Retired Civil Servants to be extended

The retirement age of Civil servants will be considered by the Council of Ministers to be deferred by two years. By law, low-ranking government officials are currently required to retired at the age of 58 but the medium and high-ranking officials can continue their position until 60 years old.

The comment was posted on the KI as saying that:

Every rich powerful and successful country has a constant inflow of new people and new ideas. The U.S. of course has term limits, just as the Europeans. China would have remained in the gutter if their top old officials didn’t die out. Once most of the old farts died out, China manages to implement new economic strategies that utilize some concepts from capitalism.

New ideas and new leadership is healthy for any fledgling economy. It doesn’t have to be a big drastic change. The Prime Minister, if he chooses to, can remain in power. However, he should seek new advisors with 21st century views. For example, ask a young up and coming leader about whether to invest in rubber, or invest in technology (e.g. internet, software, communications, etc.)? The youngster will most likely choose the latter. Rubber drains resources, such as land, water, trees, rivers, lakes, people’s property, etc. Technology on the other hand rejuvenates ideas and brings about jobs without impacting the environment. It helps learning capacity by leaps and bounds. In addition, technology is cheap, affordable, and saves money.

CPP lawmaker Nguon Nhel was quoted by The Cambodia Daily as saying that all civil servants must retire by 60, but some with “special skills or knowledge” are allowed to hang on to their position after this. These officials are paid “special bonuses” for their expertise.

Every year, hundreds of graduate students left universities but they are still unemployed. By the way, they have rarely opportunity to serve government works. The older government officials have difficulty to work with new technology and some have more positions. And they do not want to retire, why? Meanwhile they are unqualified civil servants employed in government institutions.