Minister for Justice, Electoral Reform, and Anticorruption Aiyaz Sayed-khaiyum of Fiji

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Mr Kwai brought with him many contacts.

In a press conference today, interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said that Fijis President Ratu Josefa Iloilo made the appointment as provided for under the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption Promulgation 2007.

Sayed-Khaiyum said that Kwai has worked previously as the prosecutor for Prosecuting Corruption in Melanesia.

Sayed-Khaiyum said the Commission has done a lot of background work, evidence gathering in corruption and white-collar crime.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is a Fiji Indian lawyer, who was appointed Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Electoral Reform Anti-Corruption in the interim Cabinet of Commodore Frank Bainimarama on 8 January 2006.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is the son of Sayed Abdul Khaiyum, a longtime National Federation Party politician and the brother of former Fiji TV Journalist and current Fiji Broadcasting Corporation chairman, Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

Prior to his appointment to the cabinet Sayed-Khaiyum was the General Manager Legal in the Colonial Group of Companies.

Sayed-Khaiyum is currently responsible also for "Public Enterprise, Electoral Reform and Anti-Corruption.

INTERIM Communications Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the interim Government does not mind travel bans.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said people were queuing up outside offices but could not take on the jobs because of the bans.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Australia and New Zealand talked about being fair, transparent and due processes but practised another thing.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said bans should not be imposed on people who want to go overseas for medical reasons.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said despite development towards political dialogue these countries still maintained no diplomatic engagement.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said they have not even spared the dead in their political posturing.

Sayed-Khaiyum said the public will not be burdened with any increase in actual bus fares, as a result of this direct subsidy to be provided by Government.

Sayed-Khaiyum had made statements regarding the travel bans imposed on Fiji by the two countries, saying that the interim Government does not mind travel bans "as long as it is not against innocent victims of this country like business people that want to be appointed to statutory bodies.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said people were queuing up outside offices but could not take on the jobs because of the bans' and also "there are others victimised because they have a relative in the military or the interim Government", adding that it is unjust to punish someone for the crime of a relative.

Interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had summoned the Fiji Times Publisher to address the contents and accuracy of that particular document, in relation to the recent media coverage on allegations of tax evasion, which seemingly appeared to be unfair and unbalanced.

On Thursday last week, interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum had summoned The Fiji Times Publisher Evan Hannah to his office.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said in a press conference the same afternoon that the meeting was to discuss the possible publication of certain articles that the Prime Minister's Office had received on Thursday afternoon.

The Fiji Times editor-in-chief Netani Rika said Mr Sayed-Khaiyum had done himself, the media and country a great disservice by trying to create a situation that did not exist.

At a press conference last week, interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the Prime Minister's Office received a couple of articles that were written as an opinion piece and was to be published by this newspaper.

However, interim attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the recent ruling by the Chief Justice declaring the President acted correctly after the coup of 2006, means the interim government was able to make the appointment.

How can you make a military takeover legal?COUTTS: Interim attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says Mr Naidu needs to join the list of repellents, if he believes the Justice Gates ruling was incorrect, when he ruled that the president acted correctly following the coup.

COUTTS: Mr Sayed-Khaiyum says there is a precedent for this kind of appointment.

NAIDU: Why are they so afraid? If they think that they right? If Sayed-Khaiyum says that he's right, why not put themselves up for elections? Let's go to the people in this country? If you think the people are on your side, he will be parliament, he will be holding the same post, both of them.

Interim attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says a number of the criticisms leveled at the panel and its findings are frivolous.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that Leung’s indirect attack on the President by making references to the President’s age was unfortunate, disrespectful and bordered on being malicious.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said that those lawyers who are concerned about an independent judiciary, about applying the rule of law, about justice should be involved practically in upholding an independent judiciary, desist from practices such as forum shopping, present facts in an unbiased fashion and participate in the legal aid services which government is seeking to improve.

INTERIM Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has brushed aside comments made by Dr Brij Lal in the media and urged him not to make comments that were “weak on facts.

Sayed-Khaiyum said that contrary to Brij Lal’s claim that “there were few options”, there were in fact, a number of options available to the Government and the President to take Fiji forward.

When contacted, Sayed-Khaiyum said he was not aware of such a complaint lodged against him.

Interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the move was obviously another gimmick or stunt by Qarase and his followers.

On 24 October Sayed-Khaiyum had asked the Fiji High Court to hold the Fiji Times in contempt after it published a letter to the editor that was critical of the recent High Court regarding the legality of the 2006 coup.

Sayed-Khaiyum had told Radio New Zealand earlier Tuesday that McDonald would not be expelled over her government's travel bans against people associated with the military regime.

Sayed-Khaiyum has told local media his Government wants cordial relationships with all countries and wants to maintain strong relationships with its Pacific neighbours, including Australia and New Zealand.

Sayed-Khaiyum says the two rich Pacific countries believe they can impose whatever they want in the Pacific and with impunity.

Sayed-Khaiyum says Fiji will shortly announce a special team to engender better relations with New Zealand.

On Friday, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said he had possession of a document which had been sent to the interim Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, from persons within this newspaper.

Interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the article that was supposedly going to be printed by The Fiji Times was given to the Prime Ministers office by an employee of the newspaper.

Interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has declined to comment on the High Court ruling in favour of James Pillay.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says election timetable will not be held back only because of the vacant Supervisor of Election position at present.

Sayed-Khaiyum says other important posts and commissions related to the election are functioning well at this time.

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said in a statement that Mr Leung was not candid, selective in his analysis and not upfront when presenting his views on the judiciary in Fiji.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the gloom and doom picture presented by Mr Leung was far from the truth.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the LawAsia fact-finding mission, including the EU fact finding-mission, did not find any interference in the judiciary by the executive following the appointment of the interim Government.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said if the ruling was not palatable then the plaintiffs should file an appeal.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said these lawyers must desist from practices such as forum shopping.

Sayed-Khaiyum said the decision was "a direct result of McDonald's actions over the past year that have been contrary to the accepted international norms of diplomatic behaviour.

FIJI Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum denies his interim government breached a court order when it deported Evan Hannah, claiming the government was never properly served with the order.