Saturday’s editorial in the Fiji Sun is a red letter day for Fiji – the first time one of the two daily national newspapers has called for the “power-drunk” Coalition government to step down and for the Prime Minister to be removed, describing him as “no longer fit for the job”.
21 months into its four year term – effectively the midpoint of its time in office, assuming it makes it to the 2026 election – opposition to the government has suddenly gone way beyond Grubsheet, Fijileaks and the likes of Mahendra Chaudhry and Savenaca Narube. It has now lost the support of a major mainstream media outlet with a big local circulation. And that is an unprecedented disaster for the Coalition, which faces two more years of the blowtorch from the Fiji Sun unless it radically alters direction.
The events of the past 48 hours have been the final straw, not just for the Fiji Sun but for anyone with a modicum of concern for good governance and the rule of law. The appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner is being publicly defended by Salesi Temo, the Acting Chief Justice and Chair of the Judicial Services Commission. But it is indefensible and the argument has already been lost in the court of public opinion.
Either she goes or the government goes – maybe not immediately but soon enough. Because this is not a storm that the government can simply ride out. And especially given the white-hot pubic anger over Malimali’s appointment when she was being investigated by FICAC, followed by the subsequent resignation of the FCAC Deputy Commissioner, Francis Puleiwai, who said she was not prepared to serve under a FICAC suspect.
There is a tipping point when any government goes off the rails and that tipping point has been reached. Anyone with half a political brain should have realised that thwarting the laying of charges against Biman Prasad and appointing a FICAC Commissioner who was under investigation herself was never going to fly. But then this government has never understood the boundaries of acceptable conduct, just as it has never understood the importance of carrying the Fijian people with it.
Its decision-making is chronically inept. It has no idea how a proper government should behave. People like Salesi Temo, Graham Leung and Siromi Turaga are completely out of their depth. Even a casual observer can see that the criminal justice system is being driven into the ground, whether it is the farce at the ODPP where someone found guilty of professional misconduct survives to be Deputy DPP, the 17 month delay in dealing with the suspended DPP, Christopher Pryde, and now the full blown assault on FICAC in which a government stooge facing criminal investigation herself has been appointed to head the nation’s corruption watchdog.
And if the decision-making lacks integrity and is being increasingly regarded as corrupt, the government is also burdened by an almost total lack of ability to communicate its message, assuming it has one. The announcement last week that the Cabinet Secretary, Susan Kiran, was also being appointed Permanent Secretary for Information was greeted with astonishment by anyone with expertise in the field. She knows absolutely nothing about how to organise an effective comms strategy. But then even an expert would have trouble talking up the Coalition’s chronic ineptness and disregard for basic standards of governance.
The Coalition’s strategy of simply powering on and ignoring that bits of its vehicle for governing are falling off on an almost daily basis might have worked for a while but it has now come to the end of the road. And unless Sitiveni Rabuka and his hapless team of mediocrities back themselves out of the dead end they have reached, they are political toast.
Grubsheet could scarcely believe my eyes reading the following Fiji Sun editorial by Naisa Koroi. For a long time, I was largely in the wilderness as a critic of this government (“give them a chance”, my own critics cried) but now there is a clamour of protest about their shocking excesses. And they ignore the implications of that disillusionment at their peril.
There is two years for a viable alternative government to form and if a week is a long time in politics – as an old saying goes – two years is an eternity. There is plenty of time for a new political force to emerge. And one thing is already certain. These clowns will not be able to run on their record. Because it is genuinely appalling.
As for Salesi Temo, the Wise Man of the West says it all in a letter to the same paper.
There is hard evidence against Barbara Malimali that is now on the public record and simply won’t go away. And to have summarily terminated a FICAC investigation into her alleged interference in the workings of the Elections Office on behalf of the government is an outrage.
That evidence below – including a direct intervention relating to Lynda Tabuya, with whom Malimali is known to be close – isn’t going to go away. This is a prima facie case of abuse of office and there are no two ways about it. And Francis Puleiwai had every right to have Malimali investigated, arrested and questioned.
That Puleiwai is gone and Barbara Malimali is now in charge of the corruption watchdog is a breathtaking national scandal . There is only one way to describe a government that would engineer this outrage and block the FICAC investigations into both Malimali and Biman Prasad and presumably now the other Coalition ministers who are before FICAC.
Corrupt.
