Political Prostitutes: From championing for the victims' cause to serving the oppressors, the defectors claim that their former parties are no good

Monday, February 11, 2008
Editorial by Khmerization
Originally posted at:
http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2008/02/political-prostitues-from-championing.html

"The hypocrisy and the behaviour of such people are no different from the prostitutes- in fact they are political prostitutes......Political prostitution is the cheapest profession that should be avoided."

The three defectors, Ahmed Yahya, Sok Pheng and Ngor Sovann, reported in the article below have shamed themselves and their families. While purporting to enter politics for the cause of the nation and that of the poor people's, they now have joined the very people whom they have accused of being the nation's destroyers. They joined the devils to seek personal fortunes because they have lost the confidence of their party colleagues. They have sold out their soul and betrayed the very ideals and the very people that they have purported to represent. The hypocrisy and the behaviour of such people are no different from the prostitutes- in fact they are political prostitutes. But such people are worst than prostitutes because prostitutes are only selling their bodies but these kinds of politicians are people who are unashamedly prostituting their souls and political ideals. Political prostitution is the cheapest profession that should be avoided. In the West people never deserted their parties to defect to another party when they got upset with their colleagues or faced internal discipline. They just leave the party and retire quietly.

Ahmed Yahya was once a champion of democracy and the poor people. After the 1997 coup he lied low and seemed to resign to his fate as a political lame duck. When he joined the Sam Rainsy Party after the 2003 election he had become some sort of a political dead meat- very inactive. Sok Pheng is a young rising star in the Sam Rainsy Party. He had championed many causes. So it is regrettable to see such a fine young politician had turned into some sort of a cheap political tool of a party he once strongly opposed.

I believe strongly that after these many defections the Sam Rainsy Party will rise to its strongest position ever, because the defections of such people would leave rooms for grassroots people to move in. Also such defections would mean that the Sam Rainsy Party have gotten rid of the spies and traitors. Giving grassroots people an opportunity to actively participate in the democratic process and getting rid of the party's traitors would sure improve the party's image.

The sorry state of Cambodian politics is that one can only see one way of defections- and that is from the opposition parties to the ruling Cambodian People's Party(CPP). This is because the opposition parties are democratic parties whereby their members are free to move to any parties without fearing for their life. On the other hand, those from the CPP who wanted to defect to the opposition parties didn't dare to do so because if they do they will pay with their life.

Coming back to the three defectors, one would want to wish them good luck. But the fact is that they would regret it because the communist CPP would never trust them to give them any important positions of authority. Many defectors before them such as Hor Sopheap, Phy Thach and many more have returned back to the Sam Rainsy Party after languishing in the political wilderness for nearly four years without getting any reward or plum jobs. I just wish that these three defectors would not come back to knock on Sam Rainsy's door after being trashed by the CPP when it no longer needed them.