“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players,” a line from William Shakespeare’s comedy, ‘As You Like It’. In Samoa, that stage is sometimes located in Mulinuu as we witnessed some marvellous performances on Tuesday.

Of particular note is the moving remark by the teary-eyed FAST Party chairman Laauli Leuatea Schmidt after the recommendation to suspend opposition member Leaana Ronnie Posini for three days was dropped because Laauli forgave him for making claims that had “ripped him apart” in the House and outside.

Leaana was investigated for accusations he made against La’auli alleging he was hiding behind an overseas-based media that made comments to undermine the court and the Ministry of Police. Leaana's failure to produce evidence of his claims led the Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics Committee to recommend a three-day suspension allowance as a lesson for his actions.

Five committee members signed the report while the other four refused to sign objecting to the three-day penalty recommendation.

After members spoke about the report, La’auli said the investigation was to respond to defamatory allegations that had affected his reputation. He said although he is still alive the effect of the words spoken has slain him, falsely accused him and disturbed the peace.

It was a simple investigation, there was no evidence to prove the claims and the matter was referred back to the House. Parliamentarians had to either say yes or no to the recommendations. In the statement made by Laauli, his constituency and voters were affected by the claims. How? That was something not explained by the honourable MP.

The parliamentary sessions are a stark reminder to people that for years, politicians have employed tactics not to talk about real issues. We will continue to see that happen over this week and probably the next. The reports put on the floor need to be discussed and agreed upon or disagreed.

Similarly, when bills are put on the floor, discussions need to be focused on how the bills would impact the people. Many times, everything else but what matters are discussed. This is politics at play and some do it better than others.

Parliamentarians have parliamentary privilege and most choose to use it to stir up emotions in people and drive the attention away from the real matter. Many who support their beloved leaders often fall into this trap of words and emotions. As the week drags on, there will be a lot more things that will be said that are insignificant to the needs of the people.

This also portrays the lack of information passed from the government to the people. Many still do not understand basic laws, the procedures of parliament, how budgets are made, why is there an appropriation, why the parliament has committees and that the elected leaders are there to serve them and not vice versa.

It would be amazing if parliamentarians would talk about how they propose to help the needs of their people, how it is important to follow the rule of the law, and above all maintain transparency and accountability.

The whole political fiasco of the last few weeks shows how the masses can be manipulated to follow a chosen narrative. The public needs to arm themselves with the right information and the government must allow this to happen.