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Dabdoub says he will not apologise for 'loader man' comment
BY PAUL HENRY Crime/Court Desk Co-ordinator henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, October 14, 2011
PEOPLE'S National Party (PNP) candidate for North East St Catherine, Abe Dabdoub, has defied an order from political ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair to apologise to Education Minister Andrew Holness over a comment he made at a party meeting Sunday night in which he likened Holness to a "loader man".
Dabdoub, a lawyer, made the comment while addressing party supporters at the Cheesefield Community Centre, just outside of Linstead in St Catherine.
DABDOUB… many of our young Jamaican men are gainfully employed as loader men on buses
1/1
"The driver run lef' the bus while it still running, and the ducta say him nuh want the work. So them tek up the loader man put in the driver's seat and we don't know if him have licence," said Dabdoub. "Understand that it is the same old bus, the same old passengers, and the same old loader man who will be driving now."
His comment came on the heels of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP's) wholesale endorsement of Holness to succeed Bruce Golding as JLP leader and prime minister in a matter of days.
In a letter to Dabdoub, which was copied to PNP President and Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller and JLP General Secretary Aundre Franklin, Blair said Dabdoub should apologise for characterising Holness as a "loader boy", calling the comment "unacceptable".
All politicians, Blair said in his letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Observer, are required to adhere to all aspects of the Agreement and Declaration on Political Conduct.
"I therefore ask that you make a public apology and in addition send a written apology to the prime minister-designate, the Hon Andrew Holness," Blair wrote. "I further request of you to encourage members of your party and your supporters during this political campaign to be courteous when speaking about their opponents..."
But in a letter to the ombudsman yesterday, a defiant Dabdoub said that he didn't refer to Holness as a "loader boy" but a "loader man in reference to the analogy used by Prime Minister Bruce Golding". In any event, Dabdoub said, he sees no need to apologise.
"... Ombudsman, you will appreciate that I am entitled to express my opinion about any person who holds him or herself out to be qualified to be prime minister. Does not the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution of Jamaica entitle me to convey my opinion to an audience?" asked Dabdoub, who copied his letter to Simpson Miller and Franklin. "Surely, you could not interpret the Code of Political Conduct to infringe on my constitutional right to freedom of speech."
Dabdoub explained his reason for the characterisation, stating that he has served in the JLP together with Holness at an executive level from 1997 to 2006 and also in the House of Representatives. He said Holness is a very personable individual whom he knows very well "and happen to like very much". But that, Dabdoub said, does not qualify Holness to be prime minister.
"In other words, the "loader man" is not suitably qualified to be a 'driva'. That is what I conveyed to my audience by using Mr Golding's own analogy," said Dabdoub, who noted that he will continue to honour the Political Code of Conduct.
In the meantime, Dabdoub said he cannot apologise for referring to Holness as a "loader man", "given that many of our young Jamaican men are gainfully employed as loader men on buses".
Added Dabdoub: "To apologise would, in effect, impute on these men that they are employed in a demeaning job, and that is most certainly not my belief. I, therefore, fail to understand the basis for your concluding that reference to Mr Holness as a "loader man" is derogatory, unless you consider such employment as being demeaning."
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1akQQlssg
BY PAUL HENRY Crime/Court Desk Co-ordinator henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, October 14, 2011
PEOPLE'S National Party (PNP) candidate for North East St Catherine, Abe Dabdoub, has defied an order from political ombudsman Bishop Herro Blair to apologise to Education Minister Andrew Holness over a comment he made at a party meeting Sunday night in which he likened Holness to a "loader man".
Dabdoub, a lawyer, made the comment while addressing party supporters at the Cheesefield Community Centre, just outside of Linstead in St Catherine.
DABDOUB… many of our young Jamaican men are gainfully employed as loader men on buses
1/1
"The driver run lef' the bus while it still running, and the ducta say him nuh want the work. So them tek up the loader man put in the driver's seat and we don't know if him have licence," said Dabdoub. "Understand that it is the same old bus, the same old passengers, and the same old loader man who will be driving now."
His comment came on the heels of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP's) wholesale endorsement of Holness to succeed Bruce Golding as JLP leader and prime minister in a matter of days.
In a letter to Dabdoub, which was copied to PNP President and Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller and JLP General Secretary Aundre Franklin, Blair said Dabdoub should apologise for characterising Holness as a "loader boy", calling the comment "unacceptable".
All politicians, Blair said in his letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Observer, are required to adhere to all aspects of the Agreement and Declaration on Political Conduct.
"I therefore ask that you make a public apology and in addition send a written apology to the prime minister-designate, the Hon Andrew Holness," Blair wrote. "I further request of you to encourage members of your party and your supporters during this political campaign to be courteous when speaking about their opponents..."
But in a letter to the ombudsman yesterday, a defiant Dabdoub said that he didn't refer to Holness as a "loader boy" but a "loader man in reference to the analogy used by Prime Minister Bruce Golding". In any event, Dabdoub said, he sees no need to apologise.
"... Ombudsman, you will appreciate that I am entitled to express my opinion about any person who holds him or herself out to be qualified to be prime minister. Does not the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution of Jamaica entitle me to convey my opinion to an audience?" asked Dabdoub, who copied his letter to Simpson Miller and Franklin. "Surely, you could not interpret the Code of Political Conduct to infringe on my constitutional right to freedom of speech."
Dabdoub explained his reason for the characterisation, stating that he has served in the JLP together with Holness at an executive level from 1997 to 2006 and also in the House of Representatives. He said Holness is a very personable individual whom he knows very well "and happen to like very much". But that, Dabdoub said, does not qualify Holness to be prime minister.
"In other words, the "loader man" is not suitably qualified to be a 'driva'. That is what I conveyed to my audience by using Mr Golding's own analogy," said Dabdoub, who noted that he will continue to honour the Political Code of Conduct.
In the meantime, Dabdoub said he cannot apologise for referring to Holness as a "loader man", "given that many of our young Jamaican men are gainfully employed as loader men on buses".
Added Dabdoub: "To apologise would, in effect, impute on these men that they are employed in a demeaning job, and that is most certainly not my belief. I, therefore, fail to understand the basis for your concluding that reference to Mr Holness as a "loader man" is derogatory, unless you consider such employment as being demeaning."
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1akQQlssg
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