PHNOM PENH: The government recently designated July 11 as annual “National Population Day”, with an accompanying notice instructing government institutions and other relevant organisations to observe the day to “encourage the public to pay attention and join hands in addressing demographic shifts”.
Article 1 of the sub-decree, issued on May 21, states in a broad sense that the celebration is held with the goal of “building a national society characterised by population resilience and harmony”.
The Post sought further clarification from government spokesperson Pen Bona, who referred questions to the Ministry of Planning, which is the organising body. Ministry spokesperson Srey Da did not respond to inquiries, while Theng Pagnathun, a former spokesperson, said he had no information on the matter.
Phun Kaseka, president of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, noted that he had only just seen the sub-decree and lacked further information.
Chhort Bunthang, a philosophy and social affairs specialist, confessed that he did not understand the specific objective of the day. However, he speculated that the national day likely relates to the rate of population growth or the “resilience” of the people—such as their health, livelihoods, knowledge and capabilities — or perhaps changes in population growth rates.
“If we compare ourselves to our two neighbours, Vietnam has over 100 million people and Thailand has over 70 million. So, what should we do? Should we increase [our population]? And if we do, what is the next step? It is unclear. This sub-decree only mentions the commemorative day,” he noted.
He added that in practice, if the government wants to address demographic issues, there must be clear policies in place, such as the goal of increasing the population to a certain level within a specific timeframe — for example, reaching 30 or 40 million people. Alongside such an increase, there would need to be specific supporting policies. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
