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No democratic nations have the prime minister organising a demonstration … only the Soviet Union has done that.

Outside the Bloomtime Embroidery factory in Por Sen Chey district yesterday, Chenda, a 23-year-old garment employee, said he would refuse overtime work this week, even though it means a large cut to his monthly wage.

"I can get about $30 per month from overtime work," said Chenda, who declined to give his full name. "I need the money, but I want to help the other workers who are detained in prison."

About half an hour later, at 5pm, Theara, 35, walked out of the nearby Bright Sky factory with more than 2,000 other workers finishing their overtime shift.

Forgoing overtime seems pointless, since so few in her factory went along with the boycott, said Theara, who also declined to give her full name.

"On Monday, between 30 and 40 workers among more than 3,000 workers boycotted overtime," Theara said. "It is difficult to succeed, because workers are not united."

The actual size of a boycott of overtime work in Cambodia's garment factories remained dubious yesterday, as it moved into its second day. Garment workers participating demand a minimum monthly wage raise to $160, the release of 21 detainees arrested during demonstrations supporting a garment worker strike early last month and five other points.

Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), said more than 150,000 workers across 129 factories boycotted overtime on Monday, but he didn't yet have yesterday's total.

However, Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said that number was largely inflated and few factories are affected by the action.

Other leaders of unions behind the overtime strike – which precedes a planned stay-at-home strike from March 12 until at least March 19 – said yesterday's participation was at least on par with Monday.

Collective Union of Movement of Workers president Pav Sina and Community Legal Education Center labour program head Moeun Tola both alleged that military police gathered at some factories at about 2pm yesterday in an apparent attempt to intimidate workers.

Military Police spokesman Kheng Tito could not be reached for comment last night.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Hun Sen decried industrial action by workers during a speech in Preah Sihanouk province. "Please, hold protests against these inciters," Hun Sen said.

In Phnom Penh yesterday morning, opposition party president Sam Rainsy spoke out in favour of releasing the 21 detainees during a small demonstration in front of the Supreme Court.

"They were detained on an unfair charge," Rainsy said. "I have experienced that, not once, but thrice."

A 50-year-old man was charged yesterday by Phnom Penh Municipal Court for allegedly trafficking 15 Cambodians to Thailand and will await his hearing in Prey Sar prison, anti-trafficking officials said.

Seng Hay, 50, from Takeo's Borei Cholsar district, is charged with luring the labourers across the border with promises of work, said Lieutenant Colonel Keo Thea, chief of the municipal anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection unit.

"He was arrested … while he was preparing the 15 people from Kampong Cham province to leave Phnom Penh in taxis and illegally cross checkpoints in Poipet," Thea said, adding that if found guilty, Hay could face 15 years in prison.

The 15 each paid the accused $150 to arrange transport across the border, said Thea's deputy, Major Khat Phalla.

Cambodia's first coal-fired power plant, which is expected to fill shortages in demand by producing an additional 100 megawatts of electricity every year, commenced full-time operations yesterday.

But despite the energy boost, which could finally stabilise the power supply, electricity prices aren't expected to go down, and environmental concerns about the plant are staring local residents in the face.

Representatives from Malaysian company Leader Universal Ltd (LU), which built the plant, joined Prime Minister Hun Sen and officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy for the official launch yesterday in Stung Hav district, Preah Sihanouk province.

Operating under local subsidiary Cambodia Energy Ltd, LU completed the $195 million project in November after three years of construction.

LU received a 33-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) land concession from the Cambodian government in 2010 for the project – three years for construction and 30 years for operation before handing the plant back over to the state.

The Malaysian firm has also built the necessary power transmission line and substation that will ferry increased supply (once power reaches Phnom Penh) east to Kampong Cham province.

Presiding over yesterday's official opening, Hun Sen said the plant will put domestic supply closer to demand, providing a consistent source of energy for Phnom Penh, where power shortages have long frustrated city residents.

"Phnom Penh energy usage has increased tenfold since the 1980s, when usage was about 30 megawatts. Today it is about 400 megawatts," he said.

The addition of this project and a partially Chinese-owned coal-fired plant slated to open later this year will bring the total number of domestic and foreign energy sources, including local hydropower and imported energy, to 11.

"From this year onwards, maybe people in Phnom Penh will not complain anymore. And maybe also people in Kampong Cham," Hun Sen said, referring to sporadic power outages.

But while Hun Sen said that more domestically sourced power was on the way, he added that prices will ultimately stay the same, as the company works to swing a profit while repaying banks that helped to finance the project with loans.

"The usual price for electricity is 2,000 to 3,000 riel per kilowatt hour. If we could reduce to 1,000 riel or even less, we would do it. But we just cannot do it," he said, citing the need for further investment in the energy sector.

Since it was first proposed in 2008, the Preah Sihanouk plant, which imports coal from Indonesia, has been met with fierce criticism over potential environmental and health impacts.

