Hun Sen has appointed fired Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon as minister delegate attached to the prime minister three days after his removal.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony for around 2,000 students of the Phnom Penh International University, Hun Sen said he would not abandon Sakhon and would send a letter to the king today to make Sokhon a minister delegate attached to the prime minister.
“The problem is not too serious but what I wanted, I have not gotten as I wished,” Hun Sen said. “So we will not abandon him but we need more responsibility than this to push the agricultural sector quickly forward. … There is no need to be too puzzled.”
On Saturday, the king issued a royal decree based on a request from Hun Sen to remove Sakhon, while a government order on the same day made Finance Minister Aun Pornmoniroth the acting agriculture minister.
On Monday, the government put forward Dith Tina, an Energy Ministry secretary of state and the son of Supreme Court president Dith Munty, to become the new full-time agriculture minister.
CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said on Monday that Sakhon had not responded quickly enough to floods that are damaging farmers’ crops.
Hun Sen also previously criticized Sakhon for not working well with others, including missing a meeting with the Commerce Ministry.
