The Mirror, Vol. 11, No. 506
“Mr. Son Chhay, a parliamentarian from the Sam Rainsy Party, criticized the National Assembly for having many employees, but the number of employees who come to work is very small – that makes the government lose approximately US$1.5 million per year.
“Mr. Son Chhay told this to journalists at a meeting at the Phnom Penh Hotel on 3 May, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, which was organized by the Club of Cambodian Journalists.
“The parliamentarian from the consistently opposing party criticized the National Assembly openly, saying that it has currently more than 3,000 employees, but the number of employees who come to work daily is only about 200.
“He continued that even he himself who is also a parliamentarian, he doesn’t know the real number of employees, and where they are assigned to. It is suspected that some employees of the National Assembly are not Khmer. The recruitment of many employees without specific positions makes the government lose approximately US$1.5 million per year.
“It should be remembered that the recruitment of many employees during the second term of the National Assembly was done by Mr. Kol Pheng as the Secretary-General of the National Assembly. It is known that Mr. Kol Pheng recruited employees in exchange for bribes that made it possible for Mr. Kol Pheng to now have the big Paññāsāstra University, and he is now Minister of Education.
“He added that it is known that most of the employees, who have only their names on lists, are wives, children, husbands, nieces, and nephews of parliamentarians or of officials of the Department of Administration and Finance.
“It is not allowed that the names or biographies of the approximately 3,000 employees be known to the parliamentarians. Although there is a request from members of the committee that has the right to check, its members are not allowed to do so, with an explanation given by the Department of Administration of the National Assembly that this information is not to be investigated or checked.
“Mr. Son Chhay told the journalists that if they want to know clearly about this, they can ask Mr. Mitt Karen, the head of the Department of Administration and Finance, who may explain the number of employees well. Sakal tried to contact Mr. Mitt Karen yesterday for an explanation about the great number of employees of the National Assembly, but did not succeed to contact him.
“Concerning the expenses mentioned above, there has not been any information to confirm that there is any reaction from Samdech Heng Samrin, the President of the National Assembly, to ask for public administration reform related to the number of employees of the National Assembly, which is up to more than 3,000; however, Mr. Chan Ven, the Secretary-General of the National Assembly, may know something about the activities of Mr. Kol Pheng, the former Secretary-General of the National Assembly, related to the great number of employees.” Sakal, Vol.15, #3176, 4-5.5.2007
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 5 May 2007
Chakraval, Vol.15, #2676, 5.5.2007
- South Korea Provides Loan of More Than US$36 Million to Repair National Road 3 from Phnom Penh to Kampot
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1331, 5.5.2007
- Opposition Party Wants 45 More Parliamentary Seats to Be Added
- Cambodia Continues to Cancel Land Concessions for Companies That Have No Activities
- Broken-Hearted Unmarried Woman Takes Poison to Commit Suicide [Kompong Speu]
Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #6031, 5-6.5.2007
- Club of Cambodian Journalists Receives $10,000 [from US Embassy] to Reward Journalists [in competition for best investigative report]
- Deputy Prime Minister Sok An Asks Journalists to Respect State of Law
- 32 AM and FM Radio Stations [FM 102 MHz and FM 105 MHz not included] Create Cambodian Radio Association] to Strengthen Government Media
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4276, 5.5.2007
- US Announces that Cambodia and Three Other Countries [Armenia, Macedonia, and Romania] Join with US and Russia to Fight Nuclear Terrorism
- Cambodia and Australia Strengthen Cooperation
- Ministry of Education Lacks Textbooks for Students
Sakal, Vol.15, #3176, 4-5.5.2007
- Son Chhay: National Assembly Wastes US$1.5. Million per Year…!
- Cambodia Ranks 108th of 168 Countries, but It Ranks 1st in ASEAN for Press Freedom!
Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.14, #3027, 5.5.2007
- US Department of State Pushes Cambodian Government to Prevent Human Trafficking
Recent Comments