SAM BASIL WALKED THE TALK part 1

 

Late Sam Basil (back) with ULP members on a foot bridge at Wantoat gorge in Markham district. Picture courtesy of United Labour Party.

A Man With a Big Heart for PNG

 

From a Post-Courier editorial

SAM Basil was a truly practical man, no doubt about that. He had a great heart for PNG.

In Morobe, he walked the talk. Practically he walked everywhere. And he even walked into the Southern region, marching into villages in Oro, Gulf and Central provinces which bordered his Bulolo districts.

He was the kind of person who was never intimidated by challenges, he took them on, while on the move. He went where few national leaders dared, to the furthest most remote places in Papua and New Guinea.

This is the reason for the great outpouring of sorrow in this week of national mourning following his tragic loss in a traffic accident on May 11.

Papua New Guineans feel a piece of them has gone with Sam Basil. A piece of their ideals and dreams has gone with the late deputy Prime Minister. Their hopes have been dashed, their future in disarray.

Our news pages are filled with tears of disbelief, cries of sadness. Social media is spilling with the agony of helplessness. Many questions are being asked but there seems to be few answers to quench our sorrow, stem the anger, massage our pain.

Nowhere has there been such scenes of grief and sorrow since Papua New Guineans stood shoulder to shoulder to mourn the loss of Sir Mekere two years ago.

So what did Sam Basil have in common with Sir Mekere? They were once members of the PNG Party, and staunch anti-corruption fighters. They were astute men of eloquence, who were exemplary, articulate and devoted to duty, honesty, loyalty and stood for the truth.

Always smiling, always positive, always the happy Ari way.

They never wavered in their resolve and commitment to expose and depose corrupt leaders. Their integrity was unquestionable. They spent more time on the Opposition benches where they distinguished themselves, along with Belden Namah and Dr Allan Marat, as men who kept the government on their toes.

After his election in 2007, Sam Basil was the first PNG politician to be invited to the White House of the powerful United States of America to witness the inauguration of the first black president Barrack Obama in 2009.

For a maverick first time politician, this was a huge confidence boost for Sam Basil and his Bulolo District. The same year, he flew into Garaina to install VSAT telecommunication link, even though he received only 9 votes from the entire population.

But his response was endearing and enduring. Sam Basil told the Garaina people, 9 votes or 900 votes, you are still my people and I will give you the same service. Sam Basil believed that no matter what, politicians had a duty to deliver, where even no one votes for you.

In 2012, Sam Basil was shouldered home on 21,785 votes on first count for the Bulolo seat. In 2017, a 26, 184 landslide victory ensured his third term. Some of his people even suggested he run for Governor in 2022. But Sam Basil was a man for the grass roots.

He believed in building Bulolo first, his home and his people, before even considering the Morobe regional seat. Sadly ,he died doing what he was best known for, visiting his beloved people on the eve of next general elections.

Long Live the Memory of Sam Basil, DPM, Member for Bulolo and beloved anti-corruption and crime fighter of PNG.

Shungol Mountain.