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Wells to provide safe water in takeo
Samak out, not down
The Constitution Court Tuesday afternoon disqualified Mr Samak from the job of prime minister for violating the constitution by hosting two cooking shows on commercial television.
Shortly afterwards, the PPP held a meeting and resolved to again throw its support behind Mr Samak.
This was supported by all parties in the coalition government, including Chart Thai which earlier was reluctant to back him, the sources confirmed.
Parliament, which is firmly controlled by the six coalition parties, will vote for a prime minister on Friday, House Speaker Chai Chidchob said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Somchai Wongsawat will act as prime minister for the time being.
Mr Samak, the PPP leader, did not talk to the press after the court's decision.
PPP spokesman Kuthep Saikrachang said Mr Samak and the party respected the court's decision. Even though Mr Samak has been stripped of his premiership, he remains an MP and there are no laws banning him from holding political office, Mr Kuthep said.
"The party has reached a unanimous decision and will nominate Mr Samak to be prime minister again," he said.
Party members did not think there was anything amiss with Mr Samak's actions and he did not cause any damage to the country.
Wattana Sengpairoh, a failed PPP candidate in Bangkok, said Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan still backed Mr Samak to lead the government. A former Thai Rak Thai party executive member, she has close ties to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and controls the faction of Bangkok MPs in the PPP.
However, MPs from the Isan Pattana faction inside the PPP disagreed with the quick decision to support Mr Samak, Roi Et MP Sakda Kongpetch said.
Voravaj Eua-apinyakul, an MP from Phrae, warned the party it must prepare a clear explanation for the public why it decided to bring Mr Samak back to head the government again.
The deputy leader of the Puea Pandin party, Information and Communications Technology Minister Mun Patanotai, said his party's position remains unchanged. "The party still supports the PPP. Leaders of other coalition parties still back Mr Samak," he said.
A source in Puea Pandin said members had to convince their party leader Suvit Khunkitti to back their desire to stay with the government.
Chart Thai leader Banharn Silpa-archa rejected speculation he would succeed Mr Samak as head of the government, saying he could not stand the pressure from the government's critics.
Chart Thai deputy leader Somsak Prissananantakul, the agriculture minister, said Chart Thai was ready to support the party with the majority of seats in the House to form the government.
The push for Mr Samak's return was strongly opposed by the Democrat party.
Democrat deputy chief adviser Banyat Bantadtan urged the PPP and its coalition partners to listen to the public mood and do their bit to ease the political tension.
The nine judges on the charter court bench were unanimous in disqualifying Mr Samak for breaching the constitution by hosting the Chim Pai Bon Pai (Tasting and Grumbling) and Yok Khayong Hok Mong Chao (All Set at 6am) cooking programmes. The court said there was proof that Mr Samak, when prime minister, continued to do the shows and to receive remuneration from the producer, Face Media.
This meant that Mr Samak worked for the company by definition of Article 267. This article prohibits a prime minister from holding any position in a partnership, company or an organisation carrying out business with a view to sharing profits or income, or being an employee of any person.
The meaning of "employee" in the charter is broader than definitions of the term in other laws, the court said.
The court said the spirit of the constitution is to make sure the prime minister and cabinet ministers carry out their jobs properly and to protect against conflicts of interest.
The court said only the prime ministership of Mr Samak is terminated. Other cabinet ministers shall remain in office and continue their duties until a new prime minister and a new cabinet are sworn in. Read more!
Inflation driving women out of the factories into beer gardens
Over 27,000 women have quit their jobs in the garment sector since March this year and found more lucrative work as 'beer girls' in the capital’s booming entertainment business
Cambodia has attracted hordes of new business investors as economic indicators improve, but one of the Kingdom's largest and most reliable sectors, the garment industry, stands in peril as a new generation of young women, faced with runaway inflation rates, turns to a more lucrative trade to support themselves and their families.
Hun Danet, 23, left her home in Kampot province two years ago and moved to Sihanoukville. She became a garment worker like so many other young women looking for a better life. Now she works as a "beer girl" in Happy Happy beer garden in Phnom Penh.
