Leadership
now browsing by category
Policy Platform through the Survey of Asia Foundation
Arguing towards this research finding by Asia Foundation resonates different aspects. While the finding is very crucial for policy maker(s) to determine their policy platform, the finding doesn’t help much in crafting “institution” but it has helped a lot regarding public opinion for political parties. This research (survey) couldn’t avoid from bias and deviation within the nature of population sampling, technicality, and methodology. In a nation-state of democratic principles that consists of two-ways communication: state-people and people-state, this research is purely focusing on people-state channel, thus it is hard to comprehend the effective approach in “capacity building on state-institution”.
I am keep to articulate more in “state-institution” building which importantly relies on the equity of the state-approached and people-approached participation. It is nice to read the lacking of trust of Cambodian people towards the institution with many clauses of recommendation to bringing about trust from the people. But it is a jargon to read lengthy description on people’s bad mentality towards institutional corruption without having people’s self-responsiveness to discourage corruption, for instance “no bribe, no corruption” etc.
Cambodia is lacking nation founding father. Cambodia is fulfilled personal-cult founding fathers. By evidence, founding father have projected long term interest for the nation such as paving strong foundation for Cambodia as a nation-state to having strong institution accounting from neutral media to educate the public, to political parties system of sound balanced government party leadership and opposition party leadership, to building trust in between state and society etc. Now, government leadership party can enjoy all the provisions in term of party’s base of people-networking, media and financial injection, the opposition party is non-available at all in term of state’s funding while the party has wholly relied on generosity and donation in kind from the members. This kind of political system is not existing in civilized democratic countries. And this culture of non-equity political system shall not sustain Cambodia in its long term democratic system at all.
Interestingly, the research didn’t involve itself towards the new political concept and philosophy conundrum of “Culture of Dialogue” at all. It is probably the concept itself is too complicate for the researches design or the researchers missed to add into their questionnaires just one clause or one word “culture of dialogue”. I am keen to see the researches related this to their questionnaires so that “social capital” of “trust” might be enriched among those respondents.
To recap, I copied and pasted the key ideas in here for everyone to digest more. The research is shedding light towards political parties, academia and news outlets. It is hugely benefiting those “think tank” to think about embodying themselves to be “nation founding father”, or at least “to avail themselves for critical thinking” through word of mouth, facebook, blog, workshop, writing to the editor, or other simple sharing etc.
Democracy in Cambodia2014
…the majority of respondents in the 2014 survey said the country is headed in the wrong direction.
…the survey findings suggest the July 2014 agreement was popular on at least two accounts: first, the majority of respondents support a constitutional amendment to provide for a “balanced” National Election Committee; second, the majority of respondents believe that electoral reform should take place before elections.
Obama facing bipartisan criticism for meeting with Vietnam’s Communist Party head
Obama facing bipartisan criticism for meeting with Vietnam’s Communist Party head
Published July 09, 2015, Op-Ed: Associate Press and posted by Foxnews
Courtesy: VOA Khmer
President Obama is facing bipartisan criticism for hosting Vietnam’s Communist Party boss at the White House this week, given the government’s “deplorable” human rights record and “authoritarian” one-party system.
The president met Tuesday with Nguyen Phu Trong, head of Vietnam’s Communist Party. Trong does not hold an official government position, but is regarded as the nation’s de-facto leader for directing Vietnam’s controlling party.
But the meeting, coming after the administration took yet another step to normalize relations with Communist Cuba, rubbed many on Capitol Hill the wrong way.
“I am disappointed that the administration has chosen to host Nguyen Phu Trong,” Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, said in a statement. “As an advocate for human rights in Vietnam I cannot ignore the dismal state of freedom of the press and freedom of speech.”
Sanchez is among several lawmakers who want the administration to challenge Vietnam’s human rights record. She added that Vietnam’s religious and political persecution has gone unchecked, and said the nation must improve its human rights record before it can be an economic and security partner.
Political Paradigm of Pragmatism from the Khmer Youth part 27
This part of 27th on “Political Paradigm of Pragmatism from the Khmer Youth” broadcasted in July 5 and July 6, 2015, the author Mr. Sophan Seng continued to talk about the prospect of Sun Ray Policy Platform in second phase.
Sample of UK Westminster Political System
Different from first phase expressingly upgrades the higher portfolio of the opposition party, this second phase is about the legal activity of the opposition to setting up their own shadow cabinet.
There are different names being used in major democratic countries on this opposition teaming-up scenario such as shadow ministers, shadow cabinet, group of critics, or shadow government etc. In Canada, current opposition leader Thomas Mulcair is not only the leader of opposition NDP party and minority leader of the Canada national assembly, he is also the leader of the shadow cabinet of NDP.
Remember that Hun Sen accused MP Cheam Channy as illegally trying to inflict the government as he was assigned by the Opposition Sam Rainsy Party to lead the shadow defense ministry. MP Cheam Channy was arrested and incarcerated by the government. He was named the prisoner of conscience in that time.
Actually, UNs failed to establish a sustainable democratic system in Cambodia especially the Political Party Institution in which many democratic countries such as Canada, Australia, UK etc. have fully endorsed official opposition to run their party effectively by giving them sufficient allowance and budget sponsoring by the state and let them conduct broader activities to effectively bring critics towards the status-quo government party leadership including establishing their own shadow cabinet to be ready for their future move. Those democratic founding fathers have well projected the national interest first, not the political party first in concreting the essential foundation of their nations.
Among the pillars of democratic principles to sustain its long term political institution, Cambodia opposition party CNRP should be endorsed to run their own shadow cabinet without receiving threat from the government party leadership at all.
Hun Sen asks UN for help on Vietnam problem
Hun Sen asks UN for help on Vietnam problem
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday wrote to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon requesting access to the original, constitutionally mandated maps of Cambodia, saying he wanted to end the “extreme nationalism” whipped up by the opposition over the Vietnam border.
The request came as a Cambodia National Rescue Party lawmaker announced plans for a 10,000-strong march on a disputed patch of border in Svay Rieng, the scene of a violent clash between a CNRP-led group and Vietnamese authorities on June 28.
In the letter, dated yesterday, Hun Sen asks to borrow the original Bonne maps, scale 1/100,000, which were developed between 1933 and 1955 by French colonial authorities and deposited by late King Norodom Sihanouk with the UN in 1964.
Noting Sihanouk’s efforts to ensure the Kingdom’s borders were internationally respected, Hun Sun tells Ban Ki-moon the government needs the maps to “verify” its ongoing demarcation process.
The premier also said he sought the maps in a bid to “end the incitement of extreme nationalism” by “some quarters” in Cambodia, which “may lead to catastrophe”, a pointed reference to the CNRP’s recent push to highlight alleged encroachment by Vietnam.
He notes Cambodia’s “wellbeing”, “territorial integrity and sovereignty” and “the cause of peace and stability in the region”, among reasons for requesting cooperation.
The opposition has long accused the government of using maps developed with Vietnam during its occupation of the Kingdom in the 1980s to demarcate the border, which they say cedes Cambodian territory, instead of the French-developed ones cited in the constitution.
The CNRP has highlighted examples of alleged Vietnamese encroachment into Cambodia in Ratanakkiri, Kandal and Svay Rieng provinces, prompting official protests to Hanoi.