Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says he is saddened that lighthearted comments and gestures he made during parliamentary exchanges on Wednesday have been deliberately twisted to imply that he made a racial slur against the i-Taukei.
Sayed-Khaiyum says anyone who was in the parliamentary chamber who witnessed the full proceedings and read the Hansard report knows the truth that he referred to the Opposition member Ratu Isoa Tikoca, as Darth Vader because of the rumbling and menacing tone of his persistent interjections.
He says that he went on to mimic Darth Vadar’s speaking style in the Star Wars movies by lowering the register of his voice and adopting a Darth Vadar pose.
He says the video clip of the proceedings clearly shows members of the house laughing, including the Honourable Speaker, who specifically referred to him as “breaking the ice”.
The Acting Prime Minister says that at no stage does the Hansard record him saying anything that constitutes a racial slur.
Sayed-Khaiyum says Ratu Isoa Tikoca is resorting to the old politics of looking for an ethnic dimension when the Opposition is losing public support and the Government is receiving widespread acclaim for the Budget from all Fijians.
He says he is very disappointed and saddened that Ratu Isoa has engaged in a pathetic attempt to vilify him using parliamentary privilege and inflame ethnic division.
He says ordinary Fijians know that for his entire time in private and public life, and he has fought racism and promoted the interests of every citizen, regardless of ethnicity, religious belief or where they come from in Fiji.
He says it is simply inconceivable that he would be guilty of the accusation that is now being levelled against him.
He says it is the cheapest of political shots and totally unjustified.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the fact that it took two days for Ratu Isoa Tikoca to lodge a formal complaint with the Speaker raises serious questions about his own sincerity in this matter.
He says earlier this week, NFP member Tupou Draunidalo was forced to apologise to the House when she called a government member a “fool”.
