High-ranking Funcinpec officials have reacted strongly to Funcinpec President Prince Norodom Ranariddh’s speech urging RCAF Deputy Commander-in-Chief Khan Savoeun to ask Prime Minister Hun Sen to support his candidacy for co-minister of Interior, saying the prince should go to Hun Sen and personally lobby the premier.
“[Prince Ranariddh] is the president of Funcinpec, so why should he ask Khan Savoeun to talk with Hun Sen?” asked one Funcinpec official. “The decision has always been done between party presidents. Norodom Ranariddh looked down on Khan Savoeun.”
The reaction stems from a speech Prince Ranariddh delivered during the inauguration of a school-building project in Battambang province on Thursday.
During the inauguration, Prince Ranariddh said he had asked Hun Sen to appoint Khan Savoeun as the new co-Minister of Interior, replacing You Hockry.
According to Prince Ranariddh, Hun Sen agreed to the appointment immediately and asked the National Assembly to put the matter on the agenda for approval.
“Khan Savoeun himself should go and pay a courtesy call on Hun Sen to let him lobby CPP parliamentarians to get the vote,” the prince was quoted by a local newspaper as saying.
Asking Khan Savoeun to lobby Hun Sen directly angered many Funcinpec members, officials said Sunday.
“If a priest was supposed to organize a wedding party and he couldn’t do it, then we would need to remove the priest,” said one Funcinpec official on Sunday, hinting that Funcinpec officials would threaten to oust Prince Ranariddh if he did something like this again.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Funcinpec officials requested to meet with the prince on this matter.
He said they would threaten to leave the party if the prince kept urging Khan Savoeun to speak to Hun Sen.
“[The prince] plays politics with us, and now we have enough political power to play with him,” one Funcinpec official said. “We can’t be patient with him anymore—our patience has limits.”
Speaking on behalf of Prince Ranariddh, Funcinpec Deputy Secretary-General Serey Kosal said the supporters of Khan Savoeun should press Hun Sen to support his bid for co-Minister of Interior because Prince Ranariddh “is a very busy man.”
High-ranking Funcinpec officials and former resistance fighters—led by Khan Savoeun—have worked for months to oust current co-Minister of Interior You Hockry from his posting, accusing him of corruption and nepotism.
If the National Assembly approves Khan Savoeun for the position, You Hockry will be officially fired.
