Prime Minister Hun Manet has reiterated that the seventh-mandate government remains committed to maintaining the achievements of previous mandates, especially peace, stability and the improvement of the livelihoods of the Cambodian people.

The pledge came as he met with nearly 20,000 workers from 13 factories in Kamboul district, Phnom Penh on November 21. Today’s meeting marked the 10th such scheduled occasion since he took office.

“I want to thank the people for heading to the polls in the general election. The Cambodian government remained committed to maintaining the peace and stability of the Kingdom, and to expanding the development of the country and helping improve the livelihoods of all of our people,” he said.

He called on the people to continue to believe in the government, reminding them that the Cambodian People’s Party-led government is experienced in leading the country. The government has served the people and remained loyal to them under all circumstances.

“I ask the people to believe in us and continue to join the government in building up the Kingdom. There are no small amount of people who want to see the country destroyed. Every day they call on the people and armed forces to rise up against the government. Some fling insults at government leaders – and even the King,” he said.

“No shortage of people have tried to persuade society to oppose us, as is their right. However, they must not attempt to lead people to committing illegal acts. They should not do anything that destroys peace, stability and rights, or our freedom of expression. This depends on the public, especially the young. I believe they are now self-reliant, and in fact, aware than I was when I was young,” he added. 

He emphasised that the young are capable to deciding and judging what is good or bad, and what is beneficial for themselves.

“We witnessed over 9 million people go to the polls, even though certain persons had appealed to them to boycott the election,” he continued.

Manet explained that an election is a form of contract between the people and a political party. The decision of the people to vote for the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) passed a clear judgment, and was based on the fact that the CPP has never turned its back on the people. In particular, whenever the people encountered difficulties, the CPP was right there beside them.

“The CPP has never torn the contract up nor considered violating it,” he added.

Manet also mocked unnamed critics who said that the Cambodian government’s introduction of the Pentagonal Strategy was a daydream. In response to their comments, he said that it required a dream to strive for ever-greater achievements for the people.

“The government is working tirelessly to achieve this dream. This work will not be done in just 90 days, but five years. We will not stop, but will work even harder. As long as the people have faith in the government we will continue to serve them. If they continue to trust us in 2028, or even forever, we will continue to serve,” he said.

Seun Sam, a policy researcher at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that it was perfectly normal for Manet to mention the achievements of the CPP, just as it was common for other ruling parties around the world to mention theirs. Now that he is serving as prime minister, it is his role to preserve peace and stability in the Kingdom, which were accomplished by the CPP.

“Those in authority often speak of what is good and fruitful and what they have done. Its important to note that in politics all around the world, people in power always talk of their good points and repeat the achievements they have accomplished ,” he added.

He believed it was essential to remind the public of the problems of peace and stability. The prime minister’s remarks shared a political message by highlighting the Kingdom’s achievements under the leadership of the CPP, especially while some countries were affected by conflict, including Myanmar, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war. These war crises were a reminder of the consequences to people and development poised by conflict.

Chey Tech, an independent socio-economic analyst, also noted that the preservation of peace is essential for keeping Cambodia going. He explained that it took over 40 years to re-build the country after the fall of the Democratic Kampuchea regime of the Khmer Rouge.

“This is the greatest achievement of Cambodia. Without peace, we would not have developed the country. We can all see for ourselves how current and past wars made other countries collapse, destroying their structures and human lives, as well as properties,” he added.

He also believed that the preservation of peace and stability in the country served as the foundation for socio-economic development and was essential to attaining upper-middle-income status by 2030 and high-income status by 2050.