Letters to the Editor – November 20, 2018

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The Flying Fijians forwards during a scrum session as they prepared for the Test match against Uruguay. Picture: FRU

Tough battle

Yesterday’s sports headline read ‘Fiji runs riot’.

I smiled as I thought about how we beat the 18th ranked Uruguay side.

I would love to see the same headline come next week when our Flying Fijians face the 8th ranked France.

Fiji had previously beaten the Los Teros in 1999 (39-24) and 2015 (47-15) and the Flying Fijians were expected to beat Uruguay.

One thing I loved was the confidence with which our boys played when they had possession, something which the Bravehearts denied our players.

France lost to the Springboks 29-26 having conceded a late try but beat Argentina 28-13.

The Les Bleus were ranked fourth in the Six Nations Championship with 11 points.

France beat Italy (34-17) and England (22-16) while they lost to Ireland (15-13), Scotland (32-26) and Wales (14-13).

Fiji and France have played each other nine times and Fiji has yet to taste victory.

The Fiji vs France battle dates back to 1964, which France won 21-3 and France has beaten Fiji in our two RWC meetings in 1987 (31-16) and 1999 (28-19).

In Test results the French outclassed Fiji in 1991 (33-9), 2001 (77-10), 2003 (61-18), 2010 (34-12) and 2014 (40-15) and beat the Flying Fijians here in the Capital City in 1998 (34-9).

Therefore, these statistics weigh heavily against Fiji and this week’s match will test the character of our players.

It’s going to be tough considering that French players have been playing together since the Six Nations Championship and they toured NZ in June.

Hence, the composure and experience of playing together at the highest level gives the French the edge over the Flying Fijians, who assembled two weeks prior to the Autumn Test.

My best wishes to our boys and yes the win against Uruguay was well-deserved and the tries to ‘The Sledgehammer’ and ‘The Bus’ give hope of a good outing against France.

Tovolea mada Viti!

Rajeshwar Ishwar Lingam, Nadawa, Nasinu

Sand mine

The proposed sand mining in Palau by a Japanese company for the next 50 years poses a big threat to our environment and I hope our government will not be silent and remain a spectator on this serious issue.

As a champion of climate change issues in the region, I hope we will be taking the leading role in opposing this proposal to protect our beautiful Pacific ocean and environment.

I can only imagine the destruction and devastation this proposed project will cause to our environment and marine life in the next 50 years if it goes ahead.

Let’s make our stand count in our fight for climate change in the region and be the real champion for that matter.

More ripples are needed than just mere sound.

Pita Soroaqali, Nadarivatu

Political careers

The curtains have finally closed in on the much anticipated 2018 election.

While those contenders who have fortunately managed to secure seats will now get to grace the corridors of Parliament, I pity the other hopefuls who have failed to stamp their mark in their botched political careers.

I believe a few high profile candidates had also resigned from their esteemed organisational roles to further their political aspirations, only to be left out hanging dry after failing through the ballot boxes.

Other seasoned old horses who have fruitlessly contested in previous elections were once again outrightly rejected in the polls.

A few had even unconvincingly jumped ship eager for a miracle, only to bear disappointment after the finally tally.

I wonder what now of their jinxed and thwarted political ambitions.

Lesson learnt?

Nishant Singh, Lautoka

Election promises

Election is over and so is the blackout.

Congratulation FijiFirst party for winning the election and forming the Government.

A lot was achieved in the past four years and a lot is still to be achieved.

One can see all the hard working ministers such as Mr Bala, Mr Sudhakar, Mr O’Connor, Mr Reddy, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum and not forgetting our Prime Minister getting a lot of support.

This time my government got 27 seats from 51.

We won but what went wrong because I thought we wanted 51.

I would like to see more of our government ministers getting to the grassroots people again just like Honourable Bala and O’Connor do in Lautoka and other districts and find out what people want and what the government can do better for its people.

On the same note congratulation to the Opposition and as usual please do check on the government and do remember not to walk out please.

Please be a worthy Opposition because we can see that most people also voted for you.

To all the 51 parliamentarians, please remember us the voters for the next four years.

Remember what you heard from the voters during your election talkshow.

Remember all your promises because the election has also shown some former politicians who did not impress the people and they did not make the 51.

