Govt Secrecy

Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced that unnecessary government officials will be barred from joining the Council of Ministers’ weekly plenary sessions in order to prevent the leaking of confidential government information. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council, said the premier warned during Friday’s session that public leaks of sensitive government information could damage the effectiveness of policy implementation. Phay Siphan said that some government officials were speaking out “without understanding what is public information, private information or confidential information”. Nady Tann, the government secretary general who arranges the weekly council meetings, said officials’ names are usually listed and submitted to Hun Sen, who then decides who should be invited and what issues should be on the agenda. “There might be some internal information leaked out, which is why the premier ordered us to do so,” he said Sunday. “I will wait to see the decision from Samdech [Hun Sen] about who will be allowed to attend the next meeting.”