Dear Editor,

In my eleven terms in parliament, no Speaker has ever ruled to suspend a member based on a casual conversation reported to have taken place during a coffee break, well after the debate had formally closed and when members were simply exchanging views on a range of topics.

Yet on this occasion, the Prime Minister and cabinet members reported such a conversation to the Speaker, resulting in the suspension of the Leader of the Opposition for 24 hours.

When I returned the following day at the same point where proceedings resumed after the coffee break as they had the day before,

I was informed that I still had minutes of my suspension remaining, and I was dismissed again.

The purpose was clear.

To deny me my right to address the bill concerning the cancellation of tax concessions for offshore businesses in Samoa.

This sets a dangerous precedent that any comment made by a Human Rights Protection Party Member of Parliament anywhere, even when Parliament is not in session, can be reported to the Speaker and used as grounds for removal from the House.

This is now the order of the day under the new Prime Minister and Speaker, whose actions reflect an increasingly authoritarian approach to parliamentary proceedings.

Five years ago, the Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi Government also suspended me, along with MP Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi, for what was then the longest dismissal in parliamentary history.

When the Court overturned that decision, the FAST Government responded by introducing another motion to dismiss us again, this time for two years and six months, bringing the total proposed punishment to three years.

Once again, we challenged the decision in court, and once again we won.

The duty of the opposition is to scrutinise government actions, hold the government accountable and transparent in its policies and offer recommendations on what should and should not be done.

When Laauli accused me during his ministerial speech of committing treason against his government, I took the opportunity during the break to correct the record, as no one was permitted to respond to the accusation during the formal session.

I stated that it was he who bore responsibility for staging a coup against the Fiame Naomi Mata’afa   FAST1 Government.

I also reminded La’auli humorously in Samoan to stop lying - “tu’u lou pepelo lou siti.”

Obviously, he and his followers were not in a very merry mood.

Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi

Leader of HRPP