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Khmer Politics Alternatives Circle

~ Thinking outside the box about Cambodia

Khmer Politics Alternatives Circle

Monthly Archives: April 2015

The “prâhok” of cod

27 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by KhmerPAC in Culture, Politics

≈ Comments Off on The “prâhok” of cod

My dear Kacvey,

The “prâhok” season should be over by now, and Khmer households will soon start enjoying the “prâhok thméy”, vintage 2015.

Coming into the “prâhok”market is a new brand which is made of cultured fish called Khmer cod which is different from the cod of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Khmer cod is a hybrid fish crossed between 2 species, namely the ruling and the opposition fish, and cultured in an artificial pond with aquatic vegetation such as thirst for power, corruption, irresponsibility, un-accountability and nepotism. In order to produce the roe to become Khmer cod, the ruling and the opposition fish did not copulate the way fish generally does; instead they dated, they talked, they dialogued and they made secret deals. Out of this fooling around, they lay eggs which hatch into Khmer cod.

Since the pond is loaded with overly nutritious ingredients of green and gold colors, the cod grows rapidly. 3 months later, the cod was harvested. The Majority and the minority were trying very hard to sell this cod to the Khmer households, but unfortunately consumers prefer to stick to the regular fish from the Mekong and the Tonlé Sap as they have always known. They do their commercial pitch in the City of Tonlé Buon Mouk, in Siem Reap, on television, on Facebook, and even in Kuala Lumpur, but yet very few households rush to buy the cod, except their own.

Facing with such a high level of unsold inventory, the minority chef received a brilliant idea from a dream: why not making “prâhok” out of the whole stock of cod!

So said, so done.

Kacvey, if you happened to do your food shopping at Psar Teuk Lâ ârk, please get a jar of “prâhok” of cod for your next “chaar prâhok kroeurng”. A word of caution, though: Watch out for the smell when you open the jar!

Bon appétit, Kacvey!

When the pain in the “nec” is cortisoned

26 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by KhmerPAC in Governance, Institution, Issue, Politics

≈ 1 Comment

My dear Kacvey,

Hope you had a great time during the Chaul Chnam festivities, had the chance to be given a spoonful of the Guinness-World-Record “noum ansâm” (chrouk or chék?), and the aftermath still remains as exciting as the beginning, because elsewhere the decorative balloons that were inflated with helium of promises and expectations are now either punctured or deflated.

So, when the Tevoda of the Year of the Goat was about to arrive in the heaven above the Lands of the Khmer, the Majority and the minority doctors agreed to make a big injection of cortisone to relieve the pain in the nec until the elections of 2017 and 2018. After the injection, everybody feels fine and in good mood until the effect of the medicine fades off. The 2 parties built up such a hype to falsely tell the public that all the pain that the nec had to go trough was for Cambodians, but in fact it will be for the self-induction of the 123 which, in 2018, will become 125, demographic growth obliges.

After the pain was temporarily relieved, the nine “necks” promised to build sand castle in Spain with buzzwords such as independence, neutrality, impartiality and objectivity. What a circus of rigmarole, insincerity and absurdity!

Who on earth would believe that the nine necks with the spines so attached to their parties for decades against which favor, power and wealth have been constantly rewarded and accumulated would become overnight “independent, neutral, impartial and objective”?

Kacvey, do you think that Cambodians would believe that these nine “necks” are resurrected supreme or holy beings? Do Cambodians think that they are saints or angels? Do these nine necks think that nobody else has intelligence, knowledge, perspective and brain? Fools always think and believe that others are fools.

Where are the so-called independence, neutrality, impartiality and objectivity when the first order of the priority was to go to kowtow to foreign embassies for fund, help/assistance and knowledge/expertise? Where is then their self-esteem, the Khmerness, the pride of the Khmer blood and brain?

If such is the effect of the cortisone, the Cambodian night is going to be very dark, long and hopeless. The pain is still in the nec, and also somewhere else.

