{"id":4966,"date":"2021-03-05T00:03:10","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T10:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966"},"modified":"2021-03-05T00:03:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T10:03:10","slug":"commission-of-inquiry-is-a-political-ploy-says-fiame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_4967\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4967\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4967\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/4-MPs-final-photo.jpg?resize=740%2C425&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"4 MPs final photo\" width=\"740\" height=\"425\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-4967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>The Prime Minister&#8217;s motion to investigate the four MPs, Fiam\u0113 Naomi Mata\u2019afa, Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao, Leatinu\u2019u Faumuina Wayne Fong and Olo Fiti Vaai for treason.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p>By Lagi Keresoma<\/p>\n<p><strong>APIA, SAMOA \u2013 04 MARCH 2021:<\/strong> The former Deputy Prime Minister, Fiam\u0113 Naomi Mata\u2019afa has labelled the motion by Prime Minister to set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate her and other three former Members of Parliament as a political ploy.<\/p>\n<p>Fiam\u0113 pointed out that everyone is aware of what\u2019s happening and with the dissolution of Parliament yesterday, the next step is the general election in five weeks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPut aside whether the motion for an inquiry is right or wrong, the bottom line is, it\u2019s a political ploy to show the public that he has the power and to do it,\u201d said Fiam\u0113.<\/p>\n<p>She also challenged if such a Commission would have &#8220;teeth&#8221; as they are now all former MPs.<\/p>\n<p>The four MPs targeted are Fiam\u0113 Naomi Mata\u2019afa, Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi, Leatinu\u2019u Faumuina Wayne Fong and Olo Fiti Vaai.<\/p>\n<p>La\u2019auli in support of Fiam\u0113, said the motion was Tuilaepa\u2019s last attempt from within Parliament to tarnish their reputation and that of the FAST political party ahead of the general elections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLast night was the last Parliament session and I believe it should have been a joyous occasion, reconciliation, forgiveness, but sadly, we left with heavy hearts.\u201d said La&#8217;auli.<\/p>\n<p>The former Speaker emphasized that the motion was unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Prime Minister has breached Parliament\u2019s Standing Orders and the Constitution and he is riding not only on the numbers in the Human Rights Protection Party, but also on his salutation as the leader of the house &#8211;<em>Ta\u2019ita\u2019i o le Maota<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister has been using the parliament session that ran from 19 January to 02 March to attack and discredit the FAST political party\u2019s rallies in the electoral constituencies.<\/p>\n<p>He said the rallies, fronted by the four MPs, are a foreign idea and that they were distributing false information through sharing what the party plans to carry out if they become the next government after the general elections.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minister\u2019s motion sets up the Commission of Inquiry to investigate if the MPs had breached the Standing Orders by not attending the parliament sessions and what they said were \u201ctreasonous\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The Prime Minster and several MPs have indicated that something be done to the MPs as they have been absent from parliament to attend to their political rallies.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Speaker insisted to leave it with him.<\/p>\n<p>La&#8217;auli said the power and authority over Parliament to make decisions rests on the Speaker, and the matter regarding their absence should have been addressed by a Committee of Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>La\u2019auli said they wrote to the Speaker to excuse themselves as the parliament session has dragged on for seven weeks when Parliament should have been dissolved in January.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was another ploy to disrupt our election rallies and talk with the voters about our plans, so we wrote letters to excuse ourselves for two weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd now they tell us we were not given permission, so why were we not informed about it then rather than criticizing and slandering us during his speeches in Parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Legitimacy of the motion against the former MPs<br \/>\n<\/strong>The motion moved the night before Parliament was dissolved raised the legitimacy of the motion against the accused who were also asked if they would take legal action.<\/p>\n<p>La\u2019auli said legally they are no longer MPs &#8220;so what is the basis of the motion?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cParliament is dissolved and everything closed and all matters lapsed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Executive\u2019s power over the other arms of Government<br \/>\n<\/strong>The Prime Ministers move further proves the Executives power encroaching on to the other arms of government \u2013 Parliament and the Judiciary.<\/p>\n<p>It is an issue that Fiam\u0113 had been sharing with the voters in various constituencies \u2013 the threat to the rule of law and government \u201cweaponsing\u201d the law to do what the Government wants to do.<\/p>\n<p>Fiam\u0113 also referred to the Executives interference with the Judiciary\u2019s decision on the Lands and Title Court President, Fepulea\u2019i Atila who was found guilty of an assault charge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTuilaepa handed the decision over to a Parliamentary Committee to investigate if the Judiciary\u2019s decision was correct and that is another instance of the Executive over stepping its role in questioning the independence of the Judiciary,\u201d said Fiam\u0113.