[Cambodia] No more beauty pageants, says Government

from The Independent On Line

Phnom Penh - Calling them a waste of money better spent on farming, Cambodia's premier on Tuesday banned any Miss Cambodia pageants until the country's poverty level is reduced by more than half.

Prime Minister Hun Sen told hundreds of farmers in southeastern Cambodia that he ordered the cancellation of last month's Miss Cambodia contest - the first in more than a decade - because "it wastes a lot of money".

"We need money to first build waterways for farming," he said in a speech broadcast on national television.

"A Miss Cambodia contest will only be held after the poverty rate in Cambodia is reduced to 15 percent and each Cambodian makes $1 500 a year. Then we can hold whatever contest we want," he said.