Su'a Rimoni Ah Chong (born c. 1954) is a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

n politician and former

Controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

and Chief Auditor of

. He was the leader of the

Samoa Party The Samoa Party was a small party of Samoa. The party was founded in September 2005 by former auditor-general Su'a Rimoni Ah Chong on a platform of restoring the independence of watchdog institutions such as the Auditor-General. The party also a ...

. As the Controller and Chief Auditor, Su'a Rimoni's efforts against government

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

in Samoa earned him international notability. From 1992 to 1995 he refused to authorise illegal payments to Cabinet Ministers as Controller and Chief Auditor. In 1994 he tabled an Annual Report to Parliament that revealed wide-scale corruption in the

Human Rights Protection Party The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP, sm, Vaega Faaupufai e Puipuia Aia Tatau a Tagata) is a Samoan political party. It was founded in 1982 and dominated Samoan party politics for decades thereafter, leading every government until their defea ...

(HRPP) government under

Tofilau Eti Alesana Tofilau Eti Alesana, AC, born Aualamalefalelima Alesana (4 June 1924 – 19 March 1999) was a Samoan politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Samoa from 1982 to 1985, and again from 1988 until his resignation in 1998. Biography ...

. The report implicated six out of 13 ministers in improper activities and payments. The government's response was to set up a Commission of Inquiry to discredit the Report. The Commission looked not into the irregularities, but into the Chief Auditor himself. Included among the committee's members were several individuals criticised in his report. In July 1995 the government suspended Sua. He then sued the Attorney General and the Legislative Assembly, stating that they had acted unlawfully by referring his report to the Commission of Inquiry instead of the Public Accounts Committee, and in particular that the former had violated Article 99 of the Constitution. As such in 1997 the HRPP amended the Constitution to make the Controller and Chief Auditor appointed for a term of three years, and to permit his removal upon motion of the government and a simple majority vote by Parliament. Prior to this amendment the position of Controller and Chief Auditor was like that of the Chief Justice, an appointment with

life tenure A life tenure or service during good behaviour is a term of office that lasts for the office holder's lifetime, unless the office holder is removed from office for cause under misbehaving in office, extraordinary circumstances or decides personall ...

until the age of 60 with the threshold for removal being a two-thirds vote of parliament. The whole scandal brought Samoa into international scrutiny and questioned its commitment to

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...

, as well as

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

and responsible government. For his efforts, Su'a Rimoni was awarded the Transparency International's Integrity Awards in May 2003. The annual integrity awards recognize the courage of individuals and organizations fighting corruption. In September 2005 Ah Chong founded the

on a platform of restoring the independence of watchdog institutions such as the Auditor-General. During the

2006 Samoan general election General elections were held in Samoa on 31 March 2006 to determine the composition of the 14th Parliament. The main contesting parties were that of incumbent Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, of the Human Rights Protection Party (H ...

, it did not secure any seats. Following the election, Ah Chong was banished from his village for filing an election petition against winning candidate Mulitalo Siafausa Vui. The ban was subsequently overturned by the

Supreme Court of Samoa The Supreme Court of Samoa () is the superior court dealing with the administration of justice in Samoa. It was established by Part VI of the Constitution of Samoa. It consists of the Chief Justice of Samoa and other judges as appointed by the He ...

, but this was ignored by the village council. When his election petition was successful, Ah Chong's house was burned down, and the government brought criminal charges of bribery and treating against him. He was subsequently convicted of bribery for giving a member of his extended family a new TV set., and returned his Transparency International Award. In 2011 he ran as a candidate for the

Tautua Samoa Party ) , flag = , website tautuasamoaparty.com The Tautua Samoa Party ( sm, Vaega Faaupufai le Tautua Samoa) is a political party in Samoa. The party's policies include economic development, particularly in the agricultural sector, public service r ...

. Su'a Rimoni is of Chinese-Samoan heritage.'' Pacific Islands Monthly: PIM''., published by Pacific Publications., 2000, pg 25

References

External links

Integrity awards

Dragons in little paradise: Chinese fortunes in Samoa, 1900-1950
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ah Chong, Sua Rimoni 1950s births Living people Samoan people of Chinese descent Samoan chiefs Samoan politicians Tautua Samoa Party politicians Samoan politicians convicted of crimes