PM Says Facebook Good for Governance

Khmer Times / Ven Rathavong

Thursday, 11 February 2016

Prime Minister Hun Sen checking a computer before the opening ceremony of the launch of Heng Samrin University in Tboung Khmum province yesterday. Facebook

Responding yesterday to criticism calling the Cambodian government a “Government of Facebook,” in which its officials are paid to play on the popular social media site, Prime Minister Hun Sen said that his was in fact an E-government. 
 

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the University of Heng Samrin in Tboung Khmum, Mr. Hun Sen said that most people across the country support his use of Facebook to respond to problems quickly, adding that while the internet has sped up the process of governance, it has not fundamentally changed it.   
 

“Even when we did not have Facebook, people still submitted petitions to me in Phnom Penh, sometimes protesting to submit them at the National Assembly, Senate and in front of my house,” Mr. Hun Sen said. 
 

He added that his leadership of the government is moving it in the direction of an E-government, a model built on digital interactions between officials and constituents. Facebook is a medium within that model, the Premier said, adding that E-governments are the most efficient models for interacting with citizens. 
 

Mr. Hun Sen said that all ministries within the government will continue to operate as they always have, but will supplement their existing practices with the use of Facebook to address the concerns of citizens. 
 

Facebook user Chivann Pen posted the original criticism on Wednesday, saying government officials were now using Facebook as their office. “They hire the officials to play Facebook and provide them salaries,” his comments read. 
 

Responding to Mr. Pen, the Premier was direct. 
 

“I’ve been prime minister for more than 30 years,” he said. “Since you were a baby,” adding that his use of Facebook has simply sped up the process of addressing citizens’ concerns. 
 

Earlier this week, Mr. Hun Sen issued a statement instructing all authorities and ministries to establish working groups to monitor comments pertinent to their sectors on his Facebook page. In response, various ministries and government institutions across the country have begun to do so, according to public statements made by ministry members.  
 

These working groups will cut down on congestion on his page, Mr. Hun Sen said, which receives such a heavy flow of traffic that it has been difficult sometimes to pass citizen’s concerns on to relevant ministries. Previously, he had been sending Facebook requests to relevant ministries via WhatsApp.
 

Mr. Hun Sen pointed out that his use of Facebook was solely for solving the problems of citizens, and that he never used the site to hurt others.