What is it about Fiji and its relentless observance of United Nations “International Days” for every conceivable cause? They are invariably accompanied by full page ads in the paper, messages from assorted worthies and functions where someone delivers a speech. And so it has been with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2025, as if every day shouldn’t be dedicated to the elimination of racial discrimination.
The keynote address in Fiji this year – or at least the one that has attracted the most media attention – has been by Graham Leung – the part Chinese, part iTaukei Attorney General in Sitiveni Rabuka‘s government.
Why not Rabuka himself? Well that would have been an insult to everyone who has borne the brunt of Rabuka’s own appalling racism – the tens of thousands of non-indigenous Fijians who fled the country after his coups of 1987 and the accompanying home invasions, beatings and rapes.
No, Siti giving us a homily on eliminating racial discrimination in his three-piece suit and gold Rolex would have been too much. So the task of speaking on behalf of a government that has again embarked on asserting indigenous supremacy fell to its sole part-indigenous minister, though Graham Leung gives the appearance of strongly identifying with the iTaukei cause.
Grubsheet is today publishing his entire speech without the filter of mainstream media coverage for the following reasons:
- Graham Leung has taken the trouble to compose and deliver an unusually thoughtful treatise on the issue of race relations in Fiji and from his own perspective of someone who straddles ethnic boundaries. He is to be commended for doing so.
- There is no doubting his sincerity as he tries to pull together the various strands of the country’s most vexing challenge.
- His appeal for understanding and compassion between ethnic groups is one that ought to be repeated time and time again yet sadly isn’t.
But…
- This is a speech from a relatively untypical member of the government – a part iTaukei who isn’t an elected MP. Which raises the obvious question as to who precisely Graham Leung is speaking for other than himself and what influence he has on race relations at the top.
- The speech is largely personal and confined to general principles – the kind of tolerance and goodwill that Graham Leung would like to see us all practice rather than specific policy suggestions to end racial discrimination.
- He glaringly avoids the burning issue of the moment for Fiji’s minorities – whether the proposed changes to the 2013 Constitution will take us back to 1997 – as the Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica has signalled – in which the minorities are again reduced to second class citizens in their country of birth.
This was an opportunity for Graham Leung – as the government’s chief legal advisor – to make a declaration of inclusion as the central feature of the Coalition’s program. He has singularly failed to do so.
- There is no assurance that the common and equal citizenry – equal opportunity and equal votes of equal value – will be retained when the Coalition pushes through its agenda to alter the 2013 Constitution or abolish it, as Manoa Kamikamica and Daniel Fatiaki have recently indicated.
- There is no assurance that the common identity will be retained – that every citizen irrespective of ethnicity will still be entitled to call themselves by the English word, “Fijian”, which many iTaukei erroneously believe belongs to them.
All of which means that this speech fell far short of what it should have been if Graham Leung was really serious about sending a message of racial inclusion to the nation as a whole. We know he can’t do so because he is a prisoner of the government’s program of reasserting indigenous paramountcy and maybe even subscribes to it himself.
But Leung and his cabinet colleagues must understand that until these assurances are made, the Coalition has fallen far short of the principles he enunciates in this speech. And the minorities will still be heading for the exits and better lives overseas. The estimated 100,000 people, and counting, who have left Fiji since the Coalition came to power two years ago – according to Dialogue Fiji most recently but backed up by official sources and even members of Rabuka’s cabinet.
That exodus is something for which Graham Leung – as a senior member of the government – shares responsibility. And it adds a decidedly jarring note to the lofty principles he enunciates here.
Well worth a read for where we should be, not where we are.
Wise and wonderful words that all peace loving people would love to see set down as a charter to guide us and live by. Unfortunately the world is run by people who have other agendas that do not follow the will and wishes of the people they were elected by, but promote division and hatred so as to enrich those leaders who have their own personal gains at the forefront of their minds.
Those words have been written and spoken by a man who many people had high hopes for, but can only be seen, as much as they appear heartfelt and sincere, as hollow when they are not backed up by actions consistent with standing up for the principles regarding good and honest governance, calling out wrong doing by politicians and high ranking members of the judiciary and doing ‘the right thing’.
