PM appoints new Quick Reaction Unit
PR IME Minister Hun Sen on Fr iday appointed new officials for the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of t he Council of Ministers, comprising 23 people.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s office Svay Sit ha will continue to be t he chair. Tit h Sot hea, adv isor to t he Royal Gover nment is sta ndby v ice-cha i r, whi le Keut Rith, Neth Pheaktra and four other of f icia ls are v ice-chairs.
Sit ha decl i ned to comment on h is reappointment.
Tith Sothea, Advisor to the Royal Government and standby chair of the Unit, sa id: “The decision on t he reappointment is not important. This is the work we have done for a long time. It is not new but just an extension.”
Net h Phea kt ra, Secreta r y of State of the Ministr y of Environment and v icechair of t he Unit, a lso declined to comment with regard to Tith Sothea.
Phou ng Sova n n, t he v ic e-cha i r of Cambodia’s Independent Civ il Ser vants Association (CICA), said t he continued appointment of of f icia ls, especia lly t he ones whose rank is equal to Secretar y of State or Director General, is only to satisf y members in the part y.
He said: “It does not mean t hey will ser ve t he i nst it ut ion ef fect ively, wit h qualit y or public ser v ice in mind. And t his appoint ment is purely a polit ica l one.”
The Unit was created by a Sub-decree of t he Roya l Government on June 22, 2009, and comes under the super v ision of t he Council of Ministers.
Its main duties are to carr y out media work and react to content with a negative cha racter coming f rom nat iona l a nd internationa l media.
It a lso gauges t he opinions expressed in various circles so as to maintain and to protect the government’s prestige and promote nationa l identif ication.