REAKSMEY KONGKEA

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Cambodia plans to send 12 Vovinam boxers to the 2009 World Vovinam Championship and the Asian Indoor Games for competitions on July 26-27 in Ho Chi Minh City and November 20-28 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Among the 12 Vovinam boxers seven are male and five are female. About 30 different countries will also send their boxers to attend the competition in Vietnam, according to the World Vovinam Federation. The World Vovinam Championship will be organized by the World Vovinam Federation and the Asian Indoor Games will be prepared by the Asia Olympic Committee. Rat Sokhorn, President of the Cambodian Vovinam Federation (CVF) and Advisor to the National Assembly’s President Samdech Heng Samrin, said the Asian Indoor Games will allow Cambodian Vovinam boxers to attend the international competition to earn medals and honor for their country. Sokhorn said this is the second time that Vovinam boxers will be able to participate in the international competition and will allow them ...

Cambodians “Trott” in the New Year

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONBGKEA One of the hundreds of Khmer classical dances known as the Robam Trott survived the mass destruction during the Khmer Rouge regime between the 1975 and 1979, during which more than 90 percent of the Cambodian classical artists died, and remains popular among Cambodians, despite being more than 500 years old. Preoung Chhieng, Vice Dean of the Royal University of Fine Arts, said that the reason Robam Trott is still a favorite among Cambodian people because the dance expresses happiness, peace, solidarity and prosperity for people, especially during the celebration of the Khmer New Year or during Buddhist ceremonies. “I am happy with and very proud of the Trott classical dance that remains from our ancestors,” Chhieng said. “I think that even though this classical dance is an old Khmer traditional dance, it is still most interesting for people in Cambodia.” Chhieng pointed out that Robam Trott was born during the Angkor period in the 12th and 13th centuries. He s...

The Rainy Season Starts Early this Year

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Oum Rina, Deputy Director of the Meteorology Department in the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, announced that due to climate change and the changing direction of the monsoon winds, the rainy season will start earlier than last year. “The wind has changed direction from the Northeast to the Southwest and will cause more clouds, winds, rains and thunder in the coming weeks and months.” The rainy season generally starts in mid-May and ends in October, but the rainy season in this year has started early, said Rina. This year’s rainy season will have a higher volume of rain than last year with strong winds and thunderstorms, especially in Cambodia’s wet lowlands, he said. Rina said this year’s weather patterns are similar to 2006’s rains and will contribute to a shorter dry season, which is expected to begin in July in low land areas, but is not occurred at the seaside areas. According to predictions by the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, a...

Scholarship Student tells about his hard learning to become English Interpreter

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Em Vichet, 19, one of The University of Cambodia’s recipients of the “Samdech Hun Sen-Handa National Scholarships 2008,” was born in Kampong Cham province and is the youngest among his five siblings – two brothers and three sisters. He now studies English Literature at UC. Vichet passed the scholarship exams offered by UC in Phnom Penh on September 22, 2008. “I am pleased that I passed the scholarship exams from The University of Cambodia in 2008,” Vichet said. “I think I am lucky and am greatly honored to have the chance to study at The University of Cambodia, which is an outstanding and qualified university.” Vichet said that he received a Baccalaureate from Srey Santhor High School in Kampong Cham province in 2008. He later applied to UC following the introduction of the university’s scholarship program. He has been studying hard and everyday does homework and reads books related to his studies so he can achieve his goals. “I will study hard to earn my Bache...

Government Drafts Master Plan for Land Management

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Royal Government of Cambodia plans to draft a master plan for land management of all cities and provinces provide opportunities for local and foreign investors, announced Im Chhun Lim, Senior Minister in the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC). Chhun Lim said the government is committed to promoting local and foreign investments and generating jobs and will set up a master plan for general land management in order to control land, forestry areas, seas and islands throughout the country’s 24 provinces and in major cities. Chhun Lim said MLMUPC, in collaboration the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests, development partners and local authorities, has been working to measure and calculate land topography within the administrative geography. “Land management is very important for the Royal Government of Cambodia in promoting and developing investment, business opport...

By BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) announced the Cambodia Football Premier League will hold its 2009 games from May 2 to September 28 in Phnom Penh. The plan was announced by Ouk Sethycheat, Director of the National Sport Training Center and General Secretary of FFC in the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport (MoEYS). Sethycheat said 10 football teams from cities and provinces across the country will participate in the league this year, with competitions held at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh. While the purpose of the league is to gather the best Cambodian football players together to compete, he said the best players from this leagues will be selected to play in the 2009 SEA games, which will take place at the end of November 2009 in Vientiane, Laos. He said the FFC also aims to attract the youth to the sport and encourage them to have good health and become strong pillars for the development of Cambodia. There 18 games during this year’s season. Th...