"I've worked in a beer garden for six months and I can earn more money here than in a factory," she said. "At the factory, I earned between US$60 and $120 per month. I get $300 as a beer girl. I'm happy because the work doesn't make me tired," Hun Danet said.
But her move to one of the capital's ubiquitous beer halls has not come without a price.
"I hate myself for being like this, but I don't have any other choice. I haven't told my mother or my other relatives that I work as a beer girl because they would be unhappy and look down on me," she said.
"My customers used to ask me to have sex with them, but I told them that I sell beer, not my body."
She said many of her friends and customers judge her harshly for selling beer at the beer garden. "I'd rather be doing something else, but I can't get any other well-paying job because I don't have the right knowledge or skills."
Hun Danet hopes to leave the beer halls as soon as she earns enough money to give her family a better life.
"When I worked in a factory, I rarely sent money to my mother. Now I can send her $100 every month," she said.
"I think all factory workers who decide to become beer girls or karaoke girls force themselves to do it because they can't get any other job that pays as well. Some might think $300 is a small amount of money, but for me it's a huge amount."
There are about 350 garment factories in Cambodia employing some 350,000 workers, according to the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) - up from 220 factories and 250,000 workers in 2004. Most of the workers are young Cambodian women who have left lives in rural provinces where they lived on less than $1 per day.
Factories losing workers
Chea Mony, president of Cambodia's Free Trade Union, estimates that more than 27,000 women across the Kingdom have left factory jobs for employment in nightclubs, beer gardens and Karaoke clubs since March 2008.
"Salaries in the garment sector have not kept pace with rising consumer costs, and corruption is everywhere in the factories. So, more women are forced to look for better-paying jobs," he said.
"The loss of workers could devastate Cambodian factories. We're worried because as factories have been trying to recruit new workers, the government tells us there's no problem. Everything is going smoothly," he added.
"The government has to be willing to eliminate corruption in the factories and also among government officials."
Vantha, 28, spends her nights working in a beer garden and her days in a garment factory. She's trying to save money to pay fees for building a new house.
"I've worked in the beer garden for just five days, so I'm not that good," she said.
"It is very different from factory work. I get a lot of money and I work less hours. I earn about $300 per month. I plan to work here until I'm at least 30," she said.
Vantha knows the risks that working in a beer garden holds for her reputation but remains defiant.
"I don't care what other people say about me or my job because they're not paying me or feeding me."
Growing trend
A Phnom Penh-based NGO says the departure of garment workers for beer halls and nightclubs is a growing trend.
"Through my work, I see more and more factory workers quitting their jobs because of low salaries and taking jobs as beer girls because they need money to pay the rent, buy food and send money to their families," said Nop Sarin Sreyroth, director of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC).
"The main problem is poverty. As women from the countryside come to Phnom Penh to work in factories, they soon learn that they can make much more money as a beer or karaoke girl," she said.
"They know these jobs are not considered respectable, that people will think they are worthless and men will look down on them as prostitutes. But many women see it as their only option."
Some women might be willing to risk their reputations for the sake of a better paycheck, but Nop Sarin Sreyroth knows the dangers can be far more perilous.
"What they don't consider is that they could become victims of sexual assault by men who will try to have sex with them, or rape them if they refuse."
Om Mean, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Labour, credits the high cost of living with driving more women from factories to beer halls and says the inflation rate is staggeringly higher than other government officials have been willing to admit.
"Young women must find alternative employment that will provide an adequate income," Om Mean said.
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TRACEY SHELTON
Despite the risks of the job, which include sexual harassment and even rape, increasing numbers of women are becoming beer girls. Trend towards beer halls short-lived
According to Om Mean, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Labour, the main factor driving young Cambodian women out of the garment factories and into beer gardens is inflation. "[Inflation] has increased 37 percent since early 2008. Everything costs more, including water, electricity and food. People can't support themselves anymore on a small salary," he said, referring to the US$60 to $120 salary per month that garment workers can earn. According to Om Mean, the migration of garment workers appears to be a short-lived trend and government efforts to strengthen the garment sector will lure women out of the beer halls. "It is normal that people would look for jobs with better incomes when the economy has problems, but I don't think the women who become beer girls will stay in those jobs for very long," he said. "The government is working hard to strengthen the garment sector and ensure fair competition in terms of the World Trade Organisation, and with regard to Vietnam and China."
