Opposition Concerned Over Economy

Opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Tuesday he was concerned Cambodians will face severe livelihood degradation in the wake of the global economic crisis.

“I say that because of the economic crisis and also because of the lack of country management in general,” he said. People were worse off than they were 15 or 20 years ago, he said.

Sam Rainsy spoke to VOA Khmer following a private meeting with former king Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing earlier this week.

Joblessness, the loss of production in forests and fisheries and depreciating value of goods in the months ahead could lead to “turmoil,” he said, and people “protesting for solutions to their living.”

Sam Rainsy’s remarks come as the International Monetary Fund adjusted Cambodia’s expected growth rate for 2009, down to 4.25 percent from a height of 10 percent in recent years.

Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yiep said he trusted Prime Minister Hun Sen’s plan to weather the economic storm.