By Staff Writer
MP Gatoloaifa’ana Amataga Gidlow is ending her term in Parliament on a gratifying note for her role in new Constitutional changes made to the Lands and Titles Court.
The Fa’asaleleaga No. 2 lady MP chaired the Parliamentary Committee, assigned the challenging task of going over the proposed amendments that were met with strong protest from the Samoa Law Society.
The Constitution amendments were eventually upheld in Parliament and it was a rewarding moment for MP Gatoloaifa’ana after her review committee toughed it out over strong public opposition.
“ We continued what our forebears wanted when Samoa became independent and I am proud of the role I played along with members of my committee,” she said in Parliament this week.
“The changes show respect for our Samoan culture that I believe we must strengthen at a time of strong worrying outside influences.
“I also want to show appreciation to our village chiefs and orators who came out in full support of the new legal changes that now makes it possible for legal recognition of our culture.”
MP Gatoloaifa’ana thanked the Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, for trusting her leadership enough to appoint her chair of the Select Committee.
The PM later in the House session proudly acknowledged the deciding role the culture holds on peace and stability in the villages.
Tuilaepa credited the chiefs and orators as well as the leadership roles by the women in the stability Samoa enjoys.
“The chiefs and orators are 24-hour police officers our official police officials depend on,” the PM acknowledge as tribute to the traditional authority in the villages.
He went on to praise the authority of Samoa’s traditional culture and the effective role it plays in protecting against conflicting foreign issues in other countries.
He noted at the same time the merging influence of the church and how it has combined with the culture to safeguard against the kind of instability seen with the recent attack on the US capital in Washington.
The Government leader is also wary of so many bad outside influences rapidly reaching Samoa’s youth through modern technology.
Illegal drugs and the attraction of other cultures foreign to Samoa are other areas of serious concern for the Prime Minister.