"The really big issue with coal is that it has the highest greenhouse gas emissions of any fossil fuel per unit of energy gained," said Eric Kemp-Benedict, director of the Stockholm Environment Institute's Asia Centre. "Coal plants are an infrastructure with a very long lifespan, so when you install a coal plant you're talking 30 years of energy production with high greenhouse gas emissions."

Residents who live close to the plant voiced fears over worsening air quality and dangerous run-off from the plant's operations.

"We are concerned with the impact on our health as well. And the environment that we live and depend on every day," said Nget Neav, 45, from Kaong Kang village, about 10 kilometres away from the plant.

Gnin Heng, a 58-year-old fisherman who lives in Stung Hav district, said he is worried about his livelihood.

"We are always concerned because it is new and we are afraid that the waste of the power plant will affect the flow and the health of the waters here, hurt the fish and essentially our fishing," he said.

Cambodia Energy Ltd spokesman Tan Chin Jeen said the company had adhered to all requirements in its environmental impact assessment, and that additional protective measures were in place.

"We have installed an electrostatic precipitator, or an air cleaner, which removes all of the ash from the smoke that you would normally see rising from the top of the chimneys," he said.

According to the CEL spokesman, the company has rallied significant commercial interest in purchasing the ash-waste, which is removed from the residual smoke and used in producing concrete.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LAIGNEE BARRON

It will be years before oil starts to be produced by energy giant Chevron's offshore site in the Gulf of Thailand, a senior Cambodian official said yesterday.

Meng Saktheara, secretary of state at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, said that negotiations over taxation have continued to stall the approval of Chevron's permit to extract, and though Saktheara is confident a resolution will be found soon, it could take "three to five years" for Cambodia to see its first drop of oil.

"So far, the government has not yet responded to the application due to the issue of taxation," Saktheara said, referring to disagreements over how much of Chevron's share of the profits should go towards state coffers.

Once those terms are worked out, he added, it only kick-starts the process of extraction, which could take until 2019 to see tangible results.

Chevron declared in 2010 that oil reserves covering 4,709 square kilometres in the Gulf of Thailand were economically viable.

However, the company's negotiations with the government has led to delays in the long-anticipated project, which would greatly help Cambodia loosen its dependence on energy imports.

"We want to make sure that all Cambodian people benefit from this development," Saktheara said.

Steve Glick, former Chevron Cambodia country manager, told the Post in 2011 that the company had paid more than $160 million to assess the commercial viability of the offshore site, referred to as Block A.

Prime Minister Hun Sen initially wanted oil to be flowing a little more than one year ago, but his self-set deadline of December 12, 2012, has long since come and gone.

Chevron, which reported $21.4 billion in earnings last year, also noted in its recent 2013 annual report that commercial discussions were still ongoing, and a final investment decision to develop the block had not been made.

"At the end of 2013, proved reserves had not been recognised for the project," the report reads.

Nearly two years after winning the Tanimex prize money tournament in Vietnam, Cambodia's Davis Cupper Bun Kenny is just one step away from his second regional tennis title triumph.

The 22-year-old right hander was near flawless in his 6-2, 6-0 victory over Singapore's Joshua Liu to make the final of the first leg of the 2014 BMW Malaysian National Tennis Circuit in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

In the title round fixed for 9am (8am Cambodian time) today, Kenny will face 25-year-old Malaysian Muhammad Ashaari Zainal Abidin, who is nationally ranked second but has no ATP points to his credit.

Kenny, in consultation with his partner Ruchika Amresh, pulled out of the doubles event after winning the first set of their third round match to conserve himself for the final.

Staying solid on his ground strokes and serving consistently well, Kenny grabbed control of his semi-final early enough to put the pressure on the Singaporean, who found the going extremely tough after a semblance of a fight in the first set.

"Mentally and physically I am in good shape. I need to get a higher percentage of first serves in and I am confident I can get this right in the final," Bun Kenny told the Post after his victory.

Though Kenny failed to pick up a ranking point during the three back-to-back Futures tournaments Cambodia organised in late November and early December last year, he has nine ATP points under his belt.

Tennis Cambodia Secretary General Tep Rithivit said: "The whole tennis community is excited and this is the best that Kenny has done for quite a while apart from the Davis Cup. The timing could not have been better.

"It will be a proud moment for Cambodia if Kenny pulls it off and it would be a great inspiration for other members of the national team and hundreds of kids in our schools and junior programs," added the Secretary, who guided the Davis Cup team as non-playing captain both in Doha 2012 and Dubai 2013.

The world of golf will greet the arrival of a Ryder Cup-styled intercontinental matchplay championship next month.

Selangor's famed Glenmarie Golf and Country Club will play host to the best of Asian and European golf in the inaugural EurAsia Cup from March 27-29 with DRB-HICOM Berhad unveiled as the presenting partner.