Talk is cheap, it is the actions of a man that define his character and how he is remembered in the history books.
Chong-in-hat reminds one of a dog on a leash with room to move.
However, this cross breed dog has entangled his leash into so many knots and wraps, the leash is now too tight and short for any more wiggle room.
This predicment has forced this dog to stop barking. Instead he now whimpers and occasionally growls in frustration.
Could not have happened to a nicer closet racist. Good dog. Sit boy!
Graham Leung is full of shit – all talk and no action. He is as dumb as bat shit. That speech would mean something if he was genuine.
ChatGPT i reckon
Agree with GD.
All ‘motherhood’ statements representing the opinion of one man. And opinions are like arseholes. Everyone has one.
Leung, like that other knighted ‘sweet & sour cassava’ claims to have i’taukei blood connections to Kadavu. But this cannot be substantiated.
It is important to have iTaukei blood links which can be substantiated, right?
Otherwise they all just vulagi and do not matter, right?
What is it about iTaukei blood? Has it to do with tradition and culture. Or does the DNA in this blood ensure that it is the only blood that is full of real racism? With a hint of vulagi religion running in it as well?
There must be a special type of blood test for this, I guess. Traditional medicine.
Whoah…obviously you did not get any this morning.
Is that why you are so bad-tempered and irrationally racist?
Whoah! Obviously it’s painful when the shoe is on the other foot aye WD?
Come on bro…I am agreeing with GD (for a change). I think he is right on this one.
Where we think he is wrong, we say so, and vice versa. And like him, I am unashamedly a Methodist, albeit not as practising as his late respected Turaga Talatala would have me. I apologise most profusely for this.
So dont soil your dhoti over my comment and bring in your outdated caste-driven prejudices into the conversation.
Now go buy a bunch of flowers and chocolate and try go get some ! It will help clear your mind.
DVC.
As a unelected parliamentarian and primary legal officer he should be preaching the importance of upholding the Constitution.
To be fair, he has said that any changes must be lawful. It’s just that they have handpicked a Chief Justice who is on the same page as them and has already violated the supreme law with the appointment of John Rabuku as acting DPP.
What about his role in Puleiwai’s sacking and his refusal to obtain a joint opinion for Barbara’s suspension? And his claim that he hasn’t read the opinion the COI received?
Precisely.
WD: Sincere apologies. We all make mistakes. We’ve all agreed or disagreed with each contributor and very rarely, with GD.
This is the beauty of living in a free society. We can agree to disagree, respectfully. Granted, it is difficult to respect the rights of people with whom you disagree.
In this Season of Lent, may God bless us all and all our families.
Peace and Goodwill to you and your family.
This coalition and members of the government will go down in history as the racist government who is attempting to de-recognise common citizenry and equality in 2025 where we as a world has achieved so much in this area globally. And here we have Fiji going backwards.
This will have a long and devastating effect on Fiji and its citizen. The old and outdated etho-nationalists support the move however where are our young and modern thinkers who support the PAP?? Surely they get it that in this day and age the world has become a better place in recognising equality and respect for all? Please save our Fiji before these old, outdated beliefs destroy our nation for good.
#saveourfiji26 #rolexrambo
Hey bro. What you smoking?
Stop it. Its messing with your mind.
A nice speech from Graham Leung. But definitely his own personal views. Not that of the government he is part of.
But he got one thing wrong, He said he doesn’t believe that Fiji is a racist country. He must be completely blind.
Racism is ingrained in most I taukei peoples’ minds. It’s manifested in how they view non i Taukeis, how they treat them and how they speak to them and about them.
This racism is further strengthened by politicians using the race card for their political gain and now the institutionalised racism enabled by the current government.
If they cannot see that, then they need to get their heads out off whatever abyss they are buried in.
Brah…the Indians in Fiji are just as racist….even worse…exacerbated by their caste system. So don’t try and portray yourselves as angels. DVC
DVC, the post you are responding to is written by me, an I Taukei.
I have seen this racism in the last 50 years of my life. And I am referring to racism against anyone non i Taukei. Not just Indians.
And I said its ingrained in most I taukei, not all.
If you do not see that, then you need to get your objectivity checked.
