An Opportunity to Rise... (Farewell to Anand)

On a rather serious note, it seems to have become a trend that Members of Parliament are free to create all manner of mischief under the cloak of Parliamentary Privilege, clearing the way for verbatim reporting of what was said in the House and furthering any intended damage via said reporting and destroying people's reputations for sport.

A glaring example of this arrangement gone awry is the now infamous 'Piano Story' carried on the front page of one of the dailies that continued what turned out to be either deliberate mischief making or complete incompetence on the part of none other than the Attorney General in a statement that can only be considered injurious to the reputation of a Member of Parliament and a former Prime Minister no less.

Now, regardless of your opinion on Former Prime Minister Patrick Manning, he, like every other citizen of this country (unless and until he is charged with any wrongdoing) should enjoy all of the protections of civil society and one of these must surely be to not have his name slandered for cheap political points.

Mr. Ramlogan ought to have known better than to go off half cocked with innuendo in place of fact, and I dare say his intemperate outburst and slanderous allegations have brought the Office he now occupies into serious disrepute; it is not a stretch to suggest that according to the system we follow, convention requires that he demit Office or be removed before he does further damage to that esteemed place.

The newspaper in question also bears some culpability in spreading what turned out to be false rumors, and they in turn should do the decent thing and apologize by way of printing a full retraction complete with equal if not more front page and headline space.

We as a people cannot ever hope to be considered civilized or First World if we do not find a way to respect ourselves, each other and the rule of law, and all pretenses to the contrary only serves to undermine any such elevation; it is hoped that this fiasco would bring an end to the sensationalist mud slinging taking place in our nation's Parliament and would be replaced by sober law making and proper policies of Governance to the betterment of every citizen.

This is in no way meant to hinder or prevent the investigation and prosecution of any public official found to be guilty of misbehavior in Public Office, but rather asks that said investigation when warranted, be conducted at the highest level of decency and professionalism, so that those who feel the full brunt of the law would know by the example shown and afforded them what their behavior ought to have been in the first place.

Only then can we say with any conviction that true change has finally come.

Something to think about...