reasoning could explain the sentiments of a tired-looking Sochua as she took to the stage at the youth concert for her final speech of the campaign.

Hundreds of angry tuk-tuk drivers gathered outside the Khmer Economic Development Party's Phnom Penh headquarters yesterday, after the party pulled out of an ambitious two-day rolling rally at the last minute.

The president of the seven-month-old party, Huon Reach Chamroeun, entered into an agreement with about 350 drivers, promising each between $20 and $25 per day to drive around Phnom Penh throughout Thursday and Friday to promote the party, drivers said.

On Reach Chamroeun's request, drivers arrived at the party's headquarters early yesterday morning, said Ou Chan Sophak, 35, who woke up at 5am in order to make the 20-kilometre drive from his Kandal province home.

But when the drivers arrived, party officials told them that, as it turned out, their services were no longer needed.

"I took money from home to fill up petrol and hoped to earn it back today," Sophak lamented. "I do not know how to tell my wife about this; we do not have money for this. I am ashamed."

Party officials did promise to pay the drivers in excess of $8,000 altogether for the two-day tuk-tuk campaign, said Hang Channan, the KEDP's deputy secretary. But they had to back out of the deal because they had not heard from party president Reach Chamroeun, who was in Thailand collecting $10,000 for the campaign, Channan said.

"He went to get the money to rent the tuk-tuks and other campaign equipment, but he is missing now," Channan said yesterday. He added that Chamroeun had already spent about $1,000 on loudspeakers and merchandise featuring party logos.

Whether the party's president made an effort to fund the rolling rally made little difference to hundreds of drivers like Khon Vuthy, 34, who could have spent his time earning money from regular fares.

"We did not pick up customers so that we could arrive at the headquarters on time," Vuthy said. "Yet the party breached their promise and did not pay us."

We were supposed to be at the Olympic Stadium to see Hun Sen cast the first vote, but everyone missed it. Some never made it out of the building, and one person collapsed in the street.

A deputy district governor and his alleged lover were sent to Battambang Provincial Court yesterday over accusations they had been engaged in an adulterous affair, Komrieng district police chief Chhim Kimhong said.

Kimhong said the adultery complaint had been filed against Deputy District Governor Soung Keo and Heng Siny by Siny's husband, Hong Pov, who discovered the couple in a room at his and Siny's shared home — with the door bolted from the inside.

"After that, the husband told me, and I informed him not to use violence. Then the police arrived and arrested them," Kimhong said.

According to Kimhong, both defendants maintained their innocence, with Siny saying she and Pov shared a house, but had filed for divorce and were yet to receive the final paperwork.

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy's request to have his parliamentary immunity restored before Sunday's national election was refused yesterday by the National Assembly permanent committee — which consists wholly of ruling Cambodian People's Party lawmakers.

"The permanent committee has unanimously decided that because [Rainsy] has become a president of [Cambodia] National Rescue Party — which does not have seats in … parliament — that it cannot restore … immunity," National Assembly president Heng Samrin wrote in a letter to Rainsy.

The granting of Rainsy's request could have allowed the pardoned leader to make one final bid to be registered as a candidate.

In June, the same committee stripped opposition lawmakers of their political status, claiming they had broken the law by joining the CNRP after winning their seats as Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party members. Those two parties merged to become the CNRP last year.

Rainsy wrote to Samrin on Tuesday, asking for his immunity to be restored, citing a law that states that "any lawmaker convicted and granted a pardon from the King will have his immunity restored".

On Monday, the National Election Committee ruled that Rainsy's name will remain off its lists, meaning he is ineligible to run as a candidate or vote.

Nguon Nhel, first deputy of the National Assembly, said Rainsy had forfeited his immunity by resigning from the SRP.

Rainsy not being allowed stand as a candidate would not affect the legitimacy of the election and observers would still recognise the result, he added.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann disagreed.

"An opposition party president who does not have his name in the voter list and cannot stand as a candidate — how is this election free and just?" he said.

Koul Panha, executive director of election monitor Comfrel, said the committee's refusal to restore Rainsy's immunity was contrary to constitutional law.

"The [parliamentary] law contradicts constitutional law. [Constitutionally], refusing to restore [Rainsy's immunity] is not legal," he said.

