The Patronage System and Office Culture

Cambodia has been politically bedeviled by pervasive patronage, and the power-money-morality relations are at issue. Patronage politics has crippled the performance of government in terms of serving the public interest. Pervasive patronage must be put on the political agenda in order to find ways to limit or reduce its powers. Cambodia urgently needs to professionalize public bodies by creating special classes and drawing a baseline on the one hand for legitimate and legal public appointments, and on the other hand purifying the merit-based public employment. A strong political will and intention to deal with patronage, based on commitment to noble ends, remains the prerequisite for Cambodia’s civil service. This also necessitates tightening an independent system of checks and balances in an effort to prevent the misuse of power of the executive branch, and to convince it to cooperate with the legislative and judicial branches in serving the public. Also, cooperative efforts of the media and academic institutions must be a necessity, not an option. The following work might offer a basis for argument for those interested in the patronage system in Cambodia.