Teine left behind a great legacy

THE sudden death of Joe Mek Teine is shocking.
I have had a lot of faith in him.
He was a real model for our nation.
I met him for the first time at his Kundiawa Hotel in 2006 before he became MP.
He took me into his office and told me how hard he had worked to build his business up and encouraged me to work hard in my career as an accountant.
I was at the hotel for another business matter when I bumped into him.
As that morning was cold, he had his staff to make us coffee and we had a good chat.
That was when I found out he was a real down-to-earth man.
He cut across all barriers and provinces and regions.
He was a real nationalist.
We need leaders who forego their own interest for the common good of others, who can reason things out and say no to corruption and bad practices and stand up for what they believe is good for the nation.
To me, life is just like a flower – we are here today but gone tomorrow.
When we leave, we take nothing with us in the same way we came.
To me, the purpose of life is to live for others so that when we die, we leave a good legacy behind for our children to carry on that.
And that what the late Joe Mek Teine did.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.

Andrew Pini
Port Moresby