As one of Malaysia's largest conglomerates involved in the automotive, services, and property, asset and construction sectors, DRB-HICOM is making a significant foray into the world of golf through this high profile event.

Sanctioned by the European Tour and Asian Tour, the EurAsia Cup will be held every two years with 10-player teams from Europe and Asia affirming continental supremacy in much the same passionate way European and American rivalry plays out in the Ryder Cup.

As a mark of its stature and significance, the EurAsia Cup will be telecast live in more than 45 countries to an estimated 670 million homes. This highly acclaimed event also coincides with the Malaysian government's tourism initiative Visit Malaysia 2014.

The event features five fourball matches, five foursomes and 10 singles between Team Asia and Team Europe.

Thailand veteran Thongchai Jaidee, who is familiar to the Kingdom's golfing community as the 2008 and 2010 Cambodian Open champion, will lead the Asian side which also includes his compatriot and 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

India's Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar shore up the team alongside Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh.

Leading golfers of the region, South Korea's Kim Hyung-Sun, and the Japanese duo of Koumei Oda and Hideto Tanihara have also been drafted in while Malaysian Nicholas Fung makes the team as the captain's pick.

Team Europe captain Miguel Angel Jimenez will have 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell and Danish veteran Thomas Bjorn to lead his team, which also includes world class golfers Jamie Donaldson (Wales), Victor Dubuisson (France), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain), Joost Luiten (Netherlands) and Stephen Gallacher (Scotland). Meanwhile Spain's Pablo Larrazabal and Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen were roped into the European team by Jimenez as his captain's picks to complete the line-up.

Larrazabal, who made a winning start to 2014 with victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship over a high quality field which included Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, was delighted to receive a call-up from his fellow countryman Jimenez.

Olesen played alongside Jimenez for the first two rounds of the Dubai Desert Classic three weeks ago and the 24-year-old clearly impressed on the way to a fifth place finish, having tied for third spot the previous week at the Qatar Masters.

"Now that my team is complete I am very happy," Jimenez was quoted as saying in an Asian Tour communique.

"I have a very strong group of players and a very good mix of youth and experience. It will be very tough to go to Malaysia and win because the Asian team is also very strong, but I believe if my players play to their abilities then Europe can triumph."

TriAsia Phnom Penh are staring elimination from the Hun Sen Cup full in the face today as they take on provincial minnows Kampong Chhnang in their clash at Old Stadium.

The Metfone C-League newcomers this year require a goal fest this afternoon as well as Group C rivals Phnom Penh Crown losing their game later against National Police Commissary.

The Police team have already secured their place in the quarter-finals, which will be played in a week's time. Meanwhile, Group D games at Olympic and Old Stadiums will help draw a line under the group stage of the eighth edition of the annual domestic club competition.

"What can we Cambodians do for our nation?" This is what a Cambodian-American man asked himself after completing his PhD degree in the United States.

Mr. Chea Vireak received education in United States since the age of 13.

He has obtained his bachelor's degree in biology and a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences at the Pacific University in Oregon in 2009.

With the desire to use his knowledge he has learnt to help his home country. He also returned to Cambodia because his parents still live here. When Mr. Vireak had returned to Cambodia he established a pharmacy called "Western" in 2013 which is located in front of Baktouk High school.

The purpose to open this pharmacy, he explained, is to have an acceptable pharmacy standard.

"Standards of a pharmacy do not only refer to a clean room, air conditioning and other basics, but also refer to services, etc," he explained.

"We require a valid degree even for regular pharmacist. My standard for new staff is to provide them at least one month training before they start to serve customers. They need to provide consulting services to customers no matter how busy they are even with customers who do not buy the medicine." he said.

Mr. Vireak said what's more important is the new data storage service. "When new customers arrive we ask for their names, date of birth, and phone number and if they have allergies with any type of drugs so we can have their data in our database for future service".

"The data storage can prevent that when a customer comes back and deals with different staff who might give them a different drug. With the computer system we can see the customers' drug records and what they had bought from us before" he explained the benefit of the service.

"I learnt with them since the beginning till the end from cashier to pharmacist, they also taught me how to check, manage and be a trainer in the field" he recalled.

Mr. Ly Seng, 53, who is a customer of this new pharmacy, said: "I have bought medicine from this pharmacy since they just opened. Before that I usually bought pharmaceuticals from Vietnam but now I can buy vitamins and other types of medicine here and it has been 6 months since I stopped buying the medicine from Vietnam".

About his goals Mr. Vireak said: "In the future I hope all pharmacies can maintain high standards and sell good medicine, not the fake one, so customers don't need to travel all the way to Singapore or Thailand which cost a lot of money and time.

Sometimes when they go there they don't really understand what the doctors said because most of the medical terms the doctor use are in English".