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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Petroleum Resources in Cambodia

Petroleum resources
by Marae Ciantar, Partner, and Shaun Yeo, Lawyer, Allens Arthur Robinson



The Royal Government of Cambodia has been actively seeking to promote and facilitate the development of the country's petroleum resources with the objective of enhancing economic growth and providing opportunities for employment and participation in petroleum operations for Cambodian nationals and companies. The development and production of petroleum resources could be expected to generate significant revenue for Cambodia and allow the country to continue to develop its infrastructure to form the basis of future economic growth.

In recent years, significant exploration activity has been undertaken in Cambodia’s petroleum sector, with the most substantial operations being undertaken by ChevronTexaco in Block A, offshore Cambodia. However, currently Cambodia has no oil and gas production or any oil and gas project that is at the development stage.

Current petroleum regulatory regime
The Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (the CNPA) was formed in 1998 as the key governmental agency to oversee upstream and downstream petroleum activities in Cambodia. The principal law that applies to the upstream oil and gas industry in Cambodia is the Petroleum Regulations 1991, as amended in 1998 and 1999.

The Petroleum Regulations prescribe a process for the award of concessions in the form of petroleum agreements which are entered into by the CNPA and a relevant petroleum company and its partners. A Petroleum Agreement must be signed in substantially the form of the model agreement scheduled to the Petroleum Regulations, subject to any additions or deletions as may be approved by the Government.

Under the Petroleum Regulations 1991, some key points of note in respect of the terms of such concessions are:

- exploration periods are granted for a period of 4 years, and may be extended twice for a period of two years each time. The CNPA may further extend the duration of the exploration period for such time as may be reasonably necessary to complete certain matters (e.g. drilling, logging, testing or plugging of any well, completion of appraisal and evaluation of any discoveries);

- the Contractor must relinquish prescribed percentages of the allocated Contract Area at the end of each phase of the exploration period - at least 30 per cent of the original Contract Area by the end of the initial exploration period, a further 25 per cent of the original Contract Area by the end of first extension of the exploration period and any remaining areas of the original Contract Area, in each case excluding areas falling under a production area;

- the production period expires 30 years after the effective date of the production sharing agreement, although the CNPA may extend the production period by up to 5 years if commercial production from the relevant field after the expiry of the 30 year period is possible;

- royalty payable to the Government will be at least 12.5 per cent of the value of petroleum sold;
the Contractor will be entitled to cost recovery in accordance with the terms of its Petroleum Agreement; and

- the balance of petroleum produced within a Contract Area (after retention of Royalty by the Government and recovery of Petroleum Costs by the Contractor) will be allocated to the Government and the Contractor in accordance with the provisions of the Petroleum Agreement.

The Petroleum Regulations also contain other provisions that would commonly be expected in an international-standard regulatory regime for upstream petroleum operations, including in relation to approval of work programmes and budgets, obligations in relation to the conduct of petroleum operations and reporting to the Government.

The proposed new petroleum regulatory regime
The Royal Government of Cambodia and the CNPA are actively working to further develop and enhance the regulatory framework for the exploration and exploitation of petroleum, having regard to the current stage of development of Cambodia’s petroleum industry and other regulatory developments that have occurred since the initial introduction of the Petroleum Regulations in 1991. The centrepiece of the new regulatory framework is expected to be a Petroleum Law, supported by appropriate implementing regulations.

Given that a number of Petroleum Agreements have been entered into under the Petroleum Regulations (offshore and onshore), one of the key issues for existing petroleum contractors will of course be the extent to which the Petroleum Law provides for the 'grandfathering' of the terms of the existing production sharing contracts.

Petroleum investment in Cambodia
In 2002, the CNPA entered into a production sharing agreement with ChevronTexaco in Block A, with ChevronTexaco announcing in January 2005 that it had discovered oil in four exploration wells and gas in one well in Block A (although to date no commercial discovery has been declared). Concessions to other Blocks (have been granted to other petroleum companies including the Singapore Petroleum Company, PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited, Medco International Petroleum and Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation.

The area of overlapping maritime claims by Cambodia and Thailand in the Gulf of Thailand (the OCA) is generally considered to be highly prospective for petroleum resources. The approximately 27,000 sq km area of the OCA is estimated to contain up to 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and underdetermined quantities of condensate and oil.

