Lured by promises of lucrative government jobs, a mass of Sam Rainsy Party defectors is expected to formally enter Funcinpec’s fold during a ceremony this morning at Funcinpec headquarters, royalist officials said Monday.
More than 100 opposition members have decided to join the party, said Funcinpec Deputy Secretary-General Serey Kosal, and most will be granted positions—ranging from village chiefs to undersecretaries of state—in what critics say is an already over-staffed government.
But Sam Rainsy Party leaders said the actual number of defectors is lower. The group includes former Sam Rainsy Party activists at the commune, district and provincial levels, as well as parliamentary candidates who failed to win seats in the July 2003 election, Serey Kosal said.
“Those defectors are tired of criticizing the government,” he said. “They want to serve the country.”
Ok Socheat, another Funcinpec deputy secretary-general, confirmed Funcinpec’s intention to grant each defector a position in the government.
Neither official gave a firm number of how many new members Funcinpec expects to welcome at this morning’s ceremony, to be presided over by Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh. They also declined to estimate the cost of paying government salaries to the defectors.
Cambodia is believed to have one of the largest Cabinets for a country its size, with seven deputy prime ministers, 15 senior ministers, 28 ministers, 135 secretaries of state and at least 146 undersecretaries of state, who were appointed after a nearly yearlong political deadlock.
Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith, who is also spokesman for the CPP, said it would be no problem for Funcinpec to introduce new members into the government. Those members will take Funcinpec’s share of positions, which were pre-arranged through its coalition agreement with the CPP, he said.
Salaries for government officials and civil servants are not very high, he added.
Salaries in the last mandate averaged around $30 per month for civil servants, $450 per month for secretaries of state and $1,000 per month for deputy prime ministers, according to figures released last month from the Committee for Free and Fair Elections.
Comfrel Director Koul Panha worried Monday that handing positions to underqualified people as reward for their defections would result in “ineffective administration.”
Sam Rainsy Party’s Secretary-General Eng Chhay Eang confirmed Monday that some opposition members are leaving for Funcinpec, but he said royalists’ estimates of more than 100 defectors were too high. He did not specify how many members had defected.
But, he said, “Those defectors are not important officers for helping the party.”
He added: “Those people who like power join Funcinpec. Those who help the country join Sam Rainsy. So let the people consider.”
