The purchase of the Phnom Penh Post by a Malaysian whose public relations firm lists Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen as a client is a "disaster" for media freedom ahead of a general election, an international rights group says.
In power for 33 years, Hun Sen and his allies have cracked down on perceived critics, opposition politicians, independent media and human rights groups ahead of the July 29 vote.
The English-language daily, founded in 1992, has built a reputation for independent reporting that can be critical of the government on issues such as illegal logging and corruption. Its sale was announced on Saturday by Australian businessman Bill Clough, who had owned the newspaper since 2008.
On Monday, the newspaper's editor-in-chief said he was fired for allowing the publication of an article about the sale, while several staff members said on social media they had quit.
The new owner, Malaysian investor Sivakumar Ganapathy, criticised the report as "a disgrace" and said three members of staff, including the editor-in-chief, had been fired over it.
Ganapathy is managing director of Asia Public Relations Consultants Sdn Bhd, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.
The PR firm's website referred to "Cambodia and Hun Sen's entry into the Government seat" as one of its projects. It also described Ganapathy as leading a team managing "covert operations" for its clients. It did not elaborate.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said the deal was a "disaster for media freedom", telling Reuters that "the only plausible rationale for this acquisition is to blunt the Post's critical coverage of the government."
Several sources at the newspaper said there was a brief protest at its offices on Monday over the editor-in-chief Kay Kimsong's firing.
Hopes of sustaining a free media in Cambodia have dimmed in recent years as the government has grown more intolerant of dissent.
In a 2018 press freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders, Cambodia dropped 10 places from 132 to 142.
The Phnom Penh Post was reportedly slapped with a $US5 million tax bill last year, according to reports by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
In a statement on Saturday, former owner Clough said the tax issue had been resolved, and that the sale was prompted by a "worldwide decline in market share for newspaper advertising" which had also been felt in Cambodia.
