Power plan offers light relief to Cambodia

Frequent blackouts force households to eat by candlelight

Wednesday, 29 July 2009
By Guy Delauney
BBC News, Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh comes alive in the early evening. The sweltering heat of daytime dies down a little, giving people a chance to venture outside without immediately becoming drenched in sweat.

It is a time to enjoy the streetside restaurants, and browse through the shops and markets. But all too often this pleasure is interrupted by a familiar, unwelcome event known locally as a "daipleung".

Cafes go dark, music cuts out abruptly and whole streets erupt in groans and shrieks of dismay.

Once again Phnom Penh's electricity supply has proved unequal to the demands of a growing, increasingly power-hungry city.

Struggling to cope

Three decades of war left Cambodia's infrastructure damaged and dilapidated.

The return of peace has brought double-digit growth over most of the past decade, but the spread of new industries, air conditioners and electronic equipment has left the national electricity company struggling to cope.

"If you look at developed countries, annual growth in demand is in single digits, but we've been facing a 20 to 25% increase; that's a big jump," says the government official in charge of Electricite du Cambodge (EDC), Keo Rottanak.

"That increase in demand gives us a tremendous burden. There is not enough generation and no grid to distribute to different locations when there's a shortage."

Generating demand

The impact on business is considerable. Without a reliable mains electricity supply, companies are left with two choices; buy a generator or face a shutdown every time there is a blackout.

Large-scale enterprises like garment factories and big hotels generally opt for the generator.

The fuel costs incurred are considerable - but still preferable to losing customers because orders are not ready on time or guest rooms lack power.

Smaller businesses have more of a dilemma.

Ngaiy Tan Hun's family noodle-making business in the centre of Phnom Penh is typically ill-equipped to deal with prolonged blackouts.

"When there's a power cut production stops," she says.

"On a normal day we can cope with power cuts - but during festival and holiday times demand increases and so blackouts then are big problem."

Symbol of hope

Phnom Penh is in fact better off than most of Cambodia.

Only about a fifth of the population has access to mains electricity. The rest make do with expensive local supplies driven by generators, or run small appliances and lights from 12-volt car batteries.

The dearth of power is a major disincentive to investors.

Apart from the garment industry, there is little large-scale manufacturing in Cambodia.

"People who have been looking for power will have their dreams come true" - Keo Rottanak, Electricite du Cambodge

Reliable, affordable electricity may help to bring in more industries, and give the country's growth-base some sorely-needed diversity.

So the pylons which are steadily marching their way from the border with Vietnam towards Phnom Penh are a symbol of hope.

Cambodia's larger neighbour will supply the power which could bring an end to the blackouts - and electricity to areas which previously had none.

Light relief

The deal was brokered by the Asian Development Bank, which also put up around half of the $100m (£61m) it cost to erect the pylons, connect the power lines and build the substations.

It should be just a matter of weeks before the project goes live.

"Immediately we will be able to supplement what we are short of now," says EDC's Keo Rottanak.

"It is the first segment of a national grid that we have ever had in Cambodian history. People who have been looking for power will have their dreams come true."

There may still be power cuts as the new system is brought online, but they should be the last blackouts Phnom Penh will see for some time.

That will be a relief for families and businesses alike, though not perhaps for the sellers of generators and emergency lights.

Vietnam still suffers occasional blackouts of its own, making the sale of power to its neighbour a little ironic.

But the new transmission lines run both ways. So if, in the future, Cambodia has a power surplus it should be able to return the favour.

Khmer rock revival seeks new audience

Chhom Nimol fronts the LA-based Khmer rock band Dengue Fever

Tuesday, 28 July 2009
By Sarah Cuddon
BBC News

Decades after Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge silenced the sound of Westernised music in Cambodia, the little-known 60s genre "Khmer rock" is finding new fans.

Khmer rock is the sound of the West meeting the East in the 1960s - a mixture of US surf guitar music, early rock and doo-wop mixed with Cambodian traditional instruments.

At the time, the music was virtually unknown outside Asia but its followers in the West are now burgeoning.

Music writer Nik Cohn is a new fan who stumbled across the sound by chance.

He said: "One night I was watching (the film) City of Ghosts, and there's an amazing moment when Matt Dillon jumps on a motorbike and rides through Phnom Penh and this incredible music comes on. An unbelievable voice.

"(I'd) not heard anything that good since Ronnie and Ronettes... and then I began to think about it musically."

