THANK YOU - VINA DU – DHANYAVAAD - FAIAK SE ’EA – XIEXIE LAISENIA QARASE

The news of former Prime Minister Laisania Qarase's passing really sadden me, so much so that it has been a struggle putting my thoughts together so that I can do justice to the life of someone whom I had known for some time, but only really got to understand, respect and admire over the past 20 years.

I was privileged to have been elected into parliament at the same time that Laisania Qarase served as our Prime Minister from 2001 to December 5th, 2006 and for three of those 6 years I was the Leader of the Opposition and although we started out on opposite sides in Parliament we went from being political opponents to being good friends and this friendship continued to the present day.

To Leba and family and the people of Mavana, I extend on behalf of my family and I our heartfelt sympathies for your loss. Our prayers and thoughts are with you.

Although he was not your typical politician, and was often considered to be shy, he was always courteous and polite. What he may have lacked initially in political know how, he more than made up for with his work skills and expertise, especially in commerce and finance. Frankly these qualities were an advantage for him and Fiji.

For a not- so-political-politician the mandate Mr Qarase secured from his constituents was impressive. In his first go at parliamentary elections in 2001 for the Lau Fijian Provincial Communal seat Mr Qarase won 91.48% of the votes cast and his re-election in 2006 saw his popularity improve to 93.33% of the votes cast. [These are official results]

I recall that following the 2001 elections he was three votes short of the number he needed to allow President Iloilo to appoint him PM. At the time we the UPP, New Labour and NFP - were in negotiations with his SDL Party to form a government. Ofa Swan, Kenneth Zink and I sent our support letters to the President giving Mr Qarase the majority he needed.

Our negotiations with SDL eventually fell through and Ofa and I entered Parliament as Opposition backbenchers, while Kenneth joined the SDL as Minister for Labour. I did not regret giving my vote to Laisania Qarase, because his conduct as Prime Minister during the time we served in parliament, was exemplary.

Mr Qarase was a man of faith; a man of principle and integrity. I was humbled and honored later when asked to be one of his referees to mitigate on his behalf at his sentencing.

If there is one regret that I have with regards to my relationship with Mr Qarase. It was when I issued a statement on some issue for which I was widely criticized [and rightly so] because although I did not intentionally include his family in my remarks, it came across as though I did.This must have been the case, because even my daughter Kim whose opinions I respect, called me up and told me in no uncertain terms ‘Hey Dad, just as you are my dad, Mr Qarase is also someone’s dad. While you two are the politicians and therefore subject to public scrutiny, your families are not, so including his family in your statement against him is unacceptable. I agreed with Kim and immediately issued an unreserved public apology to Mr & Mrs. Qarase and family as well as privately to Mr Qarase soon after and being the person he was, he accepted my apology.

As Prime Minister and leader of the SDL Mr Qarase enjoyed a sizable majority in Parliament and could have completely ignored me as the Leader of the Opposition and my colleague Hon Swan from 2001 to 2005 and Hon Ganilau in 2006 and pretty much do what he wanted to do, he could have flexed his political muscle or used his majority to score political points but he chose not to, and he never once felt the need to try and ‘bully’ us into agreeing with him.

In fact, he did the exact opposite and often directly with me or through his AG, the late Qoriniasi Bale QB, he complied with all the provisions of the 1997 constitution where the Prime Minister was required to consult with the Leader of the Opposition on certain appointments and constitutional matters.

The consultations were conducted properly, usually face to face over coffee or yagona, occasionally by phone, but never by ‘flying minute’ and never before all of the relevant documents were delivered to me in advance so I had time to make an informed contribution.

Mr Qarase preferred an ‘inclusive approach’ using the parliamentary committee system to establish a ‘joint’ effort towards resolving key issues. There were many examples of this over the six years, but I will just mention a few: -

Sugar Industry: The committee to look at the restructure was to being setup, the FLP had certain issues with FSC so had refused to participate, the legal opinion at the time suggested that so long as the Leader of the Opposition were present at the meetings, it could proceed without FLP.

But Mr Qarase did not want that, he preferred to have the FLP be part of it from the start, so he asked me if I could meet with Mr Chaudhry find out what the issues were and try and sought things out which I did and this resulted in the two of them getting together agreeing on some final details, which allowed the full committee to proceed

Further down the line on the occasion of the signing ceremony for the European Union $350m grant to reform of the sugar industry Mr Qarase extended an invitation to be a part of the event for which I was grateful. This $350 EU funding he secured was in addition to the $85 million loan through the Exim Bank of India for upgrading the sugar mills.

