“Courageous MPs” Applauded

Written by Pio Sioa
Sunday, 09 December 2007
The leader of the planned ‘People Against Switching Side’ (PASS) protest march, lawyer Toleafoa Solomona To’ailoa, has applauded the courage of Government Members of Parliament, who spoke out in caucus against the Right Hand Drive policy. The ruling Human Rights Protection Party, HRPP, held a caucus meeting last Thursday, and reports leaked from the discussions, quoted several members who argued against proposal. “ I don’t have the facts with me, but based on the reports that have come out, this is the best thing to happen to the issue and to the party,” Toleafoa says. “This is an indication that the HRPP is returning to the roots it started out with, and to me as a supporter of the party, this is true democracy.” Toleafoa commended the members who showed the courage to voice their opposition in caucus, and encouraged others to speak out as well. The Minister of Finance, Niko Lee Hang, was amongst those who allegedly disagreed with the policy move. Others included one of the longer serving members in the House, Tuiloma Pule Lameko, former Minister of Communications, Palusalue Faapo II and first term member Muagututi’a George Meredith. There are allegations also that two other members who oppose the policy are off island, to attend meetings. “I think it is very important for everyone in the party to show their opposition, sitting in caucus without saying anything is saying yes to a wrong,” urged the PASS Chairman. “They represent the voice of the people who put them there because they trusted their leadership, and these are the same people who are now protesting.” Toleafoa was critical of the way opinions were being restricted in the party, on an issue where members should me properly consulted and the matter thoroughly discussed. He was coy however about crediting the mounting pressure of protesting public opinion on the frictions starting to show in the HRPP. “No this is not a win for the protest movement, but a win for democracy, and what we are encouraging is the freedom for everyone to express their views and opinions on an issue that affects everyone. ‘As I have said before this is not a protest to remove Government, Prime Minister or the HRPP, this is about switching the side of the road for us to drive on.” PASS has been active over the past several days, with the use of the media, to create a national awareness of the issue. “The aim is to make people understand fully the issue at stake so they can express their freedom to speak on the matter, and the feed back so far has been very positive.” PASS representatives are touring the two main islands to encourage people to sign their names to the petition that the protest march will hand deliver to Parliament on 17 December. “Our aim is to get 80,000 signatures and we are encouraging the people to sign because this will be an historical document kept in Parliament.” Toleafoa remains positive with the planning of the march and of the involvement of the various organisations, they are working with. “We are working through the various organisations to ensure that we have a unified approach, and this includes those who represent the public transport system like buses and taxis.” PASS will have all of this week to fine tune all the plans for the big protest march. Comments (1) Subscribe to this comment's feed Bad publicity is good publicity.. written by Concerned HRRP supporter, December 10, 2007 Well done PASS supporters. Agreed 100% with Pio this is democracy at its best. Now that the RHD seemed to be the highly publicised issue of today, why not Government adopt this as mean of public consultation? If government did not do a proper study of the policy, then you can do it front to back and admit you made a mistake. Come on HRPP, we put you there to make sure you think-up and develop policies that ensure the country's economy is prospered and sustained but not your power play at the cost of the poor 'kuas'. Good luck for the march all PASS supporters.... Write comment Name Email Title Comment
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 December 2007 )

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