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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