WrageBlog

TRACE’s Anne Richardson received the following update from an attorney friend currently working in Phnom Penh:

“Last month a senior Cambodian official stated that Cambodia’s long awaited anti-corruption legislation will likely be passed next month. There have been, however, a litany of statements foretelling the ‘imminent’ passage of this law since 1994, when it was first proposed. Whether this is another empty statement remains unclear, but several signs point to its passage. First, the main reason officials have been giving for delay all these years – the need for an updated penal code – is no longer present. Last year Cambodia passed a new penal code, part of which is already in force, and the rest of which will come into force December 31st. Second, the Council of Ministers has already passed the draft anti-corruption law and handed it over to the National Assembly – a significant step in the legislative process. Third, the contents of the law have remained a closely guarded secret. Indeed, the one thing that is more difficult than determining when the draft law will be passed is ascertaining what substantive protections, penalties and enforcement mechanisms the law will contain. Lawmakers have been tight-lipped about the contents of the law, refusing to release a copy of the bill and so foreclosing all public comment and debate. Proceeding in this way, of course, will  allow lawmakers to take credit for passing an anti-corruption law while ensuring the law does not infringe any ‘ongoing interests.’

Whatever its substance, the law cannot reduce corruption overnight. The pattern and practice of corruption in Cambodia is rampant at all levels. From police officers who openly request and accept bribes from motorists to high ranking officials whose mansions exuberantly display ill-gotten gains, the evidence is everywhere. And all this while the majority of the people eke out a living, earning little more than a dollar a day. Sadly, corruption has been endemic to politics in Cambodia even infiltrating the language. In Khmer the verb ‘to reign’ literally translates ‘to eat the kingdom,’ and government officials have thus far lived up to the billing. The passage of an anti-corruption law would bring a glimmer of hope to the situation in Cambodia, and be a step – even if only a ceremonial one – in the right direction. Over time, and after implementing appropriate enforcement mechanisms, perhaps the daily scourge of corruption – the pervasive demands and the widespread acquiescence – can be vanquished.”