Southeast Asia Weekly (SEA) Circa 2014

The Southeast Asia Weekly (SEA) is a weekly newspaper by English and Khmer language published in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In 2006 it received its  license from the Ministry of Information Shortly thereafter its name was changed from The Cambodia Weekly to The Southeast Asia Weekly. Printed in full-color tabloid format, the Southeast Asia Weekly is a not-for-profit newspaper that is affiliated with The University of Cambodia. All the content, views and opinions published pertain strictly to The Southeast Asia Weekly, and in no way reflect the views and policies of The University of Cambodia. The content of newspaper focuses on: education, culture and information.

This was its website.
Content is from the site's 2014 archived pages, offering just a glimpse of what this weekly newspaper offered it readership.

THE SOUTHEAST ASIA WEEKLY
North-bridge St., Sleng Roloeung village, Sangkat Teuk Thla,

Khan Sen Sok,  Phnom Penh
Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel/Fax: (855) 023 993 108
www.thesoutheastasiaweekly.com
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 166, Phnom Penh 12000, Cambodia

The Cambodia Weekly Announces New Name: 

The Southeast Asia Weekly

 


 

Anticipating the grand opening of the new T.V. station (Southeast Asia Television) and coinciding with the up and running radio station (FM 106), The Cambodia Weekly has decided to under go a name change. It will now be known as The Southeast Asia Weekly under the authority of the President, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn. 

The Cambodia Weekly just recently refocused its direction towards the younger generation, after realizing that the students are our future. The newspaper wanted to focus more on the educational and cultural viewpoints of the students by providing them with a plethora of information, states Managing editor Aun Pheap. 

As The Cambodia Weekly once stated, “over 50 percent of them are under the age of 24. We look forward to working alongside this energetic and creative psychographic in the future”. 

Nevertheless, “we need to strengthen and broaden the coverage of various events relating to the Southeast Asia region” says Publisher Tong Ann. 

The new newspaper wants to focus more of their attention towards news related to the whole Southeast Asia region where everyone can learn about what is going on in our country. 

The Southeast Asia Weekly will sport a new logo to coincide with the massive expansion project of the new university. New articles will be in both the Khmer and English language. To take a glimpse look at the new issue of The Southeast Asia Weekly, pick up a copy at newsstands in Phnom Penh. 

 

Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin to boost ties with Cambodia

Posted on February 19, 2014

PHNOM PENH: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is scheduled to begin his maiden visit here today to boost ties between Cambodia and Malaysia.

During his three-day official visit, Muhyiddin and Cambodian leaders will seek to improve cooperation between both countries in finance, banking, information and communication technology, human capital development and tourism.

Malaysian ambassador to Cambodia, Raszlan Abdul Rashid, said the Cambodian government was looking forward to Muhyiddin’s visit since Malaysia was one of the largest foreign investors in Cambodia.

“For the past 10 years, Malaysia has played a pivotal role to stimulate Cambodia’s economic growth. Until last year, Malaysia’s cumulative investment in Cambodia has reached US$2.6 billion (RM8.59 billion), with the bulk of the investments coming from the textile manufacturing industry, followed by the finance sector.

“We have 20 textile manufacturing factories operated by Malaysian businessmen in Cambodia,” he told Malaysian journalists here yesterday.

Raszlan added that Malaysia recorded US$230 million in exports in Cambodia last year, contributing to the increase in bilateral trade value between both countries to US$420 million.

Muhyiddin and his entourage are scheduled to arrive at Phnom Penh International Airport at 6.40pm local time (7.40pm Malaysian time) today where he will be welcomed by Cambodian Education Youth and Sports Minister Dr Hang Chuon Naron.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, is expected to pay a courtesy call on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the latter’s office in Peace Palace in Russian Boulevard tomorrow. He is also slated to meet one of the six deputy prime ministers in Cambodia, Sok An.

Muhyiddin will lead the Malaysian delegates for a bilateral meeting with Dr Hang before proceeding to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Malaysian Education Ministry and the Cambodian Higher Education Ministry.

Under the MoU, the Malaysian government will help Cambodia to boost its human capital development by providing a place for talented Cambodians to further their tertiary education in Malaysia.

Raszlan said the deputy prime minister will also meet with some 2,000 Malaysians working here at a dinner.

On Friday, he is expected to chair a roundtable meeting with captains of industries from both Malaysia and Cambodia.

