A Christian’s political testimony

Q. You had to go to New Zealand for your senior high school and -teacher training.

How did you feel at that age leaving the Solomons for a

foreign land?

A. I started my primary

schooling at King George VI

School, Aligegeo, at 14. By the

time I completed secondary

schooling there I was already 19. So that when I left for my upper sixth form and sub sequent teacher training in New Zealand I was already reasonably mature. I realised what a strange land and people I would find in New Zealand.

I already had a fair idea from my geography lessons that New Zealand would be different from home.

Q. What were your im pressions of New Zealand after spending a number of years there?

A. My impressions of New Zealand during my stay there,

in the late 60s, were, to be frank, very good. There was a

homely atmosphere and racial

harmony in a multi-racial and multi-cultural situation. There was no sense of that imper sonality which sometimes undermines the society of man in the crowded cities of the world. It may be different now of course.

Q. Were there any other Solomon Islanders at Ardmore Teachers’ College while you were there? If so, who were

they and what are they doing

now?

A. Yes, there were two Solomon Islanders who shared my years at Ardmore Teachers’

College. They were Levi Laka and Matthias Ramoni. lam pleased to say that they are doing very well for themselves and for this country at present.

Mr Laka is the deputy prin cipal of the Solomons Teacher

Training College and Mr

Ramoni, who was also a lec turer at that college, is now the president of Makira/Ulawa Council. He will be the first Premier of that province after

independence in July.

Q. Why did you leave teach ing for the public service?

A. Frankly speaking, I was invited to join the public ser vice in the interest of the Solomon Islands localisation programme at that time.

Q. Why did you leave the

public service for politics?

A. As a committed Christian I was convinced that that’s where the Lord would have me best serve my people and country at this time in our

nation building. Although the

administration invited me in May 1975 to become the first Solomon Islands diplomat trainee, I opted to be a poli tician instead.

Q. You are a committed Christian. Is there any passage

in the Bible that you find par ticularly applicable to your life as a politician?

A. As a committed Chris tian, I have more than one Bible passage that serves as a source of encouragement to me. The first 23 verses of Chap ter 3 of Daniel are a source of

strength. When politics is

encouraged to be dirty and cor

ruptive by politicians I am

comforted by the 37th Chapter of Psalms. When some of my strongly held beliefs on policy issues do not meet with the ap proval of the Legislature, my consolation would come from the 28th verse of the Bth Chap ter of Paul’s letter to the Romans.

Moreover, as a Christian leader I am very conscious of the Biblical claim that “God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble”. This

principle was demonstrated by

our Lord in St John’s Gospel Chapter 13, verses 1-15.

Furthermore, our Lord per

sonally taught his disciples,

according to St Mark’s Gospel, Chapter 9, verse 35, that who ever wants to be first must be the servant of all.

Q. Do you find it hard to be a Christian and a politician are the two things compat ible?

A. I do find that as a Chris tian it helps me to be a sincere, honest and concerned poli tician. And if I am to interpret politician as an elected rep resentative of the people whose responsibility is to ensure that the interests and betterment of his people are fostered and protected, then I see no conflict between being a Christian and

a politician.

If on the other hand politics is to be interpreted as a delus ive game of sound and fury aimed at the emotional com ponent of man for the security and benefit of the individual

politician, then only Christian

hypocrites would enjoy it.

Q. In your Christmas mess age, you said, “the only thing we have to fear is ourselves”.

Could you elaborate on exactly what you meant by that?

A. My reason for saying so

was that whilst the Solomons may have an eloquent system of governmental structure, it is only as effective, useful and beneficial as the people who would be responsible for its im

plementation.

Q. A lot of Melanesian poli ticians seem to talk about the “Melanesian Way” what does this mean to you?

A. To me “Melanesian Way” refers to the humane characteristic of the

Melanesian society and people,

which is not selfish but selfless.

It is a Melanesian trait that encourages the Melanesian to have respect for man above money or material things, an inbuilt and innate part of Melanesian society which accounts for the unsolicited

generosity of that society.

Q. Papua New Guinea is talking of introducing a rep resentative of the churches into

the parliament. Could you see such a thing happening in the Solomons?

A. My personal view on this issue is that the government must respect the churches’ role in the society. But this does not necessarily mean that the churches would be more influential as members of a

democratically elected body

than any other elected mem ber. Effective and positive con tributions to proper devel opment of the society of which they are members can be made by churches in their own right. In the Solomons of course we occasionally have ministers of the church elected as members of the parliament.

There is no restriction here.

Q. How will you deal with the problem of the separatists who are reported to be active in the Western Solomons?

A. My personal belief as

leader of this country is that we should have a high regard for the honourable principle of

“unity in diversity”. The

Solomon Islands by their nature require this. I shall deal with the issue in question ac

cordingly.

Q. Do you find that politics interferes with your family life?

A. Yes, and no, to be frank.

“Yes” because in my position as Chief Minister, and there fore head and leader of the government, there are times when my duty to the nation must take priority over my

family responsibility. “No” be

cause “politics” itself does not interfere with my own personal convictions or my family obli

gations.

Q. What do you look for ward to doing when you leave

politics?

A. No one individual is in dispensable in our world of human limitations. In the event, however, of my political involvement in this country coming to an end, I may return to where I came from public service, if not home sweet home!