Tourists visited Prek Treng beach in Sihanouk province in 2016. Pha Lina
Speaking at the 7th Sea Festival in Koh Kong province on Saturday, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered Preah Sihanouk governor Yun Min to restore the province’s reputation and prevent all crimes, following recent criticism of the region.
“Preah Sihanouk has to make more effort than other provinces to restore its reputation and prevent all crimes, no matter where the crime comes from or how many luminaries [they have] … I do not care. To make it easy, just punish the one who makes a mistake,” he said.
Hun Sen reminded officials of the Russian criminal who fled his country to invest in the province. The prime minister ordered the man’s arrest after the Russian government asked him to extradite the criminal back to Russia.
“You have to be careful and do not let our coastal area become a safe haven for drug gangs or criminals and, more importantly, ensure that no terrorists escape their home countries and come and stay in our waters,” Hun Sen said.
Hun Sen also appealed on his Facebook page on Sunday for the protection of the environment for future generations in order to attract tourists.
“I would like to appeal to the people to preserve natural resources and the environment for future generations and to attract tourists to Cambodia, so that our people will get more jobs and the country will develop,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen ordered Deputy Prime Minister Chea Sophara, Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, Tourism Minister Thong Khon and Environment Minister Say Samal to prevent contaminated water from flowing into the sea.
He told them to put more effort into protecting the beach, forests and the natural environment, as well as accelerate the construction of water filtration facilities, starting with Preah Sihanouk province.
He said he received a report from Chea Sophara about the construction of a drainage system in Preah Sihanouk province and he pushed them to implement the project.
The prime minister said: “However, I think such a project is a temporary one. We need to think about bigger projects in order to ensure that no dirty water flows into the sea in the future. If we develop land and [that process] destroys the sea, what is the point? Land filling without permission is banned. On this issue, all of you have to regularly work on it without carelessness. We want development but unmanageable development cannot be ignored.”