He is also scheduled to chair another meeting, together with another Cambodian deputy prime minister, Keat Chhon, who is also finance and economic adviser to the Cambodian prime minister, to explore new avenues to boost trade activities between both countries. ( news strait times)

Senior officials from Ruling and opposition party to resume political negotiation

Posted on February 17, 2014

Prime Minister Hun Sen ( left) met opposition party leader Sam Rainsy last September.

PHNOM PENH:  senior officials from ruling and opposition parties in Cambodia will resume their negotiations on Feb 18 to seek ways to resolve political tension after last July general elections.

The group of negotiators from the opposition CNRP party includes  Mr. Son Chay, Mr. Yem Ponharith, and Mr. Koy Bunroeun. The ruling CPP party will be led by Mr. Prum Sokha, Mr. Sek Setha, and Mr. Koeut Rith.

Both sides will focus on electoral reform.   Last September, Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition party leader Sam Rainsy met for political negotiation but the two could not resolve the tension.

According to official result, the ruling CPP party won 68 of 123 seats in the national assembly and the opposition CNRP party won 55. The CNRP rejected the result and accused of electoral fraud and irregularities. Since the poll, lawmakers from the CNRP have boycotted the session of the parliament.

 The CNRP continues to demand fresh election and called for prime minister Hun Sen to step down. The ruling party and prime minister rejected the appeal. Prime Minister Hun Sen urged the opposition lawmakers to attend the session of parliament and accused of plotting coup to topple government. 

Sam Rainsy, opposition party leader this week accused the ruling party of leading the kingdom from fake democracy to dictatorship after  the city hall banned demonstrations and rallied and dispersed the rally of opposition party on January 4. ( END)

South-east Asian football continues to slumber

Posted on February 19, 2014

Melbourne Victory face a strong Thai side in the Asian Champions League but football in the region is struggling

There are heroes and history aplenty in south-east Asia. It’s hard to take a taxi in Bangkok after a Thailand game and not be told that the team needs a modern version of legendary 80s striker Piyapong Pue-on. Part of the deal of being a Malaysian fan is to mention ‘Super’ Mokhtar Dahari, the tree-trunk thighed terroriser of 70s and 80s defences and there are the Barcelona antics of the Filipino goal machine Paolo Alcantara that have caused many a misty-eyed Manila night.

The present is not quite as glorious. One-by-one, after falling behind those in west and east Asia, the region’s teams have fallen by the wayside en route to the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia next January. Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have played a combined total of 15 qualifiers and managed one point between them. Then Singapore were put out of their misery in the early days of the Chinese Year of the Horse, leaving just Malaysia with a chance of representing south-east Asia next January – and even that is far from certain. Failure would leave a region of 600 million without representation again while roughly 150 million in west Asia have eight and counting – talk about underachievement.

The sad truth is that match-fixing is the most likely topic in the international media when you read about football connected to Malaysia or Singapore. If it’s Indonesia then it is going to be about political chaos or players dying after not getting paid and being unable to afford medical treatment and if it’s Myanmar then perhaps it’s crowd trouble and if it’s another country, well, you are probably not reading about the other countries at all unless it is about another pre-season tour by an English Premier League giant.

In most of the region, you can watch pretty much every English top-tier clash live every weekend. Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal (even after Saturday) shirts are common sights and exhibition games are as popular as they are expensive. In Singapore, football-lovers gather round in cafes and restaurants while ignoring the local S-League. In truth, the Premier League can be an easy target and blaming it for ASEAN ills is an oversimplification but it does cast a long shadow that makes it that little bit tougher for the local game to find a place in the sun.

Corruption is a much bigger threat. Stories of match-fixing still abound in Malaysia creating a climate of suspicion. When a T-Team goalkeeper let in a corner last season, he was immediately hauled off, then literally pushed off, the pitch by English coach Peter Butler. But incompetence and politics are just as damaging. Powerful people are attracted to the beautiful game in the region and often local media either can’t or won’t call them to account.

What has happened in Indonesia will become a case study for how not to run a country’s football scene. It remains the only ASEAN participant in a World Cup (back in 1938 under the guise of Dutch East Indies) but now has the distinction of being the country with the highest potential but the lowest standard of governance. Fifa allowing a convicted criminal to run the national FA from his prison cell and return to his office upon release was breathtaking as were the eventual results that included the setting up of rebel leagues and federations, fan deaths, player deaths, player strikes and a whole lot more. Being caught in December in the Fifa rankings by Guam, an island with less than one thousandth of Indonesia’s population, was another low.

At the national team level, repeated failure reinforces a negative tendency for south-east Asia to retreat into itself. It has become something of a football bubble with the national teams playing each other far too often outside the AFF Suzuki Cup. This biennial ASEAN tournament is far more colourful than equivalents in east, south or west Asia but few elsewhere care.

