Dear Legislator Awe,

First of all, let me start off by recognizing the controversy and disputes surrounding Islands of Unity and his past actions, along with his attitude towards certain groups in our region. Although this response contains several matters which I and Islands of Unity both consider to be personal, I do nevertheless feel compelled to deliver a straightforward and honest answer to your question. As the Chair, I am accountable to you, the Legislators, and am willing to make sure that such duty is being fulfilled.

In this response, I will not point fingers at anyone, but instead redirect it to myself and focus on the reasoning behind the choice and the process of consideration that leads to it. I appoint Islands of Unity to the position of Deputy Chair due to his commitment to public service, his genuine care for our region and its people and my trust in him that he will be able to distinguish what's right and what's wrong and that he put the interests of our region above those of himself. 

I see in him the potential to develop the qualities necessary for leadership. Just as anybody else in this region, Islands of Unity has the potential to contribute, in one way or another, to its progress. I do not feel the need to bring up his record, because to the best of my knowledge, everybody knows it. He tried to delay progress in the Assembly by motioning ancient and defunct bills that were dead a long time ago and not applicable to our current laws. He expressed his resentment towards the 'South Pacifican establishment' by saying that they are an obstacle to change and other undesirable comments directed at people who he associated with the Establishment. 

The actions that I mentioned above are unacceptable and certainly not appropriate for a Legislator and public official of our region. I will not try to cover the bad things he did, nor will I attempt to act as his shield to defend him from such bad actions. But I will embrace such mistakes, as how a true friend and compassionate boss/public official should act, and try my best to help him improve and become a better public official and person. Everyone will ultimately make mistakes, some will do it more often and to a worse degree than others, but nevertheless, with true passion and commitment, everyone will improve and so will Islands of Unity. I am no stranger to the bad ideas and thoughts he had, however he has grown since then. One thing that I have learned from experiences both in life and during my time in The South Pacific is that you won't ever understand something until you actually experienced it. He fell, he tumbled, he was down, he got beaten, he got ignored, but he has risen to become a well-behaved member of this Assembly. And @islands_of_unity, when you see this, give yourself a pat in the back that you have been able to become a better version of yourself after all the times you fall and tumble.

Islands of Unity has become an active and productive member of our community, having served as Minister of Regional Affairs and is currently a member of the Ministry's Advisory Council. One person whom I absolutely adore, was Robert F. Kennedy, who once said: "Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not." Applying the quote to Islands of Unity's situation, if people pay more attention to the 'why not' more than 'why', things would have been so much better. So, I will just ask a very simple question. Please give me one time when you really sat down and talked to Islands of Unity about the issue, empathize with and understand him, and propose to him advices and solutions so he can truly improve and become an exemplary member of the Assembly and the region. Just one. 

Because I have. His actions come not from his own interest to rise to the top of the government, but from his deep love and passion for his region. And there were times when he did or could potentially do things that would go terribly wrong for him and this region. I went straight to the DM and told him "No. You can't do that. Here's why." "No, Islands, you can't encourage people to sign up for Legislator just to build up your base and get more votes in case you run for an election." "Islands, if you want to accuse Roavin for the Roavlands, you have to get evidence." Those were the words. And to the people who kept on clinging on the fact that Islands of Unity gravedug a bunch of old bills without contributing to help improve the situation, instead of blaming and dashing him for all the things he did wrong, why not help him up and together discuss on ways to improve?

Now, to conclude my response, I would like to make it clear that I am not and will not try, in any way, to prove that my decision was correct. No person shall be a judge of themself. Therefore, I will leave it to other people, to time and to history, to decide whether what I did was right. Because the way we are perceived and looked at is a reflection of our actions and attitude towards one another. Are we the land of second chances? I do not know, as I am not able to speak for everyone else, in which some of them may agree and some disagree. But should we be a land of second chances and accepting people who have made undesirable mistakes but are truly willing to improve themselves and contribute to our region. Yes, I do think we should and I will make sure that as we move forward together, no Legislator shall be left behind.

                                                                                                                                       Sincerely,
                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                       Bzerneleg
                                                                                                                                       Chair of the Assembly