Is "political space" enough?

A letter to the Minister of Defence asking him to table the Moti Report has been posted below. If anyone has his email address that would be fantastic, at the moment i've got a postal address and you can still email the national newspapers.

Now on to my rant. There is a reason PNGscape is NOT a Kumul Link (right-hand column). PNGscape exemplifies how much PNGeans are capable of talking about something without lifting a finger to do anything. Yes much of it has to do with our feeling of powerlessness but a whole lot of it, especially for the small population that enjoys a good standard living, many of those who have access to the Internet, is plain LAZINESS. No one wants to do anything.

Am i sounding bitter? Maybe so. When i first drafted the letter to the PM, i posted it on Scape and asked people to join in ...but nothing. No replies, and the replies i did get were dismissive. On principle I try to avoid the site because it displays this accepting/can't be bothered/ it's too hard/ unable to do anything/ ineffective complain complain complain/unproductive attitudes held by so many of us. Me included. Sometimes I can't be bothered. Yes, sites like Scape may be comparable to Habermas' "political space" (or civic space) and allows PNGeans to talk about issues that they may be unable to do so within the constrictions of PNG society, freely, but what good is that if no one is willing to act on it? Is it a slow process that will evolve into an active protest against corruption, misconduct and other issues with the Government and general bureaucratic and political systems of PNG? I don't know, it happened in Indonesia in what was labelled the first "Internet revolution, " so maybe it can happen in PNG

Speaking of Indonesia, if anyone has studied the paternalistic system of Governance under Indonesia's Suharto, you'll find there are growing similarities with Somare's regime (and no 'regime' does not automatically have negative-dictator connotations, however fitting that would be, it's just a sub for 'government.') Growing. And the more people shut-up about it the worse it will get. At this stage other than speaking out in every possible way we can, we must also ensure that our judicial system remain independent and impartial, PNG has been lucky and we need to increase the security of the judiciary so they can continue to act as they have been. How to do that i'm not sure about, because really the intiative needs to come from the Government and that's where we have a Catch-22 situation.

In actual news, Ila Geno the Chief Ombudsman emphasised during the week, at the National Development Forum that Government funds for the community should be used as such and that MPs need to be transparent in how they use the funds and be accountable for its use. He said MPs should make records available to the public and ensure public servants are well salaried to stop temptation. I can only hope some part of that message penetrated the minds of those present.

I am also aware that Bire Kimisopa was challenging the new member for Goroka Open in Court. Anyone have updates on that? He was a truly outstanding politician last term and if he doesn't succeed in returning I hope that the current Goroka Open MP can be just as upstanding and outspoken.