MALAYSIAN BUSINESS CHAMBER LENDS SUPPORT TO CAMBODIA’S MINE-CLEARING CAMPAIGN

PHNOM PENH, Sept 22 (Bernama)  -- The Malaysian Business Chamber of Cambodia (MBCC) is steadfast in its commitment to continue supporting the country’s landmine-clearing campaign.

The chamber has been spearheading awareness and fundraising endeavours to support mine-clearing initiatives in the kingdom.

Cambodia plans to host the landmark Siem Reap-Angkor Summit on a Mine-Free World from Nov 25 to 29, where a five-year strategic plan for demining will be designed.

MBCC senior vice-president Mohan Bandam told Bernama that the chamber will participate in the summit as it has been at the forefront of the mine-clearing campaign.

“We intend to participate and deliver a couple of speeches and presentations on private sector participation in mine-clearing activities. The Khmer Times and MBCC were pioneers in this (campaign),” said Mohan, who is also the publisher of the Khmer Times newspaper.

MBCC’s milestone initiative was with local Wing Bank and the Khmer Times to launch the "Donate 4,000 riel (One US Dollar) or More to Make Cambodia Mine Free” campaign in July 2023. 

Proceeds from the effort were to support the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) to make the kingdom a landmine-free nation by 2025.

One of the oldest business associations in the kingdom also helped in funding a mine-clearance project in Kampong Speu province last year, making it free from landmines and other UXOs (unexploded ordnances).

The Cambodian government, along with international support, has been relentlessly conducting clearance operations to remove landmines and UXOs planted during the Khmer Rouge civil war in the 1970s and ending in 1998. 

According to the CMAA, eight people lost their lives while 21 were injured, and six were amputated during the January-June period this year.

The organisation has reported there are over 65,000 casualties, including about 19,000 deaths from landmine tragedies from January 1979 to February this year.

-- BERNAMA