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by Khmer Circle:

When not attacking his political critics and opponents in and out of the country, exiled off by him in his attempt to keep them clear of the political stage, one of Hun Sen's favourite pastimes is to publicly berate and verbally humiliate his ministers before the gathering media of his choosing in a show of sternness and discipline towards his subordinates. The public would regularly be fed with this show of reprimand and ire from their "Lord Prime Minister", projecting an aura of righteousness and uncompromising standards of an uncompromising taskmaster. But, have they not all heard and - at times - praised him before for his trouble in that regard? Indeed, they have. Sadly, not much by ways of substance have changed for the better for them - the country still ranks among the most corrupt and un-transparent in any credible report or survey issued annually on the subjects of corruption and transparency as these relate to performances of public institutions under his stewardship. 

There might have been a time when tyrants could have any of his officials or ministers beheaded or locked up unceremoniously for the crime of causing them unnecessary embarrassment before their subjects or even cases where the tyrants simply used such punishments to serve as threats and warnings to their victims' peers. 

The paradox for the likes of Hun Sen in today's reality, however, is that the pursuit of competence and sound performance shown by any of his ministers and cronies whilst doing no direct harm to his regime or administration as a whole could also deflect unintended limelight and deserved merits from him to these ministers and, this had indeed been witnessed from time to time throughout his nearly four decades of being the top dog of his ruling party as indicated by their intermittent ad hoc reshuffles. On the other hand, corruption and incompetence, widespread as these things are in society, also ferment and engender public unease and even resentment against his rule and leadership. Moreover, dismissing and punishing corrupt and incompetent ministers could lead to them ending up on the side of the opposition and dissent.

So chiding his officials and ministers publicly without actually making them suffer for their short-comings and wrong-doings even if these things would lead to fatalities and tragedies [as exemplified by the Diamond Bridge tragedy in Phnom Penh and the building collapse in Kg Som some years back] for the public seem to be Hun Sen's best and preferred option. His chided ministers also know that more than anyone. What they need to do in such moments is to simply stick to their roles and follow the unspoken script written for their parts in his show.   

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