Rugby World Cup squad
Flying Fijians head coach John McKee is expected to name his 31-member team to this year’s RWC by Friday and I’m sure that he will have a hard time naming the “best” to make the cut for the epic battle in the land of the rising sun. Before the PNC (Pacific Nations Cup) competition, Fiji played the NZ Maori All Blacks and won at home and lost on Maori soil. Fiji was handed a drubbing by the Brave Blossoms but our boys bounced back to defeat Canada and Samoa. A lot of work is needed before the September clash and Fiji will face a stern Test against the second ranked Welsh Dragons and the sixth ranked Qantas Wallabies outfit. I expect our best squad against the Wallabies in our opener on September 21 at Sapporo Dome and our final clash against Wales on October 9 at Showa Denko Dome Oita. Our boys have the opportunity of going beyond the pool stage since 2007 and this unit has the capacity to match the opposition. I’m hoping to see an exciting, enterprising and skilful Flying Fijians outfit to Japan! Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam Nadawa, Nasinu
Global warming
Just recently the bigwigs have decided to offer our cousins from Tuvalu a place to live in our beautiful country and I do applaud the initiative, if you look at the humanitarian side of things and also our role as campaigners of global warming. But my question is what of the citizens of our beloved nation who still live in not so hygienic conditions in informal squatter settlements, won’t this add to the current problems that we are facing? A British magnate Richard Branson had this philosophy: “if you look after your staff, they will look after your customers and your customers will look after your business”, and the same could be said about the top dogs in the big house if you give your taxpayers living accommodations so they can live with dignity then in turn they will look after the country. But hey what do I know right, I’m just the common man. Lawrence Wara Suva
That high horse
The idiom “to get off the high horse” means to stop acting like one is superior to others and stop acting like one knows more than the others. Bro Simon, based on the meaning of the idiom, I wouldn’t agree with you that “our prime minister is literally the one who is riding the highest horse in the nation and rightfully so” (FT 13/08). As a matter of reality, we all tend to “ride high horses” sometime or another in our lives. It is normal. Some people realise it with maturity and adopt humility. Including me, no one will ever become that smart. If your understanding is related to the “27 pillars in parliament”, I have some statistics from the 2018 General Elections. Candidates with far lesser votes have made it into parliament. I believe the last FijiFirst party candidate to make it into parliament has 559 votes. SODELPA has 25 candidates, NFP has 11 candidates, Unity Fiji, HOPE Party and FLP have one candidate each who have more than 559 votes. Despite this statistic, they did not qualify for a seat in parliament. I believe under some other electoral system, this would have been a different horse race altogether. Mohammed Imraz Janif Natabua, Lautoka
Indiscipline in school
Could one factor of indiscipline in schools be because teachers no longer care? I don’t blame them because if they do something their career is on the line. And then again another factor I often hear about is that parents are too busy to keep a check on their children and leave the disciplining to teachers. With the fast-tracked education system many things fell through the cracks and we will end with the next generation being disciplined. The fact that everything should start from the home is or could be a thing of the past. With both parents working and then social obligations, many times children are left to do their own thing. So, could one major factor be that teachers no longer care or dare to discipline a child? Think about it. Allen Lockington Kava Place, Waiyavi, Lautoka
Roaming child
It was disturbing to read in the daily about what the police found on the streets of our Capital City. Children as young as an 11-year-old were found roaming the streets not during the day mind you but at night. I believe it is about time that the bigwigs come down hard on parents and guardians alike to not only impose harsh fines but a short jail sentence as well. If we can’t look after our children, then I suggest we abstain from the activity of reproduction, as this is becoming like an eyesore to see children at home or roaming the neighbourhood during school hours or even in activities like was shown on social media where we could see students hanging out of buses after a secondary school event. If we begin to live our future of tomorrow unsupervised today then let’s not hope for a better tomorrow. May God bless Fiji and it’s people. Lawrence Wara, Suva
Soccer issue
