An open letter to leaders of Samoa

Dear Editor,

A headless body loses its life.  It is the reason why foreign military invaders historically go after the leaders first of the invaded communities.  Take away the leadership and the community will scatter making it easier to defeat them. 

The United States did this with the Royal King Kamehameha family in Hawaii as an example of such tactic.  We are currently experiencing such oppression cleverly disguised however, through the hands of our own government.  

A Constitutional Amendment in Parliament introduced by the Prime Minister (PM) and his friends in Parliament, deals with what appears to be a simple issue of amending the Constitution, to remove the salutation of ‘Highness’ that we normally address our leader with, the Head of State (HOS). 

This may seem trivial and insignificant, but unfortunately, facts surrounding this subject in its totality, indicate a calculated political move aimed at aligning our Nation with Communism ideology, by removing what our Tu ma Aganuu had set in place, beginning with the leadership roles of our Tama o Aigas.  A headless body loses its life.  Here are the facts in totality.

 

Fact One: The PM recently, finally publically admitted that the future of the Nation is with China as published by the Samoa Observer on October 7, 2018.

 

Fact Two: As reported by the Samoa Observer on October 6, 2018, the PM and his HRRP party members introduced a Bill to amend the Constitution for the sole purpose of banning the use of the honorary salutation of ‘Highness’ in addressing our HOS.  According to the PM, by disallowing the use of ‘Highness’, it will make the office of Head of State more professional.  How it makes it professional has not been clarified by any government official yet.

According to same article, the PM is quoted claiming that anyone can be a Head of State as long as one has a Matai Title, and approved by the Parliament. In this same Bill, the Parliament also increased the salary of the Head of State and other Members of the PM’s Councils of Deputies.

 

Fact Three: This Bill also forbids the Head of State from hiring own staffs.  The Prime Minister’s office gets to do this for his Highness.  The reason given by the PM is that since it is the government that pays salary of the HOS, the government will hire staff for the HOS.  The government also pays salaries of government Ministers and CEO’s and other government Administrators, but unlike the HOS, they have the power and authority to hire their own staffs.

 

THE HUMILIATION OF A NATION!

TO THE TAMA O AIGAS:  The revelation that the PM has chosen to align the nation with China goes against our Foundation as a Nation founded on God. 

It is such a serious contradiction to our foundation that a referendum and consultation with Tumua ma Pule was warranted before this decision was made.  This calls for an immediate response by our leaders, that of the Tama o Aigas. 

China being a Communist nation, does not believe in our God or any other.  Therefore, China has a history of not just oppressing Christians, but murdering them.  The imposition of taxation and harassment of our Church Leaders with confiscation of personal accounts and private properties, is consistent with what Communist China does to their citizens.

If our Nation is founded on God, then pay attention to Israel’s first rebellious act: they chose to socialize with non-believers instead of kicking them out of their inherited land as instructed by God.  Deuteronomy 7: 1-11 was even though a record of the history of Israel, but an event of social and political significance for us.  China is now our very own Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, the non-believing nations Israel was supposed to avoid socializing with to avoid their influence, just as China is.  Israel’s punishment was the eventual loss of their land.  If you pay attention, our government had been buying customary lands which is essential in the operation of Communism. 

The Land Titles Registration Act of 2008 (LTRA) was drafted to move control of customary lands to a central government, and the initial scheme to open up our customary lands for development through the LTRA surprisingly, was drafted by a Communist Chinese bank.

The basics of Communism ideology, is that all men are equal in status (means there are no royal bloods), equal in wealth (all must be shared wealth equally), and that no one owns private properties but all belong to the state (all lands belong to the government for example).  So this Constitutional Amendment to remove the ‘Highness’ salutation, is consistent with Communism ideology in that all citizens are equal in status, meaning that no single individual holds any higher position, prestige, or more prominence than any other.

Our Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa, is opposite of this ideology.  We use the salutation of ‘Highness’ in addressing our HOS, or Tama O Aiga, as this denotes the prestige of the status as Tama O Aiga, or leader.  Even our Matais have a ranking system. 

