Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen watches orangutans dance at new zoo
The US$9 million safari will house 89 types of animals, including bears, ostriches, kangaroos, giraffes, tigers and deer
Cambodia’s strongman leader Hun Sen took a brief break from electioneering on Saturday to watch orangutans roller skate, kickbox and dance provocatively as he opened the first major zoo in the capital.
The premier – one of the world’s longest serving leaders – is seeking to prolong his 33-year grip on power in the national vote set for July 29 and has used the courts to cripple his opponents.
But he has also tried to cultivate a lighter side.
“Today we are all happy to inaugurate the animal zoo, the Phnom Penh Safari,” Hun Sen said in a speech to thousands at the park before a ribbon-cutting ceremony, adding that the site of the sprawling complex was a former ammunition depot for remnants of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime.
The US$9 million safari will house 89 types of animals, including bears, ostriches, kangaroos, giraffes, tigers and deer.
The zoo is run by a company owned by tycoon Ly Yong Phat, a senator from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.
