ប្រទេស​ថៃ​ ៖ យោធា ​ព្រះ​មហាក្សត្រ ​និង​លទ្ធិ​ប្រជាធិបតេយ្យ​

អំណាចនៅតែមួយកន្លែងឬអំណាចប្រមូលផ្តុំ (power concentration) មានប្រយោជន៍មួយគឺបើអ្នកកាន់អំណាចនោះជាអ្នកចេះដឹងសព្វគ្រប់ ពូកែគ្រប់បែបយ៉ាង ប្រទេសនោះឬអង្គភាពនោះប្រាកដជារុងរឿងលឿនជាងគេ។ ប៉ុន្តែតាំងពីកកើតមនុស្សមក មិនដែលមានមនុស្សពូកែគ្រប់បែបយ៉ាង ចេះដឹងសព្វគ្រប់ទេ មានតែមនុស្សធ្វើខុសត្រង់នេះ ធ្វើត្រូវត្រង់នោះ។ តែធម្មជាតិមនុស្ស មិនងាយទទួលកំហុស មិនងាយដឹងខ្លួនខុស មិនចង់ឲ្យគេថាខ្លួនខុស។ ដូចនេះ អ្នកវិទ្យាសាស្រ្តនយោបាយហាមដាច់ខាតគឺមិនឲ្យអំណាចប្រមូលផ្តុំនៅមនុស្សណាម្នាក់ទេ ទោះមនុស្សនោះទំនងចេះដឹងប៉ុណ្ណាក៏ដោយ ជាក់ស្តែងស្នេហាជាតិប៉ុន្មានក៏ដោយ។

បើមិនរៀន មិនអាន មិនមើលបន្ថែម ខ្ញុំមិនចេះមិនយល់ទេ ត្រង់ចំណុចនេះ។ កាលនៅវិទ្យាល័យ ខ្ញុំប្រឹងគិតដែរ តែគិតមិនយល់ រកមិនឃើញចម្លើយទេ។ ខ្ញុំគិតថា កាលពីដើមមក តែងតែមានស្តេចល្អ ស្តេចអាក្រក់ , ដូចនេះក៏មានសម័យរុងរឿង សម័យដុនដាន មនុស្សវេទនា វិលទៅវិលមកមិនចប់។ ធ្វើម្តេចនឹងដោះស្រាយចំណុចនេះបាន? ពេលបានរៀន បានអានទៅ ទើបដឹងថា អ្នកប្រាជ្ញរាប់ពាន់ឆ្នាំមកហើយ បានព្យយាមគិត សាកអនុវត្ត ដើម្បីដោះស្រាយបញ្ហានេះ។ បន្តិចម្តងៗ ប្រទេសនានា ចាប់ផ្តើមពីអង់គ្លេស [Glorious Revolution] ហើយបន្តដល់អាមេរិក បានសាងប្រទេសផ្អែកលើគោលការណ៍នេះ។

For the concentration of power as the main reason of collapses of states, please enjoy Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire

No one can do many bad things alone. Anything you do, you will need support from others. How can men such as Hitler and Pol Pot , bad men you call them, shockingly commit atrocities? Again, I highly recommend Why the Worst Get on Top, Chapter 10 of the famous book The Road to Serfdom

News Analysis from RFI:
http://rfi.my/28IjyW8

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Cambodia promotes motorcycle helmets to halt rise of traffic deaths

In the end of 1990s to 2000s, the largest social ill in Cambodia was the spread of HIV/AID. Recently this is no longer the issue. Most people now understand about the disease and how to prevent it. However, currently the largest social ill is death toll from traffic accidents. Statistics aside, I can see traffic accident one every day in average on my way of commutation from and to workplace. The article is right in that people do not respect laws, including traffic law in Cambodia. 

Why they do not respect laws? Take me as an example in traffic law. At a traffic law, I was not sure if the red light there meant I could not turn right. I did turn right and was stopped by a policeman right a way. He stopped me according to the law but I could pay my way out. That demeans the meaning of law! This is a prime example of laws in Cambodia. Therefore, people do not have the sense of respecting laws or see the need of it. 

