PHNOM PENH: The Minister of Agriculture, Dith Tina, has said that misrepresentations of ‘the truth’ are only made to make people angry and critical of the government and ministries, which does not help the agricultural sector in Cambodia.

Speaking at an open dialogue on agriculture in Cambodia on Tuesday afternoon, 6 December 2022, Minister Dith Tina said that the exaggeration of one or two of his statements to make the public angry with him really does not help the Cambodian agricultural sector. The Minister said that this is not a right way to express one's opinion.

On 2 December 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a letter in response to a series of VOD articles stating that the Ministry of Agriculture was forbidding citizens from criticizing the Ministry for lowering rice prices, and also alleging that the Ministry had threatened to arrest those who make such criticisms.

The Ministry of Agriculture stated in the letter that it believed these articles were inaccurate and misrepresented the Ministry’s stance, seriously impacting public opinion

"The failure of VOD journalists to monitor inaccuracies and representations of their journalists reflects a lack of professionalism, political bias or intent to defame the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the eyes of the public who receive information from VOD in English," the letter read.