On 18 June 2001, Cambodia and Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the OCA to lay the foundation for ongoing cooperation in relation to joint development of the petroleum resources located in the OCA. The MOU recorded the intention of the countries to divide the OCA in to two zones and to attempt, through accelerated negotiation, to simultaneously agree upon:

- a treaty for the joint development of the hydrocarbon resources located within the Areas II, III and IV of the OCA (the Joint Development Area); and

- a defined maritime border for the northern Area I of the OCA (the Area to be Delimited).

Discussions in relation to development of the treaty regime for the Joint Development Area and delimitation of the Area to be Delimited, have continued regularly since the signing of the MOU and are ongoing.

The Royal Government of Cambodia is also endeavouring to promote domestic refining of any commercial quantities of oil that may be discovered in Cambodia, and has publicly stated its desire for the development of an oil refinery in Sihanoukville once oil production commences.


Roll out the barrels...


Cambodia might be sitting on as much as two billion barrels of oil and up to 11 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to reports by the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

“Depending upon the world price of oil, Cambodian reserves may be contributing annual revenues of $2 billion, several times the current level of domestic revenue and ODA (overseas development aid) combined — within perhaps five to ten years,” says a World Bank report.


Block A - in 2002 Cambodia entered into a production sharing agreement with Chevron in a concession area known as Block A – the only block that has been actively explored so far. Chevron announced in 2005 that it had discovered oil in four exploration wells and gas in one well. According to Chevron, the oil discovered consists of a number of small dispersed fields rather than a large single block. Despite the find five years ago, it would appear the company has no intention of announcing plans to commence production any time soon.

Block B belongs to PTT Exploration and Production (33.34%), Singapore Petroleum (33.33%), and Resourceful Petroleum (33.33%). The first exploration well drilled in this block found no recoverable oil.

Block C belongs to Polytec Petroleum, while Block D belongs to China Petrotech (Cambodia). Analysts estimate that Block D could contain either 226.9 million barrels of recoverable oil or 496.2 billion cubic feet of gas.

Block E belongs to Medco Energi (60%), Kuwait Energy (30%), and JHL Petroleum (10%), and Block F belongs to the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Exploration rights are granted for a period of four years, after which they may be extended twice for a period of two years at a time.

Overlapping Claims Area
The overlapping claims area (OCA) in the Gulf of Thailand consists of an estimated 27,000 sq km offshore area estimated to contain up to 11 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and underdetermined quantities of condensate and oil.

Negotiations over the OCA have been going on for years; Cambodia has been seeking a 50/50 split of the disputed area while Thailand wants a larger share of the fields.

Both sides have allocated blocks within the OCA; of Cambodia’s allotted blocks, Area III is being awarded to Total after lengthy consideration and the government has received offers from Chevron and Mitsui of Japan for Area IV.

Cambodia and Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2001 in relation to joint development of the petroleum resources located in the OCA. But this agreement was cancelled in November 2009 by the Thai government in protest over Cambodia’s appointment of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as economic advisor.


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The government is keen to promote investment in the oil and gas sector and established the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority (CNPA) to oversee the upstream and downstream petroleum activities. Companies interested in the sector should make direct contact with the CNPA.
Cambodian National Petroleum Authority
NÂș. 13-14, Confederation de la Russie
Phnom Penh 12406, Cambodia
Tel: 023 890 330 HP: 016 457 888 / 016 378 268

www.cnpa-cambodia.com

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Islam In Cambodia

Islam is the religion of a majority of the Cham (also called Khmer Islam) and Malay minorities in Cambodia. According to Po Dharma, there were 150,000 to 200,000 Muslims in Cambodia as late as 1975. Persecution under the Khmer Rouge eroded their numbers, however, and by the late 1980s they probably had not regained their former strength. In 2009, the Pew Research Center estimated that 1.6% of the population, or 236,000 people were Muslims.[1] All of the Cham Muslims are Sunnis[citation needed] of the Shafi'i school[citation needed]. There is also a growing Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Cambodia.[2] Po Dharma divides the Muslim Cham in Cambodia into a traditionalist branch and an orthodox branch.

