Hun
Sen Facing CPP Implosion
«សូមផ្ដាំ កុំថារង្ស៊ីមួយ ១០០រង្ស៊ី
ហើយហៅទាំងខ្មោច សម សារី ដែលជាឪលោកឯងក្បត់ជាតិមកទៀត ក៏ ហ៊ុន សែន
មិនខ្លាចដែរ។ សូមផ្ដាំទៅលោកឯង ខ្ញុំមិនដែលចេះខ្លាចអ្នកណាទេ
មួយជីវិតរបស់ ហ៊ុន សែន នេះ»។
នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ហ៊ុន សែន [ថ្ងៃទី៦ ខែមីនា] ថ្ងៃទី១១
ខែមីនា ឆ្នាំ២០១៧ វិទ្យុអាស៊ីសេរី
“In recent
days, I have seen the media has published that the government decided to
withdraw 3 billion riel of the state budget for organising the [Sok An]
funeral… I have conducted a meeting of the CPP’s Standing Committee of the
Central Committee. The session agreed I should ask for the money to be returned
to the state budget so the CPP can handle all the costs of the funeral…”
CPP
Vice-President Say Chhum, 20 March 2017, The Phnom Penh Post, Khmer Times
“We now
launch a campaign for a whole year, so all media outlets need to broadcast and
say, ‘All microfinance institutions are private, not state-owned,’ starting
from tomorrow.”
Premier
Hun Sen, 23 February, 2017, The Cambodia Daily
“If we run
it too much, too long, it will become boring."
Information
Minister Khieu Kanharith, 6 March 2017, The Cambodia Daily
“No drug criminals are sentenced to life. They are all
sentenced to 10 years, 15 years. Sometimes the sentence is reduced to only
three years and then they come out again to traffic. The law is strict, but the
people passing sentences are not strict.”
Deputy Prime Minster Ke
Kim Yan, 8 March 2017, The Phnom Penh Post
“I guess before going public about it, Dty [Deputy] PM KKY
[Ke Kim Yan] would have certainly consulted Samdech SK [Sar Kheng]. So when I
read the statement in the press, my question was not about drug, which is
nothing new, but "why" and "why now"? If Dty PM KKY
believes in the effectiveness of the ACU [Anti-Corruption Unit] he would
already bring the case to ACU... he [Sar Kheng] certainly knows [about impacts
on family of drug issues]. If he or KKY could do something they already would.
If they don't, it means they just could not.”
Ouk
Serei Sopheak, 13 March 2017, Campro (Cambodian Professionals) Network
“He [the
King] was away [in Beijing] for both. The King signed the royal decree for Sok
An even though he was absent. So, the King could have signed the party law as
well.”
Prince
Sisowath Thomico, 17 March 2017, The Phnom Penh Post
“The June 4,
2017, election is a secret, general election on the principles of liberal
democracy and pluralism and therefore do not be concerned about oppression,
threats or intimidation by anybody or any political party at all… I would like
all compatriots, brothers, sisters to exercise your right to vote at your will,
with your conscience that trusts any candidate, any political party.”
King
Norodom Sihamoni, [20 February 2017] 21 March 2017, The Cambodia Daily
Premier
Hun Sen lately displays awesome fear of no enemies, dead or alive. He
challenges his main adversary Sam Rainsy to call upon another 100 of himself
and the ghost of his late father Sam Sary. He says he fears nothing.
He
may sound fearless, but a source in his inner circle claims the premier is
worried – not about the enemies in front of him – but those in the CPP who
profess to support him. After all, he must know only those standing behind him
could stab him in the back. They say he trusts very few.
There
are several indications of Hun Sen’s worry. First, Sok An’s funeral expenses
are now paid for by the CPP, not by the State as per the premier’s order. The
CPP Standing Committee meets – the president is not invited – to cancel it. Say
Chhum prefers to formally write to the president about the resolution, rather
than an informal chat that usually occurs among close colleagues to iron out
any issue. A friction-free committee meeting would include its president who
would then have a chance to defend their idea.
Second,
Hun Sen’s campaign to blanket mobile users with audio and text messages that the
government does not own microfinance institutions fails to impress at least one
of his CPP colleagues. Hun Sen demands the campaign last twelve months, but
Khieu Kanharith finds it boring 10 days after the launch; and it is killed off
within a month. Hun Sen may or may not be fuming, but he must be apprehensive.
Third,
it is a wide-spread drug problem, or rather the authority’s inability to
control it, that brings out CPP high profiles’ irritation and frustration.
Recent public outbursts by Ke Kim Yan against corrupt court and prison systems
that make his policing job ineffective indicate something is brewing within the
CPP. According to Ouk Serei Sopheak, who is known to be close to Sar Kheng, the
two deputy premiers are at the end of their tether. One of their forward
options may be not to let Hun Sen’s rule continue to worsen.
The
fourth is an emergence of King Sihamoni for the very first time in politics.
For the King who has been a rubber stamp in silence for Hun Sen’s every whim
since ascending the throne in 2004, he must either suddenly acquire a dangerous
taste of not being a Hun Sen’s minion, or have support from a CPP faction that
is no longer impressed with Hun Sen’s capricious performances. King Sihamoni now
begins to select where to put his signature. He appeals to all to vote freely
without fear, when Hun Sen has been instilling fear into the voters’ psyche
with his constant threat of war and instability almost every time he reaches a
microphone. There must be an internal struggle surrounding the appeal that
takes a month to release after the King signs it.
Hun
Sen is watching his back, nervously.
Ung
Bun Ang
24iii17
By The Way
Hun
Sen may share a sentiment like that of the following landlord Thy. The premier
would say, “80% of CPP do not support me, but pretend otherwise in public… They
express their support to me, but in my mind, I don’t trust them.”
For
strongman Hun Sen who instils fear in others, his strategy works only half of
the time. When it works, people says they are behind him. When it does not
work, they stab him in the back. The intrigue is that Hun Sen does not know
when it works or when it does not. He may also have no idea about the other
20%.
“80% of my
neighbours support the opposition, but pretend otherwise in public… We
expressed our support [for the CPP], but in our mind, we don’t trust them.”
Phnom
Penh landlord Thy, 17 March 2017, The Cambodia Daily
Should
you wish to receive Pseng-Pseng on your screen as soon as it is released,
subscribe to it at https://tinyletter.com/pseng-pseng
