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Posted by: | Posted on: December 24, 2016

Three essential components to develop democracy in Cambodia

Political Paradigm of Pragmatism from the Khmer Youth part 89

This part (89), Mr. Sophan analysed on how to develop Cambodian human resource to be agent of change and democratic catalysts. By comparing to old saying that Khmer people are fluently reciting “if

Courtesy: Mu Sochua blog

Courtesy: Mu Sochua blog

you want to get knowledge, you must kill your instructor; if you want to receive fruits, you must burn down the trunk”, the philosophy conundrum of Cambodia politics is muddier and murkier. The saying explicitly means don’t be afraid of accumulating and digesting knowledge from instructor by asking questions, interacting, and making friendship with instructor.

In sum, these three components are essential to develop agent of change and democratic catalysts in Cambodia as following:

  1. Children must be developed democratic mindset in family setting as a strong foundation by having parenthood with potential parenting pedagogy. Majorly, Cambodian parents regard their children as objective, not subjective at all. Major parents has used authoritarian approach to raise children. Without allocating space for children to express their opinion and questions parents, is the shortage of democratic mindset, and this practice is a pro-domestic violence in which it has become the cycle of violence from generations to generations.
  2. Schools are centre of democratic development, but Cambodia schools have been slow in both financial funding and capacity building. Teachers are used less learnt to teach the unlearnt. This setting is really out of context to develop pedagogy of teachers to teach students in a democratic way. Nonetheless, schools have been viewed as a political campground for government-led party to influence through providing salary, gifts, and entitlement. Major school principles and superintendents must proclaim loyalty to government-led party to ensure their career.
  3. Top leaders are the most effective public figures who are showing both role model and leadership. Democratic leaders are persons who set aside personal interest by working harder to bring collective interests for their long lasting fame of the future. Cambodian leaders are in contract. Both personal raising and schooling are not a good example for Cambodian children to follow. When he has been raised in a violence family, he is tending to be more authoritarian than democratic. When he has been nominated to position by backing from foreigner, he is tending to be more into self-deceiving than self-motivation in nation building. Cambodia is unfortunate to having their incumbent leader that is not a democratic person!