New Year Wish for the Year of Pig
How are you? Did you dance during the Khmer New Year? I heard that this year senior citizens had had a good dance. Please allow me on this occasion to wish you all the Khmer New Year – the Year of Kor, Buddhist Era of 2563 which has just taken over (from the year of rooster) recently. I wish our people here in particular, and the people in Banteay Meanjei and the country as a whole the five Buddhist blessings […]
The Stoeungbot-Ban Nang Ean Bridge
It is indeed a new event for which we Cambodians have been working with the Kingdom of Thailand to celebrate. A moment ago, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha of the Kingdom of Thailand and I sealed the last connection spot to connect the bridge between Cambodian on one side at Stoeungbot and Thailand on another side at Ban Nang Ean. Please allow me to take this opportune moment to convey my sincere appreciations and thanks to every assistances made so far by Thailand, over 26 million USD, in building this bridge as well as other constructions as is reported in the report of Senior Minister Sun Chanthol. With this bridge built […] we will leave the current bridge at Poipet for tourists and travellers to and from. This new bridge at Stoeungbot will serve well in improving our connectivity and trade actions […]
A Bailey Bridge for Hand-Pulled Carts and Light Trucks
The authority of Banteay Meanjei province of the Kingdom of Cambodia and Sa Kaeo province of the Kingdom of Thailand have filed an initiative to build a Bailey bridge (in Poipet) to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. I have already approved the request to build the 9-meters width and 50-meters length Bailey bridge for pedestrians with hand-pulled carts. This should relieve them from jostling in the main bridge at Poipet with tourists and light travellers […] the authorities of Banteay Meanjei of the Kingdom of Cambodia and Sa Kaeo of the Kingdom of Thailand have made their efforts to provide our carts pullers to have a better flow to and from on the one hand and to facilitate crossings to and from for tourists […]
Think of What Make It Possible
Let us figure out together every aspects relating to this event today. What has allowed to sit down here together? Why do we accomplish today what we have never been able to in the past? In fact, going back to our history, the rail between our two countries was there and working since (when we were under) French rule. It was at one point destroyed because of war. We have just had the ability to get the rail working again. What does this event indicate? We should see it clearly and look to our future, and figure out how to make our steps forward […] we should see three successful strategies brought about by the win-win policy.
Passing Border to Meet Chatichai Choonhavan
We may all remember that this place was in the time of war a blood soaked battle. Artillery mounted in Malai would send shells up to here. There was also an armed battles between the armed groups at Malai and the government force at the point of Khla Nguab (dead tiger). In September 1989, with Samdech Tia Banh, I travelled from Serei Sophon of Banteay Meanjei to Poipet. We crossed the bridge which there was only rail left walking on makeshift pieces of wood to get to Aranyaprathet. From Aranyaprathet, we took helicopter to Bangkok to meet with former Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Chaovalit Yongchaiyudh […] along the NR 5 section on Cambodian territory, there were no houses and I could not imagine how fast the city of Poipet has grown […]
Shortage of Electricity May Go on Till Rain Comes
This year’s hot weather has coupled with shortage of electricity. Due to natural factor we have not lost production ability of hydropower up to 1,000 megawatts out of the 1,400 megawatts power that we have combined. Last night, according to the report I received from Minister Suy Sem our hydropower turned out 373 megawatts over 1,328 megawatts ability […] prior to the Khmer New Year, the Kingdom of Thailand has transmitted electricity to Banteay Meanjei, Battambang, Siem Reap, Uddar Meanjei, and Pursat. On the other side, we had some from Vietnam. However, we have not got enough power to answer to our needs at this moment. I am seeking our people’s understanding on this shortage which would last until rain comes. We are seeking means to address this problem and will not allow it to repeat next year.
