What do we call a cliché? It is an expression repeated in the same terms very often to the point of becoming a banal truth accepted by all and therefore undisputable.
The press systematically hostile to Cambodia - essentially the Western press - makes abundant use of clichés. Its goal is to pass off tendentious information as indisputable truths. We will provide several examples and demonstrate to what extent these are unilateral assertions intended to impose a negative image of Cambodia.
The oldest of the clichés concerns Samdech Hun Sen whose name was, for more than forty years, automatically followed by the words "former Khmer Rouge" when "officer" or " KR leader" was sometimes added. This was of course a matter of assimilating the Cambodian leader to the killers of Pol Pot. However, no serious historian - even those who have been the most critical of the policies led by Mr. Hun Sen - has ever maintained that he was ever involved in the crimes of Democratic Kampuchea. During the 1980s, when Mr. Hun Sen was the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea, the American secret services spent years finding reasons to smear him. And they found nothing. Not even enough to invent a fake criminal.
Three examples illustrate the extent to which, when it comes to Cambodia, the parable of the mote and the beam applies to the Western press.
First, another cliché applied to Samdech Hun Sen was to emphasize his longevity at the head of the Cambodian government (38 years). First, they forget that when he became Prime Minister in January 1985, he was the youngest head of government in the world. It is also forgotten that Mr. Hun Sen exercised responsibilities under three different regimes: the People's Republic of Kampuchea (until 1989), the State of Cambodia (until 1993) and the Kingdom of Cambodia (since 1993). Above all, it is to forget that he is by far not the only political leader to have held high responsibilities for several decades. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the father of Singapore, was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1990, and then Senior Minister and Minister Mentor until 2011. A total of 52 years! This longevity was never criticized by those who spit on Mr. Hun Sen. Other leaders have also had exceptional longevity without ever arousing the hostile moods of an international press accustomed to double standards: Mohamad Mahathir, Malaysia (24 years), Jawaharlal Nehru, India (16 years), Indira Gandhi, India (15 years), Konrad Adenauer, Germany (14 years), Benyamin Netanyahu, Israel (14 years to date) …
The second example concerns the political system of Cambodia which is that of a constitutional monarchy. But there are foreign observers who regularly deplore - another cliché - that HM the King has no power. It is forgetting or, rather, pretending to forget that as in Belgium, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, or the United Kingdom, according to the principals of public law, "the King reigns and does not govern". But, nevertheless, representatives of these countries do not miss any opportunity to deplore the lack of power of the King of Cambodia. What is the constitutional feature in their own country should see different treatment in Cambodia.
A third cliché emerged when it became certain that HE Dr. Hun Manet would succeed his father as head of the government of Cambodia. It has become a habit to talk about nepotism, or even “monarchical drift”. As if the so-called democratic models had never seen sons or daughters succeed their fathers. Isn't George Walker Bush, president of the USA from 2001 to 2009, the son of George Herbert Bush, president from 1989 to 1993? In India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister, was none other than the daughter of a previous Prime Minister, the famous Jawaharlal Nehru. Isn't the current Prime Minister of Singapore, HE Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, the son of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew? And, in many European countries, how many political figures are there who have extended their father's commitment? To take only Belgium, the Eyskens, father and son, were Prime Minister, and the current Belgian Prime Minister is none other than the son of a prominent Flemish politician of Belgium. The current President of the European Council is pursuing a brilliant political career like his father. Examples abound in Europe which are never the subject of the harsh remarks made when it comes to Cambodia. Why does what is accepted in the West become open to criticism when it comes to Cambodia?
After being treated during the eighties of the past century as a “vassal state” of Vietnam, then during the nineties as a “state sold” to Thailand, for the past ten years, Cambodia has been qualified as a “client state” of China. These clichés, repeated tirelessly, are only intended, of course, to give Cambodia a negative image whose leaders are sold to the power of the moment. Of course, a Western press will never remind us that "without the Vietnamese, all the Cambodians would have died", as SM Norodom Sihanouk recognized in 1991.A Western press will never recognize the overwhelming responsibility of rich countries in the isolation of the survivors of the Pol Pot regime who could only count on help from Vietnam to prevent the return of Pol Pot to power. Western journalists paid to denigrate Cambodia will never emphasize what Cambodia owes to the countries that participated in its reconstruction and today in its development. Because these countries are mainly in Asia.
All these clichés reflect at best a mediocre level of information, at worst a systematic desire for denigration. They provide, from a press that is fertile when it comes to giving lessons, the most mediocre examples of what journalism is.