Wild Honey Committed Sustainable Management in Mondulkiri

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The World Wide Fund for the Nature (WWF), in cooperation with the Non-Timber Forest Products - Exchange Program (NTFP-EP) released fresh wild honey products in Sen Monorom district, Mondulkiri province on April 7. The launching ceremony was also joined and organized by representatives of international and national non-governmental organizations, local villagers and provincial authorities as well as the minority ethnic Phnong communities in Krang Teh and Pou Chrey. Seng Teak, WWF Country Director, said this event marked WWF’s commitment to protecting forest resources and promote developments in non-timber forest products in Mondulkiri province. He said Mondulkiri Wild Honey is the result of a forest-based livelihood project the two communities of Krang Raton and Prey Rodang began in 2007 to operate enterprises raising the value of forest resources as an important means for improving their living standard. Teak said such an achievement is also motivated by the co...

A UC Scholarship Student Wishes to be a Law Maker

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Yoeurng Sotheara, 25, one of The University of Cambodia’s “Samdech Hun Sen-Handa National Scholarships 2007” recipients, began Law at UC after passing the university’s scholarship exams in August 2007. A Buddhist monk born in 1984 in Kampong Thom province, he currently lives at Unalom pagoda in Phnom Penh. “I became a Buddhist monk in 1999 when I was 16 years old. I decided to be a monk as firstly, I wanted to thank for my parents who had given birth to me, and secondly, I wanted to study and following the teachings of Dharma to promote the Buddhist religion and peace in Cambodia,” he said. Sotheara said that when he was become a monk in Kampong Thom province, he stayed at the Serei Mongkul pagoda, better known as “Wat Kampong Chvea,” later moved to the Taing Krasaing pagoda. “I think that if I did not receive my scholarship, I would not be able to study at The University of Cambodia,” Sotheara said. “To thank for scholarship owners and The University of Cambod...

Cambodia Cracks Down on Human Trafficking

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Royal Government of Cambodia has taken strong measures to crack down on children exploitation and human trafficking in Cambodia, according to Oum Mean, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MoLVT). Mean said MoLVT, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Women’s Affairs and related local authorities, recently introduced a requirement for all registered foreign labor companies in Cambodia that recruit Khmer workers for employment abroad to obey Cambodian labor laws. He said the ministry also asked involved ministries and local authorities to increase cooperative action against child exploitation and human trafficking, as it occurs in Phnom Penh and provinces along the borders throughout the country. Recently, MoLVT organized a five-day workshop for police and military police in 24 cities and province, aiming to increase the awareness of human trafficking, according to Mean. It also recently established infor...

Cambodia Cracks Down on Human Trafficking

UNIAP Trains Local Journalists on Human Trafficking Reporting

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA About 50 Cambodian journalists from different national newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations attended the “Training on Ethnical Standard for Interviewing Victims of Human Trafficking” in Phnom Penh on April 9. The training was conducted by the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region (UNIAP) and supported by the Cambodia’s Ministry of Information, Ministry of Interiorand the Press Council of Cambodia. Kem Gunawadh, Government Delegate in Charge and Director General of the National Television Kampuchea (TVK) in the Ministry of Information, said the training was important for Cambodian journalists to learn about the ethnical standard for interviewing victims of human trafficking. “I appreciated UNIAP’s training activities and I think that the training really helped the Ministry of Information strengthen the quality and build the capacity of journalists in Cambodia,” Gunawadh said during the training ses...

ICT Expo Showcases New High-Tech Products

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA About 30,000 local visitors and delegates from the United States of America, Europe, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan and Korea gathered on April 3 at NagaWorld Hotel in Phnom Penh to attend the 5th Cambodia ICT and Telecom World Expo 2009. The three-day event was co-organized by the National Information Communications Technology Development Authority (NiDA) and International Data Group (IDG), and supported by the Council of Minters, Ministry of Information, Post and Telecommunication, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and the Phnom Penh Municipality. Phu Leewood, NiDA’s Secretary General, said this year’s event was biggest yet. He said the expo has seen remarkable growth and gained strength from year to year since its inception in 2005. The organizers marked the fifth anniversary by holding the event at a new venue and launching interactive and concurrent activities for the first time. Activities included best of 10 ICT products awa...

UNESCO Experts Assess Damage at Preah Vihear Temple

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA A group of technical delegations from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) visited Preah Vihear temple to examine and study how to protect and conserve it for the future. The three-day visit, from March 31 to April 2, was led by Professor Azedine Beschaouch and accompanied by the Cambodian National Committee for UNESCO. Phay Siphan, Secretary of State and Spokesman to the Council of Ministers, said the main purpose of the UNESCO visit was to directly examine and study the possibility to develop and preserve Preah Vihear temple in accordance to the agreement signed by the Royal Government of Cambodia and UNESCO in Quebec, Canada, on July 15, 2008, after the temple had officially been included into the World’s Heritage. “The main purpose of the UNESCO’s visit is to examine the temple’s status and staircases which were damaged by Thai rockets during the clashes on October 15, 2008,” Siphan said. “Another objective of the vi...

