PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen released a voice message on Wednesday night, 5 April 2023, expressing disappointment over a comment made by businesswoman and motivational speaker, Tang Gechlieng, that has been circulating online through a leaked audio clip.

In the clip, Gechlieng can be heard saying that she does not care about people who make comments against her because these people are ‘lightweights’ and cannot bring her down. This is the second time since last week that comments made by Gechlieng have generated online uproar.

In the Prime Minister’s voice message released on Wednesday night, he said that he cannot accept words that insult the people, and he further warned the rich not to forget where they come from because during the Pol Pot regime, no one was fortunate enough to be wealthy.

"You have to know that in society, no one is a ‘lightweight’ or a ‘heavy weight’, people all have the same rights and freedoms," he said. "And we should remember that the upper-class rich were extinct during the Pol Pot era!”

Last week, a viral video clip from a previous speech delivered by Tang Gechlieng caused much uproar online, due to the controversial nature of her remarks regarding the rich and poor. In her speech, Gechlieng remarked, “The poor have bad habits while the rich have good ones,” and “The rich look ahead to the future while the poor [have the habit of] dramatizing their plight [over social media].”

In response to this clip, Prime Minister Hun Sen uploaded a voice message on Saturday saying that he believed Gechlieng was not trying to look down on the poor and simply used poor language to word her statement.

However, now, the Prime Minister has expressed his disappointment, following the circulation of a second clip where Gechlieng describes the people making comments against her as being ‘lightweights’ who cannot affect her status.

The Prime Minister said he hopes the new generation of wealthy people in Cambodia will not look down on the poor, as this can potentially lead to a class uprising which would cause many problems in society. He further affirmed that he firmly stands with the people.

After Prime Minister Hun Sen released his voice message, Tang Gechlieng uploaded a video of herself publicly apologizing for her mistake and promising to do better.

The Prime Minister has called for an end to all attacks made between the wealthy and poor classes, saying that he does not believe that this is an excessive request. He further added that he hopes Tang Gechlieng will learn from this mistake and not speak against the people, who are the foundation of the nation.