NGOs demanding for an end to corruption (Photo: RFA)A declaration from the 20 November plenary meeting of the Council of Ministers indicated that PM Hun Xen had decided to set the 11 December Council of Ministers meeting to pass the anti-corruption draft law.
Sorn Chey, the founder of the Khmer Institute for National Development, considers Hun Xen’s decision to pass the anti-corruption draft law by the Council of Minister as another evolution step for this law that has been stalled for so many years already.
Sorn Chey said: “We hope that the recommendations made by the civil societies in the past will be included in the draft law, and we hope that this draft law will be ratified soon.”
Rong Chhun, President of the Cambodia Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), welcome Hun Xen’s decision to raise this anti-corruption law for its passage by the Council of Ministers, in spite of the fact that, after its ratification, it is not yet known whether it will be efficient or not to handle the corruption issue.
Rong Chhun said: “The anti-corruption [draft] law takes more than a decade-long and it is still not out yet. What we want is for this law to be adopted soon, regardless of how its application will be!”
Yim Sovann, SRP MP and SRP spokesman, said that, as a MP, he will continue following the meaning of the draft law.
Recent report from Transparency International (TI) indicated that corruption in Cambodia has slightly improved over the year before, but it still remains at the bottom rank among very corrupt countries in the world.
Of the 180 countries evaluated by TI, Cambodia, Laos, Tajikistan and Central Africa all rank 158. Furthermore, Cambodia is only better than another country in Asia: Burma which ranks 178.
The anti-corruption law was prepared since 1994.
Opposition officials, civil society organizations and aid donors have insisted on many occasions for the government to introduce this law, and they are all anxiously waiting to see its adoption.
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