Sihanouk’s last wish: Burn to me to ashes [,i.e. incinerate me]

King-Father’s wishes to be incinerated according Buddhist customs

31 August 2009
By Ratana
Khmer Sthabna newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

On 29 August 2009, King-Father said from his Siem Reap palace, during an authorized meeting with Chumteav Bun Rany Hun Sen – PM Hun Sen’s wife and president of the Cambodian Red Cross – that at his death, his funeral should be prepared according to Buddhist rituals which include the incineration of his body.

Ex-King Sihanouk said: “… when I die, Kaun Chao (children and grandchildren) will most likely hold a ceremony for me. I am a Buddhist, I am telling you now that when I die, my body should be cremated, it should not be left like that, unlike those who are Catholic for example. Please incinerate my body, then pick up my ashes and put them in an urn, and this urn must be installed in the stupa at the Preah Keo Morokot temple. However, under the Lon Nol era, there were people who persecuted me, they persecuted my child, they dumped the remains of my dead child and took away the gold urn, they said that gold was valuable. Therefore, when I die, I already have a stupa which is where my child’s remain is, at the Preah Keo Morokot temple … So there’s no problem.”

King-Father added: “My wife told me: ‘When I die, I want my remains to be located near you, husband’. She said: ‘I will not abandon my husband, I will not change husband, yes, we will stay next to each other.’ Therefore, all the problems are resolved, therefore we will have 100% of time to dedicate to the nation and the country, to serve the people forever, just like right now. Three times each week, poor people are invited from here to there to come over…”

During this occasion also, King-Father said that he will travel the People’s Republic of China so that Chinese doctors can check up on his health and prevent the recurrence of his cancer. Each 6 to 7 months, the Chinese doctors asked him to return back for health checkup, [he is undertaking this checkup] so that he can live more than 100-year-old, just as people wish for him to be, and some people even wish that he live up to 300-year-old, while other wish that he lives to be more than 1,000-year-old. But, he said that he could not reach those ages, [in spite of the fact that] when he lives long among his Kaun-Chao, it is very enjoyable. When the ex-king returns back from his health checkup in China, he will pursue his humanitarian gift distribution again along various provinces.

King-Father added that when he will return back from his medical checkup in China, he will return back to live in his small palace in Siem Reap, and he will continue receiving poor people from various provinces.

The ex-monarch accomplished several major crusades for the nation, such as the struggle through diplomatic channel for the independence of Cambodia in 1953, the complaint to The Hague International Court in Holland to demand for the return of the Preah Vihear temple from Thailand, and this demand was successful in 1962. He also led the monarchy to development in all fields and, in particular, he united all the Cambodian people from all political tendencies which culminated in the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements which were recognized by 18 countries. Next came the democratic election with the participation of all political parties and which was held by UNTAC in 1993.