Truth2Power Media

Pseng-Pseng

9v23

Hun Manet Trait

Part 2

 

Does Hun Manet like reading or not? The two books, which share the same sources, tell contradicting stories. Chhay Sophal book says yes, he loves reading; his favourite subjects are: philosophy, history, military, and economics (Page 25). It does not go into details how it comes to that conclusion, however.

Pov Sok book claims otherwise. It quotes Hun Manet to that effect. It also inadvertently shows a possible reason that may explain Manet’s lack of interest in reading: his father’s preferred disciplinary method when bringing up his children. The book quotes the PM’s explanation on what he does to bring out potentials of his children (Page 81). It comes with a punishment regime for misbehaving, which may result in some unintended consequences.

As a punitive measure, he forces the children to do reading for misbehaving. This means reading becomes a form of punishment, not necessarily an effective learning tool. When they resent punishment, they would also dislike, in this case, reading.

Thus, they do not have to read when they well behave. If enriching reading interest is habitual, the punishment will eventually kill off, if not lowering, the interest. This may explain why Hun Manet is “lazy to read”.

It is not certain if Manet’s siblings also have a low interest in reading. They may do, as their parents also subject them to what the PM describe as a non-selective punishment. The PM explains it is a punishment for all when anyone of his children misbehaves. He says it will encourage the children to help each others to avoid his disciplinary actions (Pov Sok, Page 81).

The PM may be right about the children would help each other while enforcing the collective responsibility. However, he may ignore possible downsides. It may also embolden the children to collude to cover up mistakes from their parents; it may breed a sense of personal injustice, which is a base for animosity among those siblings: one may ask, why should I suffer for other’s mistakes? To prevent the collective punishment, individual mistakes may become a source for blackmailing one another; they may also invoke pressure and bullying among the siblings not to misbehave. Only a family insider would be able to verify any negative impacts of this non-selective punishment. The books would certainly leave them out.

Thus, it is quite reasonable to conclude Hun Manet is unlikely to be a keen reader. This means he would depend more on verbal communications, or less on reading materials. A weakness of this trait is that the verbal communications are unusually subject to more manipulations, misunderstanding, and other distractions. These factors tend to generate reactions, rather than responses, which implies a less effective form of communication, especially for any leader. Their close subordinates would have a better chance of influencing his decisions, for better or for worse.

 

Footnotes:

This review is based on two biography books published in praise of Hun Manet whom his father has nominated to succeed him. 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.

Both authors have access to the PM, his families, their subordinates, and indeed, the subject. The publications are in Khmer, funded by the PM, his close associates, and his oligarchs. They are distributed free of charge.

 

Ung Bun Ang

9v23

 

 

 

 

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