Wed, 29 July 2009
Kay Kimsong and Steve Finch

Royal Group has unveiled plans to build an airport on Koh Rong, the Kingdom's largest island, in Preah Sihanouk province.
Company Chairman Kith Meng confirmed the development plan. But speaking from Koh Rong, a 7,800-hectare island, he said Tuesday he could not provide further details.
"I am here [on Koh Rong] to build an airport.... I brought 40 bulldozers with me to clear the land to build a road," he said.

Other than the airport, Kith Meng said the project would see construction of an electricity and water supply that islanders could sign up to. Kith Meng said he travelled to Koh Rong with a dozen local tycoons including Phu Kok An, a casino operator and senator from the ruling Cambodian People's Party.
....
"He [Kith Meng] is currently clearing the forest, and we know he plans to build an airport," said Youn Heng, adding that Royal Group also planned a resort on the island.

After an argument at a karaoke parlor, a drunken bus conductor threw a grenade into a nearby coffee shop Wed­nesday night in Phnom Penh, killing a woman and injuring a bystander, police said.

Hin Bor, 21, had been drinking at a Monivong Boulevard nightclub with Ham Savet, 34, a former military policeman, when the men argued with a group of youths, said Chhay Thirith, Sras Chak commune police chief.

When the youths taunted the two Banteay Meanchey province residents for dressing like country bumpkins and drinking traditional rice wine, the two men followed them into the street, seeking revenge, Chhay Thirith said. Moments later, Hin Bor spotted one member of the group, Sao Sam­bor, 23, at the coffee shop and lobbed a grenade inside, Chhay Thirith said.

Chhoeu Sokha, 26, owner of the coffee shop at Monivong and Street 86, died at Calmette Hos­pital shortly after midnight, police said. Sao Sambor lost three fingers on his right hand.

Police arrested Hin Bor and Ham Savet and confiscated a handgun and a second grenade from the former military policeman, said Pol Davy, a spokesman for Municipal Military Police. Ma Sok Heng, the ringleader of the youths, also was arrested.

Spectators cheered as entire Cambodian Midget Fighting League squared off against African Lion
Tickets had been sold-out three weeks before the much anticipated fight, which took place in the city of Kâmpóng Chhnãng.

The fight was slated when an angry fan contested Yang Sihamoni, President of the CMFL, claiming that one lion could defeat his entire league of 42 fighters.

Sihamoni takes great pride in the league he helped create, as was conveyed in his recent advertising campaign for the CMFL that stated his midgets will "... take on anything; man, beast, or machine."

This campaign is believed to be what sparked the undisclosed fan to challenge the entire league to fight a lion; a challenge that Sihamoni readily accepted.

An African Lion (Panthera Leo) was shipped to centrally located Kâmpóng Chhnãng especially for the event, which took place last Saturday, April 30, 2005 in the city’s coliseum.

The Cambodian Government allowed the fight to take place, under the condition that they receive a 50% commission on each ticket sold, and that no cameras would be allowed in the arena.

The fight was called in only 12 minutes, after which 28 fighters were declared dead, while the other 14 suffered severe injuries including broken bones and lost limbs, rendering them unable to fight back.

Sihamoni was quoted before the fight stating that he felt since his fighters out-numbered the lion 42 to 1, that they “… could out-wit and out-muscle [it].”

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

2 Dec, 1994 Matthew Grainger
A MERICAN evangelist Mike Evans - fearing for his life - hastily left Cambodia after two near-riots and one cancelled rally, leaving many desperate Khmers angry and out-of-pocket.

Families from distant provinces - some of whom thrust blind or spastic toddlers to journalists on stage trying to get Evans' implied miracle cures - sold cows, rice and possessions to pay for the trip to the capital.

One Westerner wrote to Co-Premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh imploring him to seize Evans' television footage from Cambodia "because that is all he wants".

"This has put Christianity in Cambodia back 20 years," said another Westerner. "He lied to the people," said a local woman.

