Making good on a promise from Prime Minister Hun Sen, the govt confirms that Muslim headscarves are cool for school
Vandy Rattana
Cambodian Muslims will now be allowed to wear headscarves in school. Chey Chap, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, told the Post Thursday that while currently all student uniforms follow internal regulations set by the ministry, Muslim students will be permitted to deviate from the rules.
"While students are supposed to wear white shirts and blue trousers to school, Khmer Muslim students will be allowed to wear traditional uniforms to school because we are open minded about students believing in different religions," Chey Chap said, adding that the Cambodian constitution states that all Cambodians have the same rights under the law, regardless of ethnicity, religion or language.
Zakaryya Adam, secretary of state at the Ministry of Cults and Religion, heralded the move as a gesture of inclusivity.
"This shows that the government doesn't want to discriminate against Muslim students and will show people that there are a lot of Khmer Muslims within the education system," he said.
No more bending the rules
According to Dy Tep Kosal, director of Chea Sim Cham Reun Roth secondary school, approximately 40 percent of students at his students are Muslim. Until now they have always had to wear a standard uniform in accordance with the school's internal rules - although the school bends these rules for Muslim girls already, he said.
"At the moment Khmer Muslim students don't wear their traditional clothes at school, but they still wear folded scarves around their faces," he said.
For Abdulhalim Kasim, a Muslim student at Norton University, the change is a welcome one.
"While it doesn't make any difference to me because I am a man and can wear whatever Khmer students wear, girls need to wear scarves over their faces," he said.
"The fact that the government will allow us to wear our traditional clothes means it accepts all religions [and] it will make it easier for Khmer Muslims to study," he said, adding that many Muslim students, particularly girls, have abandoned their studies in the past because they could not wear their traditional clothes in the classroom.
Thai soldiers claim another Cambodian temple, military says
Thai soldiers have moved into Ta Krabey temple, but military commanders say negotiation will be used to solve the problem
SOLDIERS IN NEED
Cambodian soldiers are ill-prepared to face Thais in actual combat, said the SRP's Yim Sovann. "The government has about 8,000 generals. They are enjoying their luxury cars in Phnom Penh instead of being sent to the border to defend Cambodia."
Ho Bunthy, deputy commander of Border Military Unit 402, said that Cambodian soldiers - who have controlled the small temple for years - tried to defend the site by shooting in the air but that the Thai soldiers still marched in.
"They dared to enter because they know Cambodian soldiers got the orders not to use violence and shoot," Ho Bunthy said.
The Wednesday night incursion involved around 100 Thai soldiers who had previously tried to prevent Cambodian troops from accessing the temple by cutting down trees and using them to block the entry road.
"Thai soldiers cut trees down on the road around 13 kilometres away from Ta Krabey temple on Wednesday afternoon to prevent our armed forces from walking to this temple and help them to send their troops to enter the temple in the evening," Ho Bunthy said.
Ho Bunthy said that before the Thai soldiers entered the temple he ordered 50 Cambodian soldiers to stand in a "fence" formation to try to prevent them from entering but to no avail, adding that the Thais had been eyeing the temple for days.
Negotiations again
Chea Morn, commander of Military Region 4, said that military commanders on both sides are trying to solve the problem through negotiation. "We are standing at the temple together now and we will negotiate with Thai military commanders later on," he said.
It is a big problem when two countries are at war. we are trying to avoid it.
"If we tried to prevent the Thai soldiers from entering the temple, there would be a clash between the two sides so we will let the border committee demarcate first," Chea Morn said.
"It is a big problem when two countries are at war. We are trying to avoid it," he added.
San Vanna, deputy governor of Oddar Meanchey province, said that he has been informed about the Thai soldiers occupying the Ta Krabey temple. "It saddens me to hear about this. The Thai soldiers shouldn't have entered the temple."
Yim Sovann, opposition Sam Rainsy Party's parliamentarian, criticised the government for taking a weak stance against Thailand.
"It is embarrassing that our government is too weak to defend our nation," he said.
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