Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, has gone cold on a challenge by the Associate Minister of Public Enterprises, Papali’i Niko Lee Hang, to come clean in public.
The leader of the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P) has also refused to confirm or deny reports that he had personally apologised to Papali’i during a caucus meeting at the beginning of last week.“Is it true that you apologised to Papali’i during a caucus meeting for making a public threat to reveal the “foolish” things he did?” the Sunday Samoan asked Prime Minister Tuilaepa. “It’s been resolved,” he responded.
Pressed for details, he said:
“The issue is between me and members of our party.
If I publicise these things, who benefits from it? It’s you guys but it ruins our party.”
<script async src="http://www.samoaobserver.ws///pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<!-- ads-articles(24.03.14) -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-9419815128221199"
data-ad-slot="2395638412"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>
Contacted for a comment, Papali’i was reluctant to discuss the alleged apology. He said it would best to ask the Prime Minister.
Last Sunday, Papali’i, who is also the Chairman of the Public Finance Committee, challenged Prime Minister Tuilaepa in relation to a threat he made.
“My question to the Prime Minister is that why make a threat when he doesn't say what I did wrong?”
Papali’i said. “That’s being personal, I call that very dirty politics. So I dare him to tell the public what I did wrong when I was the Minister. I know he is only saying these things because he doesn't have an answer to the issues I’ve raised with him.”
Asked to reveal the “foolish” things he was talking about, Tuilaepa insisted he does not bad mouth his Associate Ministers publicly.
“I cannot tell you that,” Tuilaepa said. “The matter has ended and it has been resolved internally.”
Asked to elaborate, Tuilaepa reiterated that “I don’t discredit my Ministers publicly.”
The longstanding public spat between Prime Minister Tuilaepa and Papali’i resurfaced four weeks ago after a letter from Papali’i to Tuilaepa was leaked to the Sunday Samoan.
The letter contained “documentary evidences” that public servants colluded to "defraud public funds" at the Samoa Land Corporation (S.L.C).
“You usually talk in public and use a scripture from the Bible, James 4 verse 17 which says that ‘Whoever knows what is right but does not do it, is sinning’,” Papali’i wrote in the letter in question.
“I apologise your Honour but I have to show you (evidence of) the corrupt practices committed by the Minister and CEO because I fear God and his Word.”
Papali’i’s letter upset Tuilaepa who in response issued a threat. Tuilaepa singled out Papali’i saying he is the “only one that likes to bad mouth people.
“I’m praying that the light will reach him so he will remember I have not said anything or publicised any of the foolish things he did at the time when he was a Cabinet Minister,” he said. “The matter was referred to the Office of the Attorney General.
They were to consider the allegations (to see) if there was a law violated by the Minister. (The investigation) is finished and a report was given to Cabinet that there was no law (violated by the Minister).”
The Sunday Samoan contacted Attorney General, Aumua Ming Leung Wai, for a copy of the legal opinion from his Office that Tuilaepa was referring to. He declined.
“Due to solicitor-client privilege, I cannot reveal the content of the opinion,” he said, adding that it was “another senior lawyer in my Office (who) conducted the review and drafted the opinion.”
Back to Tuilaepa, after he made the public threat, Papali’i fired back by challenging the Prime Minister.
“I dare him to tell the public what I did wrong when I was the Minister,” Papali’i said. “That’s being personal, I call that very dirty politics.”
Contacted for a comment by the Sunday Samoan, Papali’i said he has already done what he needed to do.
“I have given the facts to the Prime Minister and whether he does something about it or not, that is up to him,” said Papali’i.
“My hands are tied because if I do proceed (with legal action) it will be contempt of Parliament. So the evidence is there, I’ll leave it up to the civil society, the public to pursue it.”
In the letter from Papali’i to Tuilaepa, he reminded that it is vital for “justice to be pursued – and that includes doing the right thing.”
<!-- 336x280 (bottom-article) -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style="display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-2469982834957525"
data-ad-slot="1033882026"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>{/googleAds}
<