Minister of Interior Sar Sokha has announced that in the first nine months of the year, the ministry’s social media monitoring team received nearly 600 inquiries or requests from the public.
On October 31, he took to social media to explain that the requests were sent to his Facebook page, as well as that of former interior minister and member of the Supreme Privy Council to the King, Sar Kheng.
“The working group received 596 requests and questions. It has resolved 204 account holders’ inquiries, while another 256 are in the process of being resolved,” he said.
He explained that some of the requests were adjudged to be outside the purview of the ministry, and had been referred to the relevant authorities.
Sokha added that there were also 354 outstanding cases from the years 2020 to 2022. 123 of them had been dealt with, with 231 close to completion.
“This progress has been achieved due to the excellent efforts of all of the staff of the ministry, at both the national and sub-national levels,” he said.
He asked for people’s patience and understanding in cases where their inquiry remained ongoing, noting that some of them were complicated and would take some time to be resolved.
Chey Tech, an independent socio-economic analyst, explained the value of establishing online communication channels, noting that it makes receiving the input of the public a much simpler process.
He also noted the importance of confidentiality for members of the public who wished to register an enquiry, or offer a suggestion.
He believed that in order to simplify the process, the ministry should consider developing a dedicated app. In addition, a telephone number should be provided, so illiterate citizens could send voice messages directly to the ministry.
He suggested that the available channels be shared more widely with the public, as many people did not yet understand that they are the best way for people at the grassroots level to interact with the leaders of the ministry.