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Call for calm<br \/>\n<\/strong>Despite all the criticism and accusations against FAST and her members, Fiam\u0113 and Laauli have called on Samoa to remain calm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing is happening &#8211; <em>E leai se mea o tupu.\u201d <\/em>said Fiame.<em> \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>O oli ma foli o le faiga palota,\u201d<\/em> said Fiame.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lagi Keresoma APIA, SAMOA \u2013 04 MARCH 2021: The former Deputy Prime Minister, Fiam\u0113 Naomi Mata\u2019afa has labelled the motion by Prime Minister to set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate her and other three former Members of Parliament as a political ploy. Fiam\u0113 pointed out that everyone is aware of what\u2019s happening [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[177,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113 - Talamua Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113 - Talamua Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Lagi Keresoma APIA, SAMOA \u2013 04 MARCH 2021: The former Deputy Prime Minister, Fiam\u0113 Naomi Mata\u2019afa has labelled the motion by Prime Minister to set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate her and other three former Members of Parliament as a political ploy. Fiam\u0113 pointed out that everyone is aware of what\u2019s happening [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Talamua Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-04T10:03:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lagi Keresoma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lagi Keresoma\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lagi Keresoma\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00fcb385682986ec4474da283aca0a0a\"},\"headline\":\"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-04T10:03:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966\"},\"wordCount\":808,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Latest\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966\",\"name\":\"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113 - Talamua Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-04T10:03:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00fcb385682986ec4474da283aca0a0a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=4966#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Talamua Online\",\"description\":\"&#039;Talamua&#039; in english means the &#039;First Word&#039;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/00fcb385682986ec4474da283aca0a0a\",\"name\":\"Lagi Keresoma\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/Lagi-Keresoma.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/Lagi-Keresoma.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/Lagi-Keresoma.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"caption\":\"Lagi Keresoma\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113 - Talamua Online","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113 - Talamua Online","og_description":"By Lagi Keresoma APIA, SAMOA \u2013 04 MARCH 2021: The former Deputy Prime Minister, Fiam\u0113 Naomi Mata\u2019afa has labelled the motion by Prime Minister to set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate her and other three former Members of Parliament as a political ploy. Fiam\u0113 pointed out that everyone is aware of what\u2019s happening [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966","og_site_name":"Talamua Online","article_published_time":"2021-03-04T10:03:10+00:00","author":"Lagi Keresoma","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lagi Keresoma","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966"},"author":{"name":"Lagi Keresoma","@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00fcb385682986ec4474da283aca0a0a"},"headline":"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113","datePublished":"2021-03-04T10:03:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966"},"wordCount":808,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["Latest","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-NZ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966","url":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966","name":"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113 - Talamua Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2021-03-04T10:03:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00fcb385682986ec4474da283aca0a0a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-NZ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-NZ","@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=4966#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u201cCommission of Inquiry is a Political Ploy,\u201d says Fiam\u0113"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#website","url":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/","name":"Talamua Online","description":"&#039;Talamua&#039; in english means the &#039;First Word&#039;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-NZ"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#\/schema\/person\/00fcb385682986ec4474da283aca0a0a","name":"Lagi Keresoma","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-NZ","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Lagi-Keresoma.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Lagi-Keresoma.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Lagi-Keresoma.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1","caption":"Lagi Keresoma"},"url":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?author=2"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdAiL5-1i6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4966\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}