Who says…caste system does not exist in Fiji….look at all the inter caste marriages and inter racial marriages.
But hey why let the reality get in the way of a good story.
Mr Leung, your message is impactful. As legal lead, how do you personally apply these principles? Leadership accountability is crucial. To what extent is your message understood and practiced by your leadership team, including SLR?
While your words are influential, actions speak louder. We observe and hope for genuine change, not political maneuvering. We urge you to lead Fiji away from division and towards unity. You have the opportunity to create a lasting, positive legacy, and not just a big words fest!
A speech by a person trying to keep a foot in each camp and failing!
As others have said, full of motherhood statements.
Leadership is about both saying and more importantly doing. And on that count Graham Leung fails. He can make flowery speeches until hell freezes over but his actions to date paint him as being no better than the likes of Manoa Kamikamica.
The celebrating of UN “International Days” is just another example of Government window dressing, with a full-on day of celebration at some expensive venue with the obligatory food and drink so that the average Fijian can feel their Government is doing ‘something’ for them.
I have no trust for anyone who quotes from the bible or from any holy book. My experience is that such people have no ideas, they have no solutions, they blame everyone and everything else. These people who look for divine intervention are the most useless people on the planet.
How many iTaukei members of parliament start their contribution in parliament with a quote from the bible. It is totally irrelevant to the subject at hand. It is as if their quote from the bible is the answer to the problem they are discussing. Very proud moment that the member got the answer from the bible. Frightening donkeys everywhere.
Word has it that THE SECOND video is out for the Queen of Tarts.
Oi, sa dina? Be careful you don’t find yourself being reported to the wrong police station. Be careful about leaking it but a brief and, er, delicate description of the contents would be most appreciated if you happen to see it.
Graham Leung’s speech on Anti-Discrimination Day is nothing but double speak. He says one thing and does another. While his speech may have highlighted the right principles—ones that all Fijians should live by—his leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, is the true embodiment of racism. Leung may have the right words, but his actions as part of a government led by Rabuka, a man steeped in divisive and discriminatory behavior, suggest otherwise.
Rabuka has been a consistent practitioner of racism since 1987 and, shockingly, since December 2022, has picked up where he left off. Even when not in power, Rabuka has made racially charged and discriminatory remarks, demonstrating a deep-rooted disdain for Indo-Fijians. He has insulted Indo-Fijians born in Fiji by calling them “Vulagi” and once even claimed that the 1987 coup, which he led, had created better opportunities for Indo-Fijians to settle abroad. These are racist statements, plain and simple.
Under Rabuka’s leadership, this government continues to foster a climate of exclusion and division, undermining the sense of unity and peace among all citizens. Rabuka’s actions have tarnished the reputation of the Itaukei people—majority of whom have coexisted peacefully with Indo-Fijians and other minorities for decades.
Leung, as Attorney General, should not be blindly following Rabuka’s harmful agenda. If he truly believes in the ideals he expressed in his speech, he must challenge Rabuka to clarify and abandon his plans to dismantle the 2013 Constitution. The proposed changes Rabuka seeks—changes that undermine equal citizenry, a common identity, and secularism—are deeply discriminatory. Leung, instead of turning a blind eye, should be using his position to influence Rabuka and his mob to preserve the core values of equality, common identity, and secularism that are fundamental to Fiji’s Constitution.
We must hold Leung accountable to his words. If he truly stands for equality, he must take concrete steps to ensure that Rabuka’s discriminatory motives do not reshape the foundation of Fiji’s governance.
Leung must demand that Rabuka and his government uphold the principles of equal citizenry and secularism for all Fijians, regardless of race or religion.
Furthermore, those like Biman Prasad and the other 5 Indo-Fijian MPs on the government side must stop being complicit. They must stand up for their community and the rights of all minorities, not sit back and allow the government to alienate them further.
Rabuka’s coalition government is clearly intent on alienating Indo-Fijians and other minorities. While Bainimarama may not have been perfect, at least provided a sense of security, equality, common identity, and a sense of belongingness to all Fijians, Rabuka is dismantling that inclusivity
So, Leung, while your speech was admirable, now it’s time for you to back up your words with action. Stand firm against Rabuka’s divisive agenda and put your principles into practice.