A 25-year-old youth Nitish Sharma says children are not bullocks and cannot be beaten into obedience, raising concerns about the chastisement of children during the consultation on the Constitution Amendment Bill in Suva.
Sharma, who is originally from Cuvu, Sigatoka, says although children may not always listen to their parents and teachers, physical punishment is not the solution.
He says issues such as drugs and HIV are concerning, but beating children will not necessarily change their behaviour.
Insert:Sharma on chastisement of children nb 15th Oct
He also raises concerns about several other proposed constitutional changes, including immunity provisions, saying it is time for the country to move forward, learn from the past and focus on preventing similar violations in the future.
Sharma questions the need for a Senate, arguing that Parliament should be strong enough to prevent unnecessary bills from being passed.
He also questions the process of repeatedly sending bills between the two chambers and says Senate members should be elected rather than appointed.
Sharma says Fiji is a diverse country and all communities should have an opportunity to be represented in Parliament.
On the selection of the President, he says Parliament should elect the Head of State rather than leaving the decision solely to a group of people.
He acknowledges the role of chiefs but questions whether they should be the only ones deciding who becomes President.
Sharma also calls for the current four-year parliamentary term to remain, rather than being extended to five years.
He says people should continue to have a say in future constitutional amendments through referendums, arguing that the Constitution belongs to the people and they should not be excluded from decisions about it.
On the electoral system, Sharma supports retaining the current single nationwide open-list system, saying it allows voters to choose candidates regardless of where they live.
He questions whether a constituency-based system could restrict voters to candidates from their own areas and raises concerns about how electoral boundaries and seats would be allocated, particularly for outer islands and other communities.
Sharma says the electoral system should ensure votes are fairly represented and that people have a genuine choice in who represents them.
