• Mubarak, who sacked his cabinet on Friday after a nationwide revolt, also said the new prime minister's priority was restricting unemployment and creating new jobs. Mubarak has struggled to placate a nation angry at his three decades of autocratic rule with token gestures such as sacking the government.

I think what is the most fundamental accomplishment for a government is acheive economical progress for the country and improvement of living standard for the people. However, this role is based on the assumption that the government is seen as the legitimate figure of authority, whom everyone is willing to be led by. In this case, I feel that perhaps the it is inappropriate to set the priority on augmenting the economy amid of a domestic uproar and chaos, targetted to overthrow the leaders. It is not being practical nor dealing with the root problem. Even if the crowd is repressed to gain back stability now, it will only be contrived peace which will one day spiral into more devastating disaster and upheaval. Although I believe that some form of control in a developing nation is necessary, I am against an autocratic rule which helps to sustain a corrupted and incompetent government. Merely sacking the government without resolving the problem -- the leader and the mentality/ system, is like removing only a colony of bacteria from an agar plate and leaving the rest to fester.

If we were to look at the situation in China, also a developing and "autocratic" country, it seems that China is performing better. But, I beg to differ. China is going to face a conundrum maybe even worse than Eygpt if she does not alleviate the situation of corruption, aggravating rich-poor gap and repression of political voice. It is just that things seem to be rosier in China because in the past 30 years, the rate of improvement of most Chineses' lives is so tremendous that the people see little reason to overthrow this government and return to their poor destitute lives. However, in tandem with advancement of living standards, is an awareness on political rights, human rights etc. With the help of the Internet, burgeoning educated netizen are also using the Net as a platform to express their disatisfaction for the government.

I did my IS on the corruption in China, and it is reported that China loses billions to corruption ever year. And, the social divisiveness is exacerbating with increasing hatred for the rich and advantaged. Social unity and fabric will eventually tearing apart when the contrast between the rich and poor is further amplified. Considering that the netizens in China is growing and has even exceeded the 4.5 billion mark, there is all reasons to believe that this awareness (as mentioned above) will promulgate to more and more citizens. Eventually, there would be a substantial number of people sufficient to create a chaos, far more devastating and polemic that the chaos in

• Washington, a key ally of Egypt, called on Mubarak to do more to defuse the crisis but stopped short of saying he should quit.But President Barack Obama also voiced support for "an orderly transition to a government that is responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people," in calls to regional leaders on Saturday, the White House said.

• US military aid to Egypt amounts to $1.3 billion a year, and the total American aid bill to the country averages close to $2 billion annually.

CAMBODIA
Prime Minister Hun Sen, 59, who has vowed to remain in power until he is 90, recently said on national radio that his aim was "not just to weaken the opposition, but to make it die".The comment was the latest in a string of outbursts against critics, prompting fears that freedoms are under threat as the government looks ahead to local polls next year and a general election in 2013."

The space for dissent has shrunk to the point where people are gasping for air," said Mathieu Pellerin of local rights group Licadho."Vast areas of political debate have been effectively declared off-limits. The most minor venture into these fenced-off topics can bring the authorities' wrath, whether you are a prominent politician or an anonymous village farmer."

Mark Turner, a Cambodia expert at the University of Canberra, said the legacy of the country's recent bloody history has allowed the ruling party to tighten its grip on power."One of the leading themes of post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia has been the search for stability," he said. "If incomes are rising, education improving, health facilities more accessible, then people may accept a certain curtailment of freedoms."

Cambodia remains haunted by its past, after decades of civil war and the brutal 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge regime that left up to two million dead in its bid to forge a communist utopia.Cambodian independent analyst Chea Vannath said it was important to recognise how far the nation had come considering its "terrible past".Hun Sen, who has ruled since 1985, has been credited with the country's long spell of peace and stability, while also improving infrastructure and opening up the country's markets.But he also has a history of riding roughshod over his rivals, and analysts say the CPP -- bolstered by a 2008 election landslide -- has exerted executive power without limits.It is now a crime to criticise judges or public officials under a new penal code that activists say could be used as a government tool to muzzle freedom of expression."Impunity is deepening for government power-holders and their cronies to abuse rights," said Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.

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