I refer to the letter by Shailendra Singh of Auckland, New Zealand (FT 03/08). Mr Singh, it is no big deal that you have travelled all the way from New Zealand to play in the veterans tournament organised by the Fiji Football Association. The only positive being to socialise with the veteran players. Visiting the FFA headquarters and harping about the development of football with more than 90 games played in the under-16 and under-19 youth league and the money spent in women’s football is hardly reaping any rewards as far as the real results are concerned. I have taken successful champion veteran teams to both New Zealand and Australia as well as winning in our home front. Personally, the former district and national reps have mostly been the forgotten lot after their active soccer career has ended. I believe all facets of soccer development is stagnant and there is no reason for Allen Jesoni, a former district and national rep to visit FFA headquarters. Maybe you should ask the parent body to organise more than one veterans tournament a year to appreciate the hard yards put in by the veteran players. I stated previously that Fiji FA’s main soccer development is the hosting of the Fiji FACT, Battle of the Giants and IDC events. On the national front, I had asked FFA to show Christophe Gamel the exit door or challenge me to a soccer debate. Likewise, Mr Singh I challenge you to a soccer debate in regards to your so-called soccer development in Fiji at the headquarters. Raymond Singh Lautoka
Changing times
At gatherings and events it has now become normal that people get reminded to be mindful of their mobile phones, handbags and other personal belongings. Nowadays it does not matter who your neighbour is any more. Thieving has become a daily occurrence wherever you may be. It is slowly but surely getting into our DNA. A relative of mine even lost his Holy Bible right inside a church recently and it was never recovered. What has become of our country? In the past, our parents and teachers had tough ways and means of controlling and upholding uprightness by instituting corrective or disciplinary measures on anyone who would stray wayward. While the end results were severe it sure made us think twice about doing the same thing again. These days, however, it seems like no one cares about values any more. Going to church has now become a ritual where the majority come out with nothing more than having been able to socialise. It’s time we redefine our values as individuals and as a society. To do so we must first understand the factors that have contributed to the decay of our moral standards. Trust, fairness, honesty and respect towards others and their property are non-existent for many. Many succumb to pressure to perform and seek to acquire wealth at whatever cost. Many engage in unethical behaviour for lack of or because of little threat of punishment. I believe the lack of personal values is the major contributor to our societal decay, and a society without values definitely reflects badly on our nation. These values are supposed to be modelled by our upbringing and they are about what we perceive to be right or wrong based on teachings by our parents, guardians, school systems, religion and our social environment. It’s time to urgently redefine the moral code of conduct and reinforce existing laws that are meant to control unethical behaviour. It is not right that we have to now view our neighbours suspiciously! Simon Hazelman Rava Estate, Savusavu
Low profile
They came in as underdogs and came out victorious. They must have been keeping a low profile in their preparation and through the pool games. Many didn’t think QVS would come out but they managed to keep things close to their own chest and came out firing in the finals. Vinaka to the boys from QVS and there is always next year. Tomasi Boginiso Nasinu
United wins
Waking up at 3.30am on Monday paid dividends as I witnessed the Red Devils pounce on arch rivals Chelsea and hand them a (4-0) drubbing. The young guns in red outclassed Chelsea and taught them valuable lessons. A good start for Man United at home as Martial, Pogba, Rashford, De Gear, James, Bissaka and Maguire stood out! Job well done United – let’s build on this momentum! Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam Nadawa, Nasinu
Rio memory
Do you still remember August 12, 2016? Some must have forgotten it. The nation stopped. All eyes glued to our television for 14 precious minutes. Yes, your guess is correct The Rio Olympics 7s semi-final and final. We defeated the Cherry Blossoms in the semi-final (25 – 5) and Great Britain (43-7) in the final. Can we defend our 7s gold again come 2020? Only time will tell. Go Fiji go! Vili Yaranamua Nadi
RWC team
Barring any injuries, I will assume that the starting 15 against Tonga will be the same which will play the rejuvenated Wallabies at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Mohammed Imraz Janif Natabua, Lautoka
Choir unity
It’s that time of the year when the Methodists of Fiji unite especially villages combine in getting their choirs organised for children, teens and the adults getting the same colour dressing and non-stop practice and amount of money spent is not an issue but to participate is more important. The festival brings unity and this shows the worshipping our Lord almighty is a priority. Even though there will always be negative comments but the Methodists seem to ignore and do their best in praising our God in the way of singing. No one can take that away from us, they might not be competing for a prize but to participate is more important. Tomasi Boginiso Nasinu
