The corruption of Fiji’s traditional newspaper of record under the Motibhai Patel family of Ba has reached a new low with an extraordinary front page attack on Janet Mason – the Counsel Assisting the Commission of Inquiry into the “rotten ” circumstances of the appointment of the FICAC Commissioner, Barbara Malimali.
It is crude propaganda designed to damage Janet Mason’s reputation and, in turn, damage the authority of the Commission of Inquiry as a whole as it demands the suspension of Barbara Malimali for her intimidation of COI witnesses and the Chief Justice and head of the Judicial Services Commission, Salesi Temo, refuses to do so.
The story by Cheerieann Wilson – the former media advisor to the Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka – starts out with a big lie – that Janet Mason is “one of the Commissioners” at the COI when she is, in truth, the Counsel Assisting the sole Commissioner, the Supreme Court judge, Justice David Ashton-Lewis. It appears to be a deliberate attempt to elevate Mason’s importance to justify this insidious story being splashed on the Fiji Times front page.
The story itself is about the alleged travails of Janet Mason’s law firm in New Zealand. Why on earth is this relevant to the conduct of the Commission of Inquiry in Fiji? That the lawyer assisting the Judge may or may not be having challenges with her business? So what?
It has no bearing whatsoever on the integrity of Justice Ashton-Lewis himself or his ability to get to the truth about the increasingly sinister circumstances of the appointment of Barbara Malmali as FICAC Commissioner. On the contrary, it is a crude and desperate attempt to try to damage him by association in the increasingly grave showdown between the COI and the Chief Justice.
Nowhere – NOWHERE – does Cheerieann Wilson mention anything about this showdown, which goes to the heart of the integrity of Fiji’s criminal justice system.
- Nothing about the Commission of Inquiry asking the Chief Justice and JSC to suspend Barbara Malimali after she fired her chief investigator, Kuliasi Saumi, over evidence he gave to the COI and has resulted in the Commission referring the FICAC Commissioner to the Police.
- Nothing about the Chief Justice refusing to suspend her and his preposterous excuse that he doesn’t have the legal authority to do so.
- Nothing about the fact that Section 44 of the Interpretation Act definitely gives Salesi Temo the authority to suspend Barbara Malimali and it is scandalous that the Head of the Judiciary would try to pretend otherwise.
No, Fiji, Cheerieann Wilson and the miserable rag she works for papers over all of these facts that are the real story and does a front page axe-job on Janet Mason on an issue of no relevance or importance whatsoever to the Commission of Inquiry.
They don’t even have the guts to play the man – His Lordship the Judge – but target his handmaiden (and as Counsel Assisting, that’s what Janet Mason is) to try to smear the process indirectly and undermine the authority of the Commission.
It is just the latest instance of journalistic corruption at the Fiji Times under the management of the Motibhai Patel family. Their “Chairman Emeritus” and convicted criminal, Mahendra “Mac” Patel, misuses the newspaper to support the Coalition and wage a vendetta against the last government. And the current chairman and CEO, Kirit Patel, presides over the Fiji Times reporting selectively and manipulating the facts to try to undermine the integrity of a judicial inquiry.
They should both be brought to account and the Motibhai Patels stripped of the Fiji Times when there is a change of government. Because they are not fit and proper persons to preside over a national institution that has endured for the past 156 years yet has been turned into a crude propaganda rag that no self-respecting dead fish would be wrapped in.
What has this got to do with the Commission of Inquiry into Barbara Malmali? Here’s what the Fiji Times should be reporting on but has completely ignored.
None of this has been reported by Fiji’s supposed newspaper of record. Instead, the Fiji Times sides with the establishment to blacken the name of the Counsel Assisting, who it falsely casts as one of the Commissioners.
Let’s see what the sole Commissioner, Justice David Ashton-Lewis, has to say about the Fiji Times. We can at least be sure that he will be on the side of any self-respecting fish.
An absolute travesty of a story in an absolute travesty of a newspaper.
And let’s be in no doubt. Cheerieann Wilson is a propagandist for the Coalition. She was its media advisor and has now gone to the Fiji Times to spin stories in its favour.
