Profiles

A Courageous Journalist Tackles Corruption in Cambodia

Sam Bunnath is an journalist in Camodia who received training in investigative journlism from Internews. Photo: Internews Mekong

Sam Bunnath is a 54 year-old Cambodian journalist. As a long-time resident of Battambang, the largest province in Cambodia, Sam began hearing complaints from friends who had tried, unsuccessfully, to secure full-time government teaching jobs. Sam began to ask more questions and the story he eventually uncovered revealed that contract teachers were being solicited by provincial education officials for “handler’s fees” under the false promise of later receiving permanent government-paid teaching positions.

More than 500 teachers were affected. Often they were forced to sell their cows, farmland and other property to pay the $300 - $450 bribes for jobs they never received.

Sam wrote an investigative story about the bribery scandal after participating in an Internews investigative journalism workshop. He was the oldest participant in the program.

Sam was able to use the skills he learned from the workshop to help him gather important documents and secure interviews with key sources. Among those techniques, the journalist wrote letters to officials in the provincial offices of the Ministry of Education requesting interviews that he ultimately got.

Following several weeks of tenacious investigating by Sam, the story was published in Rasmei Kampuchea, the largest daily Khmer language newspaper in Cambodia with a daily circulation of close to 14,000. The story was published in its entirety under a current climate where few newspapers are willing to print such sensitive stories.

The story attracted instant attention from the highest level of government.

Prime Minister Hun Sen read the story and took swift action, demanding an investigation into the corrupt education officials who took the bribes. He told the Cambodia Daily newspaper (the only English language daily newspaper in the country), “I saw an article printed about contract teachers in Battambang province being swindled…Officials must go down to conduct an investigation.”

However, weeks before the story was even published, Sam’s investigative work was already making waves. He received a faxed document issued by two officials within the Ministry of Education that outlined enhanced policies and procedures related to the hiring of teachers. Sam interviewed both of these officials for his story and believes the timing of the policy changes is more than coincidence and is directly tied to his reporting on corrupt education officials.

Sam said the most difficult aspect of reporting the story was getting people to open up and talk, in addition to accessing public records to support his story. He also worried about his family’s safety in the process, but added that swift attention and reaction from the Prime Minister eased his anxiety.

Internews’ investigative journalism workshops in Cambodia are funded by the US Agency for International Development as part of an anti-corruption initiative.