I Look Forward to Christmas with My Family Here: Aslam
Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption (FICAC) Commissioner, Rashmi Aslam, has dismissed claims that he reportedly left the country hours before the General Election on a flight to Singapore.
Social media Grubsheet blogger, Graham Davis, claimed that Mr Aslam flew out of the country on Monday morning “in a clear sign of official apprehension less than 36 hours from the election.”
Responding to the false claims yesterday from his Suva office, Mr Aslam called on the blogger to verify his claims before publishing information from his ‘so-called’ reliable sources whom he labeled as “pathetic liars.”
In fact, the Sri Lankan said: “I look forward to spending Christmas in Fiji with my family.
“I have not gone anywhere in the last three years and I have no intentions of going anywhere. I think some people are aimless.
“It’s fake news. I am right here in my office.”
He said the increase in fake news postings online in the lead-up to the Election yesterday was a well-organised move by people living overseas.
“They want to create instability in Fiji in this particular time period. It’s so easy to make a call to FICAC and
verify the information. All my phone numbers are operational 24/7.”
At no time did Mr Davis reach out to Mr Aslam to verify the claims before posting.
When questioned on the backlash he received online, he said: “I’m used to it because I have very thick skin and I need that to function as a Commissioner with FICAC, but unfortunately the people around me suffer.
“I don’t want my officers to be bullied or my family. It’s entirely unethical.”
Mr Aslam is urging people to only accept verified information from credible news sources.
“Don’t fall victim to these kinds of people who work with a particular agenda.”
From another verified source, the International Monetary Fund’s Resident Pacific representative, Neil Saker, confirmed that the IMF tweet that was circulating online was fake.
IMF responds
The post, purporting to be from IMFNews Twitter account had claimed: “The dangerous debt level of Fiji risks collapse from the nation. Fijian Government’s financial mismanagement is deeply worrying.”
Contrary to that post, a clear indication of disinformation, Mr Saker said: “This is not the IMF’s view. Quite the opposite. It looks like fake news.”