‘O Samoa ua uma on tofi’ means that the structure of our governing ideology, that of the Tu ma Aganuu, is set in place.  What the PM is doing through this amendment, is ordering the whole nation not to confer on the HOS or the Tama o Aigas the prestige conferred on to them by our Ancestors, our Tu ma Aganuu. 

It may seem trivial, but the intent of the amendment, is the removal of the prestige accorded to the Office of the Head of State, especially that of the Tama O Aiga.  This is in line with Communist ideology.

This is supported by two important facts outlined above.  

When the Constitution was constructed, it is not clear today whether the intent was for only Tupua Tamasese Meaole and Malietoa Tanumafili II, the Tama o Aigas at the time, to hold the office of HOS; or was it to be passed to descendants of all Tama o Aigas in rotation?  According to the Constitutional interpretation by the PM, the Office was only meant for these two, and not their descendants.  So now, anyone can be a HOS.

This is error and Constitutional invalid.  The HOS is the office that belongs to the Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa; whereas the office of the Prime Minister is the Head of the Parliamentary system, a form of government introduced to us by foreigners.  

 These are two different forms of governments.  The reason why a Tama o Aiga was decided upon to be HOS by the committee of Tumua ma Pule that were involved in the construction of the Constitution, was because these families had been historically our leaders.  For them to hold the HOS positions, it maintains and continues their role as leaders, thereby keeping the roots of our Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa in place. 

This separates two governments: the HOS for the Tu ma Aganuu, and the PM and Parliament to administer daily social affairs.  Their roles even though were not clearly clarified by the Constitution, but the enactment of the office of the HOS pointed out the intent of the Committee of Tumua ma Pule that our historical leaders, the Tama o Aigas, were to play a role in governing our affairs. 

The Chinese being much more educated understand this and have decided to eliminate the power and authority of this office.  Not only is the prestige going to be removed, but so will the leaderships of our Tama o Aigas.

So the intent of this Amendment, is to cut off the Head of our Nation, by weakening the authority of the HOS, the Tama o Aigas especially.  By simply forbidding the nation of honoring the Tama o Aiga with the ‘Highness’ salutation, it removes the prestige and honor accorded to him and others as Leaders of our Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa. 

To ensure that the head is kept away from the body, the Constitution had also been amended making it possible for any Matai to be a HOS as long as it is approved by the Parliament. 

So our historical leaders, that of the Tama O Aigas, will now be separated permanently from the community and leadership will be executed exclusively by the office of the PM and Parliament.  With how the PM prefers Chinese communist ideology over the Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa, this means our orders will come from China in the future.

What the Germans did during the Mau movement of isolating our leaders such as Lauaki Namulau’ulu Mamoe and others to weaken the movement, it is no different here.  It is just packaged more slyly with sweets. 

There, it came in the form of physical isolation where they were sent away to another country whereas today, it is a psychological isolation.  Both with the same goal: to weaken community by removing the head (leader) from the body (community).  The Tama o Aigas will no longer be leaders, but for ceremonial purposes only.

They will be there with Titles passed on to next generations, but their roles as leaders of the Nation as was imposed on them by the Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa, weakened already by our acceptance of this Parliamentary foreign form of government since independence, will now be relegated to parental duties. 

They will now be equal to all others in status as consistent with Communism, without prestige and honor, and psychologically isolated from the community once this amendment is approved.

In this same Amendment, includes a joke.  The PM and his HRRP in their wisdoms, thought it appropriate to also increase salary of the HOS.  I initially suspected this move was in preparation for the PM to be the next HOS, and to pay more of our taxes to the PM’s friends as our child begging factory hires more.  But on a second review of facts, this paints a horrible picture for me. 

This Amendment forbids the nation from honoring our Leader, then pays the Leader more money, a Tama o Aiga no less, to sign and approve of the elimination of the honor and prestige granted to his Highness by the Nation. 

Again, this is not a trivial thing.  What this increase in salary does, amounts to paying the Tama o Aiga to hang himself.  By signing this Amendment, his Highness HOS Tuimalealiifano, will unknowingly approve the removal of the honor and prestige accorded to his own self as the Tama o Aiga.  He will unknowingly remove himself as a leader of the Nation. 

