Sam Rainsy
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Letter to Editor of Phnom Penh Post on Sam Rainsy’s Resignation
A new chapter in Cambodia politics
Dear Editor,
The most popular news during these few days is the resignation of Sam Rainsy from Cambodia National Rescue Party’s presidency and membership. There are many views on pros and cons of his journey. Cambodian people in general are missing him so much for his decision-making but their love and attachment towards his heroic determination has been surprisingly increasing. Hence, some analysts viewed his resignation as a disadvantage for both himself and the CNRP as whole.
Actually, Sam Rainsy’s resignation is to save his party from dissolving, a fate Prime Minister Hun Sen seeks to bring about. Hun Sen has repeatedly made clear his intention to amend the Political Party Law to ban convicted individuals from entering top leadership of the party as well as to dissolve the party if a member is convicted. Strategically, Sam Rainsy sidestepped Hun Sen’s narcissistic intentions ahead of the upcoming commune elections and 2018’s national election. Sam Rainsy has been found guilty in a defamation lawsuit against him and there are many more lawsuits against him. Every Cambodian knows that those charges are politically motivated.
Academics and observers see Hun Sen’s obsession to divide and weaken the CNRP as a pre-emptive 
tactic to ensure a positive outcome for the CPP in elections. This activity has surpased all efforts of reform. Jailing NGO staff members including secretary of the National Election Committee Ny Charia is seen as an attempt to tame the election body, and this latest effort to outlaw the strongest opposition party is seen as a move to weaken his opponent before allowing them to enter the ring.
Besides personal integrity, honesty, sacrifice and love for his nation, Sam Rainsy has proved vivid and intelligent in handling political truces with Hun Sen. With more than 27 years of experience in political leadership in opposition to Hun Sen, Sam Rainsy was greeted by a sea of people to welcome him back home at the airport a few days before the election campaign kicked off in 2013.
Some people believe his resignation is an example of irresponsible leadership. In fact, it is parallel to that of George Washington, who stepped down after serving two terms, despite the fact that many believed he could have ruled for life. He did this for the love of his country. Likewise, Sam Rainsy has shown to be the first role model to all Cambodian people, willing to cede power for the good of the people.
In the future, Sam Rainsy will be an icon of change and idealistic pragmatism in the Kingdom. His political career is not yet over, and won’t be over so long as Cambodians, especially younger voters, are still supportive of his struggle.
Source for Reference: http://m.phnompenhpost.com/columns/letters-editor
Sam Rainsy’s Resignation from Party’s President signified a new chapter of Cambodia politics
Political Analysis
The most popular news during these few days is the resignation of Sam Rainsy from Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)’s Presidency and membership. There are many views on pros and cons of his journey. Cambodian people in general are missing him so much for this decision-making but their love and attachment towards his heroic determination has been surprisingly increasing.
Actually, Sam Rainsy announced his resignation from party’s Presidency of CNRP this February 11, 2017 is to intentionally save his party from dissolving attempted by Prime Minister Hun Sen. Hun Sen had repeatedly warned on amending the political party law to ban convicted individuals from entering top leadership of the party as well as to dissolve the party from such convicted degree if found. Strategically, Sam Rainsy stepped ahead of Hun Sen’s authoritarianism and narcissism for the upcoming elections i.e. commune election 2017 and national election 2018. Sam Rainsy has been convicted by a defamation lawsuit against him and there are many lawsuits in row to trial him. Every Cambodian knows that those charges are politically motivated.
Academics and observers see Hun Sen’s non-stopped obsession to divide and weaken CNRP as a preemptive tactic before the election and its predictable outcome. This activity has surpassed all efforts of reform and it is truly destroying those reform goodness. Jailing NGO’s staff members including secretary of the National Election Committee (NEC), Ny Charia, is seen as an attempt to tame the election body, and this latest effort to outlaw the strongest opposition party CNRP is seen as to weaken his opponent before allowing them to enter the ring. Want it or not, Sam Rainsy has laid out inclusive policy by advocating to include Cambodians overseas especially those millions of migrant workers to be able to vote in Cambodia elections in which contradicting to Hun Sen who has advocated to exclude them.
Beside of personal integrity, honesty, sacrifice and genuine patriotism for his nation, Sam Rainsy is vivid and intellectual in handling political truces with Hun Sen. With his over 27 years experience in political leadership as opposition party particularly competing with Hun Sen, his effort yielded in 2013 as the government effort to disqualify him from political leadership has impregnably backfired Hun Sen. Evidently, sea of people gathered in tsunamic-like crowd to welcome him back home at the airport few days before the election campaign in 2013, was a historic momentum.
