Cambodia’s opposition party says it narrowly won Sunday’s general election, challenging the ruling party’s earlier declaration of victory.
Hours after the poll, PM Hun Sen’s ruling party said it won 68 seats in parliament to the opposition’s 55. Previously, the ruling party dominated had two-thirds majority.
What should interest S’poreans is
— Hun Sen, one of the world’s longest-serving prime ministers, has been in power in Cambodia for 28 years.
Many here credit him with having steered the nation out of a civil war and raising living standards for the population of 14 million.
Under him, Cambodia has seen strong economic growth, thanks to a combination of foreign aid, development, tourism and garment exports.
All very PAP-like achievements.
–the Opposition there finally united by combining forces;
— “I think Mr Rainsy and his party have a very simple message,” said Mr Cox. “It is striking a chord with people. Do you like the way things are or do you want change?
— ‘Many Cambodians are screaming for change.” … that certainly appears to be the sentiment among many of the urban youth in Phnom Penh.
I sat down with a group of young men and women in a cafe in the city, and many expressed a desire for greater political participation in their country.
“I acknowledge that the current government has made huge improvements and strides in this country since the days of the war,” says 32-year-old Chulsa Heng.
“But we want more. I still think Cambodia has a long way to go, and it’s still not enough.”
First-time voter Ngoun Somaly said that regardless of who she ended up choosing on polling day, there were many issues that the current government was not paying enough attention to.
“Human rights violations, land grabbing from rural peasants and a lack of job opportunities for Cambodia’s graduates – we need to see more firm action on that,” she said.
“Whoever wins the election must work hard to fix these problems. I really want to see these human rights issues solved.”
— And “There is also no longer that cloak of fear, the way it used to be in the past. People aren’t afraid to be out on the streets and true to themselves.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23461127
BTW, the media there is tightly controlled. And the govt regularly sues opponents, winning damages.
So no wonder PM is working hard on his National Day Rally speech. All to play for in next GE.
Lest I be accused of being anti-PAP https://atans1.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/why-young-sporeans-should-be-sent-to-yangon/
Asean round-up con’td
China imports gas from Burma
The gas pipeline that connects China, Myanmar and the Indian Ocean has officially begun operating, and China has begun importing gas from Burma.
Related post https://atans1.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/implications-for-spores-port-as-burma-opens-up/
Indons learning Japanese
Indonesia has more high school pupils studying Japanese than any other country (872,000) other than China