KOROR (Palau Horizon) – Traditional leaders warned that they will be forced to take action if President Johnson Toribiong will not take corrective measures against the controversial UK International Holdings Limited.
Earlier, in a letter to the president, the members of the council of chiefs expressed concerns about the grave allegations made by certain individuals on the firm and made recommendations that includes prohibiting Minister of Public Infrastructure, Industries and Commerce Jackson Ngiraingas from using his post to support the firm and stop the false advertisement in the internet that makes it appear that the country is supporting the company.
In their latest letter, 13 traditional leaders, including Paramount chiefs Ibedul Yutaka Gibbons and Reklai Raphael Ngirmang urged the president to resolve the outstanding issues in their previous letter.
“Thus we sincerely hope that corrective measures can be undertaken within a reasonable time by our office to resolve the pending issues thereby eliminating the need on our part to proceed with the actions we deem necessary to resolve the issues,” the chiefs stated.
The chiefs also took exception to the previous comment made by Toribiong on their role.
Toribiong asked traditional leaders to stick to their role as set by the Constitution- which is to advise him only matters which only concerns traditional laws.
The leaders said that despite the comments about their role, the president still need to answer the issues.
“We still believe that the reputation and integrity of our country need to be protected and safeguarded for all of us today and the future generations to come from any smear of corruptions or unwitting actions that we may take,” the letter further cited.
The chiefs said if this remains unresolved, they will take matters in their own hands to ensure that the rule of law is upheld.
The traditional chiefs said that Toribiong’s support of UKIHL is a serious matter as it undermines the rule of law.
The leaders said that the internet advertisement contains statements that made it appear that UKIHL has various licenses from Palau to undertake the wide range of businesses that are part of Nautilus City and Solaris City Project.
It added that the advertisement also made it appear that UKIHL has the full backing of the Toribiong administration through Ngiraingas.
Toribiong for his part said that UIKHL’s application before the Foreign Investment Board has been put on hold to give the firm the chance to explain its intentions.
He added that Morris Davidson, Palau’s honorary consul to Malaysia and the project’s proponent has been relieved of his diplomatic post.
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