A recently appointed senior adviser to National Assembly first Deputy President Kem Sokha said yesterday that he plans to train members of commune, district and provincial councils in aspects of administrative law in an effort to improve the quality of human resources.

Dr Say Bory, who also serves as an adviser to Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk, said that Sokha – who is also deputy head of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party – first floated the idea.

“We want to strengthen knowledge quality capacity on the sub-national level, so intellectuals will go down to help on a volunteer basis,” said Bory, who did not give details on how the training would be carried out or over what period of time it would occur.

Say Bory and political analyst Lao Mong Hay were appointed as Kem Sokha’s advisers earlier this month. Sokha told hundreds of people in Takeo province on Saturday that Bory and Mong Hay are scholars of contemporary Cambodia, and that they can share their knowledge with younger generations.

Bory, who was on the trip with Sokha to Takeo, said he had to stay out of politics as an adviser to the Royal Palace, but he joined Sokha’s team because he was impatient with sitting on the sidelines.

Khieu Sopheak, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said since he hasn’t seen the plan yet, he couldn’t comment on the government’s stance for or against it.