ANGER towards Prince Norodom Ranariddh has caused more than 20 officials from his self-named political party to defect to the Cambodian People's Party, as the Kingdom's political opposition continues to lose its leaders.

The Norodom Ranariddh Party's former deputy secretary general, Thav Kimhor, told the Post that he and other party members defected to the CPP because they lost faith in the NRP after Ranariddh's resignation as its leader.

"I defected because I saw that NRP politics are not sustainable. The Prince's departure from politics has not been an example of responsible leadership," Thav Kimhor said.

"When the Prince arrived in Cambodia and resigned from politics, he did not think about the NRP members," he said.

"The Prince appealed to us to get in a boat, but when the helicopter arrived, he got in and left us floating in the ocean."

Suth Dina, spokesman and deputy secretary general of the NRP, told the Post on Sunday that his party does not know how many members will leave, but has received just one formal letter of resignation from Heng Chantha.

CPP lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Sunday that the NRP defectors have not yet been given roles in the government, but that the ruling party is considering what their roles should be.

"Their positions have not yet been decided, but we will not disappoint them," he said.

The president of the Cambodian National Research Organisation, Heang Rithy, said that all the politicians who left opposition parties to join the CPP are not acting for the good of the country.