Hibiscus Festival ready to burst into life
As I read the piece titled ‘Hibiscus ready to burst into life’ (FT: 17/09), I reflected on the 1956 Hibiscus Festival, which was the first festival of such magnitude, and Liebling Marlow who was crowned the first Miss Hibiscus Festival Queen. Just like Marlow’s success, this year’s FMF Foods-sponsored Hibiscus Festival is seen as a significant cultural event which is inspiring and exciting, celebrating beauty, talent and cultural heritage in Fiji. The Mother of all Festivals continues to resonate and inspire young women to chase their dreams and shatter glass ceilings. During the colonial days, the festival was pretty much family oriented, but recently the Hibiscus Festival has become commercialised, especially with the hike in the prices of rides. Fijians look forward to the Hibiscus Festival which has always been a people’s event as it unites Fiji and brings everyone to one location. This year’s carnival atmosphere promises glittering pageantry, food, music and family fun, and a new boost of flavour with FMF Foods. I’m sure we will see the best of Fiji’s talent and tradition. I plead with the organisers to be mindful of OHS in terms of stalls, rides and food. Let’s enjoy the festival and make it drug and hazard free. Thank you, The Fiji Times, for the colourful picture of National Fire Authority Hibiscus Queen contestant Rhyelle Aisea (FT 17/09), who looked excited and all fired up for the week-long event! All the best to the organisers and contestants! Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam Nadawa, Nasinu
Do two wrongs make a right?
Some time ago a primary school student, who was going home from school, got killed in an accident in Nabua. The driver of the vehicle got beaten up by bystanders and motorists in plain sight. That driver mysteriously died later on the same day. Have the people who assaulted the driver been caught and charged? Or have the two wrongs somehow made a right? Just a few days ago, a video made the rounds on social media showing a man in vest and some other people assaulting another man for causing an accident around Vuci, Nausori. Again, two wrongs seem to have made a right. Countless other examples exist but I’m not writing a full page here (yet). It’s not hearsay. Videos are out there. Have we, as a nation, become complicit with criminal behaviour? Donald Singh Suva
Warning for motorists
Police to launch nationwide crackdown (FT 16/9/25). The recent road fatalities on our roads seemed undeniably shocking, in my opinion. Why is it that the police traffic section is always reactive, rather than proactive? Is it not the government’s enforcement arm for the public’s safety and security? For whatever the LTA’s “governing provisions” on our roads, the major setback is always the enforcement, in my view. It is easy to import vehicles and licence motorists, but it is always impossible to enforce the road traffic operation. Until this “inadequacy” is seriously considered, the continuation of unsafe and reckless driving on our roads will linger. Samu Silatolu Nakasi
Legislation for drug trafficking
I write to express my deep concern regarding the escalating issue of drug trafficking in Fiji. It has become alarmingly clear that the situation is spiralling out of control, with disturbing reports indicating that individuals entrusted with enforcing the law are themselves complicit in the trafficking of hard drugs. This betrayal of public trust not only undermines our justice system but also endangers the safety and future of our communities. The current approach is insufficient to deter such criminal activity, and it is time we take decisive action. I strongly support the adoption of legislation like Singapore’s drug laws, which have proven effective in curbing drug-related crimes through strict enforcement and clear deterrents. Implementing such measures in Fiji could be a critical step toward restoring public confidence and protecting our nation from further harm. Let us act now to avert the worsening crisis and safeguard the integrity of our institutions Joseva R Vatubulitinibua Namaka, Nadi
Police scandal
Public trust on the Fiji Police Force is further shattered when members of the Narcotics Bureau were caught with drugs. How many more of our law enforcement officers are involved in other crimes? If our law enforcement officers are involved then the question arises, is the law enforcement arm doing its best to tackle other people involved in similar crimes. Many say the drug suppliers got the backing of many law enforcement officers thus the drug problem becomes bigger day by day. I believe a big clean-up is needed in the law enforcement department to tackle this issue. Narayan Redd Lautoka
Paying for what?
While we are heavily penalised for not paying on time, I believe some people who were paid by us, the taxpayers, were making deals with the government of the day to not pay a single cent from their six figure salary. Instead we, the taxpayers, supposedly paid for it. In the words of my grand niece, “Oh my Dod!” Edward Kumar Lautoka
Stop it!
