Pseng-Pseng
28iv23
Hun Manet Trait
Part 1
[Prologue: In preparation for his son Manet to succeed him, PM Hun Sen has endorsed, and his close political and business associates have funded, two main books in Khmer in praise of Manet. The first one is written by Mr Chhay Sophal entitled, The Eldest Son of the Prime Minister, Journey towards Succession, Hun Manet. The second by Mr Pov Sok, The Powerful Eldest Son.]
The quality of the reference book presentations are top notch. They are printed in glossy hard copies with quality paper. Yet, they are distributed free of charge to all those who bother to read.
Nonetheless, it is their contents that are the focus of this review. The review is issued in parts on irregular basis. Feedbacks to the review indeed are welcome.
According to author Pov Sok, several Manet’s high school teachers praise his academic brilliance; his best subject is mathematics; and he does not like writing compositions.
This assessment of weak writing skill is quite accurate, when considering the content quality of a letter author Chhay Sophal claims Manet pens in secret to his father in 1994. He seems to have problems stringing sentences together. The hand-written letter is reproduced in full in his book, Pages 63-65.
Furthermore, Manet does not seem to be a keen reader. Author Pov Sok points out that he is too “lazy to read and learn to sit for an entry test to a History class” (Page 54).
A combination of the dislike of reading and writing may not be a flattering quality for any leadership. This necessarily means Manet would more often rely - for his judgements and decisions - on verbal reports that may be hearsay, distorted, or manipulated.
Manet seems to make a full use of his father’s power to make his life easier. Yet, author Pov Sok claims Manet has not received special treatments at high school. He claims Manet would be punished like any other students for mischief.
Nevertheless, Manet recounts different stories in Pov Sok book. He says he is so interested in History class that he attends the class and asks the teacher if he can stay without sitting for and passing, like other students, a required entry test. It is not clear why neither Manet nor Pov Sok says in the book whether the teacher would allow Manet to sit in, or kick him out.
Manet, on his own account in another instance, does not respect the school authority. He says he is so much interested in playing soccer that he is prepared to skip class for the game. He says teachers are so worried that he and his soccer enthusiasts neglect their studies, they hide the ball and lock it in a cupboard. Pov Sok writes he find it funny to recall that his group breaks the cupboard and removes the ball for the game. Pov Sok ends the story there without disclosing if Manet has received any disciplinary consequences for the mischief.
Maybe not. It is more likely that those teachers would be too apprehensive not to give Manet a special treatment. They would prefer to hide the ball and lock it up, rather than asserting their rules and authority by facing Manet for his mischief. They may be too scared even to raise their concern with Manet.
Manet knows well how to use his father’s position to work the system. In the 1994 secret letter to his father, Manet speaks of the difficulty for foreigners to get into U.S. military school West Point. However, he alerts his father to several special treatments for entry to West Point that are accorded to applicants with backing of high government officials in alien countries.
In summary, despite repetitive claims of otherwise, this review may clarify three of Manet’s significant characteristics: uninterested in reading, low writing skill, and susceptible to special treatments. These may put under a cloud his academic brilliance and achievements.
Ung Bun Ang
28iv23
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