Prime Minister Qarase never needed to promote the concept of ‘talanoa’ because he practiced it in real time during every parliament sitting. During the breaks from debates we would often get together at morning tea or lunch or gather around the big yagona bowl and talanoa. Sometimes continuing the debate from inside the chamber and often about general matters, it was not unusual to see the PM, the AG, a few cabinet Ministers and MP’s from both sides enjoying the fellowship and discussing issues and more often than not this would result in agreements to hold further meetings in order to sort a problem. Most importantly it allowed members from both sides of the house to talanoa informally and establish a rapport that helped each of us to not only develop a working relationship with each other but to do our jobs better.

As the Opposition we had a stream of visitors every day, from all communities and from all over Fiji with all sorts of issues and having our office in Parliament and away from Government buildings was ideal because during parliamentary sittings we had the Prime Minister and his entire cabinet within walking distance, and we took every advantage of this situation.

This open policy of PM Qarase also encouraged his Ministers to open up their doors as well. So when we in the Opposition were given issues by the people, we would do our homework, then make contact with the appropriate Minister, sit and discuss and resolve the issues bought to our attention by our citizens.

It is as a direct consequence of this open approach by Prime Minister Qarase that about 80% of all the issues that were raised with us in the Opposition were resolved. Prime Minister Qarase’s inclusive work ethos made this possible.

Mr Qarase and I kept in touch following he and his family’s banishment to Mavana after December 5th, 2006 and when he returned, he and I and Mr Chaudhry got together and started discussions that led to the formation of the United Front for a Democratic Fiji.

So when I add my personal experiences with Mr Qarase during our six years in parliament to the fact that he was the one that encouraged Ratu Sir Kamasese Mara to create Fijian Holdings which is today one of Fiji’s most successful investment companies that has helped our indigenous communities become actively engaged in the economic opportunities in Fiji, and his introduction to politics via his appointment to the Senate as a nominee of the GCC, and his 15 years as head of the Fiji Development Bank and his most recent success in helping pull the Methodist Church of Fiji out of its financial woes to become debt free, there can be little doubt that the legacy Mr Qarase leaves behind will remain unrivaled for decades to come and for this I say

THANK YOU - VINA DU – DHANYAVAAD - FAIAK SE’EA – XIEXIE TO MR QARASE

While I appreciate the solemnness and sadness surrounding his passing and acknowledge that It is a time for grieving. His life’s story would not be complete if I omit the ugly truth about the way he was treated by his usurpers.

Because following their removal of him from power on December 5th, 2006, his usurpers embarked on a systematic and relentless mission to destroy his credibility, his integrity and his character. They persecuted him, treated him with contempt and were vindictive towards him.

First, they forced the Qarase family to escape from Suva and head for their home in Mavana. Vanuabalavu.

Then while in Mavana Mr Qarase was subjected to threats of arrest and death if they returned. Even the airline was warned of repercussions if they carried them back as passengers or by charter.

Next, Mr Qarase was accused of being corrupt during his term as Prime Minister [2001-06] but his accusers failed to provide a single shred of evidence to support their claim.

Then they withheld his pension and entitlements as a former Prime Minister for more than 8 years causing him and his family major financial hardship.

Finally, unable to find any evidence of corruption during Mr Qarase’s time as Prime Minister his accusers decided to continue their search for any incriminating evidence, they could find against him.

They finally settled on an incident that occurred 14 years prior accusing him of corruption where they alleged, he failed to disclose a private investment interest he had in three companies that he was helping manage in an official capacity and for this they sent him to prison for 1 year even though Mr Qarase was a first offender.

The year this incident is alleged to have occurred was 1992 when ‘affirmative action’ was government policy and all indigenous citizens including Mr Qarase were entitled to benefit from it.

While hiding behind their immunity protection from prosecution for their own crimes, they threw everything they could at Prime Minister Qarase, but they could not break him.

Mr Qarase on the other hand had no such protection but he remained resolute and courageous when he faced his accusers armed only with his faith and the truth.

To Laisania Qarase, I salute you for your unrivaled contribution to the country and our people, I salute you for your untiring efforts in helping your community enter new horizons and opportunities in commerce and investment, I salute you for your faith, your bravery, your courage, your humility, and your compassion.

You have shifted the bar for good leadership to new heights and it will be incumbent on all of us to demand nothing less than the moral and ethical standards you have set for anyone who aspires to lead us in future.

REST IN PEACE MY FRIEND