CAMBODIA THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T BE KING ONCE HE DREAMED OF GOING 
TO HOLLYWOOD AS THE " CAMBODIAN CHARLIE CHAN . " THEN 
HE TOOK UP THE SAXOPHONE AND MADE LIKE " CANNONBALL " 
ADDERLEY, BELTING OUT SUCH COMPOSITIONS OF HIS OWN AS LOVE WITHOUT 
HOPE . HE SUPPORTED A TROUPE OF 30 DANCING GIRLS AND 
A STRING OF 20 THOROUGHBREDS AND WORKED DILIGENTLY TO IMPROVE THE 
BREED . SPORTS ARE HIS LATEST CRAZE . HE CAPTAINS A 
CHAMPIONSHIP VOLLEYBALL TEAM AND RECENTLY DUNKED IN 92 POINTS IN A 
BASKETBALL GAME . ECCENTRIC AND MERCURIAL HE MAY BE, BUT CAMBODIA'S 
PRINCE NORODOM SIHANOUK, 41, IS ALSO ONE OF THE SHREWDEST LEADERS 
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA . SIHANOUK WAS CAMBODIA'S YOUNG KING UNTIL 1955, 
WHEN HE STEPPED DOWN FROM THE THRONE TO RUN FOR ELECTIVE 
OFFICE IN THE GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE THE " TRUE FACE OF THE 
PEOPLE WAS HIDDEN FROM ME . / UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, CAMBODIA 
HAS EMBARKED ON AN AMBITIOUS PROGRAM OF DEVELOPMENT . LAST YEAR 
THE RICE CROP WAS THE BEST IN MEMORY, AND A RECORD 
EXPORTABLE SURPLUS OF 400,000 TONS WAS PREDICTED . CAMBODIA DOES NOT 
HAVE ONE RIEL OF EXTERNAL DEBT, AND ITS CURRENCY IS 100 
PER CENT COVERED BY GOLD AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE (V . 50 
PER CENT IN THE U.S.) ; 25 PER CENT OF THE 
BUDGET IS SPENT ON EDUCATION, ONE OF THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGES IN 
THE WORLD . " SOCIALIST MAJESTIES . " BUT CAMBODIA, LIKE 
MANY PLEASANT AND LANGUID PLACES, IS NOW BESET BY PRESSING ECONOMIC 
PROBLEMS . THE PLANNED $26 MILLION DEFICIT FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR 
HAS UNEXPECTEDLY DOUBLED, AND THE GOVERNMENT IS SO SHORT OF CASH 
THAT THE CURRENT FIVE YEAR PLAN IS LITERALLY OUT OF MONEY 
. SOME $24 MILLION WORTH OF PUBLIC PROJECTS HAVE HAD TO 
BE CANCELED, AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES ARE DWINDLING AT THE RATE 
OF $1,500,000 A MONTH . SIHANOUK'S REACTION WAS CHARACTERISTICALLY UNPREDICTABLE ; 
HE PURGED HIS GOVERNMENT OF ITS OLDTIMERS AND INSTALLED IN THEIR 
PLACES A GROUP OF HIS MOST FIERY CRITICS . THEY ARE 
YOUTHFUL (AVERAGE AGE : 36), LEFT-WING, PARIS-TRAINED INTELLECTUALS WHOM SIHANOUK SNEERINGLY 
CALLS " THEIR SOCIALIST MAJESTIES . " SAYS SIHANOUK : " 
I KNOW THAT THEY DO NOT LIKE ME . THEY HATE 
ME . THEY HAVE ALWAYS SUPPORTED THE COMMUNISTS . NOW I'VE 
GIVEN THEM THE OPPORTUNITY OF SUPPORTING CAMBODIA FOR THE FIRST TIME 
. I TOLD THEM, " YOU CAN KILL ME, BUT YOU 
HAVE NO RIGHT TO KILL CAMBODIA . " ' WHAT'S GOOD 
FOR G . M . . . . BEHIND SIHANOUK'S ODD 
CHOICE OF MINISTERS IS AN ADROIT POLICY . WITH OPPONENTS IN 
HIS VERY CABINET, SIHANOUK IS ABLE TO KEEP AN EYE ON 
HIS FOES, AND TO FORCE THEM TO SHARE BLAME FOR A 
WORSENING FINANCIAL SITUATION . HE HAS ALLOWED THE CABINET TO SLASH 
GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES, BUT VETOED ITS PROPOSAL TO NATIONALIZE THE FRENCH RUBBER 
PLANTATIONS, WHICH ARE A PRIME SOURCE OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE . " 
THE FRENCH MIGHT BE CAPITALISTS, " SIHANOUK SAID, / BUT THEY 
ARE CAPABLE . " HE ALSO DELIGHTS IN POINTING OUT TO 
HIS LEFT-LEANING INTELLECTUALS THE FAILURE OF CAMBODIA'S RED CHINESE-BUILT FACTORIES . 
" THEY ONLY COST US MONEY, " SIHANOUK SAYS . " 
I TELL MY CABINET THAT THAT'S NOT WHAT FORD OR GENERAL 
MOTORS WOULD DO . " THOUGH HE DEALS ROUGHLY WITH CAMBODIA'S 
NATIVE COMMUNISTS, SIHANOUK ARTFULLY REFUSES TO JOIN EITHER THE COMMUNIST OR 
WESTERN CAMPS . HOPING TO KEEP HIM NEUTRAL, THE U.S . 
HAS WEIGHED IN WITH $300 MILLION IN ECONOMIC AID SINCE 1955, 
TO THIS NATION OF 5,700,000 PEOPLE, AND RUSSIA HAS BUILT A 
500-BED HOSPITAL AND SENT INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT . CURRENTLY, NEUTRALIST SIHANOUK LEANS 
TOWARD MORE WESTERN INFLUENCE IN HIS COUNTRY, FOR HE FEELS THAT 
A COUNTERBALANCE IS NEEDED AGAINST THE RISING STRENGTH OF THE COMMUNISTS 
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA . BUT THE MAIN OBJECT OF SIHANOUK'S POLICY 
IS STILL TO " MAINTAIN THE JOIE DE VIVRE OF MY 
PEOPLE . I WANT THEM TO WORK ALSO, BUT NOT SO 
HARD AS COMMUNISTS . WE CAMBODIANS ARE NOT ANIMALS OR MACHINES 
. WE HAVE TO REMAIN GAY AND FREE . WE MUST 
BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THE GOOD THINGS . / 