By James Hookway
Cambodia’s leader Hun Sen says he has a “secret strategy” to prevent his
Southeast Asian nation from being dominated by its much larger neighbors:
casinos.
In a five-hour, 20 minute address to Cambodia’s parliament Thursday, Prime
Minister Hun Sen explained that his plans to turn this country of 15 million
people into a global gaming hub is in fact part of a longer-term strategy to
prevent neighbors such as Vietnam and Thailand from encroaching on Cambodian
turf.
Border disputes are a recurring problem in the region, with Thai and
Cambodian troops occasionally locking horns in Cambodia’s east. A contentious
border demarcation process with Vietnam is still under way, and Mr. Hun Sen’s
opponents have accused him of giving away territory to regional rivals,
especially Vietnam, in the past. But on Thursday he took them to task.
“I don’t like casinos, but the biggest goal for giving permission to build
casinos is to protect the border,” Mr. Hun Sen, 61 years old, told lawmakers in
a marathon address, which was estimated by aides to be his longest yet. The
predominantly Buddhist country now has more than 25 casinos, with more gaming
tables on the way. “One can remove border markers, but one can’t remove
five-storey hotels. Don’t be stupid.”
Worse, Mr. Hun Sen said, his critics had forced him to reveal his clandestine
security plan. “This should be a secret strategy to protect the nation,” Asia’s
longest-serving leader barked in his televised speech, which was mandatory
viewing for civil servants, who watched their leader speak without breaks or
taking questions.
It’s unclear how firmly Mr. Hun Sen’s tongue was planted in his cheek. His
long and often rambling speeches frequently invite comparison with other
long-winded leaders, such as Fidel Castro or Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, and he
often upbraids erring ministers on live television.
Earlier this year, he also lashed out at foreign correspondents for daring to
suggest that Cambodia might use its role as host of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations this year to prevent the trade and security-bloc from taking a
common stand against one of Cambodia’s main allies, China.
“I think he was being facetious” when unveiling his secret casino plan, said
Ben Lee, an analyst with Macau-based consultancy iGamix.
It wasn’t immediately possible to reach a Cambodian government spokesman, and
Vietnamese government officials didn’t immediately respond to requests for
comment. Cheam Yeap, a member of Mr. Hun Sen’s party in the legislature, said
the casino plan “is Prime Minister Hun Sen’s own strategy to protect the border.
The prime minister is serious with his speech.”
There has been an extraordinary surge in new casinos opening their doors for
business in Cambodia in recent years. Its government is attempting to attract a
slice of the gaming money that has made Asia a new global center for the
industry, and Cambodia’s borders are lined with casinos catering to Thai and
Vietnamese gamblers who are prohibited from gambling in their own countries.
Opponents regularly criticize Mr. Hun Sen for promoting casinos for visitors.
Many Cambodians, who are legally barred from gambling, see the joints as morally
degrading.
Yet the industry has also created thousands of jobs in a country that is
still striving to overcome of the chaos of the 1970s, when the former Maoist
Khmer Rouge regime killed or contributed to the deaths of an estimated 2 million
people. The country’s casinos range from hard-scrabble affairs in border
outposts to palatial buildings in Phnom Penh, such as the riverside NagaWorld
resort, which is adding 220 rooms to its existing 500.
The government says gaming generated around $20 million in tax revenues last
year, up 25% from the year before, and which is re-invested in health care and
education.
Authorities are now eyeing more casino developments in other tourist areas,
including the towns of Siem Reap and Sihanoukville as Cambodia hopes to follow
in the path of other gaming centers such as Macau, which last year pulled in
$33.5 billion in gaming revenue, more than the five times the amount raked in in
Las Vegas.
It is unclear how successful Cambodia will be in capturing a larger slice of
this market, though squeamishness over the suitability of gaming in a
predominantly Buddhist society doesn’t appear to be getting in the way of the
country’s longer-term commercial and, possibly, national security goals.
The land of heroes
Our heroes
Our land
Cambodia Kingdom
Our heroes
Our land
Cambodia Kingdom
Friday, August 10, 2012
Cambodia’s Hun Sen Has a Secret Plan
Posted by jeyjomnou at 1:08 PM
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