Honouring our heroes!
Salaseini Kotoisuva was part of the Remembrance Day ceremony at the National War Memorial Site in Veiuto (FT: 12/11). November 11 is a sacred, special day for peacekeepers! Silence fell, and tears were shed as Remembrance Day was commemorated in honour of those who died in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Remembrance Day has evolved since it was first marked by allied countries after World War I, where soldiers lost their lives. It is observed around the world as a day to remember the sacrifice that countless warriors made in service to their beloved country. The sacrifices and commitment of our brave soldiers were also remembered on this day. On Remembrance Day, commemorative services were held in memory of loved ones. The red poppy, which is the traditional emblem of Remembrance Day, was worn and laid at a memorial in tribute. Rest high, fallen warriors!
Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam
Nadawa, Nasinu
Must-win
politics
VERY well said, Paula Kaloukocei. I could not have put it better myself. Your letter is direct, relevant and a timely reminder that leadership should be about service, not personal ambition. (FT 11/11) One can only hope that your message is taken seriously and that, in time, Fiji will see the emergence of a true statesman someone guided by integrity and the national interest rather than the pursuit of political power. I appreciate your clear, to-the-point writing. Fiji needs more voices willing to challenge divisive politics and call for honest, accountable leadership.
SURESH CHAND
Nadi
Election season
ONCE again, election season is upon us. Citizens of Fiji get swayed by those who claim to have the citizens best interest at heart. We have seen by the actions and heard the words of those in power already. And my question to them, if they are campaigning for another term, is: What is the plan on repaying the massive debt our country has accumulated? Because the younger generation does not want to inherit the problems you have caused. The national debt being one of them. So, what’s the plan?
ELISHA BANO
Brighton, England
Valid
concerns
I REFER to The Fiji Times report ‘Public debate at risk’; Law Society questions extended election campaign restrictions (FT 12/11/26). FLS president Graham Leung raises very valid concerns regarding “restrictions on election related activities by civil society organisations, warning the changes could limit public debate, voter education and scrutiny of political issues for more than eight months ahead of the next general elections”. He says the changes in question “raises serious concerns about constitutional freedoms and the accountability of public institutions”. In other words, the changes run counter to the norms of democratic good governance. I believe only political leadership with an authoritarian bent would advocate such regressive changes. This is not good for the Fijian people and it’s not good for Fiji’s democracy. All right-thinking Fijians should come together to oppose the changes planned by the Rabuka gang in government.
RAJEND NAIDU
Sydney, Australia
Quit
smoking
I RETIRED as a schoolteacher in 2015 at 55 years of age. In 2018, during a routine check-up, doctors found three blockages that needed open heart surgery. After the surgery at the Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad, India, doctors informed me that cigarette smoking marks (signs) were still there. Today, after taking a 45-minute walk, I run up the stairs from ground floor to first floor at Swami Vivekanand College. I use the brush cutter and me
carpentry tools including cement-mixer. I climb up the ladder to clear roof-gutters or work with the carpenters. Next May, I will complete my 66th birthday. I take little yaqona. People still ask me when I was retiring. Aging can be reversed. Quit smoking friends.
RAKESH CHAND SHARMA
Nadi
PM’s
pension
I BELIEVE Fiji’s former prime ministers and other parliamentarians receive separate taxpayer-funded retirement pensions, in addition to their normal FNPF entlements. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, this arrangement/law needs to cease/abolish. Prioritize this issue with urgency, prior to reviewing the Constitution. At a time when taxpayers money could be channelled towards essential services, healthcare, education, infrastructure and improving the livelihoods of ordinary Fijians, we must ask whether such additional retirement benefits are justified. They were elected to serve the people, not to live like kings and queens at the expense of taxpayers, during their retirement. Public office is a responsibility, not a lifetime privilege. Those entrusted with leadership must remember that they are servants of the people. Enough is enough. Accountability and fairness must prevail. Ka vakaloloma. Emeni. ANTHONY SAHAI Auckland, New Zealand PM’s dying question “ARE people dying?” Mr Prime Minister, if this is where your mental capacity and empathy level is at when being asked a legitimate question on the drought situation in Fiji, then you seriously need to think about retiring with whatever little level of dignity you may have left. What people who are struggling with water supplies need is a Prime Minister who will display concern, empathy, maturity and leadership skills by properly answering the question to show that you and your government are taking this issue seriously. Not a Prime Minister who simply because he does not have the mental capacity to think on his feet respond with a flippant question like some petulant pubescent teenager! This is unbecoming of a Prime Minister and only serves to show you up. You have done yourself, your government and the people of our country a great dis-service in your lack of appropriate seriousness and respect for the people of our country who elected you to power and whom you are here to serve.
SANYA CATHERINE GAIN
Lami
Stones
on Diwali
THROWING stones at homes of Fijians of Indian descent during Diwali speaks a lot about the type of values being instilled in our children. It is very sad that we have reached this stage. How cruel does one get when they are rejected the sweets? These actions should be accounted for. Diwali is a time to unite and celebrate together. Where is civic pride? What is becoming of our beloved Fiji? Sad days indeed.
KIRTI PATEL
Lautoka
El no
no
CDD’s Nilesh Lal has two full pages (FT 12/11,Pg 12, 13) on the looming El Nino crisis. Some good read for the unaware and also for the ignorant lot. Dire straits already. News media is awash with those sad stories. On the other hand, we are told that farmer assistance packages and strategy will be rolled out once the trigger point is reached. So, we are yet to reach the threshold. OK. The mind just engaged reverse gear! Vuniwai, please.
