• Society

Standing For the National Anthem Helps People Understand the Soul of the Nation

• By Isa Rohany
• August 20, 2023 4:54 PM

SIEM REAP — The Kralanh District Administration in Siem Reap province has been holding since July 24 public events at several locations during which Cambodia’s national anthem is played while people stand to attention until the end of the anthem.

“We want to promote Kralanh district, which is a district in the western part of Siem Reap province," said Kralanh District Governor Sok Nareth. "We think that, in addition to disseminating information to the people, we also promote discipline and want the participation of the people to [show] respect [to] the flag, which is [part of the] national identity.”

This campaign has had many objectives. As Nareth explained, this has contributed to strengthening discipline among civil servants and them serving as role models for the general public while showing respect for the flag, which is the soul of the Cambodian nation.

Those national-anthem ceremonies have been taking place on Monday and Friday mornings, since the authorities have installed 40 loudspeakers or microphones in light poles at major locations in the district. The radio equipment for the broadcasts was obtained through Secretary of State Chea Chan Boribo at the Ministry of Information, Nareth said.

Since the broadcasts began, there has been a noticeable change in attitude among civil servants who are more disciplined in their way of dressing for work and in their working hours, and also among people in general who welcome the ceremony, he said. 

Ou Soksan, who is a resident of the Kralanh district, said that he supported this initiative and believed that this was an opportunity for the public to show respect to the country’s flag, which is often done by government officials and students. “Until now, they stood for the national anthem at school or in the district hall while the ordinary people worked as usual,” he said, and could not join in.

Since these broadcasts started, Soksan said he has seen people coming out of their houses on nearby streets and at the market, and stand for the national anthem at 7 a.m. after the announcement that it was about to be heard, Soksan said.

Kim Bunthan, a resident of Kralanh district, also welcomed the broadcast of the national anthem. "Those events are good for the people, so they know that standing for the national anthem is not just for students or government officials, but also for the general public to take part, which is the best," he said.

Kralanh district consists of 10 communes with 6,000 families amounting to a population of more than 70,000 people. District Governor Sok Nareth believes that, by helping people to be disciplined and understand national values, this will help the country’s development.

“I think this is just part of helping people be united and love our nation,” he said. “When they are willing to participate, then they will strive to be good citizens and obey the law.”

He then used a quote: “[a] country has laws, and a family has discipline.”

 

Originally written in Khmer for ThmeyThmey, this story was translated by Te Chhaysinh for Cambodianess.