PNG Rugby League Stars Putt, Yei pay respect to Grand Chief Sana

Statement

Over a week ago, photographs showing the wrists of international rugby stars Nixon Putt and Mckenzie Yei with the words “RIP K50” plastered on went viral and were shared widely on social media. While there has been so much negativity and misinformation that has come about as a direct result of the photos, the international stars in an exclusive video interview with our media platform have expressed their disappointment over the way the message has been interpreted. 

Just like everybody else across the country, the boys are also in a period of mourning over the loss of our late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare.

On Saturday 27th February just a day after the passing of the Grand Chief, both Mckenzie and Nixon took part in a trial match against the Sunshine Coast Falcons at the Marley Brown stadium in Gladstone, Australia. What the public does not know is that the boys were given a chance by the match officials to pay respects to the father of the nation of Papua New Guinea by way of a one-minute silence before kick-off. The boys also went on to have a condolence message written out and given to the commentator of the game which was read out before the one-minute silence.

According to the boys, it was never their intention to disrespect or to degrade the great man Sir Michael in any way.

“We Western Highlanders are well known for using parables in expressing ideas or messages. It is part of our culture and we have grown up speaking this way and so referring to the legal tender was a way of conveying a message of sorrow and sadness for our nation’s great loss.”

“Growing up, we have always heard people around us referring to the K50 note as “Somare” or vice versa and so we also started using this name reference as children. Over time, it became a normal thing for us to refer to one as the other. We believe that most Papua New Guineans unofficially use this name reference as well to refer to the K50 note or the grand chief out of respect for the work he had done to get us the independence and the freedom we now enjoy today.”

“We all know that the founding father of this nation worked so hard and placed his life on the line so that this country could be born. It is no easy task for someone to have their face imprinted on the legal tender of a country and more importantly, this is not something that just happens overnight. With this respect in mind, we both thought that we could point out this relevance and/or importance by referring to the K50 note on the condolence note imprinted on our wrists.”

“Irrespective of the monetary value of the note these days, relevance was placed on the fact that it is Papua New Guinea’s legal tender. The important underlying reason for us doing this was to show our sorrow at losing our grand Chief. The public must not be misled into believing anything less than that as there were a few things we did on that day to express our heartfelt condolences. The one-minute silence as well as dedication of the trial match to Papa Somare were our ways of expressing our sorrow at losing this great man.”

The international stars are looking forward to a great season ahead in the Intrust Super Cup and such misunderstandings may be a hindrance towards their plans on playing professional rugby at international levels like the ISC. As such, this message is to clear the air on misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the condolence gesture. The boys continue to stand with the rest of Papua New Guinea as the haus krai draws to a close tomorrow in Port Moresby.

Rest in Peace Great Grand Chief Sana.

Nixon Putt

Mckenzie Yei

CENTRAL QUEENSLAND CAPRAS

2021 Intrust Super Cup

Next: Sir Hubert Murray Stadium filled to capacity as PNG farewells Grand Chief