Background

The Cham have their own mosques. In 1962 there were about 100 mosques in the country. At the end of the nineteenth century, the Muslims in Cambodia formed a unified community under the authority of four religious dignitaries—mupti, tuk kalih, raja kalik, and tvan pake. A council of notables in Cham villages consisted of one hakem and several katip, bilal, and labi. The four high dignitaries and the hakem were exempt from personal taxes, and they were invited to take part in major national ceremonies at the royal court. When Cambodia became independent, the Islamic community was placed under the control of a five-member council that represented the community in official functions and in contacts with other Islamic communities. Each Muslim community has a hakem who leads the community and the mosque, an imam who leads the prayers, and a bilal who calls the faithful to the daily prayers. The peninsula of Chrouy Changvar near Phnom Penh is considered the spiritual center of the Cham, and several high Muslim officials reside there. Each year some of the Cham go to study the Qur'an at Kelantan in Malaysia, and some go on to study in, or make a pilgrimage to, Mecca. According to figures from the late 1950s, about 7 percent of the Cham had completed the pilgrimage and could wear the fez or turban as a sign of their accomplishment.
The traditional Cham retain many ancient Muslim or pre-Muslim traditions and rites. They consider Allah as the all-powerful God, but they also recognize other non-Islamic practices. They are closer, in many respects, to the Cham of coastal Vietnam than they are to other Muslims. The religious dignitaries of the traditional Cham (and of the Cham in Vietnam) dress completely in white, and they shave their heads and faces. These Cham believe in the power of magic and sorcery, and they attach great importance to magical practices in order to avoid sickness or slow or violent death. They believe in many supernatural powers. Although they show little interest in the pilgrimage to Mecca and in the five daily prayers, the traditional Cham do celebrate many Muslim festivals and rituals.
The orthodox Cham have adopted a more conformist religion largely because of their close contacts with, and intermarriages with, the Malay community. In fact, the orthodox Cham have adopted Malay customs and family organization, and many speak the Malay language. They send pilgrims to Mecca, and they attend international Islamic conferences. Conflicts between the traditional and the orthodox Cham increased between 1954 and 1975. For example, the two groups polarized the population of one village, and each group eventually had its own mosque and separate religious organization.

Persecution

Further information: Persecution of Muslims
According to Cham sources, 132 mosques were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era, many others were desecrated, and Muslims were not allowed to worship. Later, since the Vietnamese-installed PRK regime, Islam has been given the same freedom as Buddhism. Vickery believes that about 185,000 Cham lived in Cambodia in the mid-1980s and that the number of mosques was about the same then as it was before 1975. In early 1988, there were six mosques in the Phnom Penh area and a "good number" in the provinces, but Muslim dignitaries were thinly stretched; only 20 of the previous 113 most prominent Cham clergy in Cambodia survived the Khmer Rouge period.

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Following is the hort Course on Islam, Gender, and Reproductive Rights,
Southeast Asia, 4-25 June 2005, Indonesia


Funded by the Ford Foundation
Organized by the Center for Women’s Studies, State Islamic University,
Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia



The Study of the Qur-An vs. Modern Education for Islamic Women in Cambodia

By Farina So

Documentation Center of Cambodia

Cambodia’s Muslim community (the Cham) faces many problems, including poverty, relative isolation (outside the capital of Phnom Penh, most Muslims live in communities that lack access to such basic infrastructure as good roads, water, electricity, telecommunications, and newspapers), and negative cultural perceptions (some members of the majority Buddhist community and minority ethnic groups still view the Cham with suspicion, if not superstition).

In 2005, the Cambodia Television Network aired a program, “Manpower and Destiny,” that for the first time featured a Cham as a lead character. However, the series depicted the Muslim as an indolent who depended on destiny rather than his own efforts. In addition, the actor portraying the Cham character wears an earring (which Muslim men are not allowed to do) and clothing that is supposed to be worn for praying and religious ceremonies only. He also drinks beer. An outcry from the Cham community contributed to the series being taken off the air.

Muslim women have traditionally faced a number of social and cultural obstacles to their development, including fewer opportunities for advancement than either the general population or Muslim men. These translate into Cham women enjoying less access to adequate health care, having lower status in society in terms of both family and community decision making, lacking a voice in the political arena, and lower educational attainment. This paper focuses on the last area – education, which affects all the other problems women experience. It also offers some solutions to improve their situation.

Islam and Education

Every Muslim man’s and every Muslim woman’s prayer should be:
“My Lord! Enrich me with knowledge.” Surah TA HA, 20:114.

For Muslims, the Qur-An is the final word of Allah as revealed through his last messenger Muhammad. This holy book contains guidance from Allah, not only on how to find salvation but also on how people should live their lives in the right way.

