CONTROVERSIAL Opposition MP Ketan Lal, who ignited a firestorm of criticism after posting divisive material on social media, buckled to public pressure and made a hasty apology in Parliament, saying he never intended to demean the indigenous community.
He said the contents of his post was from a letter published in The Fiji Times, titled ‘KVT crime gang’.
The letter used satire while referring to Great Council of Chiefs chairman Ratu Viliame Seruvakula’s concerns about the recent cases involving the KVT gang in Australia.
It said the GCC had been around for 100 years had managed to resolve the indigenous people’s problems.
Mr Lal’s post triggered an avalanche of racist comments from both sides of the divide.
His supporters used the post as an opportunity to disparage the indigenous community – and native Fijians who took offence to the post retaliated by using demeaning remarks against the Indo-Fijian community.
Earlier in the day Assistant Minister for Multi- Ethnic Affairs Shalend Kumar berated Mr Lal and called his actions reckless, calculated, irresponsible, and profoundly divisive.
He lodged a complaint with Police, adding that Mr Lal’s behaviour undermined the multi-ethnic harmony Government “is steadfastly committed to defending”.
“I find the gravity of this transgression amplified by the fact that the honourable Member chose to explicitly extract and utilise the term “kai Viti”, a defining term for the indigenous owners of this land, in a derogatory context linked to criminality,” Mr Kumar said.
“This action indicates the severe gravity of classifying our people by race.
“It is nothing short of a cynical attempt to perpetuate ethnic differences and incite racial hatred.”
