An agent of change
COALITION leader Adi Kuini Bavadra talked about the Fijian chiefly system as an institution that had the potential to become a major agent of change in modern Fijian society in an article in The Fiji Times published on March 5, 1990.
She said the greatest challenge facing the system as an institution was that it had to decide whether it would be a positive agent of change for the Fijian community in the late 20th century.
Adi Kuini also said Fijians’ aspirations could not be fulfilled by more parliamentary seats or lower educational requirements, but by instilling a sense of responsibility and hard work.
She also said those seeking to impose Christianity through a clause in the constitution should realise Christianity required one to live by good examples.
“I firmly believe that Christians do not have the right to impose their will on others,” she said.
“My understanding of what Christ teaches in the Bible is that a Christian should become a positive influence on others through example rather than by force.”
Speaking at a coalition public meeting in Nadi, Adi Kuini said her party had maintained respect for chiefs and the chiefly system.
Chiefs, she said, had the potential to become catalysts for change and the chiefly system could be a positive agent for change in Fijian society.
She said it was still a greatly respected institution and had a role to play guiding Fijians in the late 20th century as times have changed.
She said chiefs did not have much choice in holding Fijians back because one could not stop change in any field whether social or political.
“It would involve instilling a sense of discipline and letting the community know there was no substitute for honesty and hard work.”
She called on chiefs to take up the challenge, saying they owed it to the Fijian people and the country to be more responsive to current needs.
“The biggest challenge facing the chiefly system at this point in Fiji’s history is to define what is meant by the term Fijian aspirations and then get about providing practical ways and means of meeting those aspirations.
“Instead of trying to bridge the educational gap between Fijian and Indian students by lowering the Fijian entry marks, there should be efforts to instill in children the importance of hard work, discipline and responsibility at an early age.
“There is no easy solution to bridging the economic and social gap between Fijians on one hand and other communities, on the other.”
Adi Kuini said if Fijian parents emulated Indian parents, they would be able to improve the current system and bridge the gap over time.
Indian parents brought up children in a more responsible way, allocating time for homework and responsibility at home, she said.
But she said most Fijian parents would admit they don’t bring up their children in the same way.
Adi Kuini said some might argue those factors were too basic, but it was by ignoring such basic factors that Fijians have not been able to bridge the gap.
She also criticised what she termed misuse of power and abuse of authority, saying there was a strategy in some Fijian circles to bring in people as a show of support at gatherings without the people knowing what they were there for.
On the issue of a draft constitution, Adi Kuini said a constitution was the supreme law of the land and must reflect the majority view of the people.
The coalition was making efforts to get dialogue going on the issue but the solution to the crisis lay in meeting at the conference table, she said.