The Qur-An begins with an important word: “Read.” It states that “The best form of worship is the pursuit of knowledge,” and also that “The ink of the scholar’s pen is more sacred than the blood of the martyrs.” The Qur-An tells us that without education, it is difficult for people to understand its teachings, and that education is vital for all aspects of our lives.

However, while the Qur-An says that both men and women should pursue knowledge, it also places restrictions on women’s interactions with the outside world (such as placing them under the protection of their parents), and proscribes different rights for men and women owing to their psychological and biological differences. This has limited women’s ability to obtain modern academic educations, which has in turn impeded their ability to become knowledgeable about the wider world and to make intellectual and economic contributions to their families and communities.


Literacy in the Muslim World

One out of every five people in the world today is Muslim. Yet only about 38% of Muslims are literate. For women, the picture is even worse: in many rural areas of the Islamic world, only about 5 out of every 100 women can read and write. According to the United Nations Development Programme, Muslim women also have the lowest economic and political participation of any group of women in the world.

Many scholars have linked the lack of education to the lack of economic opportunities and development that are now plaguing many Muslim countries. So, low levels of literacy are at least partly responsible for the poverty in which many Muslims live today. It is likely that people who lack modern education will fall further and further behind and become mired in their poverty.

The world is changing fast, and how we live our lives and the ways in which we earn a living play a very important part in our future. Without strong human resources and capital, it will be difficult for Muslims to advance. To use these human resources wisely and to keep up with the rest of the world, Muslims need education, including such broad studies as science, mathematics, economics, and of course, advanced technology.

Without a doubt, women represent half of the Muslim world’s human resources, and can play an indispensable part in development. They should not be confined to the kitchen. Rather, they should be encouraged to pursue their studies, have careers that make a contribution to their society, and be empowered in decision making processes.


A Profile of Cambodia’s Muslims

About 90% of Cambodia’s 13.6 million people are Khmers, who practice Buddhism. The other 10% comprise a variety of ethnic and religious groups, including Vietnamese, Chinese, highland minorities, and Chams.

The Chams are a diverse group; most of them descend from the Kingdom of Champa and Malays (primarily of Javanese extraction). The Kingdom of Champa controlled what is now south and central Vietnam from the 2nd through the 17th centuries; its peoples converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 15th century.

The Champa Kingdom’s defeat at the hands of the Vietnamese in the 15th and 18th centuries forced the Champa king and many of his followers to flee to Cambodia, where most Cham live today. The Malay influence on Chams is felt through their language, which is based on Arabic and is akin to Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia.

All of Cambodia’s Cham Muslims are Sunnis of the Shafii School. They practice two types of Islam:

- There is a small traditionalist branch (about 35 villages) which retains many ancient Muslim and pre-Muslim rites and traditions (e.g., from Buddhism and Hinduism), and takes a more liberal interpretation of Islam. This community’s attitudes toward women are also more liberal; for example, few women cover their heads outside the area of the mosque.


Cake procession to the mosque during
the Malut festival in the traditional village
of Sre Prey, O'Russey sub-district,
Kampong Tralach district,
Kampong Chhnang province





































Women at the mosque in Sre Prey





- The far larger orthodox Cham community takes a more conservative approach to the practice of Islam and has adopted many Malay customs and practices. In these communities, women lead more separate lives than men. Women in the orthodox community generally wear the veil on their heads and in a few communities are completely covered except for their eyes.

However, in neither community do women appear to participate actively in social or political affairs, instead, they follow the instructions of community religious leaders or their husbands and fathers. The author has not observed any differences between the two communities in terms of the percentage of women who attend schools. This may be due more to external factors (the banning of head scarves by many public schools) than community willingness to educate girls, as discussed below.

Like other Cambodians, most Chams live in rural areas, where they are primarily engaged in fishing and farming. Most of them are concentrated along rivers in 6 of Cambodia’s 22 provinces: Kampong Cham, Kampot, Pursat, Battambang, Kandal, and Kampong Chhnang.

