Food for Thought

Ignorant or Wrong-Headed Action I am not a supporter of any political party in Cambodia. But I have noticed recently in a violent protest against first vice president of the Cambodian National Assembly, Mr. Kem Sokha, which resulted in two representatives being beaten savagely by protesters, that those protesters did not understand what they were doing. If we looked closely at the words the protesters displayed on their banners, they said that Mr. Kem Sokha was a "Devious" (ក្រឡិចក្រឡុច), "Poisonous" (ពិសពុល), and "Provocative" (ញុះញង់) person who is not worthy of holding National Assembly's First Vice President position. Let's look at the definition of each word. Devious: Not keeping promise or untrustworthy. Poisonous: toxic, noxious, nasty. Provocative: challenging, stimulating, offensive. By nature, all politicians are using these three (3) words described above as strategy to garner supports and votes to win political offices, regardless of who they are. Even Communist dictators are using this strategy, too, to keep the flame of class struggle alive. If Cambodia needs to get rid of every Devious, Poisonous, and Provocative politician, then the whole country would certainly be deprived of politicians. This might not be bad after all, given the fact that politician's squabbling have been the sole source of Cambodian calamity and suffering over the past half century and beyond.