Dear Editor,

I'm writing in response

to Dr Naranhkiri Tith's May 4 letter. I'm not a doctor, nor a

monarchist, nor a person smart enough to answer the doctor's

provocative question. However, my reply is based on my experience as a

motivational trainer.

If one accepts Sihanouk as a leader, it should

be considered that he has a vision of his own. And I'd say virtually

all leaders will claim they are right all the time. Why? Simply because

of their vision. The vision is intact, yet their strategies to realise

that may vary from time to time.

Let me take the example of

Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. Whatever he did was big

picture and for the nation's sake.

The same holds true with

Sihanouk. Although he was not right to change his position to support

the KR, the change was necessary then to make Cambodian people

independent from the US. What he expected of the KR was not the

genocide but an independent Cambodia, as he testified to with our

independence gained from France back in 1953. If he's been an ally to

Hun Sen, it's probably because it's the only way to stabilise the

country politically, and eventually, economically.

In a nutshell, it's not who is right, but what is right that matters.

Sithen Sum

Phnom Penh