Phnom Penh:​ Minister of Interior, Sar Kheng, has instructed provincial governors to respect meetings of their respective provincial councils. He says this is about respecting the law and providing an opportunity for provincial councils to help decide on development.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the new Stung Treng Provincial Governor on Monday, Sar Kheng said that some provincial governors neither respected nor valued their provincial councilors and refused to attend provincial council meetings, which he saw as a mistake.

He says, “As a member of this council, we have arranged for most of the low-ranking officials to be members of provincial councils. So a governor thinks he can either respect or disrespect? He cannot! Because now they have the role of councilors, if you think an individual is low ranking, they are not. In terms of council meetings, this is a high rank. The Minister has encouraged the board of governors, governors and deputy governors to be more respectful. He also instructed the provincial governor to work more effectively with the provincial council to serve the public interest. He added, "Because whatever we do is not only beneficial for us today! We do it for the people of our generation, for us, but we have to think about leaving it for our children and their future."

According to the Law on the Administration of the Capital, Provinces, Municipalities, Districts and Khans, members of the Provincial Council are elected for a five year-term. The provincial council has the role of managing the necessary work to achieve the objectives of creating, promoting and sustaining democratic development. Meetings of the Capital and Provincial Councils are held at least 12 times a year.

In February 2020, Prime Minister Hun Sen warned to remove any provincial governor who did not attend the provincial council meeting three times in a row by order of the Minister of Interior. The chairman of the provincial council must report to him when this happens. He said: "This council are like the Provincial Assembly, the District Assembly, the Khan Assembly. In particular, the chairman of the council and the provincial governor, as the co-chair, in discussing the necessary matters, sometimes carry only two people together before the meeting. "This way of working is effective and solves the problem."