Former ministerial secretary of state Ahmad Yahya launched a new career with the Sam Rainsy Party Wednesday, saying he left Funcinpec and his government post because he believes that the royalists are neglecting ordinary Cambodians.
Speaking at a packed news conference at the Sam Rainsy Party headquarters, Ahmad Yahya confirmed he will stand as an opposition party candidate in Kompong Cham province and will also hold the title of opposition party deputy secretary-general in charge of Cambodian Muslim affairs. Ahmad Yahya is a senior figure in the Islamic Cham community. He quit his post at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
“I joined with a leader who is democratic,” Ahmad Yahya told around 100 party workers and reporters. “Being a secretary of state or minister is not my purpose. My purpose is to help people and advance the [Cambodian] economy,” he said.
Ahmad Yahya said he had lost hope in Funcinpec and its leadership and had been in negotiations to join the Sam Rainsy Party for almost a year. “On Tuesday, Sam Rainsy asked me to resign [from Funcinpec], but I do not think it was a good day,” Ahmad Yahya said.
Kieng Vang, a former Funcinpec Ministry of Interior secretary of state who defected to the Sam Rainsy Party last month, also joined the news conference and denounced the leadership of Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh.
Kieng Vang accused the prince of neglecting grassroots royalist supporters in favor of overseas Cambodians who now control the upper echelons of Funcinpec.
Prince Ranariddh said Wednesday that Ahmad Yahya’s defection would have no consequence on the future of his party, which he said was still strong and united.
“Funcinpec officials and lower- ranking officials are still united,” the prince told reporters outside his home in Kien Svay district, Kandal province.
“Ahmad Yahya, left but he does not take anyone with him. When the election comes, they only have four Funcinpec voices in the Sam Rainsy Party. But 40,000 to 50,000 Sam Rainsy Party supporters have come to Funcinpec,” he said.
Serey Kosal, an adviser to Prince Ranariddh, said Ahmad Yahya would not be missed. “Please go…it is no problem,” Serey Kosal said. “It is good for them to leave, like taking a thorn out of our chest.”
(Additional reporting by Kevin Doyle)