It is believed that in 1975, when the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia, the country’s Cham population was around 700,000. The Chams suffered a devastating loss of people under the Khmer Rouge regime (called Democratic Kampuchea), with an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 dying. Today, about 500,000 Chams live in Cambodia. There is evidence to suggest that the Khmer Rouge persecuted the Cham Muslims on religious and ethnic grounds. Documentation Center of Cambodia scholar Osman Ysa has posited that Chams were killed a rate nearly double to triple that of the general Cambodian population during the Democratic Kampuchea regime (Oukoubah: Justice for the Cham Muslims under Democratic Kampuchea, DC-Cam, 2002).

During the period of Khmer Rouge rule (April 1975 – January 1979), Chams were not allowed to worship. Most of the country’s 130 mosques were destroyed or desecrated, and only about 20 of the most prominent Cham clergy in Cambodia survived the regime.

Like people throughout Cambodia at the end of Democratic Kampuchea, about three-quarters of the regime’s survivors were women. These widows became the heads of their families and bore most of the responsibility for putting their country back together (it was a policy of the regime to kill educated people; thus, most of the survivors of Democratic Kampuchea could not read or write). Many also suffered from psychological problems and trauma as a result of the loss of family members, hunger, forced labor, imprisonment, and other privations during the regime.

Despite women’s crucial role in helping Cambodia to recover, traditional gender inequality subsequently resurfaced in all realms of Cham life, including that of education. This has left a large proportion of Cambodian Muslim women with few literacy skills today.


Education for Cambodia’s Muslims

The Larger Cham Community

Most of Cambodia’s Muslims do not seem to be aware of the importance of modern education and its role in economic development. Instead, imams, hakim and tuan (community religious leaders), who have a powerful influence on their communities, stress religious education almost exclusively. To make matters worse, scholars seem to have neglected the role of general education and its importance for the Cambodian Muslim community. When other Islamic countries have studied education here, they, too, are largely concerned with religious education.

Girls studying Islamic texts in a traditional Cham village,
O'Russey sub-district, Kampong Tralach district

In Cambodia, the percentage of uneducated Muslim people is high, and even most hakim and tuan are illiterate. They don’t have general knowledge and cannot write in Khmer, which is Cambodia’s official language.

Because these leaders lack modern education, they address disputes in the traditional way. For example, when a conflict arises between villagers, the imam, hakim and tuan usually resolve it based on their personal experience. But their solutions don’t always employ logic or strategy, and as a result the conflicting parties often do not reconcile effectively. Finding solutions that work requires a wide range of knowledge and experience that include both religious and modern ways.

Further, few of the tuan in rural areas who teach Muslim children about the holy Qur-An and Islamic law have an adequate standard of living because they do not have a modern education. If they had more than religious knowledge, they could use their skills to help improve their community’s standard of living, as well as enhance their own lives.

Last year, I began working on a project that is recording the oral histories of the Chams during the Khmer Rouge regime. As part of my work, I asked religious leaders and lay people to complete questionnaires on their experiences and views relating to this period of history. I have observed that most villagers, hakim and tuan cannot write well or don’t know how to write. When I asked them why, most complained that they are illiterate and some said that they lack education.

Many young Cambodian Muslims recognize that a modern education is vital to their future, but have little to no opportunity to get one beyond high school. So instead, they study Islam and acquire mostly religious knowledge. In answering my questions about studying abroad, they said they had no alternative but to pursue the study of religious subjects.


The Educational Status and Prospects for Cham Women

Democratic Kampuchea left in its wake a legacy of illiteracy, and women (both Cham and Buddhist) suffer from higher rates of illiteracy than men to this day. Much of this phenomenon can be attributed to economic and cultural factors.

Poverty is a pervasive and self-perpetuating influence on women’s lack of education. Many Cham girls, like their Buddhist counterparts, are unable to complete primary school because they are put in charge of taking care of their younger brothers and sisters at home, doing household chores such as gathering firewood and water, and working on the family farm, especially at harvest time. In addition, such direct expenses for school as fees, clothing and notebooks, as well as the indirect costs of the loss of labor to the household, can be prohibitive for many families. This represents a vicious cycle, wherein poverty forces girls to labor for the family instead of attending school. Without an education, women have little means of earning a living outside the home, reinforcing their impoverishment in the future.