The region does not yet export players to Europe to any significant extent and those who go overseas often leave amid fanfares before returning home quickly and quietly. There are occasionally wildly ambitious plans with major clubs in the big leagues such as the Thai trio who went to Manchester City in 2007 thanks to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Exports to Australia and Melbourne victory were more successful but have not been built upon. Japan’s J-League is eager to build links with the region and Indonesian star Irfan Bachdim has just signed for top tier club Ventforet Kofu in a move that needs to be a success, even just a moderate one.

Most of what progress has been made has come at club level where money can have a swift impact and while it is sporadic, some leagues are starting to be taken seriously. When Melbourne Victory take on Muangthong United in the final play-off of the Asian Champions League, they will be meeting a well-run, well-financed and well-supported outfit. The club from just north of Bangkok are setting standards in the Thai Premier League along with Buriram United. Buriram, owned by well-known politician and former Thakshin ally, Newin Chidchob, reached the last eight of the Asian Champions League last season, disposing of Brisbane Roar in the playoffs before finishing above Japan’s Vegalta Sendai and China’s Jiangsu Sainty. Then Uzbek powerhouse Bunyodkor was seen off in the second round. It was no fluke.

The Malaysian league is also on the move, match-fixing controversies notwithstanding. While the likes of Vincent Tan and Tony Fernandes are investing money in the UK, there are others spending big in the former British colony. Pablo Aimar is with newly rich Johor DT and the Argentinian scored a beauty at the weekend even if his star-studded team lost 3-2 to a Pahang FC coached by Ron Smith and marshalled at the back by former Fulham defender Zesh Rehman. Attendances in the new season are booming.

Malaysia and Thailand provide some cause for optimism but it is not enough. Standards are rising – though the same is true of almost everywhere – with some decent young talent coming through though it comes through slower than it should, held back as it is by a lack of good coaching at youth levels. Youth development, or the lack of it, is perhaps the biggest failing of all with too much meddling, politics, short-sightedness and not enough investment in the right areas and patience.

It will happen one day. Not in time for the 2015 Asian Cup or 2018 World Cup and probably a little beyond that but one day, south east Asia is going to shake off the politics, the incompetence, the corruption, the short-sightedness and the parochialism and become a genuine power in Asia with new heroes. ( The Guardian)

Cambodian King prays for peace, happiness, prosperity for kingdom

Posted on February 12, 201

Cambodian King prays for peace, happiness, prosperity for kingdom

Cambodian King Norodom Sihanmoni kneels down in front of the ancient temple of Preah Khan in Province on Feb 11 , in a Royal praying ceremony for peace, happiness, and prosperity of the kingdom. photo: som rithy/akp

PHNOM PENH: His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia has presided over a Royal Praying Ceremony held at Preah Khan Temple in Sangkum Thmey district, Preah Vihear province, AKP reported on Feb 12.

During the Royal Praying Ceremony taking place on Feb 11, the King prayed to the souls of former Kings and Queens, all Gods and Goddesses and all spirits, and especially the soul of the Late King-Father Norodom Sihanouk to bring about “peace, happiness and prosperity for the Kingdom of Cambodia and for every Cambodian and their families.”

After the Royal Praying Ceremony, the King visited ancient temple of Preah Khan and its vicinity and called on some 840 families of rice farmers, during which he was warmly welcomed with high regards and profound affections.

Expressing his delight in meeting the local farmers, His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni conveyed them the best regards from Her Majesty Queen-Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, saying that the Queen- Mother always thought of the people and their livings.

His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni appreciated the Royal Government of Cambodia under the competent leadership of Samdech Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Red Cross of Cambodia headed by Samdech Kittiprittbandit Bun Rany Hun Sen, and the sub-national authorities of all levels for paying due attention to the local people.

The King distributed his donations to each of 840 families with each donation consisting of 50 kilos of rice, a mosquito net, a blanket, a Sarong, a scarf, a mat, a carton of instant noodles, 10 cans of sardines, a T-shirt and 100,000 riel (roughly US$25).

The local people expressed their profound thanks to His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni for his caring of the people and extended their best wishes to the King and the Queen-Mother.

During the Royal Praying Ceremony and the visit to local people, His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni was accompanied by H.E. Kong Sam Ol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Royal Palace; H.E. Kuy Sophal, Senior Minister in charge of General Affairs of the Royal Palace; H.E. Chea Horn, Minister attached to the Royal Palace; and a number of provincial officials. ( END)

 

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