PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Manet said that he is willing to be painted as a dictator if that’s what it takes to protect the peace.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for construction on a new dam in Koh Kong today, Prime Minister Hun Manet echoed his father’s platform of peace at any cost. He said that peace is essential to Cambodia’s progress and that stability is the only path towards development. He departed from his father’s stance on the word “dictator”, however, which former Prime Minister Hun Sen vocally railed against whenever the word was used against him.

Prime Minister Hun Manet said that he would suffer the moniker “dictator” if it means keeping the peace for the Cambodian people. He said he would not let the previous administration’s work be wasted, which he credited for ending more than 500 years of war in Cambodia.