Today, the sounds of the old Phnom Penh are being revived in the West by the Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever, which is fronted by a Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol, the daughter of musicians who played with the original Khmer rockers.

The band's guitarist Zac Holtzman loves the sound and stories of Phnom Penh's music scene.

"It was modern city, with lots of musicians. By day they played traditional stuff and by night they'd rock out.

"In general the Khmer culture is reserved, but this is the closest to stepping out and going crazy. We can really have fun here."

The country's former controversial ruler, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, was a big influence on the sound.

Despite presiding over an often corrupt and repressive regime, he was passionate and liberal about the arts, and encouraged the traditional court musicians to experiment with Western styles.

But influences also came directly from the US - as the American military presence in Vietnam increased, the American Forces Radio Network also became more well-known.

Flying studios operated by the US Navy spread the sound of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music to Cambodia.

Phnom Penh's young musicians did not necessarily know who Jimi Hendrix, the Doors or the Beach Boys actually were, but they loved the sound and they started to imitate it.

"They just took the sound and re-channelled it through instruments equivalent to guitars… a primitive drum kit, and they certainly had bass guitar," Nik Cohn said.

The Khmer rock musicians did not have elaborate studios, and most of the songs were recorded live - often in one take - with any keyboards or guitars they could find, and incorporated traditional instruments.

For a decade, this experimental Khmer rock music transformed the nightlife of the capital, Phnom Penh.

But in 1975 the fanatically anti-Western Khmer Rouge marched in, led by Pol Pot, and the vibrant rock and roll scene was silenced.

Within four years, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated two million Cambodians in the notorious killing fields, including many of the Khmer musicians.

Him Sophy was one of those sent to a labour camp.

"Ninety percent of the famous singers were killed. I saw the prisoners they took," he said.

Jon Swain, who was the Sunday Times war correspondent in South Vietnam and Cambodia at the time, said: "Educated people, musicians, people with glasses… a lot were taken to the killing fields… so the great singers disappeared."

All the local heroes the scene had produced - like Sin Sisamouth, who became known as "the King of Khmer music" - were wiped out, killed by the Khmer Rouge.

Cambodian musician and composer Sophy Him was a young music student in Phnom Penh and remembered him well.

"Sin Sisamouth would play (royal) court music, then rock music… improvisation from traditional and rock."

Guitarist Zac Holtzman said Sin Sisamouth was a songwriter who he initially thought "was like the Elvis of Cambodia", but then he found his lyrics were more like the "Bob Dylan of Cambodia".

"When you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it" - Nik Cohn, music writer

No one quite knows what happened to the famous diva of the time, Ros Sereysothea, but it is believe she also died under Pol Pot.

Like almost all the Khmer rock artists, Ros Sereysothea came from a poor farming family.

She moved to Phnom Penh, where was heard singing by Prince Sihanouk, who later honoured her as "The Golden Voice of the Royal Capital".

It was her voice that Nik Cohn first heard on the soundtrack for film City Of Ghosts, and he said there was always "something tragic about her".

The music was wild and anarchic, but the lyrics often told a different story of teenage angst, death, betrayal and sorrow.

The translation to Ros Sereysothea's funky rock song "Have You Seen My Love" is: "I drink until I get drunk, but I can't seem to get drunk. The sky is all black, love has wings to fly."

It is this strange mix that appeals to fans like Nik Cohn. "It's the sound of innocence, teenagers and innocence, symbolising everything that was lost - and when you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it."

Khmer Rock is adored in Cambodia. It survived on bootlegged cassette tapes and vintage vinyl kept hidden during the Communist years at enormous risk to the owners.

"The name of Sin Sisamouth is still there… after Khmer Rouge was overthrown, his songs came back on the radio.

"I remember hearing them again and they are still going on now," Jon Swain said.

And the old songs are winning new fans through reissues and compilations, a presence on the internet, and the new recordings by Dengue Fever.

Khmer Rock and the Killing Fields presented by Robin Denselow, is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday, 28 July, at 1330 BST.

Exclusive Interview: Scott O'Donnel - Cambodia's Australian Coach Aiming High

One of Australia's football pioneers talks to Goal.com...

28 Jul 2009 02:26:34

Photo Gallery, Zoom

Scott O'Donell, coach of Cambodia's national team

As you would expect from a nation ranked 176th in the world, Cambodia are not one of south-east Asia’s giants, never mind the continent as a whole.

It could have been different, however. The nation was one of the region’s top dogs four decades ago, but the Khmer Rouge period of rule in the mid-1970s not only devastated the country, it also almost wiped football off the map.