Vietnamese Goods Fair Hosted in Phnom Penh

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce provided support for a five-day Vietnamese exhibition of 170 companies with 330 booths on April 1-5 in Phnom Penh. The “Trade Fair of High Quality Vietnamese Goods 2009” was organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese Commerce Affairs for the Kingdom of Cambodia. It featured household appliances, food, garments, textiles and leather, arts and handcrafts, chemicals, cosmetics, construction materials, stationery and cultural products, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products. Mao Thora, Secretary of State for Cambodia’s Ministry of Commerce, said this is the eighth exhibition in Phnom Penh organized in collaboration between the two countries. He said through successful Vietnamese trade fairs in Cambodia, especially the past High Quality Vietnamese Goods Fairs, the Cambodia-Vietnam trade relations have ma...

TV5 Selects Freshie Girls and Boys 2009

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Ten Cambodian teenagers, five girls and five boys, were selected as “Cambodian Freshie Girls and Boys” for 2009. The “Freshie Girls and Boys” competition took place on March 30 at the TV5’s station in Phnom Penh and was organized by the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces’ Television Channel 5 (TV5). Bun Kert, Director of the “Freshie Girls and Boys Organizational Committee” of the TV5, said more than 1,000 Cambodian youth applied for the competition, but through many different phases of the competition, only 20 girls and boys who reached the final round on March 30. He said the main objective of the competition is to promote and encourage Cambodian young people to show their personal abilities and skills and knowledge in order to become a future leader, good speaker or TV hosts in Cambodia. “This is the eighth “Freshie Girls and Boys” competition organized by TV5 in Phnom Penh. The main purpose of the competition is to select the freshie girls and boys for Cambodia i...

UC Scholar Pursues a Career in Journalism

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA One of The University of Cambodia’s “Samdech Hun Sen-Handa National Scholarships 2008” recipients, Chea Chakrya, 18, said she wants to be a journalist after gradation. Chakrya passed the UC scholarship exams in 2008 in Phnom Penh. “I am happy and honored that I passed the scholarship exams from The University of Cambodia in 2008. Since I was at the primary and high schools, I never thought that I have a chance to study at The University of Cambodia,” Chakrya said. Chakrya was born in 1989 in Phnom Penh and she has two brothers. She is the youngest in the family. She received a Baccalaureate in 2008 from Bak Touk High School in Phnom Penh. Shortly after, she applied to study English Literature following an introduction to UC’s scholarship program in September 2008. She decided to apply for studies of the English Literature because she wants to speak English well and pursue a career as a professional journalist in Cambodia. “I am lucky to be studying English Lite...

3rd Road Safety Week Raises Awareness of Traffic-Related Deaths

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA The Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior celebrated “Road Safety Week” April 7 at Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh as part of Global Road Safety Week. Yim Chhay Ly, Deputy Prime Minister and High Representative of Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, said this is third Road Safety Week celebrated in Cambodia due to the suggestion the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The global event, which is organized by many nations in the Asia Pacific and around the world, is scheduled to take place April 23-29. The Cambodian government permitted the National Road Safety Week to be held April 7-14 to be in alignment with the Khmer New Year, according to Chhay Ly. He pointed out that the main purpose of the event is to wake up the people at all levels to work hand in hand to prevent and reduce road clashes. Cambodia, he said, is working to keep fatalities under five per 10,000 re...

Wild Honey Committed Sustainable Management in Mondulkiri

Top Ten of the Motocross Champion

BY BUTH REAKSMEY KONGKEA Vong Khan Pove, 35, one of the top 10 motocross riders who competed in the “Total International Motocross Championship” in Cambodia on March 7, 2009. Born in Kampong Cham province, he became a Motocross Champion in 2006 after receiving motorcycle training from his friend, Pierre Yves Catry, a motocross expert from France. “I started training in motorcycle driving with Mr. Pierre Yves Catry in 1995 and I attended the International Motocross Championship Competitions in Cambodia in 1997,” he said. Since he started training for the motorcycle driving in 1995, he has participated in all International Motocross Championships organized by the Mild Seven Company and Total Cambodge, which take place every year in Cambodia. “I decided to train in motorcycle driving in Phnom Penh because I want to improve my motocross riding abilities,” Khan Pove said. “I also wanted to improve my driving skills and stay in good health.” Khan Pove first participated in international moto...

Young Cambodian Artists Exhibit Creations in Phnom Penh