Cambodia: Political System
According to EQUZHOU.NET, Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy. According to the constitution, the king has no power, but in reality he is still very influential. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Cambodia politics, and acronyms as well.
The legislative power is based on a two-chamber system. The National Assembly with 123 deputies is elected by the people every five years. There is also a Senate with 61 members, some of whom are appointed by the King and the National Assembly and some of whom are also elected. The voting age is 18 years.
The official name of the country is:
| Kingdom of Cambodia |
The country is made up of 24 provinces.
National anthem
The national anthem of a country is usually a piece of music underlaid with a text, which is intended to express the state, attitude to life or national feeling of a country. It is mostly played on particularly festive occasions, such as state visits, special holidays or to honor politicians, business leaders, etc. National anthem of the respective winning country for performance.
Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the national anthem of Cambodia is “Nokoreach, Royal Kingdom”.
The music is based on a folk song, the lyrics are by Chuon Nat from 1941.
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Cambodia.
Cambodian text:
| Som pouk tepda rak sa moha khsath yeungOy ben roung roeung doy chey Monkol srey soursdey
Yeung Khnom preah ang som chrok Krom molup preah Baromey Ney preah Noropdey vong Khsattra del sang preah sat THMR Kroup Kraung Khmer Borann thkoeung thkann. Prasath séla kombang kan dal prey Kuor oy srmay noeuk dl yuos sak Moha Nokor Cheat Khmer dauch Thmar kong vong ny lar rung peung chom hor. Yeung sang Khim por pheap preng samnang robuos Kampuchea. Moha rth koeut mien you ang veanh hey.Kroup vath aram lu tè so sap thoeur Sot doy am no rom lik koun poth sasna Chol yeung chea neak thioeur thiak smos smak tam bep donnta Kong tè thévoda nùng chuoy chrom chrèng phkot phkang pra yoch oy Dol prateah Khmer chea Moha Nokor |
English version:
| Heaven protects our KingAnd gives him happiness and glory
To reign over our souls and our destinies, The one being, heir of the Sovereign builders, Guiding the proud old Kingdom.Temples are asleep in the forest, remembering the splendor of Moha Nokor. Like a rock the Khamer race is eternal. Let us trust in the fate of Campuchea, The empire which challenges the ages.Songs rise up from the pagodas To the glory of holy buddhistic faith. Let us be faithful to our ancestors’ belief. Thus heaven will lavish its bounty Towards the ancient Khmer country, the Moha Nokor. |
And in the English translation:
| May heaven protect our kingand give him happiness and glory
to rule over our souls and destinies. The only heir to the lordly builder ruled the proud old kingdom.Temples are hidden asleep in the forest, reminiscent of the splendor of Moha Nokor, like a stone the Khmer people are eternal. Let us trust in the fate of Campuchea, the realm that will challenge the years.Songs rise from the pagodas to honor the sacred Buddhist faith. Let us honor the faith of our ancestors. So heaven will show itself generously towards the ancient land of the Khmer, the Moha Nokor. |
Cambodia: Known People
Politicians and rulers
- Pol Pot, May 19, 1928 – April 15, 1998The former Buddhist monk later became the leader of the Khmer Rouge. He represented the ideology of a purely peasant state. Under the reign of terror of his guerrilla organization, incredible suffering was brought to the country. Pol Pot had around 2 million people, mostly the educated, killed. With the result that there were hardly any doctors, teachers or engineers in the country and still do not exist.
- King Norodom SihanoukThe king, born on October 31, 1922, had been in office since March 1953 with interruptions. www.norodomsihanouk.info
Writer and poet
Chuon Nat In
1941 he composed the national anthem Nokoreach.
Actors, directors
- King Norodom SihanoukKing Sihanouk also worked intensively as a director.
- Rithy PanhDirector of “People of the Rice Fields”
Cambodia: plants
Trees
The vegetation of Cambodia can be divided into individual regions. Evergreen mountain forest grows at heights above 700 m, and below 700 m there is the tropical rainforest with palm trees and lianas. Mahogany and noble trees that reach 30 m high grow in the central lowlands. Pine forests can only be seen growing in the Kirirom National Park.
Many of the native trees are now threatened with extinction. These include the blackwood tree, the Burmese ebony tree and the Siamese rosewood tree.
The teak tree can only be found on plantations today.
The coast of Cambodia is lined with mangrove forests, other common trees are kapok trees. The latter grow up to 70 m high and are characterized by fold-like roots at the foot of the tree. The German name is the “Wollbaum”, in English it is known as the “Silk cotton tree”. This is because there are cotton-like hairs in the fruit capsules that can be used to stuff mattresses.