DONALD SINGH
Nausori
Bus
shelter!
READING Kamlesh Lata’s story (FT 10/11) titled ‘Bus shelter as home’, touched hearts. The 64-year-old is resorting to a bus shelter in Nakasi as her home. It’s a pity that Lata was forced to leave the Makoi HART, a place she had called home for 20 years, following complaints about her 36-year-old son’s behaviour. With nowhere else to turn, Lata took shelter at a bus shelter. Behind Lata’s difficult circumstances is life marked by family separation and loss. Lata’s appeal and plea should not fall on deaf ears. Please help her!
RAJNESH ISHWAR
LINGAM
Nadawa, Nasinu
Fijian
talent
FIJI-BORN Qiulae Wong poised to enter New Zealand Parliament. Ms Wong comes from the renown Eddie Hin family of Lautoka. Ms Wong is not the first and certainly not the last to make a remarkable impact in her chosen field of engagement overseas. For a small island nation of less than one million it’s astounding the Fijian talent and accomplishment we see in the diaspora. Ms Wong and the other talented Fijians abroad make us feel proud to be Fijian.
RAJEND NAIDU
Sydney, Australia
Coup
leader
RAJNESH Lingam’s letter (FT,08/11/26) ‘Speight, Turner march on’, needs some scrutiny. I am not sure where Lingam was in 2000 or if he is unable to recall certain critical events in history, but George Speight is a coup leader. Lingam’s letter glorifies the 2000 coup leader and paints a picture that nothing ever happened 26 years ago. Let me educate Lingam a bit by asking him to get a copy of Coup: Reflections on the Political Crisis in Fiji (2008), co-edited by Professor Brij Lal. If I may refresh his memory, along with others online who have been praising this achievement, just read the accounts of people from Muaniweni in the Central Division of Fiji, who were attacked
in broad daylight during the 2000 coup by the same people who lived as their neighbours. Women were raped, men were beaten for money, their cattle were slaughtered, and houses were taken over. This was to the extent that they had to flee their homes and take temporary shelter in the Western Division for their own safety. I believe Speight is responsible for taking the country 40 years backwards, which led to massive unemployment, school closures, racial division, and a pause to a progressing country. Former parliamentarian Ratu Peceli Rinakama spoke at a recent town hall meeting and clearly pointed out that Mahendra Chaudhry was the only Prime Minister in Fiji who visited his village. Ratu Peceli praised Mr Chaudhry, and you could see the emotion in the former Prime Minister’s composure. Lingam has also forgotten that when George Speight was released from prison, his village gave him a hero’s welcome. Could he not have pointed out then what the grand welcome was for, or if this is the precedent being set for future coup leaders? Mr Chaudhry’s government was not a Labour government but a People’s Coalition, one that comprised the Labour Party, Fijian Association Party, Christian Democrat Alliance, Party of National Unity, and General Voters Party, including one or two independent parties. Of the 71 members of Parliament, 58 sat on their sides. I believe 12 ministers in his government were indigenous Fijians and only six were Indo-Fijians. With this ratio, George Speight’s version of protecting indigenous rights is null and a cause of loss. The only legacy of George Speight is that he was the leader of the 2000 coup that brought down Fiji. It took years for the country to recover, so no amount of glorification can erase that. What he should do is ask the people of Fiji for their forgiveness and reveal the identities and roles of the real people who were behind the 2000 coup. To Lingam, please write with facts and refrain from glorifying coup leaders. Remember, we can forgive, but we cannot forget!
DR PRASHNEEL R. GOUNDAR
NSW, Australia
Paying with
our lives
FOR far too long, we in Fiji have been conditioned to accept substandard products, poor services, second-rate imports and locally manufactured nutritionally void products. We are literally paying for this complacency with our lives. Walk down the aisles of any supermarket in the country and look at what is priced within reach for the average family. Our shelves are flooded with ultra-processed, high-sodium, high-fat junk: fatty tinned meats, oil-soaked canned fish instead of fish in spring water, and heavily processed imports now being rolled out with marketing fanfare as if they are premium foods! Meanwhile, clean, nutritious, affordable proteins are either completely absent or priced out of reach for ordinary Fijians. We are in the middle of a devastating non-communicable disease (NCD) crisis. Diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes, and heart failure are destroying families and robbing our nation of its people far too young. We continue to allow importers, local manufacturers and retailers to treat Fiji as a dumping ground for cheap, shelf-stable rubbish that maximizes corporate profit margins while filling up our hospital wards and dialysis units!! It is time for a change. As consumers, we have a fundamental right to safe, nutritious, and affordable food. We deserve better than being told to “eat healthy” while every economic incentive and supermarket shelf is rigged against us. When will the government and regulatory authorities stop protecting profit margins and start taking real, decisive action to protect the health of our population? We do not need more empty speeches or awareness campaigns while unhealthy imports are celebrated. We need strict nutritional standards on imported and locally manufactured foods, heavy taxes on ultra-processed junk, and duty-free incentives that make genuine, healthy food affordable for every Fijian household. Enough is enough. Our lives are worth more than someone else’s bottom line.
LISA NAVUTU
Baravi, Coral Coast
