Bun Sengkong, The Phnom Penh Post
Mon, 16 May 2016
An adviser to Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni yesterday said that several Facebook pages purporting to represent the monarch are fakes.
The King’s cabinet chief Oum Daravuth was prompted to address the topic after receiving queries by local media outlets about the authenticity of five social media profiles which have garnered almost 300,000 “likes” between them.
“These pages are not his,” Daravuth said yesterday, which was the last day of the King’s birthday holiday. Daravuth said King Sihamoni was aware of the pages but did not wish to comment.
He added that the profiles did not appear to have any malicious intent, suggesting the administrators, whose identities are not known, simply wanted to boost the King’s profile.
However, measures may still be taken, he said.
“Royal officials will meet between late May and early June and see about what action should be taken,” he said.
The five profiles identified by Daravuth include The King of the Kingdom of Cambodia, two pages titled His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni in Khmer and one with the latter title in English.
Last year Prime Minister Hun Sen belatedly acknowledged ownership of an unauthorised Facebook account long believed to represent his office.
Soon after, the premier threatened to arrest netizens impersonating him on the popular social media site, which has become a major forum for politics in Cambodia.