Dear Editor: Here’s what I really said about Sat Maharaj; Fazeer responds to Ashton Ford


“So basically PNM people, which is Port of Spain and environs, don’t like Sat Maharaj because they see him as somebody who gets under their skin, exposes a lot of their inconsistencies…

“And yes, Sat Maharaj says things that get him in trouble.”

The following Letter to the Editor is a response from TV6 Morning Show host Fazeer Mohammed to PNM general secretary Ashton Ford on the topic of the party’s relationship with Hindu leader Sat Maharaj:

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago cricket broadcaster and TV Morning Edition host Fazeer Mohammed.

With reference to the letter from Aston Ford which first appeared on the Wired868 website on Wednesday, 13 June 2018, and claimed that I stated, among other things, “…the PNM don’t like Sat Maharaj, they don’t like Hindus and in fact they don’t like anything outside of Port of Spain”; I wish to present a transcription of part of my opening monologue on “Morning Edition” on TV6 on Monday, 28 May 2018, which I believe is what is being referred to.


This was sourced from the TV6 website which has archived “Morning Edition” programmes:

“Port of Spain media, we like to pick on Sat because Sat is an easy target given the fact that he tends to say a lot of things that generate quite a bit of discussion. But we also need to keep in mind that his perspective is one of victimisation.

“Remember when he had applied for a license for his radio station and didn’t get it, and the station that is now I95.5 got one, and they challenged it in court and were found to be vindicated. Remember that situation?

“Remember it was Devant Maharaj, who is an associate of Sat at the SDMS at the time, that he was the one, with the Freedom of Information Act, to expose the PNM’s secret scholarships that were going on in 2007, 2008 around that time under their Culture Ministry and Joan Yuille-Williams? Remember how that was exposed?

Photo: Former PNM general secretary Ashton Ford.

“So basically PNM people, which is Port of Spain and environs, don’t like Sat Maharaj because they see him as somebody who gets under their skin, exposes a lot of their inconsistencies… And yes, Sat Maharaj says things that get him in trouble. He is in trouble right now with his own Hindu community. That is for him to deal with.

“What the media in Port of Spain refuses to acknowledge is its inherent bias against him, simply because they don’t like him. They don’t like his value system, they don’t like that he confronts what they believe to be the truth, because on this side of the lighthouse, nobody have a problem talking about ‘kumar,’ ‘roti skins’ and ‘hindu pundit,’ none of those phrases which make any sense at all. But this is the side of the lighthouse that we are on.

“So if you talking about it from a different perspective… everybody vex. As I said, just a different perspective of things.”

Photo: Maha Sabha general secretary Sat Maharaj.
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17 comments

  1. Fazeer aint on no side the guy just says it as he sees it.. so dont bring him in this aspect of the Politics,,,

  2. Just a casual view of the transcript shows that Fazeer confirmed Ashton Forde’s point. He hasnt offered any counter points to Forde’s argument. Am I missing something here?

  3. From the comment by Clint Langton that non Hindus at a certain age dislike Sat Maharaj, because of his statement of his daughter having an affair with a black man. Is having an Indian woman, the ultimate goal of a black man? Do they consider an Indian woman superior? Is it that Blacks dislike themselves? Maybe you should begin to like yourselves.

  4. No…Fazeer is wrong to say that they are against Sat “simply because they don’t like him”. Nothing is further from the truth and I am disappointed that Fazeer would spread that highly erroneous argument as fact. WE, the majority of non-hindus above a certain age, dislike Sat because he admitted in a live televised debate with Dr Selwyn Cudoe many years ago (on TV6) that he, Sat, would disown his daughter if she brought home a black man! THAT is why we, they, don’t like him. get your facts straight.

  5. Sat and the SDMS seems to always be the bobolee for them. The PM quoted Sat as jumping on the Dulalchan bandwagon when no such thing happened. Instead, it was another pundit called Satyanand Maharaj!

  6. Well said Faz..
    Looked at the interview but there were more important things said by him and the one Rasta in the cabinet like we better days coming a long time now a lot of things were said by them both
    But where is the other Rasta, the engineer in the cabinet nah hear from him. I eh see him in the walk about was he there?

  7. Hats off to Fazeer I am unfollowing ‘wired 868’..too much irresponsible journalism and skewed , negative reporting of late .

    • Feel free to leave. But we contacted Fazeer even before Ashton’s letter was published. How do you think he responded so quickly?
      Then we attached his letter to Ashton Ford’s letter AND as a separate letter too.
      But if you have seen irresponsible journalism here then I wouldn’t want you to stick around.
      Look out for the mainstream media’s letter pages tomorrow btw. Let’s see who handled the two letters best.

      • Hi Lasana,

        Well done in presenting both Ashton Forde’s critique and Fazeer Mohammed’s response in real time.

        What I find most interesting in Mr Mohammed’s response