Opposition deputy leader Kem Sokha used his arrival back in the Kingdom yesterday to claim that if the CNRP comes to power in the next election, it would use money gained from the fight against corruption to fund pensions and increase the salaries of civil servants.

Sokha claimed that between $300 million and $500 million is lost each year to corruption, and that by “preventing a little corruption, salaries could be increased”.

On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen mocked CNRP pledges to raise the civil servant minimum wage to $250 per month and said the party’s promise of $10 pensions to those over 65 was unrealistic.

Not so, said Sokha. “If the [CNRP] leads the government, the elderly will be paid $10 instantly and . . . [civil servants] can get $250 per month.”

In his speech, Hun Sen had told civil servants earning less than $250 to ask for the extra money from the opposition. Government spokesman Phay Siphan called Sokha’s comments “deceptive”.