Respect for our laws is a must

Editorial, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday February 13th, 2014

 WE support the appeal by Customs Commissioner Ray Paul for people to respect the laws of Papua New Guinea.  

Last week a foreign businessman operating in the country allegedly offered a bribe to PNG Customs officers at Jackson’s International Airport to release his suitcase containing illegally imported cigarettes.

The suitcase had been held back by officers two days earlier after the man’s wife was caught trying to smuggle the items through customs.

The man had gone to the airport to pick up his wife and was advised by PNG Customs to pay K6,150 in duty and penalty costs before the suitcase could be released. 

Instead of paying the required fees, the businessman chose to offer a bribe to officers who refused to accept it and alerted the police who subsequently arrested him. 

Paul commended his officers for refusing to accept the K1,000 bribe.

The officers concerned have demonstrated honesty and integrity in their line of duty. In doing so, they have shown that service to their employer and country is paramount, not to mention the personal integrity and peace of mind which would have been compromised had they accepted the bribe.

The Jackson’s Airport in­cident may be an isolated case but there have been sit­uations where our law enforcement and investment promotion agencies have had to face bribes, inducement or intimidation from foreigners as well their own countrymen and women.

Incidents like this show what some foreigners think of our country and people – the so-called “Land of the unexpected”, where anything goes and one can easily bribe his or her way around.

As Paul said, the airport incident should serve as a warning to those others thinking of smuggling goods in the country, citizens and foreigners alike.

The country welcomes foreign businessmen and investments by multinational corporations but unfortunately there are some who do not respect and abide by the country’s laws or even treat those placed there as the first line of defence against threats to the country’s social and economic security with contempt. Such entities had better take their money elsewhere.  

In this age of globalisation, increased interaction between and among regional and international friends can only flourish upon mutual respect and trust and not on any notion of one nation or group’s economic or political superiority over another. 

Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato’s address to PNG heads of missions on Tuesday pointed in part to striving for and upholding such mutually beneficial and respectable relationships.

He told the diplomats that globalisation provided great opportunities for trade and better relations with outsiders yet there was the real security threat in so far as in cross-border crime and human trafficking for instance are concerned.

In the words of the minister, the country faces new and emerging social and political opportunities and challenges brought about by globalisation.

It is therefore imperative to distinguish between elements of globalisation that best serve the national interest and those which “do not add value to Papua New Guinea’s interests and aspirations”.

One of the department’s key strategies in its bid to transform its foreign service and diplomacy is the establishment of mutually respectable and supportive cooperation with neighbours and regional partners. When we, as a country, have good reason to believe that individual citizens, multinational corporations or even official government policies of our neighbours fail to uphold that vital mutual respect or reciprocate our genuine offer of friendship, we should have the courage to protest without fear.

Respect is given and taken – it’s a two way street. 

That’s the least we expect from our friends and neighbours. 

Without respect, any development aid or multi-million-kina private sector investment in the age of rapid globalisation will not be considered genuine by our citizens.  

As Paul and Pato indicated, respect for our laws and our sovereignty is essential for the conduct of good business and bilateral relations.