Dear Editor,

It seems Kassie Neou's appeasing comment in the PPP April 27 has done very little,

if any, to squash a rumour that he will be removed from the NEC. He must be very

disappointed for spending so much effort arguing so hard in support of a system and

a law that would eventually claim him as their first victim.

Kassie Neou, with all his wisdom and experience, is very content with a primitive

character of 1998 Election Law. One would like to think that even though Pol Pot

did eliminate most of the intellectuals a few years back, there are still a few smart

people left in Cambodia, like Kassie Neou, to come up with a much better legislation

at the outset.

Kassie Neou seems thrilled to proclaim that whatever flaws are in the Election Law,

Article 32 does allow for changes: "The chairman, vice chairman, and members

of the NEC shall serve until they are replaced". Good grief.

Perhaps, it would have been too much to expect an additional clause specifying how

the replacement process would take place. Would it be governed by term-specific mandate,

or by other trigger factor. As it stands, Article 32 is as clear as mud in terms

of changing the NEC composition Kassie Neou is so proud of.

Or, would one be too naive to expect anything decent from a system that has been

overwhelmingly controlled by personal interests and a bankrupt mentality that anything

will do as long as it is already better than Pol Pot's?

- Ung Bun Ang, Melbourne, Australia.