Bid to keep Royal Crematorium [-Hun Xen wants to recoup the $5 million spent?]

February 19, 2013
By Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit
TTRweekly

PHNOM PENH, 19 February 2013: Cambodian government officials say the Royal Crematorium will become a major tourist site at least for the next few months.

The country’s local media reported that the government has been requested to keep the Late King-Father Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk’s Royal Crematorium for an extended period to support tourism.

Government-Private Sector Working Group on Tourism co chair, Ho Vandy, said he has received a lot of comments from foreign tourists to keep the Royal Crematorium structure for a while to enable tourists to visit when they are scheduled to tour the National Museum.

“It represents an aspect of beautiful and historical Khmer architecture and construction of this century and tourists as well as our young generations have never seen this kind of building before.”

The Royal Crematorium is located on an open square of the Veal Preah Merhu in front of the National Museum next to the Royal Palace.

It represents a mixture of ancient and modern architecture. It was built over 11 weeks starting last November 2012 at a cost of US$1.2 million.

Norodom Sihanouk was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 to 2004.

He was the effective ruler of Cambodia from 1953 to 1970. After his second abdication in 2004, he was known as “The King-Father of Cambodia”, a position he retained along with many of his former responsibilities as a constitutional monarch.

He died after a heart attack in Beijing, China, 15 October 2012, at the age of 89.

On 28 November 2012, King Father Norodom Sihanouk was officially anointed by Royal Decree of HM King Norodom Sihamoni with the title Preah Karuna Preah Norodom Sihanouk Preah Borom Ratanakkot meaning The King who lies in the Diamond Urn.