During Evans' first rally at Olympic Stadium on Nov 23 his inadequate security was swamped by the crowd. He exhorted: "We have a problem here... we will get this sorted out for tomorrow night... I want you to pray now..."

However, 30,000 people ignored Evans and were in no mood to be pacified by local evangelists singing to tambourine accompaniment.

Finally realizing that things were getting out of control Evans - a big man - gave up his microphone and took off. He hurried down the platform steps and along a small alleyway between the back of the stage and a fence in front of the main stand, shouldering local people out of the way.

Attempts to interview Evans at this time were difficult. He responded to calls of "Mike, Mike" by looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide and clearly panicked, sweating and ashen-faced, answering "what, what?", before darting through a gate to a late model van.

"Greg, Greg... where are the keys," he yelled repeatedly , but 'Greg' either did not have them or was possibly still on the stage, which was now being overrun.

Evans, caught in "no-mans land" in the open - and still far too close to the main crowd for his comfort - was quickly surrounded by Khmers and, though standing perhaps half a meter or more taller, was jostled and pressed.

A Khmer evangelist grabbed Evans and said "this way."

Evans, dressed in a fine dark suit and tie, ran as fast as his loping, straight-armed gait would take him. At least two Khmers fell as the Western faith-healer fled.

They ran under the stand and only slowed at the car park.

The Post caught up with Evans and put it to him that things had got out of control. "Jesus spoke to the crowds," he said, "I was just concerned that any little children didn't get crushed."

When asked why then did he seem so panicked, Evans said: "Relax, man, we will have this sorted out tomorrow. "

The miracle-medium from Texas then found a white World Concern land cruiser and breathed: "OK, this is our car, its OK, we're fine."

When asked why he fled such a desperate crowd, and how he felt about those he had left, he said: "Just relax man" and the car sped off to the Hotel Sofitel Cambodiana.

As he spoke, the mob was invading the stage, smashing a barrier.

The second night was more sedate, with security fences keeping most of the crowd off the field and away from the stage.

On the third of the scheduled four nights angry crowds, realizing that "miracle" cures would not be visited on everyone in the stadium, resorted to physical violence.

A van containing young volunteer Christians and some Western NGO workers was surrounded, stoned and beaten upon by fists and feet. Those inside admitted to the Post later that they feared for their lives.

They only managed to escape after police with batons cleared the crowd amid violent scenes. Youths tore down Evans' signs, kicking and beating his portrait with sticks and stones.

At the hotel, shaken workers were still trembling and dumbfounded, looking for answers and composure. The Post visited Evans' room but he refused interviews.

His cohorts were pleasant but firm in their assurances that they would talk to the press after a meeting with Evans, but Evans was too worked up.

He emerged at the door, shouting at a security guard that the press should be removed. He appeared agitated."This man lied to you. He is not with us.Take him away," he yelled.

Greg Mauso, part of Evans' crusade tour, said: "Relax Mike, I'll deal with this" and eased Evans away from the door . Mauso promised an interview but later in the lobby he had more pressing meetings with shaken volunteers who had been followed to the hotel by a 200-strong mob driving motos. Troops had to keep them at bay.

The NGO, Global Networks, which worked to provide support for the crusade "did so for the best intentions, but must take some responsiblity," said a spokesman.

