Hun Sen gives reporters ‘magic powers’
PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen recently urged officials at all levels to consider journalists as development partners to the government.
He commended three ministers for their openness when speaking to journalists and urged others to follow suit.
Speaking at the fourth media correspondents’ gala at Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Centre, he said National Defence Minister Tea Banh, Interior Minister Sar Kheng and Public Works and Transport Minister Sun Chanthol had acted as role models by answering reporters’ questions on the spot.
According to the Phnom Penh Post, he called on journalists to play more active roles when addressing inaction by officials.
“We need a clean and transparent society and must acknowledge that social injustice contributes to instability and can lead to armed conflicts.
“I urge journalists to express themselves without fabricating the truth in their reporting,” he said.
Hun Sen said journalists must report officials’ inactions and issues related to irregularities, corruption and injustice.
“Ministers must not be afraid of journalists and avoid considering them as enemies,” he said.
He called on journalists to refrain from violating people’s rights and disseminating false, one-sided information.
“I give reporters magic powers to extend their professionalism, gain trust from the pubic and defend themselves before the law.
“But to make the most of the magic power, don’t violate the right of others and don’t distort the truth.”
Hun Sen said the media played a role in maintaining political stability and developing the economy.
But fabricating news for personal gain, he said, would have adverse effects on society.
“A bomb might destroy or smash a house, but fabricated news can ravage the nation.
“When it comes to the economy, it can make our macroeconomic framework fall apart because of psychological war caused by fabricated news.”
Club of Cambodian Journalists president Pen Bona lauded Hun Sen’s cordial gestures towards journalists and called on officials to heed his guidance.
“What Hun Sen has raised is what we’ve been hoping for. Now he has granted our requests,” said Bona.