What is the main problem here? Requiring drivers to wear a helmet may reduce death tolls but I will not in any way reduce traffic accidents. I find it close to useless. The only solution is requiring a license, meaning people have to know how to drive on the street. From my experience, 99.99 % of Cambodians do not know how to drive on the street. They do not give signals before they turn; When they have to turn, they do not know that those who are going straight in front of them have the priority. 

When they do not even know what the right thing to do, how could they try to protect themselves? 

See the PBS News...

Cambodia promotes motorcycle helmets to halt rise of traffic deaths

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Ream Beach and Investment

The beach is beautiful, the water is crystal clear and shallow and is surrounded by trees and mountains nearby. The area is not much inhabited. It is on the left hand side on the way from Koh Kong to Sihanoukville near the airport. One defect is that it lies against sun light. It would be too glittering if the sun shines and you want to bathe (not sunbathe) there.

It waits for rich investors to find out the location, its beauty and other potential. Currently, only dozens of local sellers make their on quite traditional commerce: selling food for tourists. Along with the fact that the new airport is being built close by, local and international investors may start to consider their business here in a short time to come.


Unlike in Siem Reap, however, market size of the Western part of Cambodia is small. In Siem Reap, you can see tourists from various countries in the world. In Western Cambodia, mostly Americans or Europeans. In Sihanoukville, in addition, business gains profits only during peak seasons of tourism.

Other costs include electricity, water and security. These are main constraints in Cambodia, not limited to Western part. Some hotels need to supply their own water and electricity. In terms of rule of law, it is quite weak there. (see for example http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/polonsky-bugbear-arrested-sihanoukville)

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Cha Ret Khmer (Khmer Characteristics)

Summary

It is a rather well-known book by a nationalistic politician name Bun Chan Mol (ប៊ុណ្ណ ចន្ទម៉ុល) who spent his life serving Cambodia under many regimes and at the same time observed the atrocity of committed by Cambodians, the Khmer race, under those many regimes. He witnessed cruel tortures, lawless killings, social ills, and observed many incorrigible deeds that leaders and the led made during his life. Thus, in his conclusion, he said the Khmer race are brutal and violent. The future of Cambodia is doomed and his hope for a better Cambodia is dim. 

Analysis

Social scientists would immediately disagree with the author. There is no such as thing as racial characteristics. No American were born to love freedom. America would not be born without the ideas of how to build a country disseminated from Britain, and Britain from earlier uncountable heroes/heroines and countries from Roman Empire, Greece and the Enlightenment. You name it.

In this sense, my rating for it is 3/5.

Those who read this book should not feel pessimistic about the Khmer race and/or the future of Cambodia even if they see its dooming situation today, but should instead continue reading other books such as Why Nations Fail, From Dictatorship to Democracy and Free to Choose, to begin with.

The Conundrum

Did I say there is no such thing as racial characteristics? What you eat determine your behaviors and genes as well. Some food, for example, can make you particularly sluggish. So would Sushi makes Japanese race particularly something? Would this change the pyramid of Maslow's human needs?

Final Say

Putting his accomplishment, sacrifice and knowledge aside, he deserved our respect as a Cambodian patriot. One should be reminded as well that being a patriot is not enough, instead far from enough. The knowledge, how to build the country, how to administer a government, how to infiltrate the concept of citizenship among our people etc. are more important.

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Why Nations Fail

You may wonder why Cambodia, among other poor countries, fail to develop. Why we are poor and other are rich? You have answers, of course. You may point to the fact that we had wars, thus no human capital i.e. no knowledgeable persons who know how to develop the country. Some would point to the fact that we are born lazy, i.e. our culture does not induce hard working like Vietnamese culture or Japanese culture. Of course, very few would point to the fact that Cambodia does not have natural resource as we have too many including the sea. So what make us poor? Some would argue that we do not have a good leader. How to have a good leader then? Can another good leaders come and continue to be good after a good leader is dead of old age? In this book, Daron Acemoglu & James Robinson deal comprehensively with these theories. 

