Bula
We have one story on the front page of the Fiji Times for Wednesday, October 2.
The big one is about the revelation that Fijians are spending a huge amount of time watching porn! This is serious! Parliament heard yesterday that in three months, Fijians accessing porn sites had used 626.13tetrabites (TB) of data which is equivalent to reading 100 million books over the same period.
The picture is of the national schoolboy rugby side defeating the Australian schoolboys at Lawaqa park in Sigatoka. It was a historic achievement for our game!
Kaila!
We have the special Kaila! edition inside The Fiji Times every Wednesday. Grab a copy!
Synopsis
Banana Parliament saga!
FORMER secretary-general to Parliament Mary Chapman made a powerful statement yesterday when she referred to a “Banana Parliament”.
She did not hold back when responding to comments made by Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs and Sugar Industry Charan Jeath Singh in Parliament the other day, and the response by Opposition member of Parliament Parveen Kumar.
Such references or attacks in the House, she said, never used to happen during her days.
The Speaker, she insisted, would have immediately stepped in.
“It’s not like a Parliament anymore. It’s just like a Banana Parliament. People are calling each other murderers and liars. All these are unbecoming.
“Those are not parliamentary language. People are treating the Parliament as a place where they can joke across the aisle. So, where are we going?”
Ms Chapman certainly knows what she is talking about! It is conduct unbecoming of representatives in the House.
And there is no doubt about the fact that she is highly qualified to make that assessment!
As she points out: “Parliament is a serious business. They are doing things for the whole of Fiji.”
“In my days, if you call somebody a liar, you can get suspended for saying that. But now, it’s gone to the extent of a liar to murderer to ‘chor’ (meaning thief), what next?”
It is unfortunate that we are having to watch such antics in Parliament.
For 13 years right up to the 2022 General Elections, we saw parliamentary sessions that made heckling appear normal.
Members of Parliament were booed in the House. MPs basically shouted down while delivering speeches.
This appeared live online and on television.
For those who knew no better, or had no inkling about parliamentary processes, it appeared to be the right thing to do.
The question now is when are we going to bring back some order and respect that must be a part of parliamentary proceedings?
Are we even aware of decorum or dignity?
Are we even prepared to discuss the issue of unparliamentary language, as a base to start from?
What we have is a troubling trend in political conduct!
Ms Chapman’s observations raise the important question about the state of political discourse in Fiji!
She has the backing of years of experience to share the importance of us accepting parliament as a forum for serious governance and public service!
As we raised above, to some extent we have been misled into thinking the chaotic atmosphere is a normal part of politics.
We risk eroding the very foundation of democratic governance when we become desensitised to what is wrong!
We have a challenge to maintain the integrity of Parliament, by striving for respectful dialogue and civility. Again, we say, it has to be a forum for serious discussions and governance, and not a stage for personal attacks and theatrics!
As Ms Chapman said: “Somebody has to put their foot down unless you want this to be a real Banana Parliament”.
