‘No dancing in the streets’: Why has Cambodia banned musical auto horns? | Politics Information
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EXPLAINER
Authorities across Cambodia have been ordered to take out musical horns from automobiles and place a quit to roadside dancing.
Having dominated with an iron fist for 45 years, Cambodia’s governing party leaders have a lengthy checklist of procedures that have been banned and political opponents jailed or forced to flee the nation.
Now the country’s freshly-appointed Primary Minister Hun Manet, the son of Cambodia’s longtime “strong man” ruler Hun Sen, has taken goal at a new supply of social unrest: musical truck horns.
In a publish on social media, the 46-calendar year-old prime minister reported he was disturbed by “dancing on the road to the musical beats of major cars”, according to an unofficial translation.
Latest video clips on social media, Hun Manet mentioned, had alerted him to younger people today jiving on the roadside as passing vehicles blasted musical tunes on their horns – and the exercise must quit.
Now authorities throughout this region of some 17 million people today have been ordered to acquire action and immediately clear away musical horns from the nation’s vehicles.
This is what we know:
What’s Hun Manet’s difficulty with musical horns?
Just after seven months as key minister, Hun Manet’s banning of musical automobile horns might total to one particular of his more abnormal policy initiatives just after succeeding his father’s 38-yr tenure as prime minister.
Though Western-educated and regarded as the vanguard of a new, reform-oriented technology of young Cambodian leaders, Hun Manet’s initially months in energy have not witnessed him deviate a lot from the route set by his father.
Musical automobile horns, and the spontaneous dancing influenced amid locals, have now been given the new premier’s comprehensive interest, particularly as it “affects purchase on the road” and poses a hazard to motorists and dancers, he claimed.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Community Will work and Transportation, law enforcement at all concentrations, as properly as nearby authorities, have been purchased to carry out inspections and make certain that musical horns are removed from all autos and changed by conventional horns that honk only.
Stories emerged on Wednesday that neighborhood authorities have purchased a ban on the sale of these types of horns in vehicle accessory retailers.
The prime minister also instructed mother and father to make sure that their small children “stop dancing in the street”.
Cambodia’s professional-federal government Khmer Periods newspaper claimed the premier was enthusiastic to act because of to the possible “harm to children” caused by dancing to the “horn sound” of vehicles.
While dancing on the edge of a highway could possibly be dangerous, younger Cambodians feel to discover it significantly enjoyable.
One video shared on Fb functions a youthful Cambodian lady awaiting the arrival of a substantial transport truck. As the truck draws in the vicinity of, the driver honks out a techno dance conquer that the young female giggles and bops together to on the roadside.

Cambodian culture wars?
A commentator on political difficulties in Cambodia noted that the ban on musical horns and avenue dancing appeared to be “more posturing than policy”, incorporating that the new prime minister’s administration has “not been shy about ‘culture war’ issues”.
Why the new key minister was bothering with such a “trivial” subject was a issue elevated by a Cambodian taxi driver who spoke to Al Jazeera.
“The primary minister’s position is to be the key minister. Why has he stepped into such a tiny matter as this?” asked the driver, who asked for anonymity owing to security issues around becoming found as critical of the new prime minister.
Nevertheless, in performing so, Hun Manet is only pursuing in the footsteps of his father.
What was Hun Sen’s keep track of file on society?
Leveraging cultural issues to advance a conservative see of Cambodian society was also a aspect of Hun Sen’s time as prime minister.
In 2020, Hun Sen ordered the Ministry of Interior to get legal motion versus feminine social media influencers who wore revealing outfits to advertise and offer solutions on line.
Prosecution was necessary, Hun Sen claimed, as social media movies and photos that includes revealing apparel “negatively affects the honour of Cambodian women”.
Responding to criticism of his ban on Cambodian women donning shorter skirts in their social media posts, Hun Sen stated: “When I attractiveness to them not to wear attractive clothing on the internet, they accuse me of breaking human rights”.
In 2006, Hun Sen banned splendor pageants in Cambodia declaring the state most popular to alleviate poverty than promote magnificence.
“We just can’t acquire one particular stunning woman to participate in the contest and declare it is our nationwide id and then have them wear their underpants,” Hun Sen said at the time, in an clear reference to contestants posing in swimming fits at pageants.

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