Some people explain the disadvantage of his stepping back by resigning from president duty as irresponsible leadership. In fact, his regression is paralleling to that of George Washington of America as history tells that the founding father sacrificed power in order to respect crafted national constitution of limiting President power to two mandates. Saying this, Sam Rainsy has shown first role model to all Cambodian people in accepting to give up power when appropriate time has come in order to maximize the collective interests of major citizens. Many people tried to explain that Sam Rainsy’s popularity is not be comparable to that Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand which this is wrong because Sam Rainsy has never earned his popularity from populist policy or harbouring it from any powerful position.
From this moment, Sam Rainsy will be an icon of change and idealistic pragmatism in Cambodia. His political career is not yet ended. When Cambodian people especially younger voters are still supportive of his last decades struggle, his future political achievement is not a dream any more.
Note that the controversial proposal to amend the political party law aiming to dissolve CNRP is attached here. According to the Phnom Penh Post, the drafting is added beyond what Hun Sen ordered in the Assembly because if this law is ratified in this February 20 by the law-makers from CPP, it will adjudicate to ban convicted individuals from party’s leadership such as president, vice president, permanent members, and committee members, to dissolve a party which is not only by the power of higher court but by the Ministry of Interior, the so-called threat to national security is very loose as incitement and defamation have been used to link to colour revolution by the powerful, and provision on foreign funding is loosely defined as it could be interpreted to all funding from Cambodians overseas.
The Twilight of Social Fabric of Cambodian Society
Social fabric of Cambodian society is one of the rewarding studies on how to establish “strong institution of Cambodia”. According to a dictionary, social fabric means “The demographics of an area that consists of wealth, 
ethnic composition, level of education, rate of employment and regional values that are combined to create this social fabric.” But according to generalized concept, social fabric is the primary foundation of society bonding or society cohesiveness. Primary foundation of Cambodia doesn’t refer to the past foundation, but the present cultivating phenomena of this state crafting. Many puzzling questions have evolved within Khmer mentality that who are responsible for the cracking, demolishing, revitalizing and reinventing of this society?
The reality that all Khmers must realize
Since the post-cold war, Cambodia at least has been traumatized by three social failures: the swift change from monarchy to republican during the Lon Nol regime which was trembled by the conflict between democratic bloc of USA and communist bloc of China, the Khmer Rouge regime of absolute violence power between 1975 to 1979, and the Cambodia socialist regime under Vietnamese occupation between 1979 to 1989. The syndromes of this traumatic reality are the visible dividing between supporters of monarchy and republican, the violence-embedded behavior of the Khmer Rouge and post-Khmer Rouge, and the nondetachable anti-Vietnamese sentiment. The reality of this divided social pattern is displaying in our daily sight of at least one Cambodian has carried one of these syndromes or two or all three together indistinguishably.
Institutionalizing political norm
One of the important resources to build a strong institution is to look at how effective communication between the state and society can respond to its realism, pragmatism, practicality and procedural-legal responsiveness. New sight of political culture of Cambodia at the present is the emergence of two-parties state and the political will of the top leaders of both CNRP and CPP. The agreement to settle down the confrontation on the street to paving way for the debate in the parliament through the reforming of National Election Committees (NEC), re-regulating the internal rules of the assembly which major voice can respect lesser voice, and lesser voice and respect major voice, and the resuming check and balance of democratic power, are all responsive.
As the ninth member of the NEC has been chosen, Dr. Pung Chiv Kek of LICADHO’s founder, the next step of NEC reform is on public blinking eyes. But Cambodian people are still reluctant to predict good outcome from this move especially their doubts fall upon Hun Sen who is well-known for his great ability of tactician to advance his political career through means of undemocratic past. Like recent handcuffing and jailing of 7 MPs-elect of CNRP without fair trial, Hun Sen can utilize all his existing means to defeat, defame, or demolish his rivals. But this time, through the recent waking-up call of anti-Hun Sen voting and demonstrations, he has possibly surrendered himself by putting aside his past great techniques to embrace new way of competing through fair ballots and public participation. Sam Rainsy has also said that Hun Sen has embraced his new leadership style. Hence, the Cambodian people are still not quickly believing on this swift change. Hun Sen said before about his tactic of allowing balloon to be inflated to its apogee as he can deflate it to the eternal nonexistence.
