Letters to the Editor | March 27, 2025 - Voice of Asia - Telling Stories from Asia to the World!

As the 2026 Fijian general election approaches, a diverse array of political party names are emerging, which is undoubtedly an interesting phenomenon for a small country like Fiji. It is reported that 14 new political parties are in the process of being formed, preparing to grab a share in next year's election. It is worth paying attention to how these newly established parties shape their image with unique and bold names.

One party name in particular, "Lion of Judah," caught my attention. This alliance with a Christian theme seems to have goals that extend beyond a mere political campaign, resembling more of a large-scale religious movement. In any case, the addition of numerous new political parties will bring fresh perspectives, strategies, and ideas to the upcoming election, and we shall wait and see what unfolds.

Among the 14 newly formed political parties, how many are motivated by considerations of the political climate and self-interest, and how many are driven by anger and personal grudges? The government should review the electoral law, stipulating that parties unable to compete for all seats should be disqualified, and parties failing to reach the 5% threshold should be fined. Votes and voices should be counted and heard truthfully, no more and no less.

Some political commentators believe that the emergence of new political parties indicates disappointment with the performance of the current coalition government, but this may be an illusion. High salaries and ministerial privileges may be the real motivation attracting the leaders of these new parties. Imagine, as an opposition party, simply playing the role of government supervisor can earn you FJD 90,000 per year; and if there is only one opposition party, its leader can receive as much as FJD 200,000 in cash. However, to date, in the past two years, I have not seen any of the leaders of these 14 potential parties propose solutions to address our problems. Some of them completely negate the coalition government without ever providing any solutions. What does this indicate? Four words: purely self-serving! Please choose wisely.

In my opinion, the best response comes from those former members who used pole vaulting techniques. I suspect they used green bamboo. In any case, FFP (presumably referring to a political party) is a thing of the past. So, where has its "soul" gone? Hopefully, it hasn't turned into an evil spirit from a Hindi movie.

I urge the Minister for Education, Hon. Radrodro, and Prime Minister Rabuka to provide budget for the installation of security cameras in the dormitories of all Fijian secondary schools nationwide. If they can unhesitatingly raise their shocking parliamentary salaries in a single day, then they should also be able to find the funds to meet this requirement to ensure the safety of our boarding school children. Forward Fiji and Rotuma!

Labasa recently opened a pharmaceutical warehouse, but there are still many medicines that cannot be supplied. As Jan Nissar said, we should be thankful that the medicines we do receive are free.

Our "stagnant" traffic problems (The Fiji Times 21/03/2025). This problem started accumulating 25 years ago and has now exploded. I believe that when the import of used cars emerged, the government saw it as a "money-making" machine, which was a win-win situation for both the government and the people. But no one considered developing a "strategic" economic plan to control the import volume. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the pace of infrastructure construction never seemed to be integrated into this plan. Most importantly, the Nausori-Suva-Lami corridor still exists, only with widened roads and poorly functioning traffic lights installed. I believe that the solution is to introduce a railway transport system, first between Suva and Nausori, and then gradually expand it. Unless they "control" the import of used cars, including the vehicles that already exist, the traffic situation will continue to worsen. Additional efforts will not lead to traffic congestion.