Prime Minister Hun Sen said he will propose a law requiring the head of the government to retire at age 72 once he leaves office.

Hun Sen announced the plan while presiding over the inauguration of the Ministry of National Defence’s new secretariat building on December 29.

“I announce in advance that when I leave the post of prime minister, I will fulfil the wishes of those who propose a law that sets the retirement age for the office. I will do it. How old do you want to be when you retire? ” he said.

“Just a few days earlier, I saw [a social media] post saying that the law on single citizenship for holders of the top four national leadership positions is not important and that what matters is term limits and retirement age for the prime minister.”

He stressed that the top post cannot be subject to term limits because elections are held to elect members of the National Assembly, who in turn elect the prime minister into office.

The announcement likely came in response to former opposition leader Sam Rainsy who has recently called for a law to set the prime minister’s age of retirement at 70. Rainsy’s remarks came after Hun Sen proposed the law on single nationality for the posts of prime minister and presidents of the National Assembly, Senate and Constitutional Council.

“Whoever becomes prime minister is a matter decided by the ruling party and it’s their business whom they decide to appoint to that office. You put forward your [prime ministerial candidate],” he said, apparently referring to Rainsy.

“I congratulate the younger generation and wish them luck with their success. Come forward. Or maybe you have no successor because you have no followers left.

“Let me be clear – right now I am the prime minister. After 2023, I will become the father of a prime minister. And up until 2040, I will become the grandfather of a prime minister, just wait and see.”

Ro Vannak, co-founder of the Cambodian Institute for Democracy, told The Post on December 29 that setting the retirement age for political offices to pave the way for the younger generation of politicians was a responsible policy if it is being done for that reason.

“If limiting the age of prime minister is to neutralise possible political rivals who might challenge his son for the office, given the context in which the question was raised, it seems to reflect a zero-sum politics with only absolute winners and losers and an imperative to win at all costs, and it is outdated and not appropriate for a modern political culture,” he said.

“However, I think the prime minister is a veteran politician with enough experience in politics and power in Cambodia, so he will consider the public interest rather than merely his own or the interests of partisan individuals,” he said.