=====
Update:
– Phnom Penh Post, 7 December 2017: NEC body to fight bad press
– Phnom Penh Post, 8 December 2017: New NEC members insist they are neutral

Greeting the Khmer New Year!

14 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by KhmerPAC in Event, Social

≈ Comments Off on Greeting the Khmer New Year!

Sour Sdéy Chnam Thméy!

My dear Kacvey,

 

May the Spirit of Chnam Môr Mê be there to guide you,

When you are happy, feel sick or have the blues.

 

Good bye and Thank you, Chnam Môr Mii!

Up, up and away, the Year of the Horse flies from land and sea,

No looking back, and letting the Year of the Goat making its entry.

 

What does the Year of the Goat have in store for Cambodia?

Nobody knows, whether it will be joy, disaster or fear.

It’s up to the Khmer to make the smile or to shed the tears.

 

Since ever, Cambodians have been cheated out left and right;

All leaders only think for themselves, and never for the Khmer’s plights.

Rights are abused, lands taken, forests denuded, Mekong dried,

Cambodia’s future is far from being bright.

The Year of the Goat will witness a sea of changes that would turn things right.

***

Kacvey, let seek the wisdom of the Year of the Goat to ponder on this rhetorical question/wish from Petrarch: “Do you suppose there is any living man so unreasonable that if he found himself stricken with a dangerous ailment he would not anxiously desire to regain the blessing of health?”

12 April 1975 – 12 April 2015

12 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by KhmerPAC in History

≈ 1 Comment

My dear Kacvey,

40 years ago, Cambodia fell into the hands of the KRs. You already know the rest that you live with until the present day.

Let read, in silence, the page of history on that day as re-memorized by Denis Gray of the Associated Press and published by the Stars and Stripes Newspaper.

http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/former-ambassador-40-years-ago-us-handed-cambodia-to-butcher-1.339386#

May those who died find Peace. May those who survive find courage to prowl and work for Peace.

The Summons

06 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by KhmerPAC in Governance, Issue, Politics

≈ Comments Off on The Summons

My dear Kacvey,

First and foremost, please do not get mixed up with “The Sermon” by Jimmy Smith.

Secondly, do you recall the name “Raymond Poulidor” aka “The Eternal Second” in “Tour de France” of the 60s?

Well, it looks like the City of Tonlé Buon Mouk also has an “eternal second”, politically speaking. You would ask who would that be?

Ah, the 1st Vice, indeed: Vice among the rescuers, and Vice at the NA.

Because of being a Vice, Fortune has not been on his side, as summons has been sent to him by the Municipal Court judge to appear before him on Wednesday 8 April. He must by now have a stack of summonses on his desk with all that has happened in his life.

Since the issue is between the justice system represented by the judge and him, let leave the matter to his lawyers and the judge to face and battle each other.

Nonetheless, let see the other side of the coin, if the coin has only 2 sides, with these questions for ourselves:

1. If the judge issued the summons to the 1st Vice, did he or did he not know that the 1st Vice has parliamentary immunity?

2. If he did not know, is he really a judge or a man of the laws?

3. If he did know, why did he then issue the summons? Did he take the laws into his own hand or on the instructions of some higher authorities who consider that the laws are just a toilet seat?

4. Who then, in Cambodia, is summum bonum?

5. For the 1st Vice, if he is “summonable”, how does he define himself in front of his constituency?

6. Can he then summon up his inspiration and his supporters and co-parliamentarians to challenge the judge’s summons?

7. Is this so-called “parliamentary immunity” a true and valid stuff or just a blah blah blah to circumstantially benefit a group of irresponsible people to evade justice?

Kacvey, what would your students at law school respond if these questions are part of their weekly quiz?

 

 

The Sui dynasty (581-618 AD) – When Hubris Turned Debris

05 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by KhmerPAC in History, Social

≈ 1 Comment

My dear Kacvey,

Let take a pause from Khmer politics, and amuse the brain with a look at a portion of the Chinese history on how the Sui dynasty, according to “The Tales from Five Thousand Years of Chinese History” 上下五千年, came to an end.