Women in conservative Kampong Keh village are studying in a religious class.
They have been forced to drop out of school because of the policy banning head
scarves in classes. (Kampong Keh sub-district, Trapeang Sangke district,
Kampot province)

Cultural factors also have a strong role in preventing many Cham women from completing school. Cham girls begin their religious studies at around the age of six; these classes are taught by a tuan in a girl’s village or one nearby. They are required to wear a headscarf, long blouse and skirt, and to strictly follow codes of Islamic behavior. However, once they enter puberty and prepare to enter secondary school, problems begin. Formal education is not mandatory in Cambodia and in most secondary schools, the wearing of head scarves is not permitted. This policy places both girls and their parents in a dilemma.

If the parents insist that the daughter wear a scarf in class, she will be asked to leave school. But if they decide to let the girl remove her scarf, she will be in direct violation of Islamic religious principles and tradition. Thus, many parents elect to have their daughters drop out of school; afterward, the girls often help at home with housework and study religion. The daughters themselves have little say in the matter.

The author made several trips to Kampot and Battambang provinces during 2004 and 2005 to learn about some of the problems Cham women face in their communities. In the village of Kampong Keh in Kampot province, for example, interviews were conducted with imam, hakim, tuan, and a group of approximately 35 Muslim men and women around the age of 16.

In this orthodox Cham village, where about 250 families live, it is difficult to see Muslim women in secondary school; instead, most dropped out at when their primary education was completed. When asked why this was, I was told that the reason was due to Islamic teaching, norms, and economic necessity. The requirements for girls to cover their heads in both class and public, and Muslim codes of behavior meant that girls could not continue with their schooling.

There was little difference in the orthodox village of O-kcheay in Battambang province, where the practice of Islam is very strict. Women there wear a black veil that covers all of their faces except the eyes and long black dresses. There, I interviewed two women who had given birth on the day the Khmer Rouge entered Phnom Penh and began forcing its inhabitants to leave the city: April 17, 1975.

The daughter of one of the women, who is now age 30, was nearly completely covered according to the prescriptions of Islamic code. She told me that she dropped out of school at a very young age because of her school’s prohibition on head coverings. In addition, poverty forced her to stay at home. This woman stated that she very much wanted an academic education, but that circumstances had forced her to give up hope of obtaining one.

The picture for urban Muslim women is somewhat brighter: they are generally better educated than their rural sisters and many of them work outside the home, largely as a result of economic necessity. But in urban areas, too, “economic necessity” can also mean that a girl must drop out of school and work to support her family. In addition, many parents feel that girls do not need to pursue more than a primary school education; all they need to do is to be able to read and write. And many men feel that their wives’ and daughters’ place is at home, taking care of the children.

In both rural and urban poor families, which must often make economic tradeoffs in order to survive economically, the decision is often made to allow the male children to attend school while the daughters stay at home. In addition, men are encouraged and given preference in applying for scholarships to complete their higher educations. This has helped keep literacy rates at low levels for Cham women. Last, the position of women – no matter what their religious background – has not been a matter of concern to the Royal Government of Cambodia.

The Cambodian Muslim Students Association conducted a survey on the position of men and women in Cambodia in 2003. Their data show that men play a much more important role than women in the community. For instance, only one woman appears in the list of the country’s seventeen Muslim leaders in the country (Table 1). It is worth noting that today, no Chams have positions of authority in the Ministry of Education (earlier, however, H.E. Tollah was minister of education and he was a Cham).


Conclusions

The impact of failing to understand modern education, social needs, the advances of technology, and in particular, the role of women in development, will be to weaken the community deeply in terms of rising violence, illiteracy and poverty. How can Chams find jobs if they have only religious training? How can they develop their community if they have little knowledge of the modern world? And why has the Cambodian Muslim community lagged so far behind its neighbors in Southeast Asia in terms of education, health, and economic infrastructure?

Addressing these problems will depend on Muslim themselves, and on advocacy and technical assistance from the national and international communities. The recognition and acceptance of Muslim women’s roles in development and empowering them in the education, economics, social, health and political spheres is the best solution for the Cambodian Muslim community.

To develop the country and raise literacy, Cambodia must keep up with global changes by obtaining modern education in addition to religious knowledge. Hakim, imam and tuan should, for example, be educated in management and administration in order to resolve community problems. All Chams should also be encouraged to pursue higher education. And last, Allah said that human beings should have both modern and religious knowledge (Ilmu Dunia and Ilmu Akhirat) in order to live in prosperity. This includes women, who will not be able to advance in society without proper knowledge and education.