Aided, of course, by the same old glee club of undiscriminating readers.
This is a below the belt punch – what the hell is happening to our Fiji Times and judicial leadership?
Pathetic reporting to discredit this lawyer from NZ who is here to assist expose the corrupt appointment of the Tuvalu Siren.
Our JS is a MESS right now.
Vinaka Davis for reporting this
Wilson and Vijay Narayan are both useless in their profession.
Both work for biased organisations and will say anything to curry favour with this government to stay in its good books.
Everyone knows the history of the owners of each organisation with the previous government, so it is no surprise their staff are now coming out in full force to do everything they can to discredit it.
Staff have been instructed to either write supporting articles, or find another job to support themselves.
The toilet paper award goes to the Fiji Times and Fiji Village is just an online propaganda machine with no facts on the articles.
People in Fiji should be avoiding any of the local printed media, online media and government statements. They should be coming to sites such as this to get the truth about the situation in Fiji; this being particularly important for foreign investors.
The bull s#!t just gets deeper.
Boycott Fiji Times.
This wreaks of their desperation now that the Coalition have backed themselves into a corner. Digging for dirt, and all they could come up with is a company in financial distress, like so many law firms since the Pandemic and inflationary pressures.
How much longer can this desperate farce go on?
A clear case of the diversionary tactics by the current Government and Judiciary, who are desperately trying to keep the lid on the truth.
It is scandalous that Fiji Times lead stories on the front page today are trying to smear the processes and people who are daring to stand up for justice.
How’s Commissioner of Prisons wifes’s appointment on merit different from Biman Prasad’s wife’s appointment to senior positions at USP under Pal? This did not attract any in-depth analysis in the Fiji Times.
It is also amazing how the FT gives regular space to the hog wash perpetuated by letter writers Dewan Chand and Rajeshwar Lingam, who are still waiting to get ‘oscars’ for their religious and unblemished record for being Rabuka’s arse lickers. Dewan Chand’s claim to fame is he is Rabuka’s neighbour in Lower Ragg avenue, where they share the same driveway. Lingam a blind NFP supporter is still waiting to be rewarded with a senior position in the current government.
Cheerieann Wilson’s interview is a joke and it is an insult how the FT has to follow up with an article desperately trying to inject credence to the BS.
Thank you GD for continuing to maintain the high standard of analysis and journalism.
The infighting that is going on between Fiji’s untouchable ethno-nationalist judiciary gang bangers and the (Vulagi) led CoI inquiry by two NZ expatriates has seriously undermined and damaged a good faith outcome of this erstwhile fact sensitive investigation.
It had been widely reported previously that Ms Mason’s Legal Practice in NZ was subjected to a fine because of some breaches and the ethno-nationalist gang bangers were gunning for her and also undermining her role on the CoI. It was therefore, inevitable that those who are against Pryde’ return would be attempting to garner and produce any evidence that might damage and undermine Ms Mason’s professional standing and character. In that respect, perhaps the letter recommending Malimali’s suspension should have been signed by the Judge.
Meanwhile, Pryde should stay put in NZ because Fiji is no longer the land of equal opportunities because the ethno-nationalist iTaukei gang bangers have taken full control.
As GD said, Mason is NOT a Commissioner in this COI.
Get that loud and clear Wilson. Your reporting shows your lack of lived experiences abroad and your complete lack of intelligence and investigative reporting skills.
Getting a business liquidated is nothing major overseas. Happens for all sorts of reasons. But unless and until it affects the COI in Fiji on Malimali right now then spill the beans Wilson. Because for now, your reporting is jack shit. Or as they say in Fiji, f&ckall. Get a grip.
I cannot believe that this sort of garbage makes the headline in a country. What the actual f**k! Thousands of companies go into liquidation every year in NZ. Not a single media in NZ and Australia will make them the front page news unless thousands of shareholders had their investment compromised and it would have an economic disaster for the government and the public. That’s that!