November 1994 when the Texas-based evangelical preacher Mike Evans came to Cambodia to hold a faith-healing revival. The event was preceded by flurry of advertising promising that of those who attended his revival at Olympic Stadium would be healed - that the blind would see and the lame would walk. Many Cambodians bought it. Thousands of desperate, poverty stricken folk from the countryside sold their meager possessions - their bit of land, their store of rice, their cow, whatever they had - to come to Phnom Penh to be healed. They showed up in ox-carts and on foot, limping into town, hauling along their elderly parents and ailing children in the hope that they might be healed. The event night came and the stadium was full. Evans took the stage and did his faith healing shtick - prancing this way and that, sweating, praying fervently and yelling passages from the Bible - pointing at people and declaring them "Healed!!" After a short while of Evans' snake oil show, the audience realized that nobody was being healed - that their children were still sick and grandma was still dying. Grumbles of "fraud" grew, and then a near riot ensued. The betrayed and angry crowd chased Evans from the stage, out to the street and back to his luxury room at the Hotel Cambodiana, where he cowered until he was able to escape the country with police protection the following day. He no doubt cost everything of many who could least afford it - their meager savings, their food, their stock animals, their homes, even their lives, or worse, the lives of their loved ones. Unrepentant, Evans scurried back to Texas and made hay of the ordeal, claiming to his American audience that the Khmer Rouge, in their hatred of Jesus, had chased him out of the country

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodian authorities on Monday pledged to investigate a helicopter crash that killed the country’s powerful top policeman, amid conflicting reports about the doomed craft’s last moments.

Chief of police Hok Lundy died along with deputy army commander Sok Sa Em and two pilots on Sunday evening when their chopper went down in bad weather shortly after taking off from Phnom Penh airport.

“There will be an immediate investigation of the cause of the crash,” government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP, without providing further details.

Ministry of interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that “in general, the crash was caused by bad weather” but there were witness reports that the tail of the helicopter may have hit something on its way down and caught fire.

“According to eyewitnesses, there was a fire on the tail of the helicopter before the crash, but this is not the official reason for the crash,” Khieu Sopheak said.

Hok Lundy had been a close associate of Prime Minister HE for nearly three decades, and one of his daughters is married to one of the premier’s sons.

Born in 1950 and a former governor of southeastern Svay Rieng province, where the crash occurred, Hok Lundy was appointed national police chief in 1994.

He was routinely criticised by international organisations for alleged human rights abuses and corruption within his force, and last year Human Rights Watch said Hok Lundy “represents the absolute worst that Cambodia has to offer.”

The police chief was accused of involvement in drug trafficking and politically motivated killings, including a 1997 grenade attack against anti-government demonstrators that killed at least 19 people and wounded more than 120 others.

However, he was also praised by US officials for cooperation in counter-terrorism.

Human rights groups protested a decision to allow him a visa to the United States last year for counter-terrorism talks with the FBI.

The State Department had refused him a visa in 2006 due to allegations he was involved in trafficking prostitutes.

Before leaving for his trip last year, Hok Lundy said the allegations against him were cooked up by his political opponents.

“The US government thinks that I am a good law enforcement leader,” he told local media.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
How *not* to hire and manage Cambodian staff
It's been over a month since I've updated the blog, which I do apologise for. I have been so very busy, traveling to Bangkok and to Phnom Penh (twice) in the last month. Cambodia is a big country, and it takes me six hours by bus to go to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap, where I live and where we have a Bloom shop. It's like going from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, which also take 6 hours. I come from Singapore, where everything and everywhere in the country is accessible within an hour's bus journey, and despite the constant traveling in Cambodia, I am still not used to it.

(For the Bangkok trip, I took a taxi and then bus, which deserves an entry in itself.)

For now, just a quick update to tell readers Bloom had its worst crisis in the 20 months we have been in existence. I try not to write about the problems Bloom faces, but at the same time I don't want to give the impression a). it is easy doing business in Cambodia b). it is easy setting up and running a social enterprise. I write this in the hopes people will learn from my experience.

I'll write more when I feel less tired. All I'll say now is our Cambodian manager, Sipha, whom I have referred to in this blog as "my right hand woman" and honest etc, turned out not to be the person I thought she was. It was very disappointing and hurtful to learn she had been systematically stealing from Bloom, by inflating receipts and by stealing materials we purchase for Bloom (such theft is very common in Cambodia). In addition, she had been undermining the business by sewing our designs for other shops in Phnom Penh, including one in Beong Keng Kang 1. The BKK1 shop owner is a lovely Khmer woman and we had a long talk about Sipha's behaviour and the sympathetic owner even let me take photos of the bags as evidence that Sipha had been selling Bloom bags on the side.

