Our beautiful paradise has been through political turmoil since the inception of the FAST government. Families have split, villages divided, and churches weaponised faith.
We saw the ministerial speech by Hon Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa at the start of the parliamentary session yesterday, but she came prepared for the worst. She laid bare for the world to see that she was ready to relinquish power if the will of Parliament was to reject the Budget.
We saw grace and integrity. We saw humility for the nation. It was a gesture to keep the peace and honour constitutional mandates.
The Budget was soundly defeated, 34 votes to 16. The FAST rebels voted against their own Budget. The Government of Samoa is now in caretaker mode.
No honour, no respect for the Samoan people
All end-of-term protocols were thrown out. No fa’aSamoa etiquette with words of respect, conciliation, or good wishes exchanged. No thank you speeches to electorates. No acknowledgements for the public servants and workers who kept the nation running for the last four years.
Yet, the Speaker allowed La’auli to speak even after announcing that only PM Fiame and Opposition Leader Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi would have the floor. The session ended with an anticlimax, marred by the bitter infighting among FAST members.
Leai se tu ma se fa’aaloalo ile vafealoa’i ma le aganu’u fa’aSamoa. Ua pei o se fa’aluma a tamaiki, ua leai se mamalu, kalukalu ai le fa’amuamua o le feagai ai o tatou tagata.
Some early consequences
- Million-dollar project terminated, costing each of the 51 electorates about $1.8 million.
- Parliament dissolved. MPs become ordinary citizens, lose salaries, perks, and vehicles. Those in the FAST rebel camp lose everything, on top of already being terminated by Fiame. Hopefully, they didn’t take out huge loans when they blindly followed the Pied Piper over the cliff.
- Overseas Samoan voting rights are on hold.
- Electorate rezoning is on hold.
Let peace prevail in our beloved Samoa. We locals are peaceful, and we respectfully ask our diaspora to ease up on the vile and atrocious commentary. A high-profile court case is ongoing, so let’s stay mindful. We pray to keep the peace and faith among our people. We are Samoa, people from the Sun. Let’s shine and play with honour.