Since your eternal education has always dipped you into the Western world civilization and history, you might say you have learned enough of world history to a point that the Chinese history might not have any bearing at all on your comprehension of past world affairs. Your reasoning is well valid as far as you are concerned, but as far as many Cambodians in Cambodia are concerned, it is not a wrong belief that they know more of Chinese history and tradition than you do; therefore, in the back of their mind/habit/customs there always is a hint of Chinese “culture” that is not negligent in the way thinking is developed and formulated. So, please try to engage a conversation on or about the Sui Dynasty, the next time you see some of them on the golf course that is on the highway after the fork to Kg Speu.

And please do not advocate that why wasting time and effort discussing Chinese history instead of Khmer. The fundamental premise is that you are supposed to already know Khmer history; if you don’t, tough luck, it’s your own problem and issue that you have to solve it by yourself. Please, do not put the blame on other people because of your own ignorance. The blame is on YOU!

Enough digression! Now, back to the subject!

The Sui dynasty 随朝 (581-618 AD) had 3 emperors: Emperor Wen 文帝 (581-604 AD), and Emperor Yang 杨蒂(604-617 AD) and Emperor Gong 恭帝 (617-618 AD); the first 2 emperors were the most famous, the third one was just a figure-head while the dynasty was already on the verge of collapsing.

Emperor Wen came to the throne after his troops defeated the Chen 陈 armies and unified the whole country for the 1st time since 316 AD and after 270 years of division. During his reign he consolidated his rule by instituting civil service and military reforms, establishing national civil service examinations, promoting capable officials and harshly penalizing corrupt ones. The country bathed in political stability and economic and social prosperity.

After the death of Emperor Wen in 604 AD, Yang Guang, Emperor Wen’s 2nd son, occupied the Sui throne, and took the name as Emperor Yang. Shortly after his accession, Emperor Yang undertook 2 ambitious projects: building a new capital in Luoyang 洛阳 and commissioning the construction of the Grand Canal 大运河. While Luoyang was being built, he commissioned the building of the Tongji Canal 通济渠. 5 years later he conscripted laborers for the construction of 2 more canals: the Yongji Canal 永济渠 and the Jiang’nan River 将南河. After their completion, these 4 canals constituted the Grand Canal which connected South and North China. Boasting a total length of some 4,000 li (li = about 500 meters or 1,640 feet), it is one of the great public works in Chinese history, and has played a positive role in China’s economic and cultural development until the present day. Needless to say, it came about at great cost of civilian labor and millions of life.

To satisfy his love for travel throughout the country, Emperor Yang ordered the constructions of 10,000 large ships, and every time he undertook a trip, he had an entourage of 200,000 to 500,000 troops with him for his protection. A mobile palace was also commissioned not only to accommodate the Emperor but also hundreds of palace staff. For one such tour, he conscripted civilian workers to carve out a road through the rocky Taihang Mountain 太行山 and to ensure his safety, a 1,000,000 workers  were conscripted for rush works on the Great Wall 长城 with a 20-day deadline.

As Emperor Yang’s hubris increased over the years, those years of construction were becoming unbearable on the populace.

Then in 611 AD, he launched a campaign against Korea to prove his military mettle. He personally directed the campaign by ordering the conscription of millions of civilians for the construction of 300 battle ships and 50,000 large transportation vehicles. The conscripted civilian laborers worked without respite day and night and under strict surveillance. Many laborers succumbed to the harsh conditions and died at the work site.

Huge convoys of vehicles and large fleets of boats streamed day and night toward the north. Many of the hundreds of thousands of conscripted laborers transporting the supplies died of exhaustion or hunger along the way, their corpses strewing the field. To make up for the excessive number of deaths among the laborers, oxen were press-ganged into pulling the carriages. As a result there was a shortage of oxen to work the fields. The subsequent poor harvests caused a steady deterioration of the life of common folks. Peasant uprisings became endemic.

