Dear Editor,

I just want to record my gratitude to Noel Wane who wrote on this topic on Thursday 11th June.

Solomon Islands certainly needs people of his calibre and understanding. What Mr. Solomon Saiki has said in this column really reflects how shallow his thinking and understanding of this and many other issues are.

Let me just give Mr. Saiki an analogy if he has ever flown in an airplane to another country at all.

One of the first things he would be told [or certainly he would see on the notice usually displayed in a prominent area for checking-in passengers to see] is a notice which says in part, "some things are never meant to fly".

Similarly, in the world of business and commerce, there are things that are never meant for public consumption and therefore cannot be disclosed in a public forum such as this.

I would be willing to organize a meeting for Mr. Saiki to meet with Mr. Kelvyn Alp so that all his queries could be cleared.

If he is man enough, he could accept this offer and let me know.

If I do not hear from Mr. Saiki on this offer through this forum, then I would conclude that all Mr. Saiki has been doing is beating an empty, hollow drum

Alfred