How Cambodia Becomes Economic Power

By Shin Chul-ho

On the first day of this year, I flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia, as part of a six-day package tour of Angkor Wat. Now I know that Angkor Wat has antiquities amazing enough to attract tourists from all over the world. But I witnessed a poverty-stricken country.

Cambodia is still an agricultural society, experiencing what Alvin Toffler refers to as the ``First Wave.¡¯¡¯

French colonial rule for nearly a century and a 30-year civil war may have hindered Cambodia¡¯s economic development.

Under the rule of Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge cadres slaughtered about 2 million of the 8 million Cambodians in the 1970s. It was a critical loss of human resources. Among the slaughtered were high-ranking government officials, businessmen and military officers that could have led Cambodia to be a far better place to live in than it is now.

I contemplated how the country could overcome its socio-economic difficulties and provide a better life for its people.

What they should do, above all, is drive away corruption.

The moment I arrived at Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport, I noticed that the airport stank of corruption.

To get a visa, visitors stand in either a $20 line or a $25 line based on whether they came to Cambodia on a business trip or on a vacation trip. People in the $25 line got their visas much faster than those in the $20 line. According to the regulations, $25 dollars buys a single-entry visa for business, and $20 buys a single-entry visa for tourism. However, 99 percent of the people in the lines were tourists. What's wrong with this picture?

The guide said that donations of money to schools by foreign charity organizations are distributed among teachers. He also said donations of school supplies such as pencils, notebooks and erasers are also distributed among teachers, who then sell the supplies to their students.
He said corruption is prevalent in every sector. With such severe corruption, no country can make progress.

Korea, too, must pass through the corruption tunnel as soon as possible.

Cambodia should also diversify its agricultural production. The economy is too reliant on rice yields. Cambodian farmers could raise cattle and poultry as Australian farmers do, and they could grow different kinds of plants. For example, the Dutch grow tulips.

Cambodians are blessed with a rich environment, so they should make good use of it.
Look around the world. The rapid destruction of rainforests and the factories scattered all over the world are causing the global warming. Water, air and land are being polluted. China's rapid industrialization is contaminating not only its own rivers, air and land but also the Yellow Sea and the air of neighboring countries.

I think skipping becoming an industrial society and focusing instead on information industry intensification would best serve Cambodia. Industrialization will inevitably lead to the destruction of the environment, the jewel of Cambodia. But information technology, especially software technology, results in huge economic gains with little pollution and little capital. India is an example of this.

When they have succeeded in creating a high-quality software industry, what will happen to Cambodia? A variety of their agricultural products will be exported to other countries, its well-preserved environment will attract tourists who not only want to see Angkor Wat, Bayon, Taprohm, the Tonle Sap but want to see the unpolluted environment. And per capita income will increase dramatically.

The Cambodian government must also address education. I had an opportunity to visit an elementary school. A volunteer teacher from England was teaching English. The teacher allowed us to look around the classroom. The students had pencils and notebooks. There were no textbooks, no computers, no storybooks, no video screens, no other teaching materials whatsoever. Only chalk and a blackboard.

Our guide talked about the poor conditions in middle and high schools as well. One book is shared by two or three students, and the student sitting in front of the book has to turn his or her head to read it. That's why many high school graduates write in awkward postures.

Wiping out illiteracy is the top priority in education. But that's not enough with the global competition. Highly trained and talented people are needed to build up a strong economy. The Cambodian government should invest in education, even though people are starving.

When the infrastructure, from hotels to transportation, is improved, agricultural reforms are made and a software miracle takes place, Cambodia will be called the second Singapore.