Fiji Sun, with some credibility, please continue to focus on the issue that we have an illegally and politically appointed head of FICAC and she must go. We already have a DPP not willing to work from the Fiji office because of the pandemic of corruption and witch hunt. Otherwise, we have Grubsheet that does a 100% better job.
This vomit material by Wilson is exactly why Ashton-Lewis didn’t want media in the CoI rooms. Now your dumb stars know in Fiji Times.
To be fair, she has “had a lived experience abroad”. In Papua New Guinea.
Oh ffs. Might as well be Uganda then. PNG, just gets worse 🤣🤣
😉
Fiji has become a laughing joke and these circumstances are of grave concern to many overseas, including investors who are not keen to further their business. People are generally very concerned and have been cautioned not to invest till the law settles. This applies to aid agencies too now.
Again, not a good look Fiji.
The stupid PM better pray harder from the holy ground of USA while kissing Trump’s arse and begging for more money.
Wilson, here’s a hot story that will make headlines.
It is not Milamila’s tits for sure.
But how about you investigate how Rob Semaan, a man who robbed millions off his investors in USA, claims to be born in Fiji, declared bankrupt, is RIGHT NOW AWARDED MULTI MILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT AND DONOR AGENGIES!
Won’t that make a juicy story.
That will make headlines.
Off you go, tolo, we want to see your real journalism skills from USP or wherever in play.
In simple terms, all I am saying is look around. The shit is everywhere in the government and the justice system. The country is cursed and Fiji Times is a major embarrassment and source of misinformation and propaganda.
Can you put up a similar piece of how you condemned the Fiji Sun when it was being a lapdog fot Kai before? Obviously not.
Mason’s failed practice in NZ is important for people to understand that they will prolong this inquiry for as long as possible to pay the bills back in NZ, they apparently are being paid a daily rate of thousands in NZD. The inquiry was supposed to be on how Malimali was appointed, so the focus should be on the JSC process and its advice to the President. Seems the scope is getting extended for the sake of more $$$$ in the pocket for the Commissioner and his side kick.
And for that FICAC guy getting dismissed, people need to consent to being recorded. And his comment on a FB post that Malimali’s attorneys were intruders. Malimali was already appointed and can call whoever she wants to come to the FICAC office as she is legally the Commissioner on that day. Seems like the former investigator and a lot of people here have got their knickers in a twist.
Who says she has a “failed practice”? This is just a crude smear. And to accuse both the Judge and his Counsel Assisting of stringing out the inquiry to make more money is outrageous.
They are finding mounting evidence of wrongdoing and are being impeded in their enquiries by the very person who is being investigated. Under the Crimes Act, that’s called perverting the course of justice and there will be consequences.
For you to try to excuse what has happened is equally outrageous. If Malimali is unfit to practice in Tuvalu, she should be unfit to practice in Fiji. And for her to be appointed FICAC Commissioner as a known government supporter is corruption of the first order.
Kindly get back in your box.
I read an article in The Fiji Times about in interracial marriage. It was written as if an interracial marriage is a good thing. If I ever was given a choice between an interracial marriage or to remain single, not have any children and wipe out my bloodline from existence, I would gladly choose to go extinct. I just can’t afford to do something as low as interracial marriage. The government should ban interracial marriages. It should be considered a crime.
Crikey. Which tree did you come down from? Have another banana.
The crime should be that creatures like you are permitted to reproduce at all.
The only interracial marriage I agree to is interracial marriages that is between the same gender. A man from one race/ethnicity is allowed to marry a man from another race/ethnicity. A woman from one race/ethnicity is allowed to marry a woman from another race/ethnicity. That’s how it should always be.
But I am an antinatalist. I won’t be having any children because I don’t want to bring them into a world full of suffering.
The subject is closed on the grounds of irrelevance.
It appears Slacker has fallen off the wagon –again.
It’s a sad reality that govt could ban hate speech and people with slacker’s thoughts on this matter but it would take much more than legislation and enforcement to raise his ( or her) IQ levels.
Shameful. An embarrassment to the human race.
