PHNOM PENH: Prime Minister Hun Sen has written a comment in response to a Facebook post, seeming to refer to Sam Rainsy, saying, “If you’re smart, people will admire you, but if they don’t, people will pity you.” The Prime Minister made the comment on Wednesday night in response to a comment on Facebook user Chitra Angkoylimea Keo’s page that Sam Rainsy was assisting the Prime Minister in promoting the amendment to the constitution that required the top leadership to have only Cambodian nationality.

The Prime Minister wrote, "Only four people are affected after the constitution is amended. The ban (on dual citizenship) is aimed at ensuring that they are loyal to the nation, do not run away from the people, and avoid foreign interference through nationality. I'm trying to explain to people who have two or more nationalities, but someone is taking my proposal and publishing it, like walking to find wood for a fire but only finding dead trees."

The Prime Minister’s response came after Chitra Angkoylimea Keo posted a screenshot of Rainsy's Facebook post related to Hun Sen's post, highlighting the benefits of amending the constitution to determine the nationality of leaders.

Amendments to the Constitution that require the President of the Senate, the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister and the President of the Constitutional Council to have only one Khmer nationality will be reviewed by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Thursday before the plenary session at the end of this month.