Police said yesterday that they believed the gruesome murder of two young female students was premeditated and happened on site.

Deputy Phnom Penh police chief Choun Narin said officers were continuing to investigate. On Wednesday, a passerby discovered the decomposing bodies of Vorn Leakhana and Choub Sreyleak — bound together by electrical wire — with stab wounds to their head and ropes around their neck.

The pair were reported by relatives to have been robbed of a motorbike, iPhone and jewellery.

Narin said police believed that the perpetrators killed the women at the scene.

In an effort to avoid exacerbating expected traffic congestion on the National Assembly campaign's final day, large trucks are banned from driving in Phnom Penh today.

From 5am until midnight, trucks will not be allowed to travel the streets of the capital, according to a directive signed by Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Pa Socheatvong and received by the Post yesterday morning.

Phnom Penh city spokesman Long Dimanche further urged truck drivers and merchants to cooperate with the ban, noting that multiple parties will likely fill the streets with vehicles campaigning.

Many restaurants, shops, supermarkets and tourist sites in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap will operate at a limited capacity or close entirely this Sunday as people line up at voting stations to elect a new government.

"We will close the whole day on the 28th," Kong Vireak, director of the National Museum, said.

Businesses will also face staff shortages over the weekend and into early next week, as workers in factories, enterprises and institutions are allowed three days off starting July 27 to accommodate voters who need to travel, according to the Ministry of Labour.

Lucky supermarket, Cambodia's biggest shopping retailer, will close all its stores across the country on the morning of July 28 to allow staff to vote, Satya Wuthy, space management supervisor, said yesterday.

The stores, however, will reopen at noon.

While restarateur Luu Meng, president of the Cambodia Hotel Association, said it is up to the business owners whether they want to shut, several small-scale restaurants, bars and cafes in Phnom Penh are deciding to close or open later in the day.

Blue Pumpkin, a popular bakery and ice cream shop, will close two of its branches, but the riverside store will remain open. Java Cafe on Sihanouk Boulevard will also shut up shop. Both businesses will resume full operations Monday.

Costa Coffee will remain open Sunday, but with a skeleton staff and service might be slower.

Thiebault Nicolet, manager of Van's Restaurant, said the restaurant will be closed for lunch on Sunday and open again at 5pm, allowing employees to vote. Staff living farther away, such as in Siem Reap, are getting three days off.

He said he expects business to be more "quiet" in the evening, as people will prefer to stay close to their neighbourhood and avoid election-related traffic or blocked roads.

In January, the Australian Embassy and the United Nations advised their employees to stock up on emergency supplies of food and water ahead of the seven-day mourning period for King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

Asked whether customers had come to Lucky supermarket to buy supplies for the weekend, Wuthy, the supervisor, said it was the "same as usual".

Despite the closures, Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, said the weekend won't have an impact on the tourism industry, which accounted for 12 per cent GDP last year.

"Yesterday, I was in Angkor Wat; it's full of tourists," he said, adding that none of the tourists would postpone their trip, because "they don't care about the election".

An official with the Ministry of Tourism said that he was unaware of any major sites closing down; the National Museum is overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

Nightlife should be tamer too, as the government has banned the sale and consumption of alcohol by Cambodians and foreigners on the day of the election and the day before to prevent any interference, according to a directive signed this month by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

A similar ban adopted during the commune elections in 2012, however, was ignored in many parts of Phnom Penh and the provinces.

Phnom Penh Crown Academy have their last chance to make an impression in the FAM-Frenz U15 Champions Trophy when they host Vietnam PVF Academy at 4pm tomorrow at Olympic Stadium.

The Cambodian boys are coming off a 1-0 loss at home to Singapore NFA on Tuesday, their seventh defeat of the campaign, which was decided by a solitary second half strike by Rusyaidi Salime.

With two points from two draws, Crown seem destined to finish at the foot of Group A unless they can pull off a huge upset win over Vietnam, who will leapfrog tabletoppers Chonburi Academy with a victory.

One Fighting Championship have announced three more match-ups for their September 13 mixed martial arts fight card at Jakarta's Istora Senayan stadium.

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Pakistani MMA pioneer Bashir Ahmad is set for a featherweight clash with No-gi grappling world champion Bruno Pucci of Brazil, while Dutch-Indonesian Vincent Latoel will make his ONE FC debut opposite Dutch veteran Willy Ni in a lightweight contest.

