The spy bill will cost the PLP the election

Mon, Feb 20th 2017, 12:05 AM

Dear Editor,
The Progressive Liberal Party is about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with this crazy and dangerous spy bill that will allow them to eavesdrop on every single Bahamian, read our emails and listen to our phone calls.
First of all, it is unconstitutional, and they have no right to invade people's lives in this way. Every citizen of this country has the right to privacy, and any government that would seek to violate that right does not deserve to be in power.
And as the PLP should know better than anybody, The Bahamas is a place that thrives on secrecy, and everybody has at least one skeleton in the closet.
The idea that the authorities would have access to everybody's intimate discussions and have proof of who is whose sweetheart, 'outside' child, etc., is terrifying to most citizens of this country, and they simply will not stand for it.
The public will be up in arms when they realize what this bill really means.
Soon enough, corrupt police officers will be blackmailing us to keep our private business under wraps. Politicians will be using embarrassing personal information to destroy their opponents, and the citizenry will be afraid to express themselves honestly to their friends and family for fear that their words will be used against them in the public square.
Could it be that anyone who doesn't vote for the PLP will be victimized after the election, if they happen to send an email or WhatsApp indicating who they voted for?
And then there is the financial services industry, which exists to provide privacy to clients. It is the second pillar of our economy and it is already suffering, with banks preferring to set up shop in Switzerland, Cayman or any other offshore banking haven. How many jobs will this spy bill cost that vital industry?
Why is the PLP poking this wasp nest at all? They are in a good position to contest the next election, despite their abysmal performance in office because, for now at least, the opposition remains divided and a house divided against itself cannot stand.
Why did they try and sneak it into Parliament on the quiet and rush it through without public consultation?
How are members of the public not supposed to come to the conclusion that the whole point of this exercise is to give them a powerful tool for spying on political opponents in the run-up to election?
Well, they don't have to spy on me because I will tell the whole country: Thanks to this spy bill, I'm voting FNM.

- Molly King

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