Selected Comments Samdech Moha Bovor Thipadei Hun Manet, at the official launch of “Social Security Program for Voluntary Contribution to Health Care” and “Vocational and Technical Training Program for Youth from Poor and Vulnerable Family”
[Unofficial and translations]
CMF:
(1) Speaking of human capital, we need to pay attention to two factors: health and capacity, and the two programs that we announce today are focusing on building (human) capital, which means we are providing special opportunities to our people in poor and vulnerable families […] the RGC has been paying attention to the well-being and education of our people from the beginning. We are taking health into consideration from before, during and after birth, and we have helped to establish this community nursery and kindergarten […] (2) the organization of this community nursery and kindergarten also contributes to health care because placement of small children at a nursery as well as a community kindergarten helps in taking care of the baby’s well-being. They help look after he kids and make sure their food is nutritional, and kids will be trained and focused attention in learning from the beginning […]
[…] (3)The Royal Government of all generations aims to make the Cambodian people from one generation to the next better, have more opportunities, stronger and smarter and higher capacity to promote (development of) the country faster […] I often say that in the past we were victims of war and we had no chance. The current generation has the opportunity to build a foundation, but what is important is to encourage our generation to be stronger, have stronger opportunities, with health in mind, knowledge, ability and opportunities so that he can find a job and ensure his ability […]
We need to understand the importance of access to information and learning from the private sector strategy. No matter how good a product is, without marketing, without publicity, it is unattractive, and sometimes people can be skeptical. They may have the feeling that they are being forced to study and what would be the purpose of doing so? […] We do not force them to take up study. However, (4)this program is to help anyone in the informal economy, and is encouraging people to voluntarily participate. What makes people volunteer and participation in great number? First, it needs to be well publicized. Second, when it is time, try to implement it according to the goal and on target […]
If we do not provide them the opportunity or the gate in, they will be staying out of the system and continue to face the cost of health checks and treatment […] some will keep their sickness until it is too late […] (5)we hope that people will be healthy through every effort we make to provide adequate nutrition services and combating against counterfeit products and food, etc., for the sake of improving their livelihood […] in this first phase of testing, we now cover nine million people. We hope that in the future we will be able to expand the health insurance system […]
Whatever the task, (6)first, think of all the details to plan. Second, the entrusts the task clearly. Third, monitor implementation at all times. There can be nothing that is to perform perfectly. Monitoring in this timely implementation is important […] problem-solving and monitoring is important. What we can resolve, let us do it on the spot, what cannot be resolved according to the hierarchy, and if necessary to bring to the attention of the national level, it must be proposed immediately, without having to wait for a meeting […]
The important thing is the quality of the training. In the past, there were times when the rate of school dropouts was high […] (to ensure success of) our program it requires the efforts of ministries and institutions, and the participation of own families and youth themselves. I would call on you, especially young people, who need to be trained, (7) please pay attention and remember that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, time does not wait for us. Through the vocational and skill training – whether three months, six months, or one year – with acquired skills, you can have many options for the future […]
In this skill acquiring process, we will try our best to get real skills for you. It is important for the family as well as the young people who attend school to benefit from this. I am asking you to put your heart into it. Any skill is good as long as we really know it. If we know a lot (of skills) but (each) not to the required level, you would not be able to do anything with it. Strive to gain one good skill and know how to use it […]
I thank all the companies that have signed the MoU (on this vocational training cooperation effort) and hope that more companies will participate in this program […] (8)both sides will benefit. First, the (companies will benefit from the) provision of internships […] some places may need to organize a training program in the school […] second, if any company wants to organize training for six months for electrical technical workers, and its electrical sector is not the same as the electrical training as we offered, (let us just give) them the venue for such training. After training, the company may recruit all of them […]
Not only in terms of electronics, but also in terms of banking, hotels […] I am calling for participation […] (9) if this skill training actually goes in progress, we will achieve not only human resources production, but also mindset changing […] (which provides) the weight between general knowledge and vocational training […] another is vocational training to support practical activities […] it requires joint implementation between all relevant ministries, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor or even the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, etc. […] can jointly create a task package […]
[…] I think this orientation (on vocational training), if possible, it would be good (if we) do it from the ninth grade […] relevant institutions can meet to discuss when we should start this orientation? Which is not just a news release. What Active Policy Guidance do we have to orientate them […] (10) this orientation program aims not only for young people in families of the poor or with risks, but for the general population […] to learn to the graduation, and to learn to really acquire skill or knowledge is an important task to be fulfilled by the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training. To acquire a job means to have a job that is corresponding with the level of knowledge or skill that one has […]
This oriented program is (11) not only for our young people in poor or vulnerable families, but for the general public, because sometimes it is the choice of our young people. (Although) in the family s/he was able to go to university, but s/he might want go to any profession […] if everyone goes for management course, probably there would not be a professional in arts, a writer, a professor of literature […] training human resources is important, but what do we train them and for what? We do them training so that they get jobs tailored to the needs of the industry of the economy of the required sector […]./.