Indonesian grappling champion Brianata Rosadhi has also stepped in to face Malaysian bantamweight Raymond Tan.

Also on the undercard, Long Sophy will become the first Cambodian to fight in a ONE FC cage in September when he takes on Indonesian featherweight Max Metino.

The September event will be headlined by a flyweight battle between Japanese veteran Shinichi Kojima and American wrestler Andrew Leone.

"ONE FC will be back in Jakarta on 13 September with a fight card that is sure to get the adrenaline pumping for the passionate Indonesian fight fans," ONE FC CEO Victor Cui said in a press release yesterday.

"Bruno Pucci and Bashir Ahmad are two of the most electrifying featherweights in Asia and their encounter will deliver non-stop action. Indonesian standouts Vincent Latotel and Brianata Rosadhi are exciting fighters who always come ready to put on a show and I'm sure they will be looking to give the home fans something to cheer about."

Cambodia-based fans can catch all the action live on Star Sports, while local channel MyTV also plan to show the fight with Cambodian commentary.

Ahmad is undefeated in his two professional MMA fights to date with his last win coming in an exhilarating back-and-forth slugfest against Thailand's Shannon Wiratchai at ONE FC: Kings & Champions in Singapore in April.

Ahmad had his brow split open in the first round by a vicious elbow from the Thai, but battled through two more bloody rounds to collect a points decision.

A fearsome striker, the 30-year-old Pakistani will look to keep the fight standing against a grappling specialist like Pucci.

Brazilian Pucci is a two-time No-gi grappling world champion and holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He also brings a 2-0 record into the fight having produced two impressive submission victories against established Brazilian opponents.

Pucci, who turned 23 on Tuesday, now trains out of the prestigious Evolve MMA gym in Singapore and will look to make his mark in the highly competitive Asian cage fighting scene.

Vincent Latoel is a Dutch-Indonesian kickboxer that hails from the famed Golden Glory gym in Breda. A 34-year-old veteran of more than 30 fights, he will make his Asian MMA bow in Jakarta.

With roots in the Indonesian state of Moluccas, Latoel will be hoping to produce something special for 15,000-odd home fans in attendance.

Willy Ni is a shooto veteran from the Netherlands, who has faced some of the best lightweights in Europe including British slugger Dan Hardy.

He is especially proficient with his grappling skills, having claimed nine of his 15 wins by way of submission, and is relishing a return to the cage after being out of action for four years.

Indonesia's Brianata Rosadhi has stepped in to replace injured compatriot Stefer Rahardian, who had to withdraw from the planned bout against Raymond Tan.

Rosadhi is a Wushu champion who has also impressed on the grappling circuit and will be looking to use his versatility to catapult him to a victory.

Bragging rights will be at stake as he takes on Raymond Tan from Malaysia, a nation that holds storied sporting rivalry with Indonesia.

Raymond Tan is a founding member of Penang Top Team and ranked as one of the best bantamweights in his country.

The 26-year-old will be looking to use his long reach to devastating effect with crisp striking and signature kicks when he faces Rosadhi in September.

A gun, bullets and two Cambodia National Rescue Party caps were laid out on a table yesterday during a press conference at Phnom Penh Municipal Police headquarters to announce the arrest of six alleged robbers.

Police said the males, aged between 16 and 24, most of them students, had been arrested after robbing victims of their motorbikes, iPads and phones as they travelled on the street.

Deputy municipal police chief Chuon Narin said he suspected the group also used drugs.

"These suspects are being questioned further before their case is sent to the court," he said.

Police added that some of the men had CNRP stickers on their own motorbikes and possessed party caps.

No explanation was given as to why the CNRP hats were displayed alongside weapons and stolen goods.

The arrests came days after television stations ran news features in which CNRP campaigners were accused of "gangster" behaviour and drug use.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said those who committed crimes must be dealt with according to the law.

"But please, authorities, don't link crime to politics to defame the CNRP," he said.

Police said an officer broke his leg during a struggle.

Sam Rainsy has made his triumphant return to Svay Rieng, the province where he was once convicted on charges of inciting racial discrimination, and where yesterday he doubled down on the anti-Vietnamese tough talk that has long been a mainstay of his rhetoric.

