Anticorruption Unit Chairman Om Yentieng apologized to Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday for commissioning a statue of the premier, according to a statement published on the Doeum Ampil news website last night.
While the statement, signed by Mr Yentieng, made no mention of the location of the statue being referred to, two security guards at the front gate of the newly created Anticorruption Institution in Phnom Penh claimed this week that a roughly 5-meter-high statue inside the entrance of the institution was a likeness of Mr Hun Sen.
Mystery has surrounded the statue—which is still covered in red material—since it was first observed at the anticorruption body’s headquarters on Norodom Boulevard on Tuesday. Several government officials, including Mr Yentieng, denied having knowledge of the statue.
The statement by Mr Yentieng that appeared on Doeum Ampil apologized to Mr Hun Sen for building a statue of the prime minister without prior permission.
“I would like to make a public apology because I have built the statue of the prime minister of Cambodia,” the statement says, adding that it was Mr Yentieng’s own decision to build the statue.
“I would like to publicly apologize to [Mr Hun Sen]…and please forgive me?” the statement added.
Mr Yentieng could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
Earlier yesterday, Mr Hun Sen’s cabinet chief Ho Sothy, released a statement announcing that nobody was permitted to create a statue or sculpture of the premier.
“The cabinet of the prime minister would like to call out to all state institutions and the public to stop showing or selling [leaders’ statues], and stop sculpting [statues of Cambodia’s leaders],” the statement said.
The statement added that it was “against Cambodian culture” to depict the country’s leaders while they were still alive.
Government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith declined to comment about the statue issue yesterday.
“The Prime Minister’s cabinet has already announced not to put the [living] leader’s statue in state institutions,” Mr Kanharith said.
Anticorruption Council chairman Top Sam said that the 11 members of the council were officially sworn into their posts at a ceremony at the Royal Palace yesterday.
