Cambodian Song about Angkorian king draws public ire, PM’s censure
Torn Vibol Khmer Times June 6, 2023
PHNOM PENH – Singer Meas Soksophea – author of the song, The Death of my husband, Jayavarman VII – was obliged to remove it from both her Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Meas Soksophea apologised to the public and removed her controversial song from social media following comments from Prime Minister Hun Sen and Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. Fresh News
Meas Soksophea posted the song on her Facebook page Saturday. The song faced immediate and heavy criticism by the public.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Sunday that he was shocked to see the song The Death of my husband, Jayavarman VII by Soksophea on Facebook.
He urged the singer to remove her song immediately, saying that its subject greatly confused the history of Cambodia. He added everyone knows that Jayavarman VII is revered and highly honoured, but the content of the song showed a misleading contrast to national history.
“If [Meas Soksophea] receives this information, please remove the song immediately and ask all social media users not to share it,” he said.
“This is a big deal, and without intervention of senior management, the owner of the song may not have been able to remove it,” he added.
He ordered the Ministry of Culture and Fine arts to closely monitor the issue to ensure that the history of the nation is not distorted, especially any stories associated with Jayavarman VII.
Soksophea wrote on her Facebook page that she had deleted the song from her page and YouTube channel. She apologised to the government and the people across the country and around the world for what she said was an unintended misunderstanding.
She said: “I really did not have any intention to distort the history of Cambodia. But due to my lack of deep understanding for Cambodian history before this production, I inadvertently made a mistake.”
The Ministry of Culture said it had taken note of the song titled, The Death of my husband, Jayavarman VII, by Soksophea on Facebook. It said that song described, without any clear evidence, a scenario about the death of Jayavarman VII. Because the subject of the song was the especially great king from the Angkorian era, it provoked strong reactions among the public.
The ministry added that the story told by the song is not supported by any real evidence, which only causes confusion about the true history of Cambodia.
“There has never been any scientific research that confirms any story about death of Jayavarman VII,” the Ministry said.
It added: “Although the ministry team noticed the song was deleted from the original owner’s Facebook account, we insist that Meas Soksophea, the songwriter and all others, immediately discard any copies of the song from Facebook and other social networks. At the same time, the Ministry asks the public not to share the song.”
SOURCE: Khmer Times, Cambodia June 6, 2023
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