I sacked Sipha on the spot when I went to Phnom Penh about a month ago. On the advice of a Cambodian friend I also placed an advertisement in the main Khmer newspaper that announced that Un Sipha is no longer employed by Bloom, so we will not be responsible for her actions henceforth. She called up someone I know and said she wanted to sue me for the ad etc. (there is no basis for the suit as I did not describe what she had done in the ad, although I am fully aware I am describing what she has done here, on this Internet posting. The reason I dare to do this is because I have evidence, the receipts and the testimonies of the shopkeeper and the market supplier). I was even told to be careful of acid attacks. One British guy I met for advice told me how he had a hand grenade thrown into the company's compound after he had sacked a staff member who was a former Khmer Rouge soldier. In short, I was advised, let things go. "Khmers can be very funny when it comes to losing face," was what the British man told me.

It has been very distressing time. Incredibly distressing. Close friends will tell you how one day I just broke down and sobbed and sobbed. I just could not stop. I was so very hurt and betrayed. Sipha had *nothing* when I met her--a mother of four who had left her drunk and abusive husband and had been out of a job for months, after Hagar asked her to leave. I remember how she had only one pair of shoes. By the time I had asked her to go, she had a dozen pairs of shoes (she was constantly buying shoes) and was staying in a three story flat from which she was profiting by renting the upper two levels for more than what she paid in rent. She even managed to buy USD3000 worth of land near Sihanoukville.

Which brings me to another point- I was very angry when I found out after this incident that I had been given someone via Hagar's job placement scheme, someone who had herself been sacked by Hagar. Incredibly, Hagar's job placement manager, disagreed with me that Hagar's job placement processes needs improving when I pointed out to her Hagar should not be finding jobs for people they themselves had sacked. She insists she cannot guarantee the women's behaviour. I do not ask for guarantees but surely it is fair to expect the NGO from whom you hire staff to tell you if they had sacked someone they then recommend you hire. The manager thinks I am trying to push all the blame onto Hagar for recommending I hire Sipha, when I should accept responsibility for not being more stringent with her. I told her yes, I do know it is my fault for trusting her with so much (never, ever trust your Cambodian staff with money is the comment I have gotten since this happened). As a result I have put new processes in place, for stock controls and have also hired a part time accountant based in Phnom Penh to check all the receipts and stock levels. I am also seriously contemplating moving back to Phnom Penh. But Hagar should not do this anymore--they cannot, should not, *must not* pass on a bad staff member to another organisation.

I will say it clearly: I do not think Hagar is a bad organisation. On the contrary, they have helped many, many women, women like Neang and Sophea and Kemhut, by training them and giving them the skills that enable them to get jobs like the ones at Bloom. Hagar also gives rice and bicycles to women who need these items. For that I thank them.

What I am saying is that no one and no organisation is perfect, and Hagar's job placement processes are far from perfect. I would like Hagar and other NGOs that provide skills training to not, ever, find jobs for someone they themselves had sacked. I know the reason why I was passed Sipha was because of pity, because people wanted to help this poor person, to give her another chance, but it is unfair and wrong for someone else to shoulder the risk of giving this person a second chance. At the very least, there must be disclosure to the new employer.

So, a very distressing period but a very, very useful one. I've learnt a lot from this incident and truly believe that Bloom can only benefit from this experience. We are already showing signs of improvement--we are working more closely as a team and former Bloom staff have actually come back (for free! who says all Khmers are grasping?) to help me during this time of crisis. One, Sina, has even quit his job at the Raffles le Royal to come back to work at Bloom. I feel so very lucky to have good friends like Sophal, my tuk tuk driver who found me a new workshop and Heng, who is always on hand for advice on how things are done in Cambodia. And Kerri and Virginie and Jimmy, of course, for being there when otherwise I would have been alone in Phnom Penh