Three Successful Strategies – (1) Former Battlefields Becomes Development Areas
However, after twenty years of successful implementation of the win-win policy, we have carried out three successful strategies which I must lay them out here. Firstly, we have been able to turn former battlefields into development areas. People living in this area, for instance, could have understood how hard it was to escape from fighting […] after ending war in the country, we have worked together to turn battlefields into development areas […] there is no more fighting here. We have good asphalted roads now that connect these parts of the border areas to the central parts of the country. People can cultivate and embark on other business on such a vast land […] about 90% of former battlefields have already become marketplaces and development areas […] we are working to remove mines and UXOs to liberate land for our people […]
(2) Building a Border of Peace, Friendship, Cooperation, and Development
Secondly, we have transformed border areas with neighbouring countries into a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development. The event today has clearly reflected what we have been doing and achieving in this strategy. Should there be no good relations between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand, we would not be able to connect our countries with this bridge or send in power to each other. We would not be able to look at each other in the face. We have made it. We have realized this strategy […]
Four More Passes – An She, Chup Koki, Phnom Dei, Thmor Da
Judging by the fact that bilateral trade between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Thailand has reached a size of over six billion USD, there is this urgent demand for connectivity. More so, we are after a good relation with each other. A moment ago, I had a discussion with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha and I have suggested opening four more border passes – An She in Preah Vihear on Cambodian side and Ubon of Thailand; Chup Koki in Cambodia’s Uddar Meanjei and Thailand’s Buriram; Phnom Dei and Thmor Da for the sake of better trade connectivity.
Thai Prime Minister Positive on 140 Km Used Rail
Let me also share with you that we have received a positive response to my request to Prime Minister of Thailand HE Prayuth Chan-o-cha through the transport minister of Thailand for the used 140 km rail. They have replaced them with new ones. We can still use them in Cambodia. We also used old rail given by Malaysia and former Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont provided transportation from Malaysia through Thailand to Cambodia […] we have received today a locomotive and a number of wagons from the Kingdom of Thailand.
(3) Internal and Neighbouring Connectivity
Thirdly, we have made it happened all along is ensuring internal connectivity and establishing connectivity with neighbouring countries. Our people may want to think about this. Did we have roads (or good roads) before in this area? It is true that what we have achieved so far is not enough. However, judging by what we have now, Banteay Meanjei has in fact been lucky as far as connectivity is concerned […] soon people in Banteay Meanjei will travel to Phnom Penh on rail. What did we have in the time of war? Even before the war, there were no (good) roads as we do now. People in Banteay Meanjei or in the whole country so to speak will benefit from connectivity between province and province, within own provinces, thanks to infrastructural development such as roads, bridges, rails, and also electricity […]
Keeping Hard-won Peace
HE Prayuth Chan-o-cha composed two songs and I composed four songs. That is how things should be. We two countries – with some similarities in tradition and custom – should be happy together. We celebrate the Songkranta together and well wish each other. Let us keep this relations. First and foremost, however, we must keep our hard-won peace. Should we keep no peace, bridges, roads or rails would all be blown off as what happened in 1970s after the 18 March 1970 coup […] I do not mean to respond to anyone. Even Samdech Krolahaom (Sar Kheng) whom they enticed to launch a coup against me needs not to reply to them. Let us think together, if a Deputy Prime Minister launches a coup against the Prime Minister, what would that be? It is a coup. The power from this coup would go to who? Did they think that Samdech Krolahaom is that naïve to do all that? As we have made a point in the last Cabinet meeting, let us not respond to anyone. Let them bark to themselves […]
People Welcome Hun Sen
… (S/he claimed) to march in (on me) […] to arrest me. That would be too easy, wouldn’t it? They may see people present here, are they here to catch or to welcome Hun Sen? They may have misconceived. Let them lose their ways. When they cannot see what strategy we are pursuing, they would have no way to win over us. I need not speak much on this. I have given my order already. Just hit down every troublemakers. There would be no more concerns as long as they are illegal […] there had been some natural disaster last night in this area and two people died because of rain and lightning […] besides my condolence to those families, I would instruct Deputy Prime Minister General Ke Kim Yan and his working team to carry through a number of works. I urge the armed forces, military and police, and the military police, to continue to provide assistance whenever needed and possible to our people in hardships […]
Thank You for Voting CPP, Peace and Development
Let me thank our people here today for making their valuable times to come and welcome me. I thank you all once again for voting the Cambodian People’s Party. Your choice has given me chance to return and make my statement here today. I just remind you that voting for the Cambodian People’s Party is in fact voting for one’s own self, for peace and for development. Other (political) parties have not been able to replace the role of the Cambodian People’s party in keeping peace and development […] having had nothing yet they called on for a coup or a party coup […] should a coup be real, would there be a war or not? Truly, it would […] with peace preserved, we are making our steps ahead. People in different parts of the country travel to and from to see their relatives and/or to visit places. For the Khmer New Year this year, a large number of people, despite hot weather, have travelled for holiday […]./.