Hun Danet, 23, left her home in Kampot province two years ago and moved to Sihanoukville. She became a garment worker like so many other young women looking for a better life. Now she works as a "beer girl" in Happy Happy beer garden in Phnom Penh.
"I've worked in a beer garden for six months and I can earn more money here than in a factory," she said. "At the factory, I earned between US$60 and $120 per month. I get $300 as a beer girl. I'm happy because the work doesn't make me tired," Hun Danet said.
But her move to one of the capital's ubiquitous beer halls has not come without a price.
"I hate myself for being like this, but I don't have any other choice. I haven't told my mother or my other relatives that I work as a beer girl because they would be unhappy and look down on me," she said.
"My customers used to ask me to have sex with them, but I told them that I sell beer, not my body."
She said many of her friends and customers judge her harshly for selling beer at the beer garden. "I'd rather be doing something else, but I can't get any other well-paying job because I don't have the right knowledge or skills."
Hun Danet hopes to leave the beer halls as soon as she earns enough money to give her family a better life.
"When I worked in a factory, I rarely sent money to my mother. Now I can send her $100 every month," she said.
"I think all factory workers who decide to become beer girls or karaoke girls force themselves to do it because they can't get any other job that pays as well. Some might think $300 is a small amount of money, but for me it's a huge amount."
There are about 350 garment factories in Cambodia employing some 350,000 workers, according to the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) - up from 220 factories and 250,000 workers in 2004. Most of the workers are young Cambodian women who have left lives in rural provinces where they lived on less than $1 per day.
Factories losing workers
Chea Mony, president of Cambodia's Free Trade Union, estimates that more than 27,000 women across the Kingdom have left factory jobs for employment in nightclubs, beer gardens and Karaoke clubs since March 2008.
"Salaries in the garment sector have not kept pace with rising consumer costs, and corruption is everywhere in the factories. So, more women are forced to look for better-paying jobs," he said.
"The loss of workers could devastate Cambodian factories. We're worried because as factories have been trying to recruit new workers, the government tells us there's no problem. Everything is going smoothly," he added.
"The government has to be willing to eliminate corruption in the factories and also among government officials."
Vantha, 28, spends her nights working in a beer garden and her days in a garment factory. She's trying to save money to pay fees for building a new house.
I don't care what other people say about me or my job because they're not paying me or feeding me.
"I've worked in the beer garden for just five days, so I'm not that good," she said.
"It is very different from factory work. I get a lot of money and I work less hours. I earn about $300 per month. I plan to work here until I'm at least 30," she said.
Vantha knows the risks that working in a beer garden holds for her reputation but remains defiant.
"I don't care what other people say about me or my job because they're not paying me or feeding me."
Growing trend
HENG CHIVOAN
Life as a garment worker is not all smiles as salaries remain low despite massive inflation. Many factory women come from the countryside and continue to support their impoverished families. "Through my work, I see more and more factory workers quitting their jobs because of low salaries and taking jobs as beer girls because they need money to pay the rent, buy food and send money to their families," said Nop Sarin Sreyroth, director of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (CWCC).
"The main problem is poverty. As women from the countryside come to Phnom Penh to work in factories, they soon learn that they can make much more money as a beer or karaoke girl," she said.
"They know these jobs are not considered respectable, that people will think they are worthless and men will look down on them as prostitutes. But many women see it as their only option."
Some women might be willing to risk their reputations for the sake of a better paycheck, but Nop Sarin Sreyroth knows the dangers can be far more perilous.
"What they don't consider is that they could become victims of sexual assault by men who will try to have sex with them, or rape them if they refuse."
Om Mean, undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Labour, credits the high cost of living with driving more women from factories to beer halls and says the inflation rate is staggeringly higher than other government officials have been willing to admit.
"Young women must find alternative employment that will provide an adequate income," Om Mean said.
PM appoints own daughter to assist him in new govt
Hun Mana, the director general of Bayon Television and Radio, will help her father to make 'proper reports'
PRIME Minister Hun Sen has appointed his daughter, Hun Mana, as an assistant to his office in the new government, one of her colleagues at Bayon TV said Tuesday.
