Student Loans Remain a Heavy Risk for Lenders

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 27 August 2010

A lack of protections and an unpredictable job market have made lending institutions reluctant to provide student loans, banking officials say.

Students may be hard-pressed to find work after they graduate a university or they may simply not finish school. This has led to closed doors for poor students, especially in the countryside.

“If we do this, it is very risky, because we don't know whether students will finish their educations,” Sophan Nary, deputy CEO for Acleda Bank, told VOA Khmer Tuesday. “Only if the students can earn some income to pay the bank back monthly can we consider offering them loans. Or only if they have guarantees to make sure the bank can get back the money it lent.”

High Gold Price Shakes Up an Old Stand-By

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 20 August 2010

Cambodians have long had a habit of buying and stocking gold, especially as jewelry, but that habit may be changing, thanks to gold’s continual rise in value.

“No one wants to buy gold now,” said Chea Ly, a Phnom Penh resident living near Deum Kor market who has stopped stocking jewelry herself. “We would rather sell it instead, or keep the money to buy something else.”

That’s because the common trading price of gold has climbed from around $700 an ounce in 2007 to more than $1,200 an ounce this week. Investors have been flocking to gold in recent years as a hedge against uncertainty in money and other markets.

llustrating the Point

Pich Samnang and Brian Calvert, VOA Khmer
Thursday, 19 August 2010

Education officials hope that the production of locally written and drawn children's books will engender better reading habits with Cambodia's young.

Leadership Chances for the Young Limited: Mentor

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Thursday, 12 August 2010

Leadership roles in public institutions are lacking for today's youth, a development expert said Monday. “In some institutions, young leaders who are well-educated both locally and overseas are not offered the chance to tap their full leadership potential,” Chheang Vannarith, executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, told Hello VOA on Monday.

Farmers Watch as Tonle Sap Authority Crushes Reservoirs

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 06 August 2010

One morning in early July, about a dozen bulldozers and excavators came to Msa Krong commune where Kong Heuv lives, about 50 kilometers outside Kampong Thom provincial town.

The machines had come to tear down more than 10 reservoirs local farmers had built to capture the receding waters of the swollen Tonel Sap lake.

“I was very disappointed with the destruction of my reservoir,” said the 67-year-old farmer, as he walked along the flattened dam one recent day.

No Cluster Munition Ban for Cambodia

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Tuesday, 03 August 2010

Cambodia has not yet signed a cluster munition ban that went into effect Sunday. Thirty-seven countries have ratified the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.

“As a heavily cluster-bombed country, we are willing to become a party to the convention,” Prak Sokun, a secretary of state for the Council of Minister, told VOA Khmer last week. “But we have to consider thoroughly any impact to our national security.”

The cluster munition convention bans the production, use, transport or stockpiling of cluster munitions.

It was opened to states for signatures in 2008 in Oslo, Norway.

“Countries like Thailand and Vietnam have not signed it either,” said Prak Sokun, who is an adviser to Prime Minister Hun Sen on landmine issues.

Fishermen Say They Are Forced Into Illegal Catches

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 30 July 2010

Local fishermen on the Tonle Sap lake in the province of Battambang say they continue to fish illegally during the off-season.

In interviews with VOA Khmer, the fishermen said they have no choice but to continue fishing, sometimes with banned equipment, in order to feed their families, despite a three-month ban instituted by the government that begins each July.

“The ban is like breaking our rice pot,” said 53-year-old fisherman Chhun Leang.

No Widespread Release Yet for 'Enemies of the People'

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 23 July 2010

Thet Sambath, filmmaker of the 'Enemies of the People', talking to former Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea.

Phnom Penh cinema owners say they are ready and willing to show a groundbreaking documentary on the Khmer Rouge, but the filmmakers say they are so far waiting for government permission for its widespread release. “Enemies of the People,” which includes lengthy interviews with Pol Pot's lieutenant, Nuon Chea, who is now facing trial for atrocity crimes charges at the UN-backed tribunal, will premier in a small arts theater this week.

Cambodia To Seek Protection From Chemical Imports

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Tuesday, 20 July 2010

Cambodia is planning to apply to an international convention that could help reduce the number of illegal hazardous chemicals coming into the country, a senior official said last week.

The government is considering application to the UN’s Rotterdam Convention, which outlines responsibilities of states towards each other regarding chemicals.

“The ministry is considering convention membership because we want to prevent other countries from using Cambodia as a trash bin for their hazardous chemicals and pesticides,” Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun told a meeting of government and development officials on July 14.

Universities Fail at Critical Thinking: Student Advocate

Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Friday, 16 July 2010

Cambodia’s higher education system has failed to address a lack of critical-thinking and problem-solving curricula among university students, a youth advocate told “Hello VOA” on Monday. Instead, says Cheang Sokha, head of the Youth Resource Development Program, “student-centered” approaches exist on paper only within higher education.