Dear Editor,
MUCH hullabaloo is being made over the independent-minded and rational arguments posited by the Region 10 Member of Parliament, Central Executive member, and Chairman of the opposition party, A Partnership for National Unity in Region 10, The Honourable Jermaine Figueira, on the issue of calls to boycott Guyanese businesses in Brooklyn, New York, who exercised their right of heritage and patriotism to welcome the President of the Republic from whence they came, His Excellency Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali.

Again, we are hearing chants of ‘traitor’ and a slew of derogatory attacks and innuendos against the MP, as we heard when he broke the foolish and infantile edict of Aubrey Norton not to shake hands with the president, and in response to several other courageous positions taken by Figueira in defence and representation of citizens interests; this time, they are seeking to lynch him all over again for what I consider to be a very rational, intelligent, and forthright perspective he offered in response to the absurdity of the ‘boycott’ call by the interlopers who claim to represent ‘us,’ against ‘us.’

This is unapologetically my take: the Region 10 MP has demonstrated a remarkable sense of responsibility to the people of this region over the years. He has worked far above and beyond our past Members of Parliament and current and past municipal and regional leaders in the local government structure to represent his constituents and cater to their social needs beyond the confines of the body politic.

He has established irrefutable credentials as a non-conformist politician, with an uncanny boldness to confront the ruling party and his own party when necessary, to make a case for interventions to better the lives and circumstances of the people.
He eschews the vanity and pomposity of the elected office, quite unlike the others who just occupy space with nothingness. He ‘walks the talk,’ getting real work done regularly in every nook and cranny of Linden, While he can do a lot more in the outlying areas, his presence and work in Linden is beyond question.

And it is because of these very credentials that some are chanting and others echoing the chants that he is leaning towards a crossover to the PPP/C, apparently meaning that he should be confined to his party’s modus operandi and do nothing for the people, nor facilitate anything the government wishes to do for the people; to do otherwise means that you are betraying ‘your own’ and helping the PPP/C…

I say if he wants to cross over, let him do just that, if, in his rational judgment which I’ve come to respect and appreciate immensely, he believes his efforts could be more welcoming and fruitful for the people from over there.
Politicians here or there are the ‘same kettle of fish, same ‘cats a puss’; the gamesmanship is just superior on one side or the other from season to season. The difference comes when one set is more genuine and committed to doing more for the citizens than the other as is being demonstrated by the party in government, simply put.

So, based on his track record and courage to tow the people’s line instead of narrow party agendas, if he wants to jump ship, by God he should do it now and get it over with. He will have my support and that of many who share these views, regardless of which way he goes, I would only ask that he maintains his integrity and does whatever he wants to do for the right reasons.
Sincerely,
Mark Cadogan
Resident of Linden