Phnom Penh (FN), Mar. 14 – Cambodian Senate President, Samdech Techo Hun Sen recounted the story of a journalist who travelled to the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom to review Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet’s doctoral thesis.

Samdech Techo spoke on Friday (Mar. 14) during a solidarity dinner with the Cambodian Oknha Association at Premier Centre Sen Sok in Phnom Penh.

Samdech Techo Hun Sen revealed that when the journalist failed to find the thesis, they launched a campaign to discredit Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet. However, once the president made his thesis public, critics remained silent and did not respond.

Samdech Techo underscored, “Since then, no one has said anything. And the person who insulted him, claiming he wasn’t a Ph.D.—what right do you have to evaluate a doctoral thesis? First, because you are not a Ph.D. holder yourself, you have no authority to judge it. Second, even if you were, challenging this thesis would not only be an attack on Hun Manet but also on the University of Bristol and the professors who supervised and approved his work.”

Samdech Techo underlined that in the past, some individuals graduated with a master's degree from the Royal University of Phnom Penh, then arrived in France the following day and suddenly became Ph.D. holders. Others studied under the institution built by Samdech Techo but disrespected him by removing his portrait when they went abroad.

It should be noted that on the evening of 8 November 2023, Prime Minister Hun Manet publicly presented his master's and doctoral theses in economics, which he completed at the University of Bristol in the UK.
=FRESH NEWS