The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 604
Apologies for the delays in publishing – due to my international travel. I try to catch up as soon as possible.
But I am now starting my return trip to Cambodia. According to schedule, I should be working again from Phonom Penh on Monday – first catching up with the delays, and then working again regularly.
Norbert Klein
“The Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association strongly criticized Prime Minister Hun Sen Friday, 20 March 2009, after the Khmer Prime Minister announced during a convention to consider the Ministry of Education’s task, that he cannot increase salaries for teachers even though he wants to do so.
“Prime Minister Hun Sen, voted into office in a package vote, announced during the closure of the convention, ‘I would like to tell all of those who are responsible for tasks of supervision, that I do want to increase the teachers’ salaries, but our national budget is limited. Thus, we cannot increase the salaries of teachers beyond what they are now.
“Hun Sen, who rules the country with fear that his power is overthrown, said irresponsibly, ‘Where can we find money to increase teachers’ salaries? Moreover, now, that the global economy is declining and citizens who had earned much income before lose their income.’ He added that when the salaries of teachers or of civil servants are increased, they must be increased in a stable way.
“Reacting to the announcement of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association, Mr. Rong Chhun, said that if Prime Minister Hun Sen has the intention to increase teachers’ salaries, there will be no problem for the current government to do so. Mr. Rong Chhun believes that teachers’ salaries should be increased to between Riel 800,000 and Riel 1,000,000, corresponding to between US$200 and US$250, so that it is in line with their appropriate living standard.
“Mr. Rong Chhun added, ‘I think that the government has enough money to increase the teachers’ salaries, and it is possible if the Prime Minister wants to do it in order to improve the teachers’ daily livelihood.’ Mr. Rong Chhun went on to say that money to increase the salaries for teachers might be taken from taxation and from the elimination of corruption, and the simplest way is to stop spending money wastefully on delegations who always accompany Prime Minister to attend different forums.
“Mr. Rong Chhun continued to say, ‘As I know, a delegation member receives Riel 2,000,000 [approx. US$500] and additional expenses for gasoline when they accompany the prime minister to inaugurate different achievements, and for other missions. He said that there are more than 100,000 teachers in Cambodia nowadays, and 93% of them have another job besides teaching to seek additional income to support the family economy.
“According to the president of the Cambodian Teachers’ Association, at present, primary school teachers receive Riel 100,000 per month [approx. US$25] which is less than that of lower secondary school teachers who receive Riel 200,000 per month [approx. US$50] and high school teachers who receive Riel 250,000 [approx US$65] per month.
“According to a new report of the Education Partnership, 99% of teachers said that teachers’ salaries alone are not enough for them to live. The report stated that the budget of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport for 2008 is twice more than that in 2000 – US$508,865,000 in 2008 compared to US$209,246,000 in 2000.
“In the same period, the initial salary of a [new] teacher has increased from US$20 to US$30 since 1999.
“The report said that at present, this amount of salaries cannot cover the daily needs of teachers, and teachers have no choice, besides trying to seek additional income by dong different jobs besides teaching.
“A Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian from Phnom Penh and the spokesperson of the party, Mr. Yim Sovann, said that if the Hun Sen government can prevent corruption, Hun Sen will not lack money to increase the salaries for teachers and for civil servants.
“Mr. Yim Sovann added that every year, millions of dollars from taxes are lost. Therefore, if Hun Sen could eliminate corruption in taxation, there will be no shortage of money to increase the salaries for teachers and for civil servants, such as police and soldiers.
“It should be noted that on 13 March 2009, the president of the biggest opposition party in Cambodia, Mr. Sam Rainsy, wrote a letter to ask the prime minister to clarify the efficiency of law enforcement about finances in the national budget management for 2009.
“In that request, Mr. Sam Rainsy and opposition party parliamentarians said that in 2008, the taxation and the Water Supply Department collected about 60% of the total tax income which was high in the region. But in 2009, the Taxation and Water Supply Department requires that around US$585 million from tax is to be collected, which is an impossible amount due to the economic downturn which happened for two months in the early part of this year. Tax income is only US$64 million, compared to the same period in 2008 when it was US$86 million.” Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.16, #3717, 21-22.3.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #145, 21.3.2009
- Child Sex Trafficking: Cambodia Is Ranked among Four Countries in Asia [the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand which are countries with an increasing number of child sex trafficking]
- The World Bank Promises to Provide US$50 Million for Climate Change Projects in Cambodia
- Vietnam Plans to Invest in Planting Rubber Trees in Cambodia and Laos [100,000 hectares in Cambodia and 100,000 hectares in Laos] while the Price of Rubber Declines [one tonne of raw rubber costs now more than US$1,200 in Cambodia]
- The United States of America Affirms Not to Support the Independence of Tibet
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #1903, 21.3.2009
- Japan Provides US$200,000 to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
- Those Who Did Bad Deeds Receive Bad Deeds; Two Men Who Raped and Killed Two Little Girls [and hung their bodies on a tree] Were Handcuffed at Last [Pursat]
- Millions of French Employees Demonstrate against the President [Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, demanding salary increases and work protection, while the economy declines]
Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #369, 21.3.2009
- 12 Years Ago, there Was a Grenade Attack in Front of the National Assembly on Non-Violent Demonstrators [which killed about 20 people and inured more than 100]
Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6608, 21-22.3.2009
- Sand Has Good Price to Be Sold to Singapore and Merchants Are Happy to Dredge It for Sale, while There Are Concerns of Landslides and about Natural Resources [Sihanoukville]
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.16, #3717, 21-22.3.2009
- The Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association Reacts against Hun Sen’s Announcement that There Is No Money to Increase the Salaries of Teachers
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4841, 21.3.2009
- Thai Parliament Members [from the Puea Thai Party] Demand Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Revoke the Word Calling Samdech Dekchor “Gangster”
- A Man and His Adult Daughter Were Rolled over [by a truck] and Died Immediately [the truck driver escaped – Phnom Penh]
- A Young Man Killed His Father to Help His Mother [when the man hit his wife with a stick to claim money from her, the son took another stick and hit his father to death, and then escaped – Kompong Speu]
Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.