If things were not bad already we have this now, Fiji. Watch him. He is all show and another puppet. Another race propaganda mouth piece.
https://www.fiji.gov.fj/Media-Centre/News/BATIWALE-IS-THE-COMMISSIONER-FOR-THE-ONLINE-SAFETY?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1k19sK_BTeQESoDiySVxP_X0JDn52xuCwMeMeysQutplRUCsMjNFEvMsk_aem_h20zRax_06A1DOjbDpxInQ
I look forward to him coming after me. The Commissioner for Quelling Dissent.
Is this a paid position in government? If so, was there any vacancy announced? If so, were required qualifications announced?how about terms of employment and duty statement?
If position is funded from the public purse (tax-payer funded) what would be the bandwidth/salary?
How many other candidates were interviewed?
Perhaps it might be an unpaid/voluntary position? Will he work for free?
What prosecutorial power (if any) does/will the position have? Will he investigate our very own weed and porn queen?
Of course, all the above are rubbish questions from ‘outsiders.’
Silly me, the guy was hired purely on one “merit” based criteria, and only is one required: race based criteria.
Agree. Was the role ever advertised that Batiwale is in now? May be he can answer.
Now the Fiji Times has become a joke. Go and do some more investigation about Barbwire, why she was sacked from USP School of Law. Go find out how strong were the law students voice that they removed her from teaching at USP School of Law. Go and find out why she is frequently visiting the School of law and her bestie Prem Shekhar’s office.
Oh well this won’t go down well and cause some major shame to Wilson and company.
Jiaoji Savou reports on Facebook
“If the Fiji Times did proper journalist work, instead of selective propaganda, they would have found that Mason acquired ownership of that Company in October 2022 from its previous owner, Angelo Basil PAPAGEORGIOU. It’s all there on the New Zealand Companies register.
The New Zealand Revenue is pursuing the Company for tax debts which Mason inherited when she acquired ownership of it.
The Papageorgiou clan is “old money” in the City of Wellington. They have huge property and business holdings. The scion of the clan, Basil Spyros Papageorgiou, established the Ulysses Trust way back in the 1950’s. In 2014 the Trust went into receivership and had to sell some key landmarks in Courtenay Pl, Cuba St and Oriental Bay in the City of Wellington worth over $20 million.
They still hold substantial property holdings in the Wellington CBD.
Mason purchased the shares in Phoenix in October 2022, and she hadn’t even settled into the office when the Kiwi Inland Revenue came knocking on her door asking about the Companies outstanding tax debts”
Wilson, you need to be forewarned and then fired. I am sure a defamation case will follow from Mason. Moce Jo.
Vinaka for this. Very interesting. As said in my article, whatever is happening with Janet Mason’s business in New Zealand is completely irrelevant to what is happening with the Commission of Inquiry in Fiji.
But if what Jiaoji Savou says is true, Mason is blameless and Cheerieann Wilson and the Fiji Times are in all sorts of bother.
It isn’t just defamation but an attempt to discredit the Commission of Inquiry. And that constitutes contempt of the Commission and is a criminal offence.
Fiji Times please also publish Lynda Tabuya’s US business that went up in bankruptcy in your headlines tomorrow.
From Jioji Savou’s page (Facebook):
If the Fiji Times did proper journalist work, instead of selective propaganda, they would have found that Mason acquired ownership of that Company in October 2022 from its previous owner, Angelo Basil PAPAGEORGIOU. It’s all there on the New Zealand Companies register.
The New Zealand Revenue is pursuing the Company for tax debts which Mason inherited when she acquired ownership of it.
The Papageorgiou clan is “old money” in the City of Wellington. They have huge property and business holdings. The scion of the clan, Basil Spyros Papageorgiou, established the Ulysses Trust way back in the 1950’s. In 2014 the Trust went into receivership and had to sell some key landmarks in Courtenay Pl, Cuba St and Oriental Bay in the City of Wellington worth over $20 million.
They still hold substantial property holdings in the Wellington CBD.
Mason purchased the shares in Phoenix in October 2022, and she hadn’t even settled into the office when the Kiwi Inland Revenue came knocking on her door asking about the Companies outstanding tax debts.
