Minister of Posts and Telecommunications So Khun has acknowledged he receives a $2,500 monthly salary from Mobitel as an honorary adviser to the company.
So Khun on Monday told members of the National Assembly’s Commission on Telecommunications that he receives the Mobitel salary as part of his private work, and that his advisory position does not constitute a conflict of interest.
“It is my right,” So Khun said. “All work has to be paid for. As part of the ministry, I am not biased toward Mobitel.”
Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay, who invited So Khun to the commission meeting, accused the minister of corruption and said he would send a letter of complaint to the government of Sweden, where Mobitel is based.
Son Chhay directly asked So Khun whether he received a rumored $5,000 monthly salary from Mobitel, and the minister replied it was only $2,500.
“I will also send a letter to the Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Hun Sen, asking them to stop corruption activities of ministers,” Son Chhay said.
So Khun is not the only MPTC official that has a side job at a mobile phone company. Other MPTC officials, including secretaries of state and undersecretaries of states, are also employed by Cambodia Samart, Shinawatra and other companies.
Son Chhay said he would like to see the Council of Ministers issue a ministerial decree that would prevent officials from benefiting from their positions.
“We just want to remind all ministers, secretaries of state and undersecretaries of state that corruption is a disease that kills the country’s economy,” Son Chhay said.
A Western investment expert said So Khun’s work at Mobitel is “absolutely a conflict of interest, especially given So Khun’s sway and decision making abilities in the ministry.”
So Khun defended his position at Mobitel, saying if he was corrupt, he would have taken the millions of dollars in revenue MPTC makes in fees and other payments.
“This payment is not bribery or corruption,” So Khun said, adding he will continue to receive the salary from Mobitel.
Kith Meng, general manager of Mobitel, said So Khun is an adviser to the telecommunications industry and is not a major player at the company.
“This is not a big issue,” Kith Meng said. “I am trying to develop the country. So Khun is an adviser but I do all the work.”
Funcinpec lawmaker Keo Ramy, a member of the National Assembly’s economy and investment commission, noted that the $2,500 monthly salary for So Khun is a lot of money and sets a bad example.
“If [So Khun] continues to receive the payment from Mobitel, there will be no quality in the work of the government and you will be colluding with Mobitel,” Keo Ramy said. “You will close your eyes and then the ministry decisions [regarding Mobitel] will not be fair.”
Mobitel is the dominant company of Cambodia’s telecommunications market, and recently made services available in all of the country’s provinces.
Three of Samart’s seven members of the board of directors also act as officials at MPTC, said Somchai Lertwisettheerakul, general manager of Samart.
And a few of Shinawatra’s employees are also MPTC officials, said Virote Jenjirawong, Shinawatra financial manager. But he declined to say what kind of work the MPTC officials do at Shinawatra.
Somchai said the three MPTC officials were board members before he became general manager of Samart in 1998.
He said it was difficult to say whether having MPTC officials on Samart’s board was “good or not,” because it depends on a country’s regulations, management styles and individual ethics.
“Cambodia does not have a rule that prevents officials from being members of a private company’s board of directors,” Somchai said. “So, it depends on personal ethics.”
The Western investment expert noted, however, that what is considered to be the norm here is not standard practice elsewhere.
“Whatever is considered to be normal here can not be applied to international standards,” he said.
Son Chhay has said he intends to call other ministers before the Assembly’s various commissions for questions relating to their work.
