Corruption Studies to Unveil
Transparency International recently ranked Cambodia at 151 out of 163 corrupt nations
Studies on corruption co-authored by the Cambodian Center for Social Development (CSD) and Transparency International (TI) will be released Tuesday, according to CSD director Seng Theary. Seng Theary told VOA Khmer that representative from Cambodia's most prominent political parties would participate in tomorrow's forum to reveal the result of the corruption study. Studies have shown that corruption is prevalent throughout Cambodia. Theary says that Cambodians are aware of this problem, but find it hard to confront corruption because "they don't feel powerful enough to face or change the system." Also, she added that the government is doing very little to combat corruption in Cambodia. Ministry of Interior spokesman Khieu Sopheak denied that systemic corruption exists in Cambodia. However, he admitted there are some individuals who take advantage of the system. Opposition party president Sam Rainsy, who will also participate in tomorrow's forum, says that in order to eradicate corruption the government has to start from the top [officials], which is involved in corruption activities. Transparency International has been conducting annual corruption surveys for the past 11 years. In 2006, the study group found Cambodia to be the second most corrupt country in Asia, and ranked the country at 151 out of 163 corrupt nations. Its' research has repeatedly showed a clear link between high levels of corruption and poverty.