Editorials
Saturday, September 26, 1998

Fasi’s endorsement
confirms spoiler role

FRANK Fasi's endorsement of Ben Cayetano for re-election is a virtual admission that Fasi entered the Republican gubernatorial primary as a spoiler, trying to derail Linda Lingle's campaign. It is also confirmation that Fasi's only loyalty is to himself.

Fasi has switched parties so many times we've lost track. Now he has the nerve to urge voters to support Cayetano in order to preserve the achievements of the Democratic revolution -- after deserting the party because it wouldn't give him its nomination for governor.

To get into the GOP primary, Fasi promised to support the Republican nominee, but when he lost he reneged. He has never been capable of tolerating a female opponent, whether it was Eileen Anderson, Pat Saiki or now Lingle.

He pulled much the same stunt four years ago, ganging up with Cayetano against Saiki. So it wasn't surprising that he refused to endorse Lingle.

Fasi had many achievements during his 22 years as mayor of Honolulu, but his outrageous antics have marred his record and cost him supporters. Now that he is out of office and unable to exploit the incumbent's advantage in securing campaign contributions, he has become a picture of futility, losing the primary to Lingle by a 2-1 ratio.To make matters worse, he was incapable of losing graciously.

Cayetano had no choice but to accept Fasi's endorsement, but it may be a mixed blessing. Fasi has lost his last shred of credibility. We hope Hawaii politics has seen the last of him.

Oahu’s future

LIKE it or not, the future awaits us and we'd better be prepared. That's what Jeremy Harris is saying with his "21st Century Oahu -- a Shared Vision for the Future." The program kicked off today with a "vision workshop" at Kapiolani Community College.

The idea is to enlist ordinary citizens in an effort to plan the Oahu of tomorrow. Community involvement is essential, as the mayor recognizes. The proposed outlines of the plan stem from Harris' State of the City address last January.

These include restricting development to greater Honolulu -- Hawaii Kai to Pearl City -- and Kapolei, creating a trolley system, to run between Moiliili and Aiea, and revitalizing neighborhoods with parks and walkways.

"Keeping the country country" by restricting development isn't a new idea. Originally it meant preserving all agricultural lands on Oahu. But the need to relieve the housing shortage of the 1980s, combined with the decline of sugar, led to the opening of the "second city" of Kapolei on former sugar lands during the Waihee administration.

Now the goal is to focus future development on Kapolei and spare other areas to preserve open space.

The trolley idea is a scaled-down version of the elevated rail transit plan that was narrowly rejected by the City Council in 1992. Harris, as city managing director, was deeply involved in the planning for that project. A trolley might be less effective.

The proposals also include diverting traffic from Nimitz Highway to tunnels under Sand Island and Honolulu harbor, building a highway through Waianae mauka of Farrington Highway and creating a bikeway on Ala Wai Boulevard by eliminating the parking lane.

All of this would cost money, and it's hard to see where it would come from. Certainly the city doesn't have it. But this would be a plan to be fulfilled over decades. It's never too soon to seek a consensus. Finding the money will have to come later.

Cambodian conflict

IT was supposed to be a return to normal, but Cambodia's peace seemed as shaky as ever. Two months after parliamentary elections, 121 legislators were finally sworn in Thursday at the historic Angkor Wat temple.

The ceremony took place shortly after an alleged assassination attempt on Prime Minister Hun Sen. Police said a booby trap made with rocket-propelled grenades exploded as the premier's convoy passed by. Hun Sen was uninjured, but a 12-year-old boy was killed, and three members of his family were badly injured.

After the elections in July, which gave Hun Sen's ruling party a legislative majority, the opposition claimed fraud and refused to participate in the government until its complaints were satisfied. Street rallies held in Phnom Penh calling for Hun Sen's ouster were forcibly broken up by police. Eventually the opposition gave up and agreed to end its boycott.

This was not the first alleged attempt on Hun Sen's life. Previous incidents have led to arrests of his opponents, who charged that they were staged. Again on this occasion Hun Sen suggested that the attack was the work of the opposition, but their leaders denied involvement.

The election was supposed to legitimize the regime in the wake of the coup staged last year by Hun Sen against the co-premier, Prince Norodom Ranariddh. The prince's father, King Norodom Sihanouk, in a speech at his residence, urged national reconciliation.

Such reconciliation seems remote. Rather than real peace, the situation looks more like a truce that could be shattered at any minute. Hun Sen, installed in power by the Hanoi regime in 1979, has used the election to regain a measure of respectability. But his mandate is marred by the allegations of fraud and repression. Even the disintegration of the Khmer Rouge rebels has not brought peace to this long-troubled land.

---

Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited Partnership

Rupert E. Phillips, CEO

John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher

David Shapiro, Managing Editor

Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor

Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors

A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor