Senate president Hun Sen has announced that he long ago discarded the honorary doctorates bestowed upon him by Thai universities. - Photo: Phnom Penh Post/ANN
PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK (Phnom Penh Post/ANN): Cambodian Senate president Hun Sen has responded to Thai media reports that another Thai university has stripped him of an honorary doctorate, saying that he threw away the three such awards bestowed on him by Thai academia, adding that they hold no value and were not worth keeping.
"Let me clarify: I discarded all three diplomas from Thai institutions long ago. They were completely worthless to me and not worth preserving," he said, adding that he received the honorary diplomas in 2001, 2006 and 2019.
“I take no pride whatsoever in a single piece of paper from your institutions. My knowledge and intellect were not shaped by Thai universities or their diplomas. It was the Cambodian people and Cambodian schools that educated me,” he noted.
He emphasised that he had never requested the honorary doctorate degrees and suggested that if they were to examine the timeline of his public service compared to when the diplomas were awarded, it would be evident that they played no role in his achievements.
He noted that the honours were only granted after he had already reached key milestones: in 1979, at the age of 27, he became deputy minister of foreign affairs; in 1981, at 29, he was appointed deputy prime minister and foreign minister; and in 1985, at the age of 32, he became prime minister.
“I believe those institutions should feel ashamed if they revisit the evaluations they made of my qualifications when offering me those degrees. I will instruct my office to release their assessments of my merits as a reminder — because the past cannot be changed,” he said, on Friday, August 22.
This morning, the Senate president’s cabinet released details of the criteria quoted by the three universities before the doctoral degrees were presented.
Ramkhamhaeng University awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree in Political Science to Hun Sen in 2001. The award’s criteria centred on his role in promoting peace and stability in the region.
In an official statement at the time, the university praised him “making significant contributions to society and upholding the values associated with the degree”.
Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat University awarded him an honorary doctorate in Education for Local Development in 2006. The university explained the decision as “recognising Hun Sen's significant contributions to the field of education, as well as his unwavering determination to improve the well-being of the Cambodian people”.
They also described the degree as “a tribute to his role in the vast improvement of relations between Cambodia and Thailand”.
Krirk University, a private university, declared Hun Sen a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Communication.
According to the university's president, the degree was conferred to recognise his achievements in "liberating and rebuilding Cambodia”.
A university statement released at the time of the award highlighted his “use of political communication in his efforts to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime and to bring an end to decades of civil war. The award was also intended to acknowledge his role in national reconciliation and his leadership, which, according to the university, led to a landslide victory in the 2018 election”.
According to this morning’s statement, Hun Sen’s political achievements, political communication, and national reconciliation and development, were cited as primary reasons for the honours. - Phnom Penh Post/ANN