On behalf of Muslim women, I would like to appeal to both Muslim and non-Muslim countries to grant more scholarships to women so they can obtain general educations. And schools should reconsider their stance on the wearing of head scarves in public schools, which has prevented many Cham women from obtaining an education. These simple actions will give Cambodia’s Muslim women opportunities to play a crucial role in their communities, and help them prosper in the economic, political, social, health, and other arenas.

The Following Description is the Cambodia’s Muslim Leaders historical recorded for the Mandate of (2003-2008)*

1 - H.E. Othsman Hassan
- Secretary of State, Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training
- Advisor and Special Envoy to Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen
- President of Cambodian Muslim Development Foundation (CMDF)
- Secretary General, the Foundation for Cambodian People’s Poverty Alleviation (PAL)
- Vice-Director of Cambodian Islamic Center (CIC)
- Patron of Islamic Medical Association of Cambodia (IMAC)
- Chairperson of the Islamic World and Malay to Cambodia (IWMC)
CPP

2- H.E. Zakarya Adam
- Secretary of State, Ministry of Cults and Religion
- Vice President of CMDF
- General Secretary of CIC

- Vice-Chairperson of IWMC
CPP

3- H.E. Sith Ibrahim
- Secretary of State, Ministry of Cults and Religion
FUN


4- H.E. Dr. Sos Mousine
- Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Rural Development
- President of Cambodian Muslim Students Association and IMAC
- Member of CMDF
- Under-General Secretary of CIC
CPP

5- H.E. Sem Sokha
- Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Social Affairs and Veterans
- Member of CMDF
CPP

6- Her.E. Madame Kob Mariah
- Under Secretary, Ministry of Women
- General Secretary of Cambodian Islamic Women Development
- Cambodian Islamic Women’s Development Organization Association and member of CMDF
CPP

7- H.E. Msas Loh
- Under Secretary of State, Office of the Council of Ministers
- Patron of Cambodian Islamic Association
CPP

8 H.E. Paing Punyamin
- Member of Parliament representing Kampong Chhnang
- Member of CMDF
- Executive Member of CIC
CPP

9- H.E. Sman Teath
- Member of Parliament representing Pursat
- Member of CMDF

- Under-General Secretary of CIC
CPP

10- H.E. Ahmad Yahya
- Member of Parliament representing Kampong Cham
- President of Cambodian Islamic Development Association (CIDA)
SRP


11- H.E. Wan Math
- Member of the Senate
- President of Cambodian Islamic Association
CPP


12- H.E. Sabo Bacha
- Member of the Senate
FUN


13- Mr. Sem Soprey
- Vice Governor of Kampong Cham province
- Member of CMDF
CPP


14- Mr. Saleh Sen
- Vice Governor of Kampong Chhnang province
- Member of CMDF


15- H.E. Ismail Osman
- Advisor to Samdech Krompreah Norodom Rannarith, President of the National Assembly
FUN

16- General Chao Tol
- Assistant to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia
CPP

17- General Sen Komary
- Head of Department of Health, Ministry of National Defense
- Member of IMAC
CPP


**Note:
Three other leaders of the Muslim community – H.E. Tollah, H.E. Math Ly, and Sou Zakarya, have died since 2003. All three were men.

*** Others
CPP : Cambodian People’s Party
FUN : FUNCINPEC Party
SRP : Sam Rainsy Party (opposition)


Unfortunately, there is little to no data available on the literacy rates of the larger Cham community or its women in particular (literacy is self-reported in Cambodia). According to the World Fact Book, the literacy rate for Cambodia as a whole is about 69% (81% for men and 59% for women). It is assumed here that this rate is the same for the subpopulation of Chams. From the author’s personal observations, the literacy rate of Cham women may be as low as 35%.










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Documentation Center of Cambodia
13 Years of Independently Searching for the Truth: 1997-2010

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Friday, April 23, 2010

IMF ups 2010 growth forecast

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21/04 19:56 CET

The International Monetary Fund says the global economy has recovered from recession more quickly than anticipated.

The IMF said emerging countries are leading the upturn with their economies expected to grow nearly three times as fast as those of developed nations.

In its latest World Economic Outlook the IMF’s forecast for global growth this year has been nudged up to 4.2 percent. Back in January the IMF was predicting growth of 3.9 percent.
Its forecast for next year is unchanged at 4.3 percent growth.

There is a strong warning from the IMF’s experts that country’s have to “urgently” get their public debt under control.

