By THERESA GARNER Pacific affairs reporter
A man once derided by his country's Prime Minister as a "little fellow" whose power had gone to his head has been awarded a top honour by an international anti-corruption agency.
It is nearly a decade since the then Chief Auditor of Samoa, Su'a Rimoni Ah
Chong, exposed members of the Samoan Cabinet helping themselves to the public purse.
He was sacked in response to his bombshell report in 1994 that accused half the Cabinet of corruption.
After a closed inquiry, the law was changed to bring future auditors under Government control, and the report was shelved.
Two men named in it, Toi Aukuso Cain and Leafa Vitale, kept their posts. In 2000, they were convicted of the murder of a third minister who had got in the way of their financial ambitions.
Ah Chong is the first Pacific person to receive an Integrity award, given by Transparency International at the 11th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Seoul, South Korea.
It said he was "an inspiration in the battle to promote government and private sector accountability".
Ah Chong said he hoped the award would encourage integrity in others.
He revealed that the late Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana asked him to leave certain things out of his report.
"It never crossed my mind to cover it up. I said it would breach the law and the constitution and compromise myself."
Now a private sector accountant, he has fought against his dismissal, saying the constitutional process was not followed. The court case, he says, will help Samoa move forward as a "democratic country".
Current Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi dismissed the report in a 1999 interview. "The appointment went to the little fellow's head ... We tried to work things out but eventually his contract was terminated."
Samoa Observer editor Savea Sano Malifa said Ah Chong had been vindicated.
"To be fair to the Government, things have changed substantially since then, but at the time, Ah Chong did his job, and paid the price for speaking out.
"There has been a lot of change in this country in public sector reform and the government being more accountable to the people. There is still a long way to go."
