Jean-François Tain, managing director of Radio France International (RFI) in Khmer, has announced he will step down from his role after a 30-year tenure with the international French radio news network.

On Thursday, Tain posted on his Facebook page that he will be leaving RFI Khmer in the next 30 days. He confirmed that he handed in his formal resignation with the general director of the institution on March 15 - more than four months ago.

However, he was requested to work until the end of August to reform the station’s Khmer broadcast as it shifted from radio to entirely digital broadcasts, such as Facebook, he added.

Due to a decline in radio listeners in Cambodia, RFI in Khmer said on July 31 that it would stop broadcasting on FM radio across the nation and completely switch to digital broadcasting, particularly on Facebook.

"It's all done now," he said, adding that as he must work until the end of August, he would like to thank all of his supporters for their support throughout his time at RFI.

“I'll never forget the first listeners to RFI on OM in Paris and its environs between 1993 and 2005 and I won't forget the RFI radio FM listeners in Cambodia from 2005 until 2023,” he said. “Also, I won't forget my global supporters who have been listening to digital RFI radio in recent years, especially on Facebook and YouTube.”

He added that he would also like to thank all of his professors and the senior journalists who taught and guided him, as well as the RFI executives for allowing him to work there since 1993.

“Thank you for the position and the trust,” he said. “Through a tiny window provided by RFI, I was able to raise my voice and share knowledge with the Cambodian people in order to benefit the nation.”

Starting in September, Seng Dina and Kouch Kuntheara will take over as managing directors of RFI and they will oversee the team in both Paris and Phnom Penh.

Kiripost contacted Jean-François Tain for comment but he was unavailable at the time of publication.

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