Last year almost 75% of grade 12 students across the country failed their final exams after an anti-corruption drive, which was deemed rather unsporting, as every other grade 12 student in previous years had lied, bribed and cheated in order to pass with flying colours. Somebody must take the blame, and as usual shit always rolls downhill, from the MoEYaS, to the provincial education offices, to the school directors, to the teachers and perhaps the students themselves.
I returned home to the village pagoda with the taste of afternoon coffee still in my mouth to find Supon waiting for me. He wore a white cap and polo shirt emblazoned with the logo of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). He put down the election pamphlet he was flicking…
A Japanese company comes to Cambodia to build a road. They do a professional job, get it done almost on schedule, pick up most of the tab, employ local workers at decent wages, donate maintenance equipment and send an expert back periodically to follow up. While in town, the execs…
This is by no means a straightforward love story however; do you still think I’m exaggerating when I perceive her and her family as the very personification of the troubles that beset this tragic nation? Fast forward to the next morning when I was awoken by an early call and…
The morning of Chinese New Year Day, on my way to the pharmacy, I happened up a street on which the owner of one of Cambodia’s controversial land development companies lives. The road was lined with cars and motorcycles and filled with uniformed police loitering about. Dozens of them, with…
Like so many guys, within a few days of arriving in Phnom Penh for the first time in my life, I met a lovely girl. We had a few polite conversations at arms’ length and within a week she told me, flanked by her friends, that she loved me. I…
Here’s something to consider. If you had tones and tones of rice to distribute amongst the Khmer needy and poor in the first phase of an astronomical $38 million emergency food aid project, would you sign the lot over to CPP village chiefs and expect it to be distributed fairly?…
Time: T-10 Minutes, July 30 The Place: Cambodian Immigration, Phnom Penh Airport An unlikely fog has descended over the Pochentong airfield. JM, Mrs. JM and their little one are just about to depart for Bangkok. Meanwhile, in California, the family wait, and wait, and wait….. THE BUREAUCRAT (TB): Oh my,…
A recent article in the Daily reported a drop in Cambodia’s rating in the Corruption Perceptions Index put out by a group called Transparency International. In fact, it stands at 162 out of 180 countries surveyed. The same issue reported on another survey which measured the ease of doing business…
We hear a lot of stories about corruption in Cambodia, but how about this? One evening recently I found myself trying to calm down an elderly American friend who was distraught at the behaviour of his own embassy staff. He was helping a non-wealthy young Cambodian friend who wanted to…
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