The new Attorney General, Graham Leung, is proving to be embarrassingly impotent in his ability to remove the unlawfully-appointed Acting DPP, John Rabuku. Yet he is proving to be just as adept at spin as his predecessor during the FijiFirst years, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Graham Leung isn’t an elected politician. He has been appointed from outside the parliament to be AG. But he is already playing politics in a manner that indicates that he is a partisan political player rather than merely a defender of the rule of law. So he can hardly be surprised if this means being dragged into the rough and tumble of political discourse.
Coming soon on Grubsheet, how Graham Leung is party to the tyranny of the present – a new dark age in Fiji in which the law is routinely violated and employed selectively against those the government regards as its opponents.
We intended to give the new AG time to settle in and have supported him in his attempts to remove the rogue Acting DPP, who 10 days after three Supreme Court judges pronounced that he is “ineligible” to occupy the position, is still refusing to budge.
But if Graham Leung wants to play politics and risibly claim in the people’s house when he is unelected that the “dark days of tyranny are over”, he deserves to start feeling the blowtorch. Because there is a new tyranny under the Coalition in which he is now a central player.
Graham Leung’s ill-judged speech in the parliament marks the end of his honeymoon as AG. Because the dark days aren’t over. They are still with us and are arguably even worse.
As the coming days unfold (to coin Imrana’s Jalal‘s lament) there’ll be many more reasons to weep. About the state of the rule of law and a great many other things as well.
Another Aiyaz-Sayed Khaiyum clone. Yet another fat cat with a big mouth. Preening, posturing, grandstanding but underneath it all, limp and impotent.
Dark days na so!
Look inside your house Leung.
What does Rabuka and Rabuku remind you of?
These guys are such useless burden on taxpayers.
Well the illegal Acting DPP is finally going tomorrow after receiving his marching orders from HE the President. But why tomorrow, it will be 12 days too late. But this is Fiji they follow local processes here and the iTaukei protocol. It must be hard to pack up and go being an iTaukei in one’s own country after a decision by “visitors”.
Vinaka and take a bow. You were first with this, the Fiji Sun second, Grubsheet third.
In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king
What the fuss about .
This is nothing compared to what happened during the 2 man rule .
As in rugby sevens they say ” one game at a time”.
Will need to watch how things unfold.
GL is well qualified to turn things around.
After the 2006 coup, Fiji was ruled by unelected bunch of opportunist for 8 years.
Those dark days are over.
Absolutely right Joe
I have confidence in new AG.
Nothing new for Fiji
We had few before.
ASK was unelected AG after 2006 coup, no one had guts to look in his eyes.
He was AG for Almost 8 years, did all this fuss come up than?.
Joe—That is correct.The dark days are over.
Time to pay school fees. Time to take care of your own because it is NOT the responsibility of social welfare, women, and children’s ministry.
Go get your own weed and jack daniels.
We the itaukei have anointed Dracula to guard the blood bank.
With all his good intentions (which I fully support) Graham should tread carefully amongst the elected and recently bruised parliamentarians especially the iTaukei.
The iTaukei parliamentarians will only go as far as trying to keep themselves accountable, as recently announced.
One can go the full breadth and length of living and assimilating into the itaukei culture as long as one don’t shake the tree.
Remember, accountability and transparency does not exist in the very fabric of itaukei society, instead the opposite – corruption; which is present and manifests itself in many forms, shapes and sizes.
It sure sounds like Graham is aggressively using his new position to lecture and tow his elected parliamentarians under his ideals. (The ideals are great but shoving it down the throats and of his colleagues as announced?). Would had been better if such pronouncements were made by the PM so Graham has his back covered? The parliamentarians could say, who is this unelected member of parliament making such grand announcements in parliament? What will our voters say about this unelected member?
Graham may have endorsed Rabuka publicly before the 2022 GE (and everyone knows that it was a public nudge to Rabuka for the AG position), but it’s the iTaukei mafia in parliament that he should be careful of.
The iTaukei mafia is headed by the Speaker himself.
Prediction: If Graham is not ousted before the 2026 election, he will definitely be out after that.
Sheer shocking what the law society, the AG just couldn’t fire Rabuku after the 3 Judges gave him the marching orders. Actually he held the judiciary hostage and became a rebel without a gun.
The whole world is laughing at us. If he did the same in any other country he would be behind bars. Too late the police should have intervened and forcibly removed him A case like this should never happen again.
Just interested who take cares of this kind of situations ? Is it the Foreign Affairs ?
Oh know the president gave the orders too late. What mess Fiji is in
Well what is happening with Justice Minister investigation? Should he also step down as a matter of principle. The investigation is on going everywhere and everytime under this collusion Gov’t.
Well Graham, prove your worth and words by cleaning out the violators if the parliamentary code of conduct (common law), corrupt politicians abusing public and foreign funds and drug users pretending to be Cabinet Ministers, eh?
C’mon big boy, let’s get right on it quick smart. The corrupt politicians and officials from the dark past and present need to be swept out with the same swift volley of your broom. No discrimination. Do it for Fiji and your own legacy. We’re sick of the rot at the top of both past governments and the present circus.
I agree about the rot at the top of both governments and think my record speaks for itself. I stand for Fiji, the principle of one nation and the right of ordinary people to be governed properly, with competence, transparency and accountability.
I supported the FijiFirst government when I thought they were doing a good job and switched sides to the NFP when they weren’t. Now that the NFP has betrayed those who voted for it, I have turned my blowtorch on them and the rest of the Coalition.
I like to think that I am savage a watchdog when it comes to both sides of politics, not for my own benefit but in the national interest. And with the support of people like you, that will continue.
Oh Graham! me thinks he was referring to GL not GD 🙂
No he was referring to me. There has been a continual attempt to undermine me since I started applying the blowtorch to the Coalition. They loved me when I was attacking FijiFirst. But now that I am attacking them, they attack me. It is the way of the world and I’m not bothered in the least.
Graham were you part of that group when there wasn’t a elected government after 2006 coup and ASK was AG?
I went to Fiji at the end of 2012 when the government had announced plans to return to parliamentary rule in 2014. And as I have said before, I persuaded Frank Bainimarama to proceed with the election after he told me in 2013 that he was “thinking about having a referendum on whether to have an election”. I wouldn’t have taken the job with Qorvis to assist the Bainimarama government if there wasn’t a commitment to return to parliamentary rule. And the record shows that I played a major role in producing that election and influencing the government’s direction. You don’t have to believe me. Talk to anyone who was there.
Really!!
Oh ok.
Couldn’t find on Google how and who persuaded Bainimarama to call election.
Nothing mentioned about GD.
Sorry
FFS. I was there. There were witnesses. It happened. Even Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum credited me with getting Bainimarama to change his mind. Whether it not it is on Google in neither here nor there. Are you seriously that dumb, Joe?
The pot calling the kettle black