Prince Tesso Sisowath, the current director of the Cambodian Royal Ballet company, recently posted a Facebook status supporting Singaporean Feng Shui Master Yun of Lotus on the Water Galleries in light of his ban from Cambodia.
Prime Minister Hun Sen himself announced the ban On March 3, saying that Yun gravely insulted Cambodia during a sacred Khmer dance performed in Singapore.
Read about Master Yun and the dance that sparked the ban here.
What did Singaporean Master Yun of Lotus on the Water Galleries do?
In a previous report by Alvinology, Yun allegedly disrespected a sacred Khmer dance when he faced away from the dancers and simply lighted some incense in the performance space while the number was going on.
Here is a photo of the said dance.
The dance was performed in February in Singapore, during an event that Yun claimed to have sponsored. He also claimed that he paid for the Cambodian Royal Ballet company to be billeted in an expensive hotel.
When Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen saw a video of the dance, though, he expressed dismay and reportedly felt gravely insulted. Cambodia’s top official then called for an apology from Yun, in order to remove the Feng Shui practicioner and business owner’s ban from Cambodia.
As of publishing, Yun has yet to apologize and has posted pushback on the ban, using his personal Facebook page.
Prince Tesso Sisowath backs Yun amid row with PM Hun Sen
Prince Tesso Sisowath, the current director of the Cambodian Royal Ballet company, has expressed support for Yun in a Facebook post.
He said that while Yun did turn his back on the dancers, he only did so for a small moment in the dance to perform a prayer ritual.
Aside from describing what happened during the sacred dance, Prince Tesso also said that Yun had been instrumental in the perfomances of the Cambodian Royal Ballet Company and its sponsors.
You can read the Facebook post below.
The Cambodian prince related how Yun reportedly sponsored the last project of the late Princess Buppha Devi, which was a movie of the country’s ballet company. The movie was called, ‘The Perfect Motion or La Beaute du Geste’ . The Princess was the director of the Cambodian Royal Ballet until she passed in November 2019.
Yun, according to the Prince, allegedly helped gather more foreign sponsors for the project, which then allegedly pressured two Cambodian tycoons to “chip in” $5,000 each.
The prince confirmed the sacred nature of the Khmer dance that Yun insulted, and asked for cultural experts to develop new dances that are fit for other occasions.
He then implored Cambodians to patronize their culture more and to do more for the country instead of supporting the ban on Yun.
Master Yun versus Cambodian princess and Prime Minister
Yun has since posted a lot on social media regarding his ban. Aside from a previous report on Alvinology detailing some photos he manipulated of him and Princess Norodom Arun Rasmey, he also called out the Prime Minister.
In one Facebook post, Yun described how the ban would save him money, as he has a lot of expenses for dealing with Cambodian events and performances. He mentioned how he would give ang pao to lots of people in Cambodia, and that at one point, he had spent almost $500,000 out of his own pocket in supporting Cambodian arts and culture.
He said he also gave a lot of tips to Cambodian workers, gifts of appreciation and other expenses that went towards Cambodian nationals. He said that the ban would help him save more than $1 million in the next three years.
Yun also pointed out that the money he claimed to be saving would go partially to red wine he would gift his “loyal, referring clients.”
In one of his Facebook comments, he also said that his friendship with the late Princess Buppha Devi was watching over him, and that Princess Arun Rasmey had allegedly sent a spy to cover the event that put him in the Cambodian PM’s bad graces.
