Leaders are always right

The Phnom Penh Post
http://www.phnompenhpost.com

Written by Sithen Sum
Friday, 08 May 2009

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