Vinaka. Worth repeating.
Cherrie Ann Wilson,
Let’s see – Peoples Alliance Communications Officer, Then worked for PM and now Fiji Times
Of course the Times gave her a job and she is going to write this crap.
Did the Fiji Times do any investigative journalism on Malimali when she was appointed? Not at all. Or else they would have found and published the official records of the Tuvalu incident at least.
This is a blatantly coordinated attack on the COI by many of the same people who used to rightly call for good governance in the past. Too much kilavata in Fiji affecting governance and the rule of law. I hope Mason sues them for defamation.
I cancelled my subscription to the FT when it was clear they were becoming the government’s propaganda outlet.
The timing of the story headlined “Probe on Law Firm” and the subsequent follow up letters in the “YOUR FIJI YOUR VOICE” segment in the FT is highly questionable.
No better example of a newspaper spewing out propaganda without any in-depth research with regard to the circumstances relating to Mason’s law firm in New Zealand.
And idiots like Dewan Chand and Rajesh Lingham are, as has been described, “arse lickers”.
Had Cheerieann Wilson researched Ms Mason’s law firms situation in New Zealand she probably would have nothing to write about. Distorting facts.
Not surprising though that it’s being done by this ” former media adviser “to Rabuka…the grandfather of military coups and of ethno-nationalism.
It has a similar strain to the propaganda prior to and immediately after the events of 1987.
The propaganda being emitted to the world’s media at the time was that the democratically elected government of the late Dr Timoci Bavadra was ” an Indian- dominated ” one ” etc etc.
Was wondering if Cheerieann Wilson is related to and/or has taken a leaf out of the pages of that other former propagandist and public relations fellow by the name of Matt Wilson..a close associate of the late Apisai Tora, one of the key organisers of the ethno-nationalist Taukei Movement.
The outbursts by Tora had been that Fiji’s Indians should go back to India because they are not God’s chosen people!! And the rest of the world seemed to have believed it!
Oh I digress!
The “Probe on Law Firm,” is a complely different issue now but nonetheless, I would contend, relates to ethno-nationalists in high places such as the judiciary being given the opportunity by propagandists,,,,such as Ms Wilson to circumvent what really is happening.
Fiji Times and other media outlets have forgotten their role in a democratic country, to be the watch dog of democracy, the voice of the people, and the fearless investigator of truth.
Yet in Fiji, the media landscape has deteriorated to a shameful level, where once respected outlets have become mere mouth pieces for the Rabuka government.
The Fiji Times was historically regarded as the country’s premier newspaper for quality journalism, has now lost its credibility under the ownership of Mac Patel’s Motibhai Group. What was once a beacon of fearless reporting has now become a convenient tool for the government’s propaganda machine, deliberately ignoring wrongdoings, facts and controversies involving
ministers, government institutions, and the judiciary.
There is no longer an effort to provide balanced reporting. The blatant refusal to cover scandals, financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and judicial failures has made Fiji’s media a willing accomplice in the erosion of democracy. Stories that would have been frontpage headlines in the past have now been conveniently ignored if they cast the government in a bad light. Instead the media remains fixated on discrediting the previous administration while giving the current government a free pass on its failures and abuses. This is not journalism — this complicity in deception.
The quality of journalism in Fiji is a disgrace. Investigative reporting is virtually non-existent, replaced by lazy, uncritical news pieces that merely regurgitate government statements. The journalists of today lack research skills, analytical depth, and the courage to ask hard hitting questions. Instead of challenging authority, they promote government narratives, failing to hold officials and ministers accountable. This is not just a failure of individual reporters but a systemic decay of the media industry itself.
The most troubling aspect of the media decline is the deliberate ignoring of news that is readily available. Reports on corruption, judicial misconduct, economic mismanagement, abuse of power and law, and political bias are all accessible , but the media refuses to touch them. This silence is not accidental; it is an intentional effort to shield those in power from scrutiny. The Fourth Estate has turned into a state sponsored PR machine, betraying its duty to the people of Fiji.
