FBC: AG accuses Tikoduadua of Treachery
Nand By EDWIN Nand
Multimedia Journalist
edwin.nand@fbc.com.fj | @EdwinNandFBCNews
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has accused Opposition MP Pio Tikoduadua of practicing treacherous politics.
Sayed-Khaiyum was responding to Tikoduadua’s use of a private email between him and Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while debating the budget in parliament.
He says Tikoduadua, who was at the time the Permanent Secretary in the PM’s Office did not read the entirety of the email.
“There is no conspiracy. In fact, there’s an email that says if we had used those base figures it would have shown a growth in 2008 when the world knew we did not grow in 2008. They’re now trying to obfuscate the issue. The reason you are yelling is that you’ve been caught out. “
The Economy Minister also thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership, adding he would never follow a politician like Tikoduadua.
“You can die a thousand deaths for a leader like him then for the treacherous politics that you profess. Even for 1 minute, I will never join you.”
Sayed-Khaiyum says the use of the email by Tikoduadua and the National Federation Party was an attempt to mislead Fijians because the Opposition has no response to the new budget.
Multimedia Journalist
edwin.nand@fbc.com.fj | @EdwinNandFBCNews
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has accused Opposition MP Pio Tikoduadua of practicing treacherous politics.
Sayed-Khaiyum was responding to Tikoduadua’s use of a private email between him and Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while debating the budget in parliament.
He says Tikoduadua, who was at the time the Permanent Secretary in the PM’s Office did not read the entirety of the email.
“There is no conspiracy. In fact, there’s an email that says if we had used those base figures it would have shown a growth in 2008 when the world knew we did not grow in 2008. They’re now trying to obfuscate the issue. The reason you are yelling is that you’ve been caught out. “
The Economy Minister also thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership, adding he would never follow a politician like Tikoduadua.
“You can die a thousand deaths for a leader like him then for the treacherous politics that you profess. Even for 1 minute, I will never join you.”
Sayed-Khaiyum says the use of the email by Tikoduadua and the National Federation Party was an attempt to mislead Fijians because the Opposition has no response to the new budget.
Fijivillage News: By Vijay Narayan, Dhanjay Deo
Don’t feign empathy for the poor, don’t feign your patriotism, intellectual input and credibility by producing some email that was not read in full - AG
Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has told Members of the Opposition not to feign empathy for the poor, and not to feign their patriotism, intellectual input and credibility by producing some email that was not read in full.
While speaking during his 2020/2021 National Budget Right of Reply, Sayed-Khaiyum says the opposition is yet again misleading parliament during the budget debate.
He also says he is concerned that the Leader of the Opposition, Sitiveni Rabuka supported the budget on budget night but then went against it during the debate.
Sayed-Khaiyum says Rabuka had said on July 17th that we have to be positive when you talk about the measures that have been announced in the budget, it is a courageous budget and it is up to us to critique it properly and hopefully the nation can get behind it and they achieve the goals to get the economy back on track.
He also highlighted that Rabuka was discrediting the RBF in his budget response speech but then went on to quote the RBF figures to back his own argument.
The Minister for Economy also says there was nothing sinister in him sending an email to the Prime Minister in 2013 about how the GDP base figures were being calculated. Sayed-Khaiyum says Pio Tikoduadua and the NFP Leader are now caught out for suggesting what was not happening.
He then highlighted the story from a Bollywood movie in the 1980s where the late Kader Khan acted as the Opposition Leader and was telling a favourite reporter how to cover stories. Sayed-Khaiyum alleges that is what Biman Prasad and Fiji Times have conspired to do.
While speaking during his 2020/2021 National Budget Right of Reply, Sayed-Khaiyum says the opposition is yet again misleading parliament during the budget debate.
He also says he is concerned that the Leader of the Opposition, Sitiveni Rabuka supported the budget on budget night but then went against it during the debate.
Sayed-Khaiyum says Rabuka had said on July 17th that we have to be positive when you talk about the measures that have been announced in the budget, it is a courageous budget and it is up to us to critique it properly and hopefully the nation can get behind it and they achieve the goals to get the economy back on track.
He also highlighted that Rabuka was discrediting the RBF in his budget response speech but then went on to quote the RBF figures to back his own argument.
The Minister for Economy also says there was nothing sinister in him sending an email to the Prime Minister in 2013 about how the GDP base figures were being calculated. Sayed-Khaiyum says Pio Tikoduadua and the NFP Leader are now caught out for suggesting what was not happening.
He then highlighted the story from a Bollywood movie in the 1980s where the late Kader Khan acted as the Opposition Leader and was telling a favourite reporter how to cover stories. Sayed-Khaiyum alleges that is what Biman Prasad and Fiji Times have conspired to do.
Pio Tikoduadua on the contents of Aiyaz Khaiyum's email to Bainimarama
"Mr Speaker, I have in my possession an email given to me by the Prime Minister that was sent to him by the Attorney General on 15th December 2013. The PM – who was also Finance Minister from mid-August 2008 to September 2014, asked me to arrange a meeting with the AG as per the email and duly wrote his instruction on that email. As you all know I was the Permanent Secretary in the PM’s office at that time.
I will not read the entire email that contained the honourable Attorney General’s concerns about the need to increase the GDP base after the figures released by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics estimated the 2012 growth to 1.7% when according to AG, a growth of 2.2% was announced in the budget.
