The Ills of Cambodian Politics

Thursday, 18 June 2015; News by Khmer Times/T. Mohan

What is wrong with Cambodian politics? 

The trouble is: the Cambodian public swallows distorted information and misinformation hook, line and sinker without verifying facts first.

It is so easy to spin a story to make the public believe that what you are stating is the gospel, and not a pack of lies. Even opposition leaders have become a victim of this game of red herring.

I suppose when you dislike or hate someone it is so easy to believe any negative thing being said about that person, even if what is being said is not true. You would like to believe it is true because you dabble in wishful thinking.

Let’s revisit the events post-2013 general election. 

After months of passive-aggressive sniping between the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the CNRP announced it will enter parliament and its elected representatives sworn in as Members of Parliament with full immunity.

The CNRP, just like the Funcinpec once upon a time, was at one time seen as Cambodia’s brightest hope for replacing the so called “jaded regime.” Then, confrontation was replaced by a culture of dialogue whereby the CPP and the CNRP decided to put nation before self and Cambodians before party interest first. Well, not all. 

Now, no more. The loss of the first formidable opposition coalition in Cambodian politics will certainly be disappointing news to the many Cambodians who supported the party financially and materially and who pushed people to vote for an alternative to the CPP.

With the culture of dialogue firmly in place, at least for now, the death of long-term CPP president, Samdech Chea Sim – once the anointed CPP moderate, has opened the party for challenging, yet interesting times.

It may finally have the political and personal, good will to whip the party into shape to take on its derogators and opponents in the commune election in 2017 and general election in 2018.

However, the détente, the culture of dialogue at the presidents’ level, did not seem to filter down to activists and non-resident Cambodians who are never satisfied with any solution except that the opposition – if not CNRP, some other party, maybe Mom Sonando – head the government and take an ultra-nationalistic approach toward neighbours and domestic politics alike.

The adage “You can chose your friends, but you can’t chose your neighbours, especially when the neighbour is a state” seems to have been forgotten with the virulent anti-Vietnam rhetoric.

That the Royal Government has reacted firmly against the latest encroachment by the Vietnamese seems to have gone unnoticed.

The detractors of the culture of dialogue may or may not be the same people who are virulently and vehemently anti-government and choose to attack the government and its leaders at every opportunity they get.

In this aspect, negotiations for the next wage hike for garment workers has not even begun, but there are already calls for demonstrations and protests. On what basis this is to be permitted remains to be seen.

The last demands for wage increases led to the deaths of several people and injuries to many others. 

It grew from a simple protest for wage hikes to become a highly-charged, politically-motivated rally, and racism came into play.

If these detractors are allowed to thrive in the shape of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations, without an effective law to maintain law and order and prevent irresponsible nongovernmental organizations from running amok, then the leader who steers Cambodia in the future will inherit a society hell bent on getting its pint of blood, irrespective of the facts.

Agent provocateurs are at work, trying to provoke unions and workers alike. They will become pawns of hidden hands out to sow anarchy and chaos on the streets in the name of democracy, freedom and its ideals. No person in their path will be spared.  No leader will be spared.

The alternative is to curb the rising power of nongovernmental and civil society organizations and their misinformation campaigns, which strike fear and anger into the average Cambodian.

The fate of a prosperous, developing and independent sovereign Cambodia is in the hands of politicians who believe and have faith in goodwill and putting the nation first before self. So let us not ruin the culture of dialogue.

There are some ways to go before that happens.