Rainsy, along with two others, was found guilty by the Svay Rieng Provincial Court in early 2010 on a handful of charges — including racial incitement — for his involvement in uprooting border de­marcation posts that he maintained Vietnam had been planted on Cambodian soil.

In a speech to supporters yesterday, Rainsy seemingly picked up where he left off.

"We will usher in a new era in Cambodian history to write a new page on the protection of its territorial integrity," he said.

"Many Yuons have come. They move their border posts close into our territory," he continued, using a sometimes-derogatory term for the Vietnamese.

"I pity Khmers very much. They have lost their farmland, because Yuons are always coming in, and the authorities do not protect their fellow Khmers at all, but protect the invading Yuons. Now they have brought Yuons to vote for Hun Sen, so Khmers should vote for Sam Rainsy to protect our territory."

Speaking next to a car that held farmer Meas Srey — one of Rainsy's co-defendants in the border-post case who spent nearly 10 months in jail — Rainsy questioned the validity of his conviction.

"The Yuon authorities set up demarcation markers on [Meas Srey's] land that dates back to her ancestors, and when she joined us to pull them out, she was imprisoned," he said. "How about Chhouk Bandith? The guy shot and injured three female workers and gets away with it instead."

Rainsy never served any jail time on his convictions, and has spent most of the last four years in self-exile in France.

CNRP supporter Has Say, 75, said Rainsy's stance on Vietnam had particular resonance with him. "He dares to fight against Yuons, and he has seized the land from Yuons for Cambodians," he said.

"At my house the demarcation markers have been moving closer to my house, and if I continue to support the [Cambodian People's Party] I will lose both the house and the land."

However, Kao Phorn — one of the many CPP supporters dancing and blaring loud music near Rainsy's rally — said that Rainsy had "only empty promises".

Border committee president Var Kimhong also dismissed Rainsy's claims of Vietnamese encroachment as merely election propaganda.

"If he says we've lost [land] anywhere, point it out and I will go down to see whether or not it's been lost," he said. "Don't say [this] for the votes."

But according to political analyst Lao Mong Hay, votes are precisely what Rainsy stands to gain by keeping up his anti-Vietnamese rhetoric, which plays to the concerns of a sizeable segment of Cambodians.

"People have been concerned about the continued influx of Vietnamese nationals into their country.… Not all [voters], but many," he said, adding that the subject rarely entered the public discourse. "They talk in private — a lot."

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STUART WHITE

We must give them what they want. Rainsy's arrival is not interesting for our viewers.

The past 20 years have not been easy for the Funcinpec royalists.

After overwhelmingly winning Cambodia's first democratic election in 1993, the party, led by then-King Norodom Sihanouk's son Prince Norodom Ranariddh, was strong-armed into a power-sharing coalition by the now-ruling Cambodian People's Party.

It was all downhill from there.

Ranariddh was ousted from his position as first prime minister to Hun Sen's second in a coup d'état four years later that saw bloody battles on Phnom Penh's streets.

Since that first ephemeral peak in '93, Funcinpec's fortunes have plunged dramatically, with the CPP slowly eroding its power in successive coalitions that have left it a tiny minority partner with little political clout.

It won just two seats in the 123-member National Assembly in the 2008 elections.

"This is the last stage for Funcinpec.… The trend of their popularity has gone from being the winner to being the loser," political analyst Kem Ley told the Post this week.

"The Cambodian people have no hope in Funcinpec [now]."

Set up by Sihanouk from exile in Paris in 1981, the party originally appealed to voters looking for a return to Cambodia's so-called golden age under Sihanouk's rule from 1965 to 1970, Ley said.

With Cambodian demographics now firmly skewed towards the youth and Royal appeal waning further in the wake of Sihanouk's passing last year, the popularity of the royalists has diminished almost altogether, observers say.

"What's interesting is that Funcinpec's decline is in parallel with the decline of royalty as an institution in Cambodia," eminent Cambodia scholar David Chandler said.

"There is no popular feeling for royalty anymore … only among older people."

