Up to 10,000 copies of a book entitled “Hope of Hun Many”, written by an experienced veteran journalist, has gone on sale. The book also offers unique insights into several members of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s family.
The biography describes the life of Hun Many, from his childhood and studies abroad to his return to the homeland to serve the nation though participation in political life. It details the programmes and policies which he initiated, to unite the youth and inspire them to build a glorious society.
Leang Delux, author of the book, said that after following and observing his subject since 2013, he spent the past two years writing the book. It details the vision, the will and the commitment of Many to building a strong country for the people.
“Of the three sons of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rany, Many assumed the highest profile, through his role in assisting his father as his personal assistant. He went on to be elected as a parliamentarian, a high-level political position.
“At the same time, he was very popular among the youth through his social and humanitarian activities. I see Many as very much a potential future leader, so it is important that people know and understand him,” he explained.
“When you read this book, you will understand his character and his way of thinking. You will also gain insight into the lives of some of his family members.
“Many lives under the pressure of constant criticism from those who view him as merely the privileged son of the prime minister. On the contrary, it is because of this position that he has to work harder than most to honour his family and establish a foothold for himself as an influential political leader,” he added.
He hinted that what was also special about the book was that readers would get to know more about the personal traits of the premier, through the eyes of his son.
Delux said although the book was about Many, he had interviewed a wide range of youths, analysts, people familiar with him and members of the civil society organisations who had followed socio-political events relating to his leadership.
Ky Soklim, co-founder of Thmey Thmey – which bought the publishing and sales rights of the book – said they had decided to release the book because of Many’s high profile, and the large amount of public interest in him.
He added that over the past 10 years, in addition to its news production activities, Thmey Thmey has had a vision of encouraging reading and writing.
“We have already published eight books with different titles. Our goal is to engage in more collaborations. In one sense, we are a business, but we want to encourage reading and writing. These books will help rekindle the love of reading among the youth, as well as helping them to gain valuable knowledge,” he added.
Ou Virak, founder and president of the Future Forum think tank, was quoted in the book as highlighting Many’s prominence and making recommendations to him.
He said that because he is a young parliamentarian, he should focus on prominent policies, such as the national budget and alcohol tax policy, as part of developing the Kingdom.
Jean-Francois Tain, managing director at RFI-Cambodia, said in the book: “[Many] is a character that the general public want to know more about. On the one hand, this is because he is the youngest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, but on the other it is because of his prominent political role and the fact that he is likely to play an increasingly important role in the direction of the country.”
He added that the book was a good read that should draw the attention of readers from the first page to the last.
“The book is simple, journalistic writing. It does more than just evaluating the subject and his acquaintances. He speaks a lot, and in doing so reveals his personality, dreams, ambitions as well as making his own prespective clear through his actions,” he said.
