City Hall chastised for ignoring King Sihamoni

only that he had noticed it this year.

City Hall spokesman Met Measpheakdey s a i d t hat they had put out an announcement in March asking relevant institutions to display the King’s portrait but that it was the re s ponsibili t y of the Nat i o n a l Committe e f o r Organising National and International Festivals to organise such displays.

“We did not ignore it. We asked and motivated people to work on this, but how to display is the attention of each institution,” he said.

He added that if City Hall had been given specific guidelines and locations for such decorations they would have followed up on it.

Chhin Ketana, director for the National Committee of Organising National and Internat i onal Fe s t i v a l s , a g a i n passed the buck to “relevant institutions”, saying his body was not responsible for displaying the King’s portrait. “We do not take responsibility for that,” he said.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon, meanwhile, said all hotels had been instructed to display portraits of the three royals, but that some had chosen not to decorate them for the national festivities.

“Any hotel that improperly displays the portraits, we will give them more advice as well,” the minister said.

Social commentator Meas Ny said that the display of the three portraits had seen a decline over the years, even in government offices, adding that there was no clarity or guidelines on the tradition.

Sombo Manara, a historian and professor at the Pannasastra University of Cambodia, said normally the display of the King’s picture on large billboards across the city was reserved for birthdays, coronations or visits by foreign dignitaries and was not synonymous with Khmer New Year celebrations.

We did not ignore it. We asked and motivated people to work on this

He also added that such public displays were more prevalent during the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk’s reign, who was more iconic in his role as father of the nation, whe re a s K i n g Si h a moni enjoyed the same reverence, though it was expressed differently by a more modernised society.

“We are still royalists and respect the King. But people are more educated and have experiences from other corners of the world, so they show it differently,” he said.