However, it seems arguable that his leadership has been changed by the new realization of young leaders or pragmatist clout from both CPP and CNRP. Those has silently demanded leadership change to embrace principles rather than stick on 3 kingdoms of Chinese legendary movie.
Other thing is the non-cornering approach of the opposition leader. At the first party’s convention on July 27, 2014, top leader Sam Rainsy stated clearly on his non-supporting on the culture of “ant and fish tradition” by “embracing genuine national reconciliation of non-violence, non-revenge, and pursuing full heuristic political will to solve the problems of the nation”.
If the 7 points agreement shall be implemented without changing or obstructing, the hope for strong institutionalizing of Cambodia politics will pave a strong primary foundation to tackle all three mentioned social syndromes and it will become the comprehensive method of building social fabric of Cambodian society.
The Buddha’s teaching of non-violence, compassion and wisdom
Cambodian Buddhists are representing 95% of the total population in which there are about 4000 temples residential of more than 60,000 Buddhist monks. Through this density of moral population plus the strong cultural and traditional belief, the Buddhism has played important role to invent new social fabric of Cambodian society. We can say nothing in this world can hide itself from the “truth”, the “moon” and the “sun” or it is the “wisdom”, the “compassion” , and the “non-violence”.
CNRP has apparently embraced this policy and it is one ultimate answer to bring back the Cambodian value is of the “Non-Violence”. Top leader Sam Rainsy, Kem Sokha and well-known women wing Mu Sochua have claimed this same value “non-violence”. Mu Sochua has always carried “lotus flower” as symbol of compassion, non-violence and wisdom. Since her daily routine to free the freedom park to the latest event of her release from Prey Sor prison, lotus flower has become her attire for public attention.
The non-violence mean can defeat the culture of violence and division, the compassion mean can renege the politicians from fear of revenge when they are out of power, and the wisdom mean can produce large capital for sustainable democratic development. These three strategic means can surely spell out dividing, violence and Vietnamese ethnic sentiment in order to pave a new social fabric of Cambodian society.
Cambodian political leadership is a home made one
Once, a journalist asked me what democratic country that Cambodia should copy to develop its democracy? I respond that none. Cambodia can create their own democracy through the blending of universal value of democracy, Cambodian culture and Buddhism. With this argument, democracy itself has a lot of flaws. But Cambodia democracy will ensure that all Cambodian people can enjoy both physical and mental well-being. Many democratic countries advanced their politics and economic to the edge of materialistic achievement while the people are still shortcoming mental strength.
After reconciling all the three suffering syndromes, the new social fabric of Cambodian society should be enriched by both physical and mental well-being.
By Sophoan Seng
Political myth and the reality on the “return”
When I was young, I saw the best man (key actor) of the local opera always lost at the beginning but won at the end. The endurance during this loss-win intermittent is their exit trip by escaping from the palace to explore knowledge (ចំណេះដឹង) and authority (បារមី) from the jungle.
Cambodian political leaders have significantly accumulated their authority and galvanized their supporters from the sampling of this Khmer local opera. Remarkably, the historical myth of this story tells us following:
King Norodom Sihanouk returned immediately from his school “Lycée Chasseloup Laubat” in Saigon, Southern Vietnam, to accept the coronation in 10 days after the previous Crown (his maternal grandfather King Sisovath Munivong) passed away on 23 April 1941. He is known as enthusiastic young prince. His knowledge and experiences accumulated from outside Cambodia partly factored the popularity for his successful non-violence mass demonstration to free Cambodia from French colony. He succeeded the mission on 9 November 1953.
For Pol Pot, his attempt for revolution from inside the city likely yielded in vain. Pol Pot traveled to the jungle and built up his reputation from there. In this fact, once I heard ex-professor Keng Vansak made a joke among Khmer Rouge revolutionists that if they wished to succeed, they must accumulate power from the forest by an analogy comparing to key actor(s) of Khmer opera who can liberate the kingdom only after he returned back from the forest.
The myth of this story re-iterated in Cambodia again when Sam Rainsy, the key leader of opposition party (CNRP) returned back to Cambodia on 19 July 2013 after nearly 4 years of self-imposed exile in French. The return was remarked by the largest rally of supporters (majorly youths) in the history of Cambodia politics, to greet him.
At the moment, while the preliminary results of national election declared by NEC, the two key political parties are contesting on the free and fair, and the credible performance of the NEC, Sam Rainsy is on his trip to the US to participate with his daughter’s wedding including other permissible opportunities.
Hence, the return of Sam Rainsy from this trip will surely surprise Cambodian people, if not little, it would be gigantic.
Peace,
Sophoan