By choosing to suppress the truth, the media in Fiji is not just failing in its duty , it is actively supporting the demise of democracy. Without a free and independent press, corruption thrives, abuse of power goes unchecked, and the people are left in the dark.
It is time for journalists to remember their duty. The media is not an extension of government, it is a check on power. True journalism is fearless,relentless, and committed to the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it maybe. The people are watching, and history will not be kind to those who chose complicity over courage.
Fiji Times, not covering why Pryde is not joining yet, why Malimali needs to be suspended, why Temo is acting the way he is and why Rabuka, Naiqama, and Koluniwai are silent are all signs of media on drips
GD,
I have asked this before.
When Tabuya campaigned was she required to disclose her US bankruptcy of the company she was a director of?
Grubsheet The real reason Pryde was suspended, he received a ticket to investigate Rabuka and Ditoka. RABUKA suspended him
Research that please
Fiji Times you are supposed to be a newspaper.
Investigate if Tabuya disclosed her bankruptcy to electoral office, was it required, did she get special privilege being related to the PM and/ or being friends with benefits. There is so much on the internet about Rob Semaan’s many failed businesses if you would just search.
Check out his failed video piracy company 321 Studios. Read the article in St Luis Better business Bureau about how he started 2 more businesses after the fat injections Go Fig.
Do I have to also post the articles here for you or can you do your own research. It seems you have no investigative abilities nor desire to do a good job for the people.
The Fiji Times should not be considered a Bona Fide pillar of the Fourth Estate…it’s a laughable propaganda tool for it’s owners and related parties.
It would not even be accurately renamed as The Strait Times – there is nothing Straight in these deviant manipulators of public opinion – when the editorial team permit such poor standards and ethics such as they have been publishing ( or by not printing or suppressing news of public interest).
So now a King’s Counsel is considered for advice given Malimali is still not suspended from her role. It just gets more expensive and shameful for Fiji.
We all know that the KC will have the same advice as Aston-Lewis because he holds credibility. Olei, Barbs. Please just remember that after this your lifeline on any career is very limited.
If Fijians ever run out of toilet paper, remember there’s always the Fiji Times and the added advantage is that it comes with printed faces of Biman, Rabuka and Richard.
Your Friend Pramesh Sharma must be desperate for an ambassador position. Here he is at his brown nosing best on FB.
“Janet Mason has once again made headlines in the media regarding certain outcomes of the Commission of Inquiry’s deliberations. This is not only damaging but also undermines the role of both the Commissioner and the Commission itself.
Barbara Malimali remains the appointed Commissioner until such time the President makes a decision against her appointment! As such she continues to bear the critical responsibility of managing the resources at her disposal and, more importantly, safeguarding the credibility of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption – FICAC!
Regarding her suitability for the role, it is the Commission’s duty to assess and address such matters. The Commission is responsible for presenting its findings to the Judicial Services Commission, offering recommendations on whether the appointment process was flawed, compromised, or whether the individuals involved in the appointment lacked the necessary eminence. Furthermore, the Commission must determine if Barbara’s appointment aligns with the proper procedures.
Once again, many citizens, myself included, emphasize that the cost of maintaining this Commission is disproportionately high and places an unnecessary financial burden on taxpayers. We are witnessing legal professionals benefiting, FICAC staff potentially demoralized, and the three members of the Judicial Services Commission awaiting clarification on their own roles and whether they were deemed sufficiently eminent to make such recommendations to the President for the appointment.
Janet Mason’s public statements, whether in press releases or interviews, further undermine the integrity of the process and contribute to the erosion of public trust.
The average citizen desires nothing more than to see those who have abused their positions and stolen from the national coffers held accountable and brought to justice. Nothing more, nothing less.
The President certainly needs guidance on how to bring an end quickly to the COI and decide and act on any credible findings and recommendations of the COI!”
What a cretin. A Coalition quisling of no consequence.
GD, I think the Brown Noser deserves a special mention by an article dedicated to him. His stance is nauseating.