If I was to pick a moment when the ball of string first started to unravel it was:
• The fiscal review committee recommending a tax holiday with unexplained conflicts
Bad governance started there and there has been a complete failure to address it but that set the tone for the collision government. If conflicts don’t need to be explained over the use of tax payer money then hey, anything goes.
From that point we have seen a steady erosion of the institutions and rule of law for either personal gain or personal vendetta.
Frequent and unfavorable comparisons to the last government are now common. But for most people the complaints are food is too expensive and roads are worse. Bad governance is going to make things worse.
We agree 100% on the issue of this corrupt government Graham.
What will it take for the RFMF to act?
Is the RFMF commander going to allow FICAC,the judiciary to be tainted?
When will the troops from QEB take control?
I prefer sooner rather than later.
Invoke the relevant provisions of the Constitution and take over.
When fools captain the ship, the reef is merely a playground. This is the folly of this government. Shout out to the Fiji Sun for taking the lead in the national daily to put the focus where it needs to be at this point, in the interest of the nation’s people.
Reading Salesi Temo’s take on the actions of now resigned F Puleiwai shows the character and motives of the man. It’s all happening Fiji. Rabuka, Kamikamica, Biman, Tabuya, in fact the whole rag tag bunch, needs to go. Now! It’s just so breathtakingly sad how quick Fijis justice system has crashed to lows never ever seen before in Fiji. If Rabuka was the leader he says he is, then he would have not permitted this absolute chaos to develop. Too little too late.
Are the comments made by Inia Seruiratu correct in that Ms Malimali is still under contract to the FEC? Can a civil servant hold two concurrent employment contracts?
Siromi Turaga says she had already resigned as Chair of the Electoral Commission.
https://www.fijivillage.com/news/-Malimali-had-already-resigned-as-Chair-of-Electoral-Commission-before-being-appointed-as-FICAC-Commissioner—Turaga-4x58rf/
Hmmm, so according to S Turaga, the Acting Com should have consulted with the newly appointed Com with her regards to her pending arrest.
“Good morning Madam and welcome to your new posting. You are under investigation and we are in the process of organising your arrest. Would you like to discuss this over a cup of tea?” lol 😂
The Coalition needs to go.
It reeks of dishonest people.
There isn’t a single person in that Coalition who can be trusted.
They are all there for self interest and serving themselves first.
8 ministers are under FICAC investigation, including the Prime Minister. That should be enough to create waves into the office at the army barracks right now and an interim government should now be in place.
The president has failed the people too.
Fiji has gone to the dogs.
There is no hope if the army doesn’t step in.
Well Kalouniwai won’t and says as much in today’s Fiji Times. We must rely on the power of the media to finally turn the blowtorch in earnest on these johnnies and for the power of the people to be exercised at the ballot box as soon as the opportunity arises.
Mayday, Mayday, Mayday
Is anyone at the RFMF awake?
The country is in grave disaster.
The President is dead at the wheel.
The Prime Minister is rogue.
Mayday, Mayday, Mayday
Fiji needs help immediately.
The RFMF is not trained nor equipped to sort out this political mess. Let politics and the ballot box decide.
Wow. A Rogue chief justice, an ignorant PM, an AG who defends a alleged suspect, a Finance Minister to be charged, a speaker, a justice minister withh ethnographic nationalist agenda…a government which ignores the laws of its own country…we have very well for ourselves. What’s next…perhaps a rigged 2026 election. We are too good. We have established for ourselves the best democracy in the world. Have we become a waste land…
What is more unfortunate is that our opposition parliamentarians with the exception of two or three are not making loud noises…..this would have been enough in another country for the opposition to rally support for the government to follow the rule of law.
Fiji Times decides to publish a headline that is irrelevant today about Qiliho.
Right here, right now, Fijians are asking where is the institution that should safeguard the law of the land (JSC) and the constitution. Is that enough for RFMF to move into gear or they are failing their duty too now?
Fijians are losing faith and we are becoming Mexico. Drug cartels and corrupt government.
In all this hypocrisy and mayhem at the Wheels Of Government and Justice.
Today the oldest News Paper is chained and gagged.
Save yourselves.
The situation is dire enough to give some consideration to Ian Simpson and his One Party State!
The free feeding frenzy of the likes of the National Bank of Fiji heist is on in full swing.
Will the Methodist Reverend Lal inspire the congregation or voter’s to apply the same servant hood standards to any aspiring politician current or future. Or will the next lot of Parliamentarians be just as bad if not worse than the current bandits.
O Israel I walk the streets of downtown Suva in sackcloth and ashes…looking at the smoldering ruins of the temple and the wickedness of it’s dwellers.