Summary

A country fails to grow not because it does not have natural resources. Case study, Japan. 

A country fails to develop not because of culture. Case study South Korea versus North Korea. 

A country does not grow not because of the lack of human capital. Knowledge can be bought these days. Case study, Japan and other countries (Cambodia as well before the France took over the country) bought Western technology and knowledge and even fought with the West like Japan did against Russia. 

A country fails because it does not have an inclusive institution. Rather, it has extractive institution. That is it has a system where growth, or wealth,  is extracted to a group of people from another group of people. A typical example is when a country has a government which taxes their citizens (of course every government lives by money from tax) and provide no or little service in return. The government does not protect the property rights of its citizens, for instance. 

Conundrums

Theories in this book are mostly in direct contrast to those in The Wealth and Poverty of Nations. If you want to dig deeper into this debate, the latter is a good start. In economics, Acemoglu along with other prominent economists such as Douglas North are categorized as institutional economists. They tend to favor institutions as a cause of growths.

In this book, by emphasizing that institutions, i.e. the systems, make a country rich or poor, the authors do know shed lights on how those systems can be made. If you were the United States who imposed system on Japan after WWII, this book is best for you, except you cannot be one. This book is also best for policy makers of aid organizations such as Jica, USAID, AusAid etc. For politicians, especially opposition politicians in a dictatorship countries this book only brings hopelessness. I suggest another book From Dictatorship to Democracy.

I hope you would read the book, republished in 2012, after this review. My rating is 5/5.

Authors: Daron Acemoglu, James Robinson.
Publisher: Crown Business; 1 edition (March 20, 2012)

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Traffic Problems in Cambodia

Its horrible. If you travel every day, it's not an exaggeration to say that you'd say  one traffic accident per day. It varies from a small one to a fatal one. If it's in Phnom Penh, it can make you mad because of the traffic jams, disrespectful behavior on the street and accidents. What cause these?

Firstly, people do not know traffic rules. Both automobile and motorbike riders do not even turn signal on when turn left or right. They do not know how and where to turn in intersections. I can estimate that 99.99 percent of commuters do not know the rules.

Secondly, law enforcement is weak. When a person breaks a rule, money talks. Therefore, sons of powerful persons, gangsters etc. that is those with highest incentives to break loss incentives to obey rules and respect others on the street.

This is one of many crony issues in developing countries. The solutions are clear, and they can save lives in Thailand and Cambodia etc., where death tolls are high from traffic accidents. They will make people feel more respected in their life as well​ when they know how to respect other on the street via  abiding by the traffic law
.

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Strongman, The Extraordinary Life of Hun Sen

But rather than making it a substantive biography, the authors turned the work into a lengthy praise of the man, which ends up weakening the credibility of the work.

The Cambodia Daily.

True! And this book does not deserve my lengthy review. 

This book is nothing short of autobiography, as it is just written by someone else. Basically the authors just ask Prime Minister Hun Sen what happened, listened and wrote accordingly. In their original edition, they included both verified and unverified information about PM Hun Sen.  In this new edition, the authors only added some more proofs to previous edition. 

What it lacks the most is the connection between what PM says and what can be seen and heard about him in Cambodia. The books quotes intensively speeches of PM in various occasions. The authors also imply the PM's love and respect for King Sihanouk that the PM even would abdicate his premiership in favor of the King if possible. In addition, I cannot find useful verification on some facts. What may shock readers, for instance, is the fact that PM Hun Sen says he does not want any of his children involved in politics at any cost. You judge by yourself. Perhaps, this is the prime example of the significance of the whole book.

If you are already a fan of PM Hun Sen, this is best for you. If you are not, this book is instead a good book for you to find good points about him and what he likes to praise about himself. If you would like to find out the truth or want to read an academic book about PM Hun Sen, this is totally not the right book. My rating for this book, nonetheless, is 2/5.

Authors: Harish Mehta, Julie Mehta.
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Editions (May 15, 2013)

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