Selected Comments Samdech Techo Hun Sen, conversation with factory workers in Chbar Morn City, Kampong Speu Province [Unofficial Translation]

(1) Meet workers to know about their conditions and to formulate policies

[…] On the 30th (I will go) to Pursat. When the time for election campaign comes, we will take a break. After the election on the 23rd (July), on 27th (July), I will resume meeting with workers 10 more times/places. This is not a meeting to ask for votes, but to know (the workers’ condition) to formulate policies and solve problems. The Royal Government has to provide this service to the people. It is part of monitoring progress and implementing recommendations with new discoveries so that we can address issues that are major challenges for people and development needs […]

(2) Kampong Speu is the second province with many factories and needs workers

If we talk about Kampong Speu, we might still remember that this province was poor in the past, but who would have thought that Kampong Speu would become the second province with more factories after Phnom Penh. How many people, 20 years ago, could have (thought so) because (Kompong Speu used to) be a fighting and poor area. Now, according to (the Minister of Labor and Vocational Training,) HE Ith Sam Heng, this place is in need of workers. There is a shortage of about 5,000 workers as there are numerous newly opened factories […]

(3) Kampong Speu has underground rocks that can produce cement

Kampong Speu not only has garment and textile factories, and footwear, but also other agricultural processing industries, including cassava and sugar. In the future, Kampong Speu will have a heavy industry that will produce about 2 million tons of cement per year. Kampong Speu will become a province that contributes to the supply of construction materials throughout the country as it has already been granted investment permits. It is not taking (rocks) from the mountains, but rocks underground that can use to produce cement […] this is where we will have heavy industry […]

(4) Kampong Speu and the southwest have investment potentials

Kampong Speu is a province with a lot of potentials. If you look at what I have said before, I wanted to connect the first economic pole and the second economic pole through National Road 4 to turn it into a factory and agro-industrial zone. One can see that Hun Sen’s vision is not a quick and dirty one but something he has from a long time ago. We have been implementing the connection between factories from Phnom Penh to Ang Snoul in Kandal province and to Kampong Speu, Chbar Morn and from Chbar Morn to Sihanoukville in some places and at some points, there are special economic zones. We see potentials. Separately, Kampong Speu, but in general, our southwest, including Kampong Speu, Takeo, Kampot, Kep and Sihanoukville, have the potential to attract investment to build factories and SEZs […]

(5) Japan helps deepen the port of Sihanoukville to accommodate large ships

With continued efforts to strengthen the water transport capacity and the seep seaport of Sihanoukville, which I strongly urge, Japan has responded by making the depth of water in the port of Sihanoukville accessible to large ships […] we use loan from Japan, and Japan help restore the water depth, allowing large ships to come in and out without having to transfer goods in Singapore, Vietnam or other countries. That is the government’s effort to attract more investment […]

(6) investments in the southwest link Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh together

The Royal Government has made efforts to strengthen the necessary infrastructure to serve investment. Investment is not limited to Phnom Penh. I dare to say that this southwest area, including Kampong Speu, still has great potential in attracting investment. Why? The transport infrastructure is good, there is enough electricity supply, and easy to transport goods to the coast. It is close. In this regard, investments in the southwest is going to link the economic pole in Sihanoukville to an economic pole in Phnom Penh – they are not very far apart […]

(7) Over all income of Kampong Speu US$ 481 million/year, workers’ income of Kampong Speu US$ 385 million/year

(Kampong Speu) would not have the revenue of US$ 481 million per year (should we not have these factories here). US$ 480 million is not a small amount. The income of workers in Kampong Speu province in all sectors is up to USD 385 million. In a month, therefore, there are more than US$ 40 million going into Kampong Speu province […] the vision that we have set out on the orientation of factory deployment in the provinces is being achieved. I am proud to be the leader of the country free from external orders. This is our ideological vision. It is our thinking to provide people, not just in Phnom Penh, with jobs and same development […]

(8) 100% of villages in Kampong Speu have electricity

Villages in Kampong Speu province are already 100% having access to electricity. Before that, Kampong Speu lighted torch and kerosene lamps. Now both the torch and kerosene lamps are gone. Although some have just built new villages with a few houses beyond the reach of the power transmission line, they still have access to solar lighting. They use either sunlight or a battery […]

(9) Kampong Speu ended war in February 1996, Keo Pong win-win policy operator

Kampong Speu province just ended the war in February 1996, when we integrated Keo Pong’s division 18 […] we set February 11 for Keo Pong to start. After division 18 came out to the government, Samdech Pichey Sena Tia Banh went to welcome them. In March, I went to Oral (to see them). I already said it that some raised a question with me “what if Keo Pong does return. Keo Pong refused to follow the policy, what to do?” At that time, I replied that ‘there is not going to be neither a gain nor a loss.” If Keo Pong returned to the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer Rouge forces remained the same, and if we were to keep Keo Pong, the Khmer Rouge would lose only one person. However, if Keo Pong carried out our policy, we would have gained the entire Oral region […]

(10) Point out the bad people who ask foreigners to punish, to buy no goods and to make no investments in Cambodia

Now the question arises, if the factory were to close immediately, who would lose the benefit first? Those who are working in this factory are the first to lose. You have in this regard to dare to point finger at bad guys who always asked foreigners to punish Cambodia, do not buy goods from Cambodia, and do not invest in Cambodia. We must dare to point out who come to propagandize or we may just say who destroy your rice pot […] we must get rid of this extremist politics. It is not easy for them to do what they wanted, but we must not let such people and/or such political party to be able to stand in Cambodia […]

(11) Hun Sen’s ideology has two core points – maintain peace and political stability and maintain macroeconomic stability

That is why I always urge Cambodians everywhere to strive for peace and political stability. The Royal Government is always striving (to implement) Hun Sen’s strategy or Hun Sen’s ideology, always grasping the two core points that are related to each other, or we called the end of the two lines to a knot. One side we must maintain peace and political stability, while the other side must maintain macroeconomic stability. The two must go hand in hand. From beginning to end, Hun Sen led these two strategies […] in 2003 and 2004, after the election, the cabinet was not formed within a year due to (lacking the two third majority) as the CPP won 73 seats, while the two other two parties won 26 and 24 respectively. In order to bargain for more, they acted against the government […]

(12) Inflation will return to normal soon

We must continue to strive for peace and political stability on the one hand and macroeconomic stability on the other. You may see that we are making every effort to prevent the economic bombs from exploding. A real bomb can destroy a village or killing and injuring people, but if an economic bomb explodes, it will destroy not only the lives of ordinary people nearby, but also the children in their mothers’ wombs. If the price of goods goes up, especially the goods that are in demand, such as rice, salt, fish, meat, etc., (it would cause tremendous problems). We have predicted that inflation will return to normal soon. As of now, inflation is a little high, but it is not beyond the acceptable line as some countries are experiencing […] we strive to maintain inflation (at acceptable levels) in our country in order to maintain the stability of people’s lives […]

(13) Kampong Speu has the most transit routes and many memories All I wanted, in general and in particular, is for the workers to work together to keep the peace to ensure the development. We must not tolerate any action that destroys the peace of the country. We went through tragedy because of the war. At that time, did we ever know if there was going to this NR 44? We studied and finally built it. Eventually, Kampong Speu became the area with the most transit roads […] we have been doing this since when we build the Kun Krou Bridge (the bridge in gratitude of teachers) […] I also have so many achievements and memories, mostly in Kong Pisey and Samrong Tong districts, where my mother came to build a pagoda there. She wanted to stay in that pagoda forever, but my father set up a stupa for her in Phnom Penh […]./.

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