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Cambodia PM blasts feng shui masterBy Manila Times

PHNOM PEHN: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has rebuked a Singaporean for insulting the Kingdom over a performance which he alleged was a show of disrespect to the Royal Ballet of Cambodia and to the traditional Khmer culture.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 6th Cambodian Youth Arts Festival held at the capital’s Koh Pich Center, which also saw the celebration of the 22nd National Culture Day, Hun Sen said dancers from the Kingdom’s Royal Ballet troupe flew to Singapore to perform at a private event.

“From what I had seen from [a video of the] performance, the Royal Ballet dancers knelt behind a Singaporean feng shui master who was praying for peace in Cambodia. This is an affront to our culture,” Hun Sen said.

‘’As the head of the Cambodian government, I find it unacceptable how they discredited our ancestral heritage, especially the Royal Ballet,” he noted, adding that even King Norodom Sihamoni and the people of Cambodia had never seen the renowned dance performed behind another person.

The traditional dance, he said, has to be performed directly in front of the audience.

“This Singaporean national has seriously disparaged the Royal family. What he did was a grave attack towards the monarchy – the King and his family,” he said. “Today, I ordered the Ministry of Interior and the General Department of Immigration to prohibit the entry of this person into Cambodian territory.”

An apology, said Hun Sen, from the feng shui master must be offered to the government and the Royal family before the ban on his entry to the Kingdom is lifted.

“Do you think it’s respectful to Khmer arts when this master stood before the Royal Ballet troupe while they danced behind him?” he asked.

Khmer Times