The roots of Funcinpec's demise are often traced to the 1997 coup that saw its military forces overrun and party leaders forced to flee the Kingdom after a number of extrajudicial killings of loyalists. Amid international pressure, Ranariddh and others were allowed to return for the 1998 election, winning 43 seats. With the rise of the Sam Rainsy Party as a viable opposition force, the party won only 26 seats in the 2003 election. After Ranariddh was toppled as leader three years later, the party suffered dramatically, losing almost all of those seats in the 2008 election.

"Things went wrong in 2006.… The Funcinpec leadership at that time was all around Ranariddh, but they were not loyal to him," a longtime Ranariddh adviser told the Post.

Nhek Bun Chhay, the current secretary-general of the party and an ally of Hun Sen, is alleged to have engineered the coup against Ranariddh, who went on to form an eponymous party that won two seats in 2008.

According to Funcinpec spokesman Tum Sambo, the royalists could win up to 15 seats this election thanks to a recent merger with the former Norodom Ranariddh Party (later renamed the Nationalist Party after Ranariddh was forced out last year) and a new party president in Sihanouk daughter Princess Norodom Arun Rasmey.

"We have joined together. All our supporters are back to one party with one voice.… After the King Father's passing, more people will vote for the party," Sambo said.

But observers are not as optimistic.

"For the majority of voters, I don't think we can simply equate that two plus two [seats] will equal four seats," political analyst Chea Vannath said.

Instead of emerging as an opposition force, Funcinpec's longstanding partnership with the CPP has undermined its voter base, she added.

"Looking at the dynamism of the different parties and the dynamism of voters … they see Funcinpec as affiliated to the ruling party. So the common voters would rather vote for the big party."

Chandler agrees: "They just didn't have the voter base that Sam Rainsy managed to achieve.… They were [historically] strapped and outmanoeuvred by Hun Sen."

In a sign that many Funcinpec members hold no illusions of a return to prominence, party spokesman Sambo said that in his opinion, the royalists should join the CNRP.

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"If Funcinpec joined the opposition party … with all the old Funcinpec members … in my own thinking, it would be better for the party," he said.

Party splits and defections have plagued Funcinpec over the years, with much of the CNRP leadership, including Sam Rainsy, Kem Sokha and Mu Sochua, all former Funcinpec members.

According to a long-serving adviser of Ranaridd, who wished to remain anonymous, the recent merger will not do anything for the party.

"They are not on the Cambodian radar screen. They cannot garner any votes. They have no political platform.… They just have people running around like chickens without heads."

A dyed-in-the-wool royalist himself, he has accepted that Sihanouk's name is no longer enough in modern Cambodian politics.

"People want to know what you are going to do about unemployment, immigration, inflation, education.… Being a King's daughter is not enough anymore."

Police in Phnom Penh's Por Sen Chey district are investigating the killing of two young women whose bodies were found bound, strangled and stabbed yesterday after they had been missing from their homes since Monday, police said.

The decomposing bodies of victims Vorn Sreyleak and Nguon Srey Leakhana, which were stumbled upon by a construction worker, were tied together with electrical wire, with rope around their throats and stab wounds to the backs of their heads, according to police, family members and neighbourhood residents.

"We are still investigating the case, and we have not identified the perpetrators," said Mak My, police chief of Kraing Thnong commune.

Another officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the crime was likely motivated by money, as the victims' possessions had been stolen.

"This is a murder-robbery case, I think," he said. "However, our expert officials are still working more."

Vorn Sokpom, 25, speaking from her sister Sreyleak's cremation ceremony, said her sister hadn't been seen or heard from since 9am on Monday morning, when she had left her school. Sreyleak had said she was going to a party with a friend, but Sokpom did not know if she ever made it there, as the friend did not attend the funeral, she added.

"The friend did not come. If he came, he might know what happened; [or] he might not know," she said, noting that Sreyleak had been robbed of an iPhone 5 and nearly one damlung of jewellery.

Nguon Phy, Leakhana's father, said that his daughter had also been robbed of about a damlung of gold, as well as her new motorbike.

"Until now, police are still investigating, so we can't say anything. What I saw was that my child's neck was tied with hammock rope, and the back of her head was stabbed many times with a knife," he said. "I would like to appeal to authorities to arrest the perpetrators."

Leakhana and Sreyleak studied at Methodist School of Cambodia and lived in Phnom Penh's Thmey commune.