Jerusalem is lost! Old Levuka I long for thee, your clean streets and orderliness.
Rabuka is probably playing golf with his mates at the Fiji Golf Club in Suva this morning. Like Sir Francis Drake in 1588 he is nonchalantly teeing off at the 9th hole as the Spannishh fleet approaches. The difference, however, is Rabuka doesn’t see any wrong or danger. He is probably teamed at the green by his PAP psychophant PAP golfers like Felix Magnus and Ravai, and maybe he will call his PS Peter Wise on his cell phone to ask about his next overseas trip. where to this time, maybe to the United Nations in New York so he can stopover to visit the diaspora in Santa Rosa
Maybe after a beer or two st the bar, to check out the chicks, someone reminds him that his car keys are in his pockets, he drives if for a miti and fish lunch prepared by Sulu, then he takes an afternoon nap but not before taking his pills.
He may even mutter under his breath, “gosh, I wish thst fullsh what’s his name from Australia, was here to give my shoulders a good massage,”
Then he drops off to peaceful sleep.
The point is Rabo has no notion, let alone interest in what’s going on around him.
The opposition, whoever they are, will not make too much noise atm. They are playing a wait and watch game to see what cards Rabuka is going to play. They’re in it for the money too, not for the country. One way out is possibly Kalouniwai getting involved for the democratic cause of the constitution to take its course. Already investors have been alarmed as they know that once there is no adherence, or even an appearance of no adherence to the law, they will not invest. This is what Rabuka and his cronies do not fully grasp. Well, having been involved in two previous coups he should know the tragic economic consequences when investors abandoned Fiji after his coups.
Temo and Barbara lack the qualifications to hold such public offices. They may have been good lawyers in their time However legal qualifications aside, the positions they are entrusted with requires persons who can demonstrate integrity in their public and personal lives, are temperate in their behaviour and demonstares modicum in their conduct. Unfortunately their public utterances and intemperate behaviour to date makes them both unfit and unsuitable for appointments. If these individuals or the people that have sanctioned their appointments have any real regard to upholding good govenances practices and safeguiding the intergrity of our judicial and government institutions, Temo and Barbara must go.
Heffernan:👍👍
The Coalition has been completely inept from the start. Yes, corrupt, but even inept in how they proceed with their corruption.
I think as the message has become clearer to them that people are noticing they are clowns who lost their circus, and they have no hope of a further term, their strategy has shifted to “get as much as we can in the coffers before we’re thrown out.”
I suspect apart from sheer incompetence, arrogance and the viavialevu attitude is formost in ther conduct.
Those who are calling for the RFMF to intervene are misguided. We do not want any more coups. But the President should definately act after seeing what is happening around him and the laws of the land being so openly and embarrassingly flaunted and twisted to suit ones purposes at the time to achive predetermined outcomes. There is no semblance of any standards being followed. The Acting CJ is a total embarrassment but he is a proud iTaukei protecting the lot of his people – more likely protecting his own backside.
But the problem is, the President’s position is also compromised because accusations of sexual harrassment against him have been swept under carpet it appears.
So they all are scratching each others backs while the people wait and watch.
But they are self-imploding in my opinion, it is just a matter of time. There is nothing better than watching incompetent imbeciles embarrass themselves and be proud.
Can we really afford as a nation to wait around like ghouls at a car crash waiting for these bastards to implode? They have enriched themselves without doing a damn thing to assist the one third of the nation living below the poverty line.
In the meantime, we have a drugs crisis that has prompted the Speaker of the Parliament to say the police should be armed. They are largely corrupt, for God’s sake. So imagine guns in the hands of these people as well as their snouts in the trough.
We are on a slippery slope to disaster. And two more years is arguably too long to bring this circus to an end.
I guess the military can always compell the President to act. But just much masi polos everywhere. The president must do what The GG in Australia did in 1975 by dismissing the Whitlam Government. I am not saying that was right, but that is what is required in Fiji today. The government must be dismissed, not just for incompetence but for pulling the wool over the eyes of the voters and for enriching themselves and for setting very low standards, if that. The RFMF commander should go and see the President in my opinion.
I hate to admit this given the previous role of the military and being a victim of their actions I would be the last person to support their intervention. However, we have seen the corrosive actions of this coalition govt and their naked assault on the intergrity of our governance institutions – from Parliament to the judiciary and so the military may have to intervene to restore public confidence and integrity back into government. The govt and their supports believe they can act with inpunity . The NGO’s are alseep, mainstreem media are too busy chasing and reporting fluff well except for the Fiji Sun and the Fiji Law Society too lamu because it means going after their buddies. Time to call in the heavy guns!!
