Teh Athira Yusof, Nor Ain Mohamed Radhi, Veena Babulal
KUALA LUMPUR: Now is the right time to return to Cambodia, Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy said.
Rainsy said his return to his home country would be timely as the authoritarian government faced a “unique combination of internal and external pressure” from the European Union (EU) on the possibility of suspending the country’s trade privileges.
The Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) informed that he had intended to return home on Nov 9 but was prevented from doing so by the Thai authorities who he claimed were under Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s pressure to block him.
"So I have to find another way to go to Cambodia as soon as possible.
“And I have called for a popular uprising, a peaceful uprising. The Cambodian authorities were prepared for a crackdown (on the opposition). They have deployed the army with the tanks, with machine guns to kill us but I have called upon the Cambodian army not to shoot at the people. Not to shoot at civilians, at innocent people.
“And Hun Sen is very afraid because he is unsure of the army’s loyalty. The army will stand with the people. The army will not stand with a dictator. So this is the internal pressure.
“But external pressure comes from the European Union because today the EU is publishing a report which is the basis for suspension of trade privileges if democracy is not restored (in the country).
“So the Cambodian government is shouldered with responsibility if they don’t want Cambodia to face an economic crisis with hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs. They must restore democracy,” he told the reporters at the entrance of the Parliament building, here, today.
Rainsy, however, could not confirm on the date of his planned departure from Malaysia.
His vice-president Mu Sochua who was also present, however, had said she would be leaving Malaysia today. For security reasons, they refused to reveal their next destination.
Rainsy and Sochua were invited to Parliament by Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar for an informal meeting with both government and opposition parliamentarians for about an hour today.
The letter of the invitation indicated the meeting was to discuss the way forward in pursuing the best socio-developmental pathways for both Malaysia and Cambodia.
Without commenting on the topics discussed during the meeting, Rainsy thanked Malaysia for allowing his and Sochua’s entry to the country.
“The fact that we are in Malaysia means that they (Cambodian government) are not successful in blocking us to move freely in Asean countries,” he said.
“The very fact that we were received by MPs here is very meaningful. It means that there are MPs from Malaysia who support democracy in Cambodia. This is a message for the Cambodian people and they must be very happy and grateful.
“We don’t need to ask (for help) because we believe that they (Malaysians) will promote the values of democracy and human rights, not only in Malaysia but for the whole of Asia.”
The 70-year-old flew into Malaysia on Saturday and told supporters to “keep up the hope” after promising to return home to rally opponents of Hun Sen.
The former Khmer Rouge commander has ruled Cambodia for 34 years.
Both Rainsy and wife, Tioulong Saumura who is also a CNRP senior leader, flew into Malaysia with French passports.
Last week, Sochua was detained by officials at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) upon arriving from the United States with her American passport. She was released a day later.
It was reported that all three were denied entry into Thailand following pressure from the Cambodian government while Rainsy was allowed into Malaysia after an earlier attempt to fly to Thailand from Paris was aborted when he was barred from boarding a Thai Airways plane.
The political crisis in Cambodia began in 2017 when CNRP co-founder Kem Sokha was arrested for treason and the party dissolved after a strong showing in local elections.