A tribute to a talented Cambodian cartoonist (2014)

It's a bit strange to start a blog with an obituary, but a cambodian must do what cambodians must do - pay tribute to those whose work you have admired, one way or another. Especially when it has to do with the recent passing of the talented Cambodian cartoonist Mr Ung Bun Heang ​(no relation to this blogger).

Below is what i wrote on KI-Media blogspot:

Ung Bun Heang, Khmer Cartoonist par excellence

First time I noticed his political cartoons was during the republican days,
in the pages of the Nokor Thom daily, edited by Soth Polin. His art was
striking in its originality. His drawings were easily recognisable; he
invariably signed himself off in Khmer as "Peou", a coil-like signature
which he hasn't used again post-1979 (as far as i know). Sometime at the
bottom of a scathing article he'd draw a beagle trotting along with a
bandage around his mouth. In a master stroke of publishing flair Nokor Thom
started to devote their entire front page to a UBH cartoon in their Sunday
editions, a habit they continued until the closure of the paper in July
1974. More often than not the cartoons depict what Khmer political factions
have been up to while the country burns. The format was so popular that
Nokor Thom's rival, Koh Santepheap, began to imitate with works by their
in-house artist Hul Sophon. In one remarkable cartoon UBH drew a send-up of
Prince Sisowath Sirimatak as Lucky Luke the cowboy, shooting faster than his
own shadow. Priceless, as they say in the West, pun not intended.

Fast forward to KI-Media forum, and UBH's art has changed drastically. The
wide-eyed idealism is gone, and so has political optimism for Cambodia.
Instead we are treated to cartoons that would have made Walt Disney blush in
his grave. Some time we see politicians as hyenas running around in
landscapes filled with tree stumps, apocalyptic flames and grey background
of people with begging bowls. Some time Hun Sen shows up as this strangely
harmless wide-eyed country bumpkin at the beck and call of his alleged Hanoi
masters. Sihanouk is depicted as a frail bald old man in a white tunic that
recalls more that of an achar, than that of a member of the royal court.

Strangely, over the years i've read his cartoons from since i was a 17-year
old school boy, UBH's political belief seems somehow stuck in a time warp.
Sad as it may sound, it is as disjointed as his many cartoons. For example
how could you claim to uphold democratic values, berate the CPP for its
communist dictatorship and yet with the same breath you demonise vietnamese
immigrants, legal or not? Racial hatred has absolutely no place in a free
democratic Cambodia, or any where else in a civilised world for that matter.
Yet it is espoused ad lib by the political opposition of which UBH is a bona
fide member, and also by Sam Rainsy (check the Swiss criticism on Sam Rainsy
at the recent Geneva UN human rights meeting), and just about every other
anon ranters on KI Media. It is simply weird that some of these racist rants
are made by Khmers living in such tolerant societies as the US of A, France
and Australia. You would think they'd learn something growing up as
minorities in such democracies. But then there are learners and there are
slooooooow learners.

Despite these reservations, UBH has a special place in Cambodia's pantheon
of artists and UBH has a special place in Khmer history. Rest in peace Ung
Bun Heang.

The Unknown Rambler.

February 9, 2014 at 2:30 PM