A months-long battle to secure back pay waged by 750 garment workers has ended only days before the national election — with the government footing the bill.

The $450,000 payout to the Pine Great (Cambodia) factory workers, whose factory owner skipped town in April, is being financed through a loan from the national budget, with payment to be made today.

Workers previously expressed concern that they would be unable to pay transportation costs so they could cast ballots if they did not receive their pay by Friday. They further vowed to protest in front of the Ministry of Social Affairs on Election Day if the wages remained unpaid.

Upon hearing the news, the out-of-pocket employees "laughed and thanked Prime Minister Hun Sen for helping them receive their wages after spending more than three months demanding" them, Keo Sokhom, a worker representative, said yesterday.

Touch Somuth, a member of a Ministry of Social Affairs committee formed to handle the dispute, said that because Pine Great's Chinese owner had fled the country, the committee had decided to try to distribute pay to all workers at the Meanchey district factory today.

Those who could not make it, he added, could pick up their money at the Ministry of Social Affairs.

While in favour of the decision to pay the workers money rightfully owed to them, Moen Tola, head of the labour program at the Community Legal Education Center, questioned the timing of the payments.

"We see political manipulation more than commitment to the sole issue," Tola said yesterday.

Rather than paying money out of the public budget, the government should set up a system where companies deposited a certain amount of money to avoid complications like those seen at Pine Great if a company became insolvent, Tola said.

Regardless of the government's motive behind the payments or how they were going about making them, Sokhom said the action secured the Pine Great workers' votes.

"We will go to vote, and we will vote for Cambodian People's Party, because they always help the workers," Sokhom said.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance paid out $6.5 million to more than 7,000 workers at Yung Wah, a Gap supplier, who were owed compensation.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEAN TEEHAN

Phnom Penh International Airport's navigation system will be upgraded today with the instalment of a new satellite-based system that aims to improve efficiency and reduce fuel usage, an aviation official said.

Chhun Sivorn, director of the Air Navigation Standards and Safety Department of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said besides ground navigation, the airport will be able to provide performance-based navigation (PBN), a concept developed by the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization.

"We are going to implement the PBN in Cambodia on 25 July," Sivorn said.

Under the system, navigation doesn't need to rely on ground facilities with beacons. When a plane departs Bangkok to Phnom Penh, if it is equipped with PBN, "the aircraft [is] navigated by the satellite in space", he said. The move saves money and the human resources needed to maintain ground facilities, he added.

It also saves fuel, as it allows the aircraft to choose shorter routes, skipping over beacon-based facilities.

The airport will still use ground facilities for older aircraft without the necessary PBN equipment, he said. Siem Reap will get its upgrade in December, while Sihanoukville will follow next year. The project is part of a Japanese-funded initiative for new air traffic management systems in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Launched in January 2011, the project lasts until January 2016, on a budget of around 500 million yen ($5 million).

Four months after the Philippines and Cambodia signed an agreement to increase rice trade, the plan is stuck in limbo.

Philippine Ambassador to Cambodia Noe Wong and Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh signed a deal in April for the Philippine National Food Authority to import rice through the Cambodian state-owned enterprise Green Trade.

Thon Virak, Green Trade's director, said yesterday that the company is waiting to schedule a meeting because relevant partners are busy preparing for the election.

"We are still waiting for the delegation from the Philippines to come here for a detailed discussion," Virak said. "We plan to send the invitation letter to them, but need to wait for Cambodia's new government to form after the national election."

Last year, a similar agreement between Cambodia and the Philippines was also planned but could not be finalised after Cambodia reportedly delayed a decision to lower prices to levels the Philippines was demanding.

The Philippines aims to achieve rice sufficiency this year but is planning to import around 187,000 tonnes of rice for stocks.

The seventh and final round of group stage fixtures in the 2013 Financial Challenge Cup was completed at Beeline Arena on Tuesday night, with table toppers Maruhan group capping off a fine campaign with an 18-2 annihilation of Ernst & Young.

Meanwhile, Wing made sure of their second place with a 3-1 defeat of HwangDBS, while Cam Ed routed FTB 5-1 to finish third. PwC proved too much for KPMG, winning their tie 4-1 to grab fourth in the standings.

The sides now progress to playoff matches next Tuesday from 6pm at Beeline Arena. The Finals day is slated for Sunday, August 4.

