Prime Minister Hun Manet has laid out a six-point recommendation for the Ministry of Interior to implement during the seventh mandate, in addition to the government’s Pentagonal Strategy-Phase I.

Manet issued the instructions while presiding over the formal inauguration of the new interior ministry headquarters building in Phnom Penh on November 6.

“In addition to the Pentagonal Strategy, the ministry needs to strengthen the capacity of its officials. Those frontline staff who deal with the public, in particular, must have a strong conscience, ethics and professionalism. They must be capable and worthy of being people’s anchor when things are difficult for them,” he said.

He added that the ministry needs to strengthen its internal audit mechanisms to improve its image and to combat and crack down on potential abuse of power. If any such cases occur, legal action must be taken.

“We also need to review the appointment process of all officials. For example, in Kampong Thom province, we recently appointed a police officer who had a history of robbery and even served a prison term,” he said.

“Pride comes before a fall, and our goal must be to strengthen this procedure. We have admitted this mistake and must correct it to ensure that all appointees are the kind of good people who will serve the people,” he added.

He continued that the ministry needs to provide people with public services effectively and easily to ensure that no procedures cause the people unnecessary difficulties.

He also advised the ministry to strengthen the mechanisms of the one-window service office (OWSO) and accelerate the provision of public services such as civil registry documents, business permits and so forth.

“The interior ministry needs to work with the relevant institutions to guarantee the effectiveness of resource allocation at the sub-national level to ensure that they can discharge their duties and obligations successfully,” he said.

The prime minister recommended that the ministry strengthen, monitor and assess all policies laid out at the national level to strengthen their implementation, and ensure that officials do their best to serve the people efficiently and professionally.

Chey Tech, an independent socio-economic analyst, said Manet’s recommendations align with the current situation of Cambodia, especially with the role and the function of the interior ministry itself.

“His recommendations also align with those of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who often advised officials to serve the people, and not act like their bosses. In particular, sub-national administrations must have the heart to serve the people. They must have the necessary morals and virtues to serve them,” he added.

During the inauguration, interior minister Sar Sokha noted that the ministry has facilitated the reform process of sub-national administrations – from a centralised administrative management system to one which is decentralised and deconcentrated. This means that sub-national level administrations now have the responsibility of completing their work independently, and that their resources would increase every year.

He added that the ministry had played a leading role in coordinating and drawing up laws and legal documents. It had also registered political parties, associations and NGOs, in order to safeguard and uphold the rights and freedoms of the people and defend the principles of liberal democracy, pluralism and the rule of law, in line with the Constitution and Cambodian law.

“Based on the government policy, we have also fostered cooperation and partnerships with international organisations and several other nations both regionally and globally. This has allowed us to play an active part in the fight against terrorism, cross-border crimes, human trafficking, money laundering, cybercrime, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and climate change. We have also carried out local administrative reform and created many new jobs within the purview of the interior ministry,” he continued.