Kith Meng

Kith Meng is the youngest of three sons of Chinese Cambodian businessman Kith Peng Ike. Kith Meng led a comfortable life in his hometown in Kandal Province until 1975 when the advent of the Khmer Rouge regime caused major social upheaval.[5] Kith's family were among those targeted by the Khmer Rouge because of their wealth, ethnicity and socio-economic status. The entire family was sent to a labour camp where, upon arrival, Meng and his two brothers were separated from their parents who later died of starvation.[6] During the confusion resulting from the Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea, Meng escaped with his older brother Sophan Kith to Phnom Penh, from which they then fled for the refugee camps in Thailand. In Thailand, Meng later related, “They put us in a pig farm...we slept with the pigs...we no longer existed; we had no state, nothing."[6] In 1980, Meng and Thieng were found by a family member in a Thai refugee camp and both brothers immigrated to Australia, where they worked and attended school in the nation's capital, Canberra.

In 1991, Meng and Thieng returned to Cambodia, where he and his older brother Sophan Kith began selling furniture and office supplies to the UN and operated a Canon copiers franchise before establishing The Royal Group.[6] In 2008, Meng unseated Sok Kong as President of Cambodia's Chamber Of Commerce. He was elected by his fellow Chamber members unopposed for another three-year term in 2011[7] and again in 2014.[8] In 2020, Kith Meng and his spouse donated $500,000 to the Cambodian government to fight Covid-19.[9]

Kith Meng in 2019

Commentators have compared Meng to other well-known Asian tycoons including Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra.[4] However, Meng has downplayed suggestions he may one day stand for the Prime Ministership, saying, "leave politics to the politicians".[6] Still, Meng often accompanies Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen abroad to help promote Cambodia's economic interests[6] and is a strong supporter of Hun Sen. Meng carries the honorary title of "Neak Oknha", a title bestowed by the Royal Family on those who make contributions of $1,000,000 or more.[5][10]

In June 2011, WikiLeaks exposed an American diplomatic cable calling Meng a “relatively young and ruthless gangster”.[7] Meng has received particular criticism regarding his land deals and land rights, being accused of using his political connections to forcefully clear questionably acquired real estate of residents and national monuments in order to proceed with development.[5][11] Meng and his companies have also been the center of controversies regarding environmental issues in Cambodia, most prominently illegal logging in protected areas of the northeast (including Virachey National Park) displacing indigenous villages[12] and destroying rural villages and fishing grounds for hydroelectric projects without compensation or proper environmental assessment reports.[13]

• Royal Group