As you enter the lobby of the newly built multi-storied National Olympic Committee of Cambodia headquarters in the iconic Olympic Stadium complex, you cannot miss an eye-catching collection of sports apparel and equipment neatly racked or stacked behind huge glass panels.

So what's special about the one-stop shop full of splashy sportswear and don't-you-want-to-try-me gear, T-shirts, shorts, track suits, boxing gloves, tennis rackets and even petanque boules?

Just another one of those outlets you might think, until you realise it's an exclusive Football Thai franchise, the fastest growing sports brand in Southeast Asia, which has a market niche. FBT is in 40 countries and counting.

More significantly, this is the first FBT foray into Cambodia as a retailer, despite the Thai manufacturing giant's having been omnipresent in the Kingdom's sports sphere for a few years now as a provider and sponsor associated with the NOCC and some of its affiliates.

Just about every matchball that was kicked during the second half of the just-concluded Metfone C-League football championship was sponsored by FBT, and so were the referees' uniforms for part of the season.

As many as 4,000 runners taking part in the International Phnom Penh Half-Marathon wore specially designed shirts given away by FBT, whose involvement with Cambodian sports is growing deeper with every passing major event.

When the country's big contingent heads to the SEA Games in Myanmar, every member will be kitted out in training and competitive clothing provided by FBT, under a purchase deal with NOCC's main sponsor, NagaWorld.

"Our relationship with NagaWorld has been very cordial and long-standing. They have been using our brand for their football team and we provided clothing to the SEA Games squad that NagaWorld sponsored in Indonesia [in 2011]," FBT director of international marketing Thamchai Chokephaibulkit told the Post in an exclusive interview during his recent visit to Phnom Penh.

"For us, Cambodia has a special place. We want to support Cambodian sports in every conceivable way. At the same time we would like to establish our brand. There are exciting marketing possibilities. We have a strong presence in other ASEAN countries and we wish to add Cambodia to that list.

"As a manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer, FBT can control the quality of its products to the end customers, and at the same time have the flexibility to suit all types of markets," added Thamchai, whose brother Monchai is the deputy managing director, while his three sisters also hold strategic management positions in operations wholly controlled by the family.

Producing high-quality products at affordable prices has remained FBT's business philosophy, and this market mantra has not only helped the brand flourish but also to stay competitive with some of the world's best known names.

It was nearly 60 years ago that a then 20-year-old odd-job man stitched up a football by hand when Thailand had mostly only seen Europeans play with them.

Kamol Chokenphaibulkit knew nothing about the game, except that he has had requests from some foreigners now and then to repair or patch up balls.

When he finally managed to get one into good shape and size on his own, it became an obsession — and then a profession that would ultimately change his and his emerging family's life.

He started importing bladders from Germany, one of only a few countries making footballs at the time. From putting together two or three footballs in a day and selling them one by one, the number increased as he decided this would be his chosen path.

He hired a few hands for help, rented a shop in Bangkok's Lat Krabang district. He had a clear vision of what lay decades ahead.

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He registered the business as a company – Football Thai – in 1952. The rest is the stuff of legend in Thailand's manufacturing sector and sports goods industry.

Today, that famous combination of letters that adorn the chests and sleeves of millions of brand loyalists generates an annual turnover of $50 million, providing gainful employment for nearly 3,000 workers in two factories where every day 20,000 pieces of clothing, up to 15,000 footballs and 10,000 pairs of shoes are produced.

The company's product range list is remarkably long and includes numerous other items from American footballs to petanque boules, through punching bags and squash rackets, and even medicine balls.

Yet the man directing the international marketing operations makes it absolutely clear that FBT will not stop looking for continental expansions, greener marketing pastures in more and more countries, while sticking to its vows on high quality and affordable pricing.

"That part of our promise will never change," said Thomchai.

There is more to FBT in Cambodia than a mere showroom in Phnom Penh. It is bound to prop up its visibility and influence, and in, the context of Cambodian sport, FBT could well mean "For Better Times".

Four foreign boxers will clash with Cambodian fighters at Beeline Arena tomorrow, as part of Bayon TV's monthly international "Khmer Fighter" event.

