A veteran broadcaster described as the voice of Papua New Guinea's political, social and economic consciousness has died.
For over four decades, Roger Hau'ofa was a prominent radio presenter and talkback host in PNG, most recently with FM100 and earlier with NBC.
The 73-year old passed away at the weekend among family in his village of Iare in Central Province after a long illness related to kidney failure.
The writer Martyn Namorong is one of millions of Papua New Guineans for whom Roger Hau'ofa's voice was instantly recognisable and formative for their grasp on national issues.
He spoke to Johnny Blades.
Roger Hau'ofa
Photo: Facebook
Transcript
MARTYN NAMORONG: He understood and articulated the issues to the population in a way, in a voice that people... it was really the voice, his voice was the thing that people recognised, and of course the good ideas that came with that voice. He was a real institution of radio for forty years. And it's really, really sad. Some of us grew up listening to Hau'ofa about issues. His voice was heard all across the country by millions of Papua New Guineans for a very long time. And he was one of those rare voices, like the late Oseah Philemon who was a giant of the newspapers.And it's really sad in a sense that both Oseah and Roger have left us just a few months apart. I don't think you can replace larger than life characters like that who have shaped the conversations, through print and through radio.
JOHNNY BLADES: He seemed to be, when you listened to him, he didn't defer to anyone, did he? He was pretty comfortable giving a politician a bit of a grilling, but able to flesh out a conversation with them for the listeners' interests.
MN: Yeah and that's the thing. During somer of the biggest crises that PNG has gone through - political upheavals like the Sandline crisis, the Somare crisis in recent times - Roger was a neutral voice that all parties could talk to and get their message out on radio. And that's something that you can't really find now. And the same can be said about the late Oseah Philemon. A lot of voices these days are partisan voices, including my own voice online, but these (Hau'ofa and Philemon) were characters who transcended those partisan boundaries and represented the institution of the media as it's supposed to be, I suppose.
JB: Was he well respected by the political class, MPs and so forth?
MN: Yes. Roger was highly respected. As I said, during the recent crisis that happened with Somare, you had both sides being able to go and have their views heard. And they preferred to use FM100 and Roger to convey their messages. So he definitely was someone that not just the ruling political class listened to and respected, but the everyday Papua New Guinean too. Everyone respected him as such that you did not feel like he was pushing some agenda on you, but just telling you like it is.
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