The beautiful game in the beautiful country is still recovering, and Scott O’Donnel, the man at the helm of the national team, is doing his bit.

In 2005, after stints elsewhere in the region, he took the Cambodia job, becoming the first Australian to coach a non-Socceroo national team. He left at the end of 2007 after the federation could no longer afford to pay him.

Now he is back and he found time to answer Goal.com’s questions.

How did you end up in Cambodia?

I was offered the job just after I had resigned from my position as head coach at Geylang United, in Singapore, in 2005.

I had some contact with people at the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC), because I had travelled up there quite often while my wife Margaret and I were adopting our two daughters, Emma and Ellie, back in 1998 and 1999.

When you got the job, what was the target for the team?

I wasn't set any targets for the team but my personal target was to try and bring some respectability back to the team after they had suffered some fairly big losses in the past.

Football in Cambodia obviously suffered because of other events in the country’s recent history, but just how much did this set football back?

It has obviously had a huge impact when it comes to the development of the game here. The lack of a proper youth structure, limited opportunities for kids to play, lack of qualified coaches, the lack of finances, etc. have all contributed.

Are there other reasons why Cambodia has never been a football power?

I believe the national team in the late 1960s was a very good team, one of the strongest teams in SE Asia, but obviously with the events that followed in the country, football was no longer a priority.

What needs to be done to make Cambodia competitive?

I think the priority should be youth development and it is something the FFC is currently working hard at. The second FIFA Goal project will go a long way in helping to provide better training facilities for the players.

The FFC has just conducted an AFC C Certificate Course here and has plans for another one later in the year. Coach education is vitally important as we need the young players to be taught the correct things at a young age.

A strong national league is also vitally important. At present we have a ten-team league and I have to say I have been pleasantly surprised at the improvement in the quality of the league this year. It is much more competitive than in recent years.

Can Cambodia ever become a regional powerhouse?

It is going to be difficult to catch up with the likes of Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, but with proper structures in place, there is no reason why we cannot become more competitive.

What’s the best and worst thing about your job and the country?
The best thing is getting the opportunity to work with boys who are enthusiastic and keen to learn. I don’t want to focus on negatives.

What is your highlight and lowlight as Cambodian coach?

The highlight was probably our 1-0 loss to Turkmenistan at home in the World Cup qualifiers in 2007. I know it sounds strange to say a highlight was losing, but that game was the best I had seen the boys play. Our 'keeper didn’t make a save until 75th minute. I was extremely proud of the boys.

The lowlight was a couple of months later when we were beaten 8-0 by Thailand in the SEA Games. We conceded some very soft goals after our first choice 'keeper was injured, and never recovered.

What kind of players are Cambodian players?

Cambodian players are similar to those in the region: relatively small in stature, quite quick, very attentive and eager to learn and improve.

Is the nation a football-loving one?

They love football here. They are always watching the big European games on TV and if you visit the Olympic Stadium any morning or afternoon, you will see hundreds of kids playing football, bare footed, on concrete outside the stadium.

Why did you leave and then return in 2009?

My contract ended at the end of 2007 and the sponsor who was paying my salary decided not to continue. I moved to AFC, where I was the director of coach education, which I enjoyed very much.

It was a great opportunity professionally, but my family stayed in Cambodia. So for personal reasons I resigned from AFC earlier this year and returned to Cambodia to be with my family.

I did not return to coach the national team again. I was still doing television work in Singapore as well as conducting courses for FIFA, but when the president of FCC, Lt. General Sao Sok ha, called me one day to offer me the job, I accepted.

What is your goal in Cambodia?

My immediate goal is to select the national U-23 squad for the upcoming SEA Games in Laos in December. I have also been asked to start preparing the national U-21 team to compete in the domestic Cambodian Premier League (CPL) next season. It is a project that I am very much looking forward to.

Would you want to coach in Australia? Has this ever been a possibility?

I would be very interested in working back in Australia. The rest of my family are back there and would jump at the chance, but opportunities are limited and it would have to be the right thing for my kids re: schooling etc.

But there are many experienced coaches in Australia who are out of work. Who knows? But with the A-League expanding there may be opportunities in the future.

Would you like to work elsewhere in SE Asia?

My family and I really enjoy SE Asia. We have lived in Malaysia, Singapore and now Cambodia. Obviously it will depend on what is good for my family, but yes, I am keen explore and work in other parts of Asia, not just SE Asia.

John Duerden

Asia Editor

john.duerden@goal.com