The first match-up at 65kg sees Krud Meanchey Club's Em Vutha take on Brazilian Pachero. Ung Virak of Commando 911 Club then comes up against Frenchman Sebatioe Billro at 73kg, before Ministry of Interior Club's Sao Se Noeun faces Simone Cecchini of Italy at 65kg.

Military Camp 31 Club's Vong No wraps up the evening's action with a 67kg bout against France's Raphe Boch.

TRANSLATED BY CHENG SERYRITH

Dear Editor,

Political parties vying for parliamentary seats in the upcoming election rarely talk about their plans for the economy — just when it is absolutely crucial to do so.

For a country that experienced war and genocide during large parts of the 20th century, Cambodia has certainly achieved remarkable growth over the past two decades.

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Gross domestic product increased almost six-fold between the first democratically held election in 1993 and the current one.

In per capita terms, an average Cambodian today earns more than four times what he did 20 years ago.

As a result, Cambodia is set to join the rank of middle-income countries — albeit at the lower end — later this year.

But Cambodia's next stage of development is rife with perils.

While much of our past growth was underwritten by tax incentives, inexpensive labour and abundant natural resources, the contributions from the garment and mining sectors will not last. Rising labour costs and increasingly contentious industrial relations mean that some investors will leave in search of cheaper destinations.

Furthermore, in a world well-served by modern transportation and telecommunication links, Cambodians and Cambodian businesses will have to contend with counterparts far beyond our borders in search — and in defence — of jobs and markets.

It is perhaps too early to talk about the middle-income trap. But Cambodia's future growth risks becoming directionless, inequitable and unsustainable in the absence of serious reforms and strategic investments in some important areas.

Take education, for example. The effort to rebuild the education system after the fall of the Khmer Rouge has yielded admirable results in terms of physical infrastructure and enrolment and literacy rates.

But fundamental problems persist. While curriculums are frequently updated, the underlying pedagogy is not.

The four-hour school days are shorter than those in neighbouring countries, and the introduction of student-centred learning has not been particularly successful.

In tertiary education, the main focus of many universities seems to be the number of degrees granted rather than equipping students with practical skills in response to job market demands.

And due to low salaries and benefits, the teaching profession struggles to attract and retain young, capable and passionate graduates who instead opt for better-paying jobs in the private sector.

Fundamental education reforms are long overdue. Now that access to physical assets such as schools and textbooks is no longer a major issue, the emphasis must be on improving the quality of education to ensure that the next generation of Cambodians are ready for a global economy that is less labour-intensive and more knowledge-driven.

The environment is another area deserving much more attention than it currently receives. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Cambodia's primary rainforest cover has declined steeply from over 70 per cent of total forest area in 1970 to just three per cent in 2007, making the rate of deforestation in Cambodia among the fastest in the world.

The scramble for mining rights and economic land concessions has also contributed to the rapid depletion of valuable nonrenewable resources.

Putting Cambodia's growth back on a sustainable path requires a complete re-evaluation of the impacts these large-scale commercial activities have on the environment and the livelihood of the rural poor.

Last but not least, Cambodia depends to a considerable extent on foreign assistance to fund its annual budget. On the one hand, foreign aid helps fill the funding gap for social services such as health and education.

On the other, having ready access to aid money reduces the incentives to strengthen domestic revenue collection through a broader base of taxation and more effective enforcement measures.

This is neither an ideal nor tenable long-term arrangement. Cambodia needs a plan for an orderly medium-term exit from aid.

A self-funded budget is critical because it is a sustainable source of financing for physical and social infrastructure, as well as a mark of fiscal responsibility.

These reforms are an important first step towards building a solid foundation for the future.

Reforms are never easy, but recent events offer some cause for optimism. Not too long ago, visitors flying into Phnom Penh at night were greeted by a city mostly enveloped in pitch darkness.

But the Phnom Penh skyline has undergone drastic change, with luxury apartments and high-rise buildings going up at dizzying speed.

This is a sign that, while we have endured much hardship, we have also made significant progress.

At the same time, it is important to remember that the ultimate measures of a country's development are not the scale or height of its buildings, but the quality of life and well-being of its citizens.

These can only be achieved through pragmatic efforts backed by genuine political will.

You Sokunpanha holds a master's degree in public policy degree from the University of Michigan and currently works in banking in Phnom Penh.