Many of today’s farmers are nothing more than disguised unemployed individuals. Claiming to be a farmer whenever they run afoul with the law. Stop disgracing the profession of hope. Please stop stating you are a farmer when you cannot even plant enough cassava to feed yourself and others. Sobo! Wise Muavono Balawa, Lautoka
Drug scare
If drugs, needles and syringes are being smuggled inside Correction centres, what can be expected in our borders? The Correction centre is heavily guarded, with razor wires and big walls, but drugs, needles, syringes and other prohibited items still get smuggled inside those high security areas. One can imagine how safe our towns and cities are from drug problems. Narayan Reddy Lautoka
Mirror image
The recent youth parliament was a mirror image of the real thing in at least one way. The intersections! Perhaps, the participants picked it from the national leaders. Mohammed Imraz Janif Natabua, Lautoka
Rugby semi-finals
New Zealand and Canada will play in the first semi-final on Saturday, September 20 at 6am, while France and England will play on Sunday, September 21 at 2.30am. The four top teams from each pool have all made it to the semi finals and it is a pleasure watching high standard women’s rugby. I am predicting Canada to defeat New Zealand and England to beat France. But, upsets can happen. Savenaca Vakaliwaliwa Tacirua
Driving and rugby
Strong footing and questions
Will the famous All Black make the greatest come back after suffering one of the most humiliating defeats to the Springboks last week? Whatever one’s opinion, this week is definitely a soul searching period for the men in black because their fans will expect nothing less than victory with a mighty performance come their next match, especially against the Wallabies. Meanwhile, Japan has every reason to crush the Flying Fijians in the finals of the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup. Will the men from the Land of the Rising Sun suffocate the attacking abilities of the men from Bula Land? All in all, there is too much glory at stake and our favourite rugby teams will want to establish a strong footing leading up to the 2027 Rugby World Cup. For now, I think there are more questions about the All Blacks campaign to the 2027 Rugby Word Cup. Floyd Robinson Micronesia
Auto versus manual
Over the months I have been continually horrified at the number of motor vehicle accidents and have wondered why so many? It would be interesting to note how many of these accidents involved automatic vehicles. I would like to see less automatic transmission cars being imported and more manual cars. The changing of gears keep you awake. Driving manual cars makes you appreciate the skills involved when in control of the vehicle – the key word is control. Time after time we place so much on drink driving we forget the silent killers lurking in the background – fatigue is one and another is just being lulled into a relaxed atmosphere when you are driving in comfort with the air-condition on and soft music playing and if with others they’ve fallen asleep snoring beside you. Remember a few of us take our babies for a ride or rock them to get them to sleep. I am getting on in years and I drive both manual and auto and I drive not only cars but trucks as well. I have found that on long drives in my automatic transmission vehicle, I tend to want to doze but in the manual I remain alert, it’s because I need to change gears regularly — could this be the key that would assist drivers? Every man and his dog is able to get a driving licence as you really don’t need much skill when driving an automatic car. That is why we have a high demand for automatic cars. Rental outlets thrive on renting out auto transmission vehicles. Fiji is inundated with automatic transmission cars as there is a high demand. The outcry is to get more police on the road – this could be a deterrent for speedsters and drink driving but is it a deterrent to detect unskilled drivers (a debatable term as they have a licence); Is the police able to detect drug users? Are they able to detect fatigued drivers? The answer to these questions would be maybe or a resounding no! May be LTA needs to introduce the defensive driving test for all automatic transmission licences or better still conduct all driving tests in manual transmission vehicles. As an aside, it’s also interesting to note that banks and other lending institutions will easily lend for a car but for house and land they practically ask for the sun and moon and make it so difficult. A very real example when trying to loan for a house in Kinoya, $69k, I was told I needed to pay a 25 per cent deposit as Kinoya is high risk area, but a car that was purchased and based at my home, there was no need for a deposit and guess what, it was $69k – You can’t steal a house but you can certainly steal a car. Tai Smith Nasinu Sec Sch Rd., Kinoya, Nasinu
