Break free of old elite's grip says PM

January 01, 2010 01:07:28 PM

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Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has called on the people of Fiji to break free of the past and join his efforts to modernise Fiji by standing up to the “old elite”.

In a New Year’s message, Bainimarama said his government’s reform agenda means the people of Fiji must modernise their outlook and “get out of the little boxes that we have been told to stay in by the past leaders”.

He said there are some people who are still working behind the scenes to undermine the coming together of people and some who still think along ethnic and racial lines.

“We have to be aware of them; we have to stand up to them by pointing out the facts. Let not the personal agendas of the few who were part of the elite, who were part of the old way of thinking, undermine us,” he said.

Bainimarama said modernising and reforming means his government will focus on empowering all Fijians.

He pointed to the recent changes to business and liquor trading hours and the creation of special zones as a recognition of contemporary Fiji and the changes in the country’s thinking.

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