Of the many insurgent forces against the cruel, dissolute despot Emperor Yang, the strongest was the Wagang Army 瓦岗军 led by Zhai Rang 翟让 and Li Mi 李密. But in a serious rift, Li Mi killed Zhai Rang, and from then on the Wagang Army went downhill. As the internecine drama played out, an anti-Sui insurgency led by Li Yuan 李渊 gained strength in the north.

Li Yuan was born into the Sui aristocracy and inherited the title of the Duke of Tang 唐国公. In 617 AD, Emperor Yang appointed him the regent of Taiyuan 太原留守 with the charge of suppressing the peasant uprisings there. After a number of initial victories, Li Yuan became alarmed by the increasing number and strength of the rebellions.

Convinced that the end of Sui rule was near, Li Yuan with the help of his 3 sons, Li Jiancheng 李建成, Li Shimin 李世民 and Li Yuanji 李元吉, and a friend named Liu Wenjing 刘文静 created their own army called “yishi 义士” (those who rebel against evil rule) and marched towards the imperial capital Chang’an 长安.

Sensing the approaching doom, Emperor Yang fled to the safety of Jiangdu 江都 and wallowed in a life of drinking and merrymaking with his consorts. Despite his studious effort to insulate himself against bad news, he could not help saying with alarm to Empress Xiao 萧皇后: “I’ve heard about plots against my life.  What the heck! Let’s revel and drink to our heart’s content.” He once held a mirror and looked at his own image for a while before declaring: “What a handsome head! I wonder who is going to cut it off.”

The fateful day finally came. A Sui general of the palace named Yuwen Huaji 宇文化及 mutinied, entered the palace with a detachment of troops, and placed the Emperor under house of arrest.

Emperor Yang asked the military officials who kept him under surveillance: “What crime have I ever committed?” They replied: “You started wars and indulged in profligate living. You trusted evil-minded officials and turned a deaf ear to wise counsel. Because of you, men died in battle, women and children have lost their livelihood, and people became displaced. Do you still insist you are innocent?” Emperor Yang answered:”It’s true that I have let the people down. But I’ve done right by people like you. You’ve shared the good life. Who’s behind this?” The officials said: “There is not one person behind this. The entire nation hates you because you’re a despot.” At this Emperor Yang fell silent and untied the sash around his waist. He gave this to the officials who used it to strangle him. Thus, the Sui dynasty, which had ruled China for 38 years, came to an end.

Meanwhile, after the capture of Huoyi 霍邑, Li Yuan unleashed 200,000 troops on Chang’an. After overwhelming the Sui defenders, Li Yuan’s army captured Chang’an. In the summer of 618 AD, when the news arrived from Jiangdu that the Emperor Yang had been killed, Li Yuan deposed Emperor Gong 恭帝 (original name: Yang You 杨侑, Emperor Yang’s grandson and regent). He changed the dynasty name to Tang , and ascended the throne as Emperor Gaozu of Tang 唐高祖. Thus began the Tang dynasty 唐朝, one of the most-noted dynasties in Chinese history, especially under the reign of Li Shimin (Li Yuan’s 2nd son) who occupied the throne after the Xuanwu Gate Incident 玄武门之变 and the subsequent abdication of Emperor Gaozu. Li Shimin was known in the Chinese history by his temple name as Emperor Taizong  唐太宗.

Kacvey, hope you followed the flow of events that occurred 1,500 years ago, and fathom on the social meaning that history can tell and teach us. By the way, if you opened your eyes more attentively, you might notice that there is a constant movement of Cambodians of Chinese heritage who carry a broom to the tomb of their ancestors. 5 April, is the Qing Ming 清明节  or “Tomb Sweeping Day” – the Cambodians pronounce: “Chéng Méng”; it is also known as “Chinese Memorial Day” or “All Souls Day.”

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