What’s Behind Hun Sen’s Health Scare in Cambodia?

On July 18, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen veered off script during a speech at a ceremony meant to celebrate the conferment of World Heritage status for one of the country’s archeological sites to debunk rumors of his ill-health.

“Is Hun Sen under medical emergency in hospital in France? Or is this the Hun Sen who Singaporean medical doctors have no ability to treat and who is sent to Hong Kong? Is it the real Hun Sen, or not?” he said according to The Phnom Penh Post.

Though this was far from the first time that the Cambodian premier has gone off topic during a major speech, this instance carried broader significance within the context of ongoing attempts by him and his advisers to respond to reports about his health even as Cambodia is in the midst of its election season.

Rumors about Hun Sen’s health are not new. Although the 64-year-old strongman – already one of the world’s longest serving statesmen, with over three decades of rule under his belt – has vowed to stay in power till 2026, rumors about his poor health have swirled from time to time, with the supposed conditions ranging from fainting spells to lung cancer. More recently, these rumors have been tied to the issue of succession, with Hun Sen said to prefer one of his sons to lead the country but reports emerging of splits within his ruling party.

The fact that he has tended to leave Cambodia to seek medical attention in several countries during his reign, including Singapore, China, Japan, and France, has often provided fertile ground for rumors about his health. His absences from the public eye are noticed and lead to speculation that sometimes needs clarification.

The latest round of reports is rooted in a series of absences by Hun Sen dating back to June that initially went unexplained by Cambodian officials. From June 23 up to mid-July, Cambodian media outlets reported that at least four Council of Ministers meetings – cabinet meetings that the constitution mandates must be held every week and require the attendance of the premier – were postponed. Hun Sen has also repeatedly canceled his attendance at official events since the start of July.

Though these developments would provoke some head-scratching even in ordinary times, they have naturally received even more scrutiny since it is election season in Cambodia. For example, on July 11, Chham Chhany, a prominent social media personality who has had a series of run-ins with Hun Sen and his family, speculated in a widely circulated Facebook post that Hun Sen had left for Singapore in July for serious health reasons. Citing an anonymous source, he also said that Hun Sen had not appointed an acting prime minister as he ought to during his absence because he did not trust them. “Because he is afraid of internal problems and dog eats dog in the party,” Chham Chhany wrote.

Hun Sen’s team fueled the fire by initially not being transparent about his whereabouts and subsequently not being coordinated in responding to swirling rumors. According to the Phnom Penh Post, following Chham Chhany’s speculation, Cambodian People's Party spokesman Sok Eysan first denied that Hun Sen was out of the country as had been suggested. That statement was contradicted by Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan, who later confirmed that Hun Sen was not in Cambodia but had “no idea” if he left for medical treatment. Phay Siphan refused to disclose details about exactly where Hun Sen was. Given that Hun Sen’s official overseas visits tend to be accompanied by massive media coverage, the deafening silence was notable.

Amid the ambiguity, Hun Sen himself has predictably issued a series of vehement denials that his health is in question, while raising other doubts about how he might crack down on dissent ahead of national polls that will take place next July. Following Chham Chhany’s remarks, he took to Facebook to post a series of photos of himself with family members at an unidentified mall. “Do I have the right to be happy in gathering children and grandchildren in these pictures or not? Must I tell everybody, especially a gangster, whether I am here or there or not?” he asked rhetorically, presumably referring to Chham Chhany.

“Wherever I am, I still have the ability to lead the country’s affairs, especially to crack down on the chaos caused by a group of gangsters, extremists and a group of traitors,” he added.

“If you want to know, let’s try it.”

In one of the photographs he posted, Hun Sen was seen eating with a few other Cambodian officials in what appeared to be Singapore. That fueled even more rumors considering that the city-state has tended to be Hun Sen’s favorite destination for medical treatment. He had just been hospitalized in Singapore for “extreme exhaustion” back in May, which he announced through Facebook. Others suggested that he may have subsequently been moved to other countries like Hong Kong or France for treatment for more serious conditions like a stroke or a form of cancer.

Hun Sen also subsequently uploaded a video selfie to Facebook on July 15 showing him in a vehicle driving through a city he claimed was Phnom Penh in an attempt to show that his health was fine and he was leading a normal life.

“This very bad rumor should be eliminated via my video clip that shows I am living here… traveling like normal, in traffic jams like any other,” he said.

But as multiple journalists pointed out, the video was not really clear enough to definitively verify that the city in question was indeed Phnom Penh. As with Hun Sen’s past attempts at denial about his health, it has left many questions unanswered.