The steam tree is a type of poplar with a trunk diameter of around 10 m and is considered sacred because the tree is consecrated to Buddha.
Other plants
On the high plains and plateaus you will find mainly savannah landscapes with tall grasses.
Bougainvilleas bloom in a variety of colors across the country.
The frangipani, which can often be found in front of temples in Asia, is considered sacred. It is a plant that is also widespread in Central America. They come in the form of large bushes or small trees. It belongs to the dog poison family and stands out for its pink-white and intensely fragrant flowers. Their very long (up to 30 cm), pointed and dark green leaves are also striking. In all of Asia, the Frangipani is considered a temple or sacrificial plant and is a symbol of immortality.
Crops
Coffee, tea and pepper plantations were established during the colonial period.
One of the most common crops is rice, which is mainly grown on flooded fields in the lowlands. Maize, fruit and vegetables are grown on this level. Rubber and cotton plantations are also found in the lowlands.
From bamboo, which grows almost everywhere, and from palm trees, many things such as cradles, work and household appliances, mats and coffins are made in Cambodia.
Coconut and sugar palms are widespread, and sugary juice is drawn from their inflorescences.
In addition to its religious significance in Buddhism, the lotus flower, which grows in large ponds and flooded fields, also has a useful one, because its seeds taste like peas, are high in protein and are sold in markets.
Medicinal plants
The fennel seeds of the spiced fennel have an antispasmodic and calming effect. In addition to Cambodia, stink thistle is also grown in Cuba, Liberia, Brazil and Thailand. It belongs to the umbelliferae family and the leaves of the plant are used not only as a spice and vegetable, but also in medicine. The taste is similar to that of coriander
Poisonous plants
Caution is advised with the frangipani, as it contains a toxic milky juice.
Introduced plants
The sugar palm, which can be found everywhere in Cambodia, originally comes from Indonesia. The stink thistle is increasingly grown in Cambodia, but originally comes from South and Central America.
Cambodia: animals
Mammals
In the forests of Cambodia, tigers and leopards live alongside bears and various species of monkeys.
The 3 m long and 200 kg heavy Indonesian tiger can be found in the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains. Some animals also live in the east of the country.
Just like the tiger, the Asian elephant can also be found in the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains.
One of the two species of bears is the Malay sun bear, which is one of the smallest bears in the world. The bear is only 100-140 cm long and 70 cm tall and has black fur with yellowish markings on the chest.
Very little is known about its way of life, but it is known that it is a nocturnal animal that is not picky about its food choices.
It is omnivorous and feeds on berries and fruits as well as insects and smaller vertebrates.
The little bear can be found in almost all of Southeast Asia, but its habitat is becoming smaller and smaller, which makes the bear extremely endangered.
The other species of bear found in Cambodia is the Asiatic black bear.
In clearings you come across grazing Gaure, Bantengs, wild water buffalo and in the mountains very rarely on Seraus. The latter are about 90 cm high, gray-black mountain goats with a thick mane, which live in the mountains at heights of up to 2700 m.
But there are also deer, otters, anteaters and martens in Cambodia.
Very rarely and almost exclusively in Cambodia is the kouprey, a wild cattle that is one of the most endangered animal species in the world. It was only discovered in 1937 and has been Cambodia’s national animal since 1963. The brown deer has also become endemic, as it has become extinct over time in all of Southeast Asia, its former area of distribution.
The Sumatran rhinoceros is very endangered. It is the smallest of the three rhinoceros species.
Reptiles
Monitor lizards up to 2 m tall are not uncommon in Cambodia, and crocodiles such as the estuarine crocodile also live in large rivers in Rattanakiri.
The estuarine crocodile is the largest living crocodile, with the longest animal ever measured being 6.2 m long. Its distribution area includes the coasts of Thailand, Sri Lanka, East India, Burma as well as Australia, the Philippines, New Guinea, the Bismarck Islands and the Solomon Islands. This crocodile has been protected since the late 1970s.
Turtles are also found, both on land and in water.
Poisonous animals
The largest of all venomous snakes, the king cobra, lives in Cambodia. There are also kraits here.
Birds
Numerous birds such as pelicans and cormorants live on the coast. Pheasants are also not uncommon in this country.
Underwater world
About 50-100 animals of the very rare Irrawaddy dolphin live in the Mekong in deep water basins and flooded forests. Unfortunately, these particular animals are threatened by illegal dynamite fishermen.
To date, around 850 different species of fish have been counted in Cambodia’s lakes and rivers. These include the 3 m long and 300 kg heavy Mekong giant catfish, probably the largest freshwater fish in the world. The locals call it “giant fish” or “king fish”. The toothless vegetarian is completely overfished and is now critically endangered.