It believes the trillions spent in emergency rescue efforts have worsened public finances, leaving countries vulnerable to new shocks.

That has been illustrated by Greece’s intensifying fiscal problems and the IMF said that other countries will have to follow the same route with tax increases and spending cuts.

The euro zone can expect weak growth this year and next of around one percent.

The prediction is that only Greece’s economy will still be shrinking in 2011 as the region emerges from the recession.

Copyright © 2010 euronews
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Monday, April 19, 2010

Cambodian PM gives Chevron ultimatum on oil

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

The Associated Press April 6, 2010, 8:06AM ET


Prime Minister Hun Sen pressed Chevron Corp. on Tuesday to get crude flowing from this impoverished country's first major oil discovery, threatening to cancel its rights to the offshore site if production does not start by 2012.

Hun Sen's announcement reflected the government's urgency about reaping oil revenues it says will help to finance develop and reduce poverty.

Chevron drilled 15 wells in 2007 at the site, Block A, west of coastal Preah Sihanouk province, and says it is evaluating its commercial potential.
"We have given a deadline to the Chevron company to produce oil by the end of 2012. If not, the contract will be terminated," Hun Sen said at a graduation ceremony on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh.

A spokesman at Chevron's regional headquarters in Singapore declined to comment on Hun Sen's remarks without knowing their full content.
However, Chevron said in a statement that it is "aligned with the Royal Government of Cambodia's desire to see production from Block A as soon as economically possible. The first oil date is reliant on a successful exploration program, and is dependent on achieving key milestones."

Companies from Australia, China, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea also have expressed interest in exploring Cambodian waters for oil.
Critics have expressed concern that oil income could exacerbate Cambodia's already rampant corruption if the government fails to develop a proper legal environment to manage the expected windfall.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Transparency urged for nascent oil sector

Wednesday, 31 March 2010
15:06 Irwin Loy

CAMBODIA is taking strides to ensure that its nascent extractive industries will be well managed, an official with an international NGO said Tuesday, though observers warned that the government must be more transparent with incoming revenues.

With expectations raised by the discovery of potential offshore oil reserves, observers say extraction in Cambodia is at a critical stage.

At a conference Tuesday discussing industry governance, a representative of the NGO Oxfam America said he believed Cambodia is on the right path to avoiding pitfalls that have challenged oil-producing countries in the past.

“On the part of the government and the private sector, it is a finite resource we’re talking about. ... That opportunity has to be used well, not wasted,” said Brian Lund, the East Asia regional director for Oxfam America. “As we see it at the moment, the government of Cambodia is working in the right direction towards making sure that it is used well.”

Lund cited the establishment of an inter-ministerial working group on revenue management as a reason for optimism, as well as statements from officials suggesting that Cambodia may sign on to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a set of international standards that require governments to disclose their earnings from oil, gas and mining.

“It’s definitely part of the discussion,” Lund said of the EITI. “But there is still considerable work to be done before we get to the level of transparency and a level of accountability you would ask for in EITI.”

So far, it has been rare for authorities to release basic revenue figures.


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EXPECTATIONS HAVE TO BE ... TEMPERED. IT’S NOT JUST A HUGE GOLDEN EGG.

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Last week, for example, an official with the Cambodian National Petroleum Authority confirmed that PetroVietnam and French energy firm Total together gave the government US$26 million in signature bonuses and social funds in January, marking a substantial rise over the previous reported revenue of $800,000 in December.

Yet the figure was shown only during a conference presentation by a government finance officer; it was not part of any official disclosure.

Observers say they struggle to find official information detailing where revenue is going.

“Currently, we get information from newspapers,” said Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum.

“We know the companies that are granted for exploration. However, this is all the information we get.”

The government must be more forthright going forward, he said.

“There is a need to provide transparency and accountability in the sector in order to ... ensure that the benefits from oil and gas will benefit all of Cambodia,” Chhith Sam Ath said.

In the meantime, some are urging Cambodia to rein in expectations sparked by the discovery of potential offshore oil reserves.

“When someone mentions that there is gold or oil, there is an immediate expectation amongst the community at large that this is enormous, that it’s fantastic,” said Oxfam’s Lund. “But in fact, expectations have to be properly tempered. It’s not just a huge golden egg. There is a lot of complexity and ups and downs.”

Last year, officials said the Kingdom would not begin receiving revenue from potential oil and natural gas concessions until 2013 at the earliest.