I will read the concluding paragraphs that clearly prove the AG’s obsession with electioneering and not reality.
I quote: -
“It is very disconcerting that the PS (permanent secretary) Finance and PS Planning recommended the release of these figures. They should have known that this will directly contradict the announcements made by the Bainimarama Government and in particular by you in your annual budget address
The AG continued: -
“As elections will be held in less than 9 months, politicians will highlight that;
1. The economy is not doing well based on Government’s own numbers released by FBOS (Bureau of Statistics).
2. Government Debt is much higher in both absolute terms as well as ratio of GDP, and
3. Credibility of Government’s policies and the results would be attacked as the data for growth and debt show that things are worse off”.
“It is therefore important that FBOS recalls the GDP release under the 2008 base, as it contains major flaws or errors which will negatively impact this Government as we move towards elections”.
Let me repeat why the AG wanted the GDP increased: -
“It is therefore important that FBOS recalls the GDP release under the 2008 base, as it contains major flaws or errors which will negatively impact this Government as we move towards elections”.
He concluded: -
“It is also recommended that we have a meeting with Ariff Ali from RBF (Reserve Bank of Fiji) to give you a full appraisal”.
Mr Speaker, at that time Ariff Ali was the Chief Manager Economic Group of RBF, who in 2014 was appointed Deputy Governor, and in 2017 appointed Governor.
Mr Speaker, nothing is more clear than the indisputable evidence that I have just outlined in Parliament of how the honourable Attorney General influenced the honourable Prime Minister in agreeing to bend the reality and truth for political supremacy. That is what I call weak, indecisive leadership that readily condescends to his AG.
Instead of castigating his AG, the PM readily accepted his ploy to concoct economic data with the help of the then senior RBF official so that both, who under the Fiji First constitution, are the only two persons eligible to become party leader, could disingenuously wing their way into power in September 2014.
Mr Speaker, I am glad that I quit that government after only 9 months because my conscience could not allow me to serve two masters who were scratching each other’s backs while the nation and its people were being led up the garden path.
For me, sacrificing my $200,000 salary and pension was necessary to avoid becoming a “Yes-man”, like all others currently in the Fiji First Party singing praises to the two-man rule, which is responsible for the destruction of this nation’s social, economic and political fabric through politics of connivance, deviousness and deception."
I will not read the entire email that contained the honourable Attorney General’s concerns about the need to increase the GDP base after the figures released by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics estimated the 2012 growth to 1.7% when according to AG, a growth of 2.2% was announced in the budget.
I will read the concluding paragraphs that clearly prove the AG’s obsession with electioneering and not reality.
I quote: -
“It is very disconcerting that the PS (permanent secretary) Finance and PS Planning recommended the release of these figures. They should have known that this will directly contradict the announcements made by the Bainimarama Government and in particular by you in your annual budget address
The AG continued: -
“As elections will be held in less than 9 months, politicians will highlight that;
1. The economy is not doing well based on Government’s own numbers released by FBOS (Bureau of Statistics).
2. Government Debt is much higher in both absolute terms as well as ratio of GDP, and
3. Credibility of Government’s policies and the results would be attacked as the data for growth and debt show that things are worse off”.
“It is therefore important that FBOS recalls the GDP release under the 2008 base, as it contains major flaws or errors which will negatively impact this Government as we move towards elections”.
Let me repeat why the AG wanted the GDP increased: -
“It is therefore important that FBOS recalls the GDP release under the 2008 base, as it contains major flaws or errors which will negatively impact this Government as we move towards elections”.
He concluded: -
“It is also recommended that we have a meeting with Ariff Ali from RBF (Reserve Bank of Fiji) to give you a full appraisal”.
Mr Speaker, at that time Ariff Ali was the Chief Manager Economic Group of RBF, who in 2014 was appointed Deputy Governor, and in 2017 appointed Governor.
Mr Speaker, nothing is more clear than the indisputable evidence that I have just outlined in Parliament of how the honourable Attorney General influenced the honourable Prime Minister in agreeing to bend the reality and truth for political supremacy. That is what I call weak, indecisive leadership that readily condescends to his AG.
Instead of castigating his AG, the PM readily accepted his ploy to concoct economic data with the help of the then senior RBF official so that both, who under the Fiji First constitution, are the only two persons eligible to become party leader, could disingenuously wing their way into power in September 2014.
Mr Speaker, I am glad that I quit that government after only 9 months because my conscience could not allow me to serve two masters who were scratching each other’s backs while the nation and its people were being led up the garden path.
For me, sacrificing my $200,000 salary and pension was necessary to avoid becoming a “Yes-man”, like all others currently in the Fiji First Party singing praises to the two-man rule, which is responsible for the destruction of this nation’s social, economic and political fabric through politics of connivance, deviousness and deception."
"He (Khaiyum) then highlighted the story from a Bollywood movie in the 1980s where the late Kader Khan acted as the Opposition Leader and was telling a favourite reporter how to cover stories. Sayed-Khaiyum alleges that is what Biman Prasad and Fiji Times have conspired to do."
“You can die a thousand deaths for a leader like him [Bainimarama] then for the treacherous politics that you [Tikoduadua] profess. Even for 1 minute, I will never join you.”
Aiyaz Khaiyum to Pio Tikoduadua on Frank Bainimarama