It is a form of Japanese hara-kiri, a suicide by opening up the stomach of a Samurai warrior with his own sword, but here, it’s a suicide by pen.  With a signature, the influence of the Tama o Aigas will surely come to an end. 

It is not enough to remove the honor and prestige from the Tama o Aiga through the force of Constitutional law no less, but humiliate him by giving him money to do what amounts to a psychological suicide.

The PM and Chinese are applying Judas’s move except this is much worse.  Judas was given money to betray Jesus, but here, the HOS is given money to betray himself.  The Chinese will be toasting and having a good laugh at our expense as this is a good one. 

This is the kind of story that will be legendary in their historical record for generations.  What the PM and the Chinese are doing here, follow tactics promoted by the Chinese General Sun Tzu as recorded in the book titled ‘Art of War’. 

One of his famous tactic from this book was his belief that “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”.  Here, the laughing part is the fact that our own government had been used to subdue our own leader without his knowledge. 

The humiliation part comes from the fact that one of our Tama o Aiga, is being seduced with money like a two-bit street walker.  His Highness the HOS will not end up disemboweling himself, but the rest of other Tama o Aigas without their consent as this law will affect their prestiges and honors of their families as well.

To prove to the Chinese that the HOS, a Tama o Aiga no less will be equal to a log without life, this Amendment forbids him to appoint or hire any of his own staffs.  This may also seem trivial, but unfortunately this part of the Bill is not.  

It just adds more support to my claim that this Constitutional Amendment, is for the purpose of cutting the head off the body.  

Something so trivial as granting the honor to the Tama o Aiga to choose his own staffs, people he trusts to be with him everywhere he goes, but the PM has to make a Constitutional Amendment to forbid it no less!  This act symbolizes more than the loss of prestige and honor, but proof that the hara-kiri, the disembowelment of the Tama o Aiga, will be effective and final.  

Without the head, the body is lifeless.  A headless body, will not have any brains to pick its own staffs.  To prove that the prestige and honor of the HOS is dead, the PM allows other government Ministers to hire their own staffs, including government CEOs without Matai Titles. 

Remove the head and the body is lifeless.  This part of the law, symbolizes the end of the power of the HOS, especially of the Tama o Aigas.  The dismantling of the oldest democracy of the world; that of our Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa has begun.

 

REMEDY

I therefore humbly urge the Honorable HOS, your Highness Tuimalealiifano, not to sign this law.  Let the PM and the HRRP go on record, to dismantle our foundation themselves.  The public declaration by the PM that our future lies with China amounts to an official public policy. 

This partnership will dismantle our foundation, that of the Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa as our structure is opposite that of Communism. 

This will never be a partnership of equals but of one dominating the other.  We will not be dominating China that’s for sure.  China had made a move and the only counter we have is your pride as our Tama o Aiga, our Leader.

I also humbly urge both Tama o Aigas in place at this moment, that of the HOS and Tui Atua, to seek counsel from Tumua ma Pule whether the office of the HOS should be held only by descendants of Tama o Aiga, or all are entitled as claimed by the PM and HRRP.  The vagueness of the Constitution as to the intent of the Tumua ma Pule Committee who approved of the HOS, has been taken advantage of and there is a critical need for clarification.  The HOS, is the voice of our leader representing of our Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa and must be preserved at all cost.  This is our identity!

To Madame Iuni Sapolu and Members of SSIG Samoa, if it’s not too much trouble, I also humbly urge your team, that the Toeaiigas, Aigas, Nuu ma Itumalos must be notified of these points of argument here if there are any merits to it. 

The LTRA, as it was drafted up to move customary lands to a centralized government office, is consistent with communism ideas of centralized control. 

So all these Constitutional Amendments, including the disembowelment of our Tama o Aiga, are all tied to what had been clarified publically by the PM, that he is a follower of communism ideology.  We must explain this communism thing to the villages because of the danger to our culture and traditions since they are opposites in structures.

But most important of all, is the preservation of the Office of our Head of State, to be held by Tama o Aigas.  This is not about individual honors, special privileges and prestige, but of the preservation of our Tu ma Aganuu Faa-Samoa.  Again, this is our identity. God bless my beloved Samoa.

 

Fa’apale Taumua.

Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>