Letter To The Editor : What the people want

It is interesting times in Samoa with the turn our politics has taken in the last few weeks since the election.

Instead of waiting patiently for the democratic process to take its course, it seems that the new party on the block, its supporters and its inexperienced leadership so thirsty for power have deliberately set themselves on a course to destroy the character and reputation of innocent public officials whose only iniquity is that they are trying to do their jobs.

Watching the leader of FAST in her latest press conference with the newby MP from Gagaemauga 1 last night made me cringe. It made me cringe to my bones.

 I cringed with a sense of deep dismay and horror. Dismay as I witnessed how she launched and all out tirade against the poor Electoral Commissioner (EC) for all the world to see.

Horror at the fear that this very person with such a domineering and angry demeanour could be our next Prime Minister.

I mean, she spent the better part of the entire press conference taking the EC’s character apart piece by piece in a way that no leader should ever do. And for what?

All because she did not agree with a decision that the poor EC had all the constitutional right and power to make.

 At a very tense time in the country when our leaders should be protruding peace and harmony, here she is openly attacking not just the EC but the Attorney General too.

 In any democracy, we have a democratic process – where decisions such as the EC’s can be challenged in court – which is exactly what they are doing.

Whether the EC and the AG were right or wrong in their interpretation of the constitution is something the Supreme Court will decide.

Any real leader that is grooming to be the next PM would have exercised self-control!

If her attitude here is anything to go by, I dread the day she may become PM.  Will she fire every CEO that she disagrees with? So much for change!

If this is change – it would be a change for the worse!

By the way, let’s talk about this so called “change that the people voted for” that FAST and its supporters including the prominent former AG seem to paddle around loosely as if all of us were dumb and stupid.

Yes let’s look at it very closely.

Here are the facts; we stand today in a situation where both parties will likely secure 26 / 26 on the floor of parliament – assuming the EC’s decision is upheld by the Supreme Court. So it’s an even split it seems.

No clear or overwhelming signal for change to me.

But wait a minute, let’s now look at another FACT that FAST and its proponents conveniently try to ignore because they don’t like it. They don’t like it one bit. Here it is;

·         46,812 Samoans voted for HRPP = FACT

·         31,299 Samoans voted for FAST = FACT

·         55% of “the people” voted for HRPP = FACT

·         37% of “the people” voted for FAST = FACT

·         OVERALL: HRPP won the popular vote by far! = FACT

And that folks is something that FAST cannot challenge in any court no matter how hard they would want to lol.

 Yes – the people did indeed decide – and they decided to vote in the majority for HRPP plain and simple.

So please, enough with this nonsense about the people wanting to change to FAST blah blah blah. Nonsense! Fake news is what it is!

Which brings me to my last point – if this newby MP from Gagaemauga 1 had any real sense and intelligence in him, he would have broken the then deadlock by falling on the side with the clear mandate from the popular vote!  Faiatu ai foi. Common sense! But then again, the problem with common sense is that it is very uncommon! Certainly, it seems so with these people!

Ironic, isn’t it? Consider this very carefully…

If FAST does indeed become the government and we have a new PM, that would mean this guy will have singlehandedly been responsible for a situation where for the first time in our 59 years as a nation we shall have a government and a Prime Minister that only 37% of Samoans voted for.

Shocking isn’t it?

Talofae ia Samoa.

Winston Spencer Churchill

Faasaleleaga,

Samoa