Rith Chetra, deputy director general at Bayon TV who was also appointed an assistant to the prime minister, said that during the fourth mandate of the government, Hun Sen "will have a lot to do and needs more assistants".
"I don't know what kind of job I will help him with until the new government is formed," he added.
The new government is expected to be formed on September 24.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said that the appointment of Hun Mana was based on her position at Bayon and that she would help the prime minister in writing "proper reports".
"The public dare not comment to government officials, so they use radio and TV [to] bring their issues to the prime minister," Khieu Kanharith said.
Cambodian People's Party ministers have in the past appointed their relatives as assistants. Both Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong and Social Affairs Minister Ith Samheng sent their sons to work at the Ministry Cabinet offices.
Hun Sen has previously come under fire for appointing multiple advisers and assistants - the distinction between titles pertains to whether the appointee helps with idea generation or workflow.
Opposition Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Son Chhay said that the ruling party wastes a lot of state budget on advisers and assistants, adding that Hun Sen has roughly 1,000 people helping in those positions.
He claimed that most of them do little for their official capacities.
Ho Sothy, Hun Sen's Cabinet chief, declined to comment. Read more!
PRIME Minister Hun Sen has appointed his daughter, Hun Mana, as an assistant to his office in the new government, one of her colleagues at Bayon TV said Tuesday.
Rith Chetra, deputy director general at Bayon TV who was also appointed an assistant to the prime minister, said that during the fourth mandate of the government, Hun Sen "will have a lot to do and needs more assistants".
"I don't know what kind of job I will help him with until the new government is formed," he added.
The new government is expected to be formed on September 24.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said that the appointment of Hun Mana was based on her position at Bayon and that she would help the prime minister in writing "proper reports".
"The public dare not comment to government officials, so they use radio and TV [to] bring their issues to the prime minister," Khieu Kanharith said.
Cambodian People's Party ministers have in the past appointed their relatives as assistants. Both Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong and Social Affairs Minister Ith Samheng sent their sons to work at the Ministry Cabinet offices.
Hun Sen has previously come under fire for appointing multiple advisers and assistants - the distinction between titles pertains to whether the appointee helps with idea generation or workflow.
Opposition Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Son Chhay said that the ruling party wastes a lot of state budget on advisers and assistants, adding that Hun Sen has roughly 1,000 people helping in those positions.
He claimed that most of them do little for their official capacities.
Ho Sothy, Hun Sen's Cabinet chief, declined to comment. Read more!
Opposition Requests Second-Day Swear-In
Two opposition parties have declined an invitation by King Norodom Sihamoni to join in a swearing-in ceremony for the new government scheduled later this month and have asked to have their newly elected parliamentarians sworn in a day later.
King Sihamoni issued his royal invitation to all 123 newly elected members of the National Assembly, but officials of the Sam Rainsy and Human Rights parties, representing 29 seats, have maintained their position that July's election was illegitimate and say they will not swear in next to the ruling party.
The opposition has instead requested an alternate date to swear in, a day later, according to top officials from both parties.
Neither party is willing to be sworn in next to the ruling Cambodian People's Party, said Kong Kom, acting president of the Sam Rainsy Party, and Yem Ponhearith, secretary-general of the Human Rights Party.
Party leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha are currently out of the country, seeking support from the international community for claims July's election was fraudulent and a new vote should be conducted.
Both party leaders have said in the past they would boycott the swearing-in ceremony altogether.
A royal official warned Wednesday the request for a second swearing in was not likely to be granted.
"The king, as the head of state, invited all 123 elected parliamentarians to the swearing-in ceremony on [Sept. 24]," Um Daravuth, a member of the Royal Cabinet, said Wednesday. "If any party does not respect the king's orders, I say that party is wrong under the Cambodian constitution."
"In no country in the world does a National Assembly swear in two times," Um Daravuth said.
An independent analyst said Wednesday it was up to the king to bring the parties together.
"The king should use his cleverness to bring all the parties to join the swearing-in together for national unity," said Lao Monghay, a researcher for the Asian Human Rights Commission. Read more!
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