Standing for Parliament is an expensive exercise.
Every Candidate must way the risks and determine ROI ( return on investment)
It was reported a Candidate mortgaged his house. This is a serious business.
Now if any person in Fiji thinks that a person sitting in Parliament is not thinking about his or her ROI, is delusional. Base rate plus Committee hearing per diem can boost the bottom line.
Back benchers given a mighty pay rise for part time work to keep them from rocking the boat.
NFP played hero by not voting for it, but they have no back benchers and their Assistant Minister is on the road making hay heading a pointless Commission.
We had a pack of politicians making out they were shepherds, but have turned out to be snakes and wolves, creating daily chaos and bringing our country to shame on the world stage.
What a mess, RFMF, you broke it, FIX IT !
Put an Interim Government in Place.
Put the Constitutional Assembly back in place.
Get rid of the Westminster System, an abomination for Fiji.
For my money, put in place a One Party State, to be reviewed in 16 years.
Do this for the sake off our nation which is becoming a Train Wreck.
Just, think, the country goes down , you go down, there will be no money for a Military,
or will you continue to cannibalise our economy to the last plate of food, screw our children and grandchildren.
Do your job !
Another election under the same rules, the same “system”, will not save us, just more of the same, only worse;
INSANITY :
“doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
“is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.”
In my opinion an alternate government is not the answer,because that will lead to all sorts of problems from the displaced lot. After all they gave themselves huge salary increases in anticipation of good performance.
Fiji needs an administrator.
Such a person could be sourced with the aid of the UN. He/she with a team could be charged to fix up Fiji over say 5 years, then hand it over to a new breed of politicians.Failing that Fiji will be a 4th World country.
Yes, 2 years to wait is akin to an eternity. And totally understandable that military should not get involved. But, given the drastic nature of the situation, drastic actions should be taken. GD might be able to round up some honest and respectable people who have the genuine interest of the country at heart. If the people of Fiji don’t get up and do something? The Chinese will step in. That’s a very real and present danger!
Patience and blind faith is what got Fiji in this situation.
What happened when Tabuya and Rodrodro were kept in their positions by Rabuka despite saying he had no say? Did parents stand up for their kids! NO
What a travesty to allow them to continue.
Is this what you really want?
What happened when they took the pay increase, did anyone sit outside the PM’s office with signs or do any press. NO…. You get what you put into it. You don’t hold your GOVERNMENT accountable this is what you get. You are not slaves. You can speak up. You think they would let tourism be affected? You needed international media attention.
fiji airways ads are running day and nights round the globe on u tube as well while you suffer dir basic laws if be followed.
You don’t know how much power you have. If Tourism goes then everything goes. It’s a travesty to run these adds where nobody is actually happy. Some people are willing to consider communist countries intervention but don’t do shit themselves. Roll on your sleeves and get to work already!
I am not sure why people cannot see what is in plain sight. Barbara Malimali has all the “right’ qualifications and experience to be the Commissioner for FICAC. She has a dodgy background, has friends in the right places including the AG, has represented criminals charged by FICAC, was arrested for some conduct not becoming in her previous office and has been appointed by the dodgiest Acting Santa Claus, or is it Clown?
So obviously, just like the PM and many of his ministers and the former Acting ODPP, she has all the right qualifications and experience. Obviously, the ideal and most qualified person for the job according to some ‘celebrated’ judges.
I think all those criticising must be blind!!!
Now let her get on with the job and make a fool of herself……people.
Fiji Times on repeat broadcasting the RFMF Commander’s all tell tale. He is now quoted as being “subservient to the government.”
The ownership and understanding of guarding the Constitution is dead in the country. The President is no longer seen as a man of integrity and influence.
Sorry Fiji. You are on your own this time. There is no one to stand up to this government.
I will agree. Something how Fiji has its own set of standards for public employees of high office. Low, but will do. Just don’t question
Forgot to mention the most telling qualification. She is prejudiced! So therefore she is even more ideal.
The only thing we can count on in Fiji is waking up tomorrow to more lies and deception by Rabuka and his government.
This whole lot will be remembered for their deception, dirty deeds and greed. It’s a sick display of self indulgence.
Imagine being in their position and instead of doing good you have dragged the country down the drain? I want to do