Sar Kheng

Sar Kheng (Khmer: ស ខេង; born 15 January 1951) is a Cambodian politician. One of the highest-ranking members of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, he is the current Minister of the Interior and has served as a Deputy Prime Minister since 1992.[3] He also represents the province of Battambang in the Cambodian Parliament.[4] Kheng has been the Minister of the Interior since 1992. Until March 2006, he shared the position with FUNCINPEC party member You Hockry as co-Ministers of the Interior, but then became sole interior minister in a cabinet reshuffle as FUNCINPEC ended its coalition with the CPP. He is currently the second longest serving government minister of Cambodia after Prime Minister Hun Sen. On June 14, 2015, King Norodom Sihamoni awarded Kheng the honorary title of "Samdech". His official title is "Samdech Kralahom Sar Kheng" (សម្ដេចក្រឡាហោម ស ខេង).[5] Kheng is married to Nhem Sakhan with whom he has three children.[2]

In this Cambodian name, the surname is Sar. In accordance with Cambodian custom, this person should be referred to by the given name, Kheng.
Samdech Kralahaom

Sar Kheng

MP
ស ខេង
Minister of Interior
Assumed office
3 February 1992
Served with You Hockry (1993–2004) and Norodom Sirivudh (2004–2006)
Prime MinisterHun Sen
Norodom Ranariddh
Ung Huot
Hun Sen
Majority Leader of the National Assembly
In office
22 January 2015 – 31 January 2017
Prime MinisterHun Sen
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of Parliament
for Battambang
Assumed office
14 June 1993
Majority270,256 (66.5%)
Chairman of National Committee for Counter Trafficking in Person, Cambodia[1]
Assumed office
2009
Personal details
Born (1951-01-15) 15 January 1951
Prey Veng, Cambodia
Political partyCambodian People's Party
Spouse(s)Nhem Sakhan[2]

Background

Kheng is a long-time member of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, which, according to international observers, has dominated politics and held on to power in Cambodia since 1979 through corruption, including extralegal killings, election fraud, control of the media, and at times, open violence such as the 1997 coup and 2015 intimidation of the opposition CNRP deputy leader, Kem Sokha.[6][7][8][9] Within the CPP, Kheng is its Vice President and a standing member of its Central Committee,[10] the body responsible for all core decision making.[11] Kheng is also brother-in-law to former Khmer Rouge commander Chea Sim,[12] who was CPP president until his death in 2015.

Kheng and other current leaders of Cambodia, including Hun Sen, Tea Banh, Heng Samrin and Chea Sim, were senior cadre leaders of the Khmer Rouge in the Cambodian Civil War and the resulting Democratic Kampuchea.[13] During the 1980s, Kheng, along with his brother-in-law Chea Sim, were identified as "hard-liners" in the People's Republic of Kampuchea government.[14] As leaders in the one-party state controlled by the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (the former name of the CPP), they were accused of operating "a police state". Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams described governmental policies that included imprisonment without trial and torture of political activists.[15] By the late 1990s, however, Kheng's name was often floated by Western observers as a possible party "reformer".[14]

Minister of the Interior

Kheng became the Minister of Interior in 1992 during the UN protectorate period overseeing the State of Cambodia's transition to the Kingdom of Cambodia.[16] During this time, the CPP formed a coalition with its main rival, Prince Norodom Ranariddh's FUNCINPEC party. As a result of this arrangement, each party appointed members to "share" higher offices.[17] Kheng and FUNCINPEC member You Hockry were appointed as co-Ministers of the Interior. This arrangement lasted until the Senate elections of 2006, when FUNCINPEC, which lost many seats while Ranariddh left to form his own party, dissolved the coalition and allied with Sam Rainsy's opposition movement. You Hockry, who chose to follow Ranariddh, was dismissed and Prince Norodom Sirivudh was made co-minister with Kheng. However, Sirivudh was soon also dismissed, leaving Kheng as the sole Minister of the Interior.[18]

Throughout this period, a schism slowly developed in the CPP with Hun Sen and his supporters who would hold on to power at all costs on one side and the more moderate Kheng, Chea Sim and Heng Samrin on the other.[19] Hun Sen, who had control and support of the military and National Police emerged as the undisputed leader. His suspicion of Kheng was such that during an aborted coup attempt led by Prince Norodom Chakrapong in 1994, Hun Sen totally bypassed the Ministry of the Interior in his response, not notifying Kheng of troop mobilization or movements until the whole episode had already ended.[20] Three years later, while planning the 1997 coup to oust his popular co-Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, Hun Sen personally confronted Kheng to ensure his loyalty and support for the use of force.[21] Further, Kheng could do nothing to reign in Hok Lundy, the head of the National Police force and close confidant of Hun Sen, who was accused of crimes and abuses of power ranging from human trafficking and drug smuggling to the murder of political opponents even though Lundy was under the authority of the Interior Ministry.[19][22][23]

Kheng continues to attempt to be a mediating force in Cambodia politics. After the October 2015 attacks on opposition CNRP lawmakers by pro-CPP demonstrators, Kheng conducted informal meetings with CNRP leader Sam Rainsy in an attempt to "restore a working relationship" between the two parties and quell the tension.[24] In September 2015, he warned the authorities of Sihanoukville whom he suspected of taking bribes in return for allowing illegal fishing and smuggling activities off the coast.[25] Also in September, Kheng announced the formation of a seven-person police commission to investigate the 2013 death threats made by CPP Interior Ministry official Lieutenant Colonel Pheng Vannak against CNRP deputy leader Kem Sokha. The investigation has resulted in Kheng removing Vannak from his position.[26]

References
  1. "Busts on human trafficking doublen". Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  2. "ឧបនាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី ស ខេង ធ្វើពិធីសូត្រនិមន្តបង្សុកូល និងរាប់បាត្រព្រះសង្ឃ ក្នុងឱកាសចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី". The National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development. Government of Cambodia. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  3. "Photo 8. H.E. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister Cambodia, and Vice-Minister of MIC Japan". stat.go.jp. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  4. "MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Fifth Legislature (2013–2018)". Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the United Kingdom. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  5. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/samdech-titles-given-chhum-and-kheng
  6. "Cambodia is Said to Torture Prisoners". The Boston Globe. HighBeam Research. 4 June 1987. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  7. "Cambodia Criticizes Amnesty International Report". Associated Press. 6 June 1987. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  8. Alex Willemyns. "Opposition's Demand for TV Access Crucial, Futile – The Cambodia Daily". The Cambodia Daily. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  9. "Sokha stripped of National Assembly vice presidency". The Phnom Penh Post. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  10. Yeang, Socheametta (14 June 2015). "លោក ស ខេង និងលោក សាយ ឈុំ ទទួលគោរមងារជា "សម្ដេច"". VOA Khmer (in Khmer). Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  11. Johnson, Elizabeth (2014). "Corruption, Violence and Gender: A critical look at police behaviour and a path to reform in Cambodia" (PDF). International Political Science Association: 19–20. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  12. Heder, Steve (2015). "Cambodia: Capitalist Transformation by Neither Liberal Democracy Nor Dictatorship". Southeast Asian Affairs. 2012 (1).
  13. "CAMBODIA: POST ELECTIONS AND U.S. POLICY OPTIONS". 1998 Senate Hearing 105–846 (from the U.S. Government Printing Office). Government of the United States. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  14. Eng, Peter (1998). "Cambodian democracy: In a bleak landscape, strong signs of hope". Washington Quarterly. 21 (3): 71–91. doi:10.1080/01636609809550333.
  15. "Cambodia: Chea Sim Death Shows Failings of Khmer Rouge Court". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  16. "Politik (Politics)". der Welt auf einen Blick (World at a Glance) (in German). Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  17. Mehta, Harish C. (2001). Warrior Prince: Norodom Ranariddh, Son of King Sihanouk of Cambodia. Singapore: Graham Brash. ISBN 9812180869.
  18. Widyono, Benny (2008). Dancing in Shadows: Sihanouk, the Khmer Rouge, and the United Nations in Cambodia. Lanham, Maryland, United States of America: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 277. ISBN 978-0742555532.
  19. Guo, Sujian (2006). The Political Economy of Asian Transition from Communism. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 70. ISBN 0754647358. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  20. Um, Khatharya (1995). "Cambodia in 1994: the year of transition". Asian Survey. 35: 76–83. doi:10.1525/as.1995.35.1.00p0460g.
  21. Peou, Sorpong (1998). "Hun Sen's Pre-emptive Coup: Causes and Consequences". Southeast Asian Affairs: 86–102. doi:10.1355/SEAA98G.
  22. "CAMBODIA: Revelations of former police chief must be followed with investigations and suspensions". Asian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  23. Smith, R. Jeffrey (18 April 2007). "Controversial Cambodian to Visit U.S". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  24. Neou, Vannarin (5 November 2015). "Hun Sen Distances Ruling Party From Attacks on Opposition". VOA News. Voice of America. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  25. Chhay, Channyda (8 September 2015). "Kheng warns brass on coast". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  26. "Sokha threat investigation in works". The Phnom Penh Post. 22 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.

Further reading
  • Kheng, Sar. "Policy on Decentralization and Local Governance." Workshop on the Medium Term Vision for the SEILA Program: 2000–2003.
  • Kheng, Sar. "Thematic Paper of the Deputy Prime Minister Sar Keng at the National Symposium on Decentralization and Local Governance on 15–16 May 2002.". National Symposium on Decentralization and Local Governance.
  • Kheng, HE Sar. "Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Minister of Interior (October 1999)." Closing Speech, Ministry of Interior Workshop on the Maintenance of Security and Social Order, Phnom Penh. Vol. 22. 1999.
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