Narayan Reddy, Lautoka

Congratulations Fijifirst

Once again the people of Fiji made a firm decision regarding their future.

The people of Fiji have proved that they want to step forward and keep moving towards a better Fiji and a better future for the generations to come.

I would like to congratulate the FijiFirst party on winning the elections and acquiring majority seats in Parliament to form the government.

We would want to see our Government performing at its best once again to uplift our beloved nation to greater heights and give the citizens of Fiji a better and brighter future.

We would also want the Government to have closer ties with the global village.

We wish the Government all the best with the hope that they would further boost the confidence of the people of Fiji in the next four years.

Heenali Bhagwan, Nadi

Off hibernation

I went into hibernation mode and waited until after the election results had been finalised then I would write again.

Congratulations to the FijiFirst party for securing the majority number of votes and will be forming the next Fijian government, your government, my government.

Can someone please inform that whinger Dan Urai that he can continue with his one liners.

And comments not to be below the belt or my future father-in-law at Kava Pl will pay you a visit.

Wise Muavono, Balawa, Lautoka

Congratulations in order

Congratulations to our new government who will be towing the line in the next four years.

As a responsible citizen of this country, I am looking forward for more fishing line, hooks and sinkers rather than fish this time around.

Let us not be a prisoner in our anticipation but be a free man in our participation.

Way to go folks!

Pita Soroaqali, Nadarivatu

Election victory

A massive congratulations to Mr Bainimarama and his FF party for the 2018 election win.

Though the election process was dramatic, the results indicate that we now have a strong and healthy Cabinet mix.

SODELPA, on the other hand, proved to be a worthy contender.

They also have every reason to celebrate for pulling almost half of the total votes.

Since the rivalry dust now settles, we anticipate on building a solid government that would carry us forward to a better nation from our yesterdays.

Waisale Moce, Nadarivatu

Real game begins

To all who won a seat in Parliament and FijiFirst for winning 27 out of 51 seats, the real game of governing with caution begins.

Dan Urai, Lautoka

Good points made

Mr Hazelman makes some very good points in his recent letter.

The suggestion on town council meetings was good.

When did Tavua last hold one?

I believe it has been 12 years since we had our own elected town councils.

I believe it is time FijiFirst party stopped playing around and gave us our councils back, 12 years is a long time.

Get it done in six months.

You might be in power but I believe 50 per cent of voters wish you were not.

Allan Loosley, Tavua

Success stories

How many success stories have emanated from the $1000 handout?

Dan Urai, Lautoka

Parliament make-up

The result of the closely contested general election is out and the ruling party won 27 seats to form government for the next four years.

NFP and SODELPA will form the opposition while the other three parties HOPE, Labour and Unity failed to meet the 5 per cent threshold.

While I congratulate all those who have made it into parliament, I believe we need to work in unity to take our beloved Fiji forward.

FijiFirst accounted for 50.02 per cent votes, SODELPA accounted for 39.85 per cent while NFP accounted for 7.38 per cent of votes.

On the other hand, it’s pleasing to see some new faces in Parliament.

Ten women will be seen in Parliament while some parliamentarians missed the cut and surprisingly some who held ministerial portfolios recorded low votes.

The race for the 2022 election is on and the next four years will be critical for our developing nation.

My best wishes to the 51 parliamentarians and my only plea is to make your presence felt by making some worthwhile contributions and not just becoming a “good” backbencher.

God bless my Fiji!

Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam, Nadawa, Nasinu

Stability, security key

The hype, promises, new faces and ideologies were not enough to defeat the FijiFirst party.

This is despite the winning party losing some of its support when compared with the 2014 results.

I think people have preferred stability and security with an unprecedented proven record over the rest of the issues.

Apart from a few glitches, people seem to be satisfied with the election process and result.

The commendable work done by the Fijian Elections Office and media coverage surpassed expectations of many people.

However, a grey area which the Fijian Elections Office may have identified is the massive number of voters who did not turn up on polling day.

A reason could be in the equation having your say and making your vote count.

Candidates with far lesser votes have made it into parliament because of enormous votes received by a particular candidate in the same party.

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 do not qualify for a seat in Parliament.

Anyway, let’s move forward for the betterment of everyone.

Mohammed Imraz Janif, Natabua, Lautoka

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