Spiritual support for new building

Photo by: Heng Chivoan
Pann Sophal, 51, on Monday sands a Buddhist sculpture carved from the wooden remains of the old Ministry of Information building.

The Phnom Pnh Post
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Khouth Sophakchakrya

OLD wooden posts from the Ministry of Information building on Monivong Boulevard are being carved into statues of the Hindu deity Vishnu and will be used to decorate the new ministry building, Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said.

The eight-armed Vishnu figures were based on Angkor-era styles and are being carved by artisans from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

"We are carving eight Vishnu statues to put on the eight corners of the new Ministry of Information building as an offering of peace," he said.

He added that any wood left over will be used to carve Buddha statues and given to Khmer monasteries in Cambodia and Vietnam."

The old wooden Ministry of Information was built in 1918 and collapsed in 2007, and the statues will be carved from centuries-old wooden posts that were used to prop up the old building.