James Ah Koy - Christian Fundamentalist

Christian Fundamentalist

Ah Koy is a flamboyant politician known for his uninhibited expression of controversial views. He is a Christian fundamentalist who regularly quotes from the Bible in parliamentary debates and has castigated Fijian churches for setting a poor example of racism, which he blames for the failure of the mostly Hindu and Muslim Indo-Fijians to convert to Christianity in large numbers.

On 12 May 2005, Ah Koy became embroiled in controversy over the Fijian translation of the Bible, saying that its use of the word "Kalougata" invoked pagan deities, the snake gods worshipped by the ancestors of Fijians living today. This was, he said, the root cause of generational curses afflicting the country. "Coups, murders, rapes, violence, brutality, burglaries, incest, rebellion, homosexuality and other forms of social ills and criminality are a product of a generational curse happening mostly in the indigenous Fijian community," the Daily Post quoted him as saying. He attributed this curse to the frequent use of the word "Kalougata," which, he said, actually invoked a curse on the recipient rather than the intended blessing. He called on the Bible Society to come up with new words to replace the offending word. Ah Koy was supported by the Reverend Josateki Koroi, a former president of the Methodist Church who was deposed in the 1987 coups, who said that he totally agreed with his comments.

Ah Koy is also a very strong supporter of Israel, having once served as that country's honorary consul to Fiji (in 1985). Speaking on the floor of the Senate on 26 August 2004, he caused an uproar when he declared that Fiji would be "continually cursed" by God for its failure to stand with Israel in United Nations resolutions. (Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase is himself known as a friend of Israel, but has not given unconditional support at the United Nations).