Cambodian parliament to debate anti-corruption law

Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh

Last Updated: Fri, 5 Mar 2010 21:12:00 +1100

A draft anti-corruption law has finally made to parliament in Cambodia, more than 15 years after it was first proposed.

But its proposed passage has alarmed some legislators, who are concerned the country's ruling party will force it through with insufficient debate.

Cambodia's parliament could debate a long-awaited anti-corruption law as early as next week, after the 25-page draft was given to members of parliament late Thursday.

The draft law states that an investigating body and an oversight body would be created to deal with corruption. It also says that civil servants, judges, members of the military, and legislators would need to disclose their wealth.

But the independence of the two agencies is already in question, since the draft states that the government would appoint most of their senior members.

Cambodia was last year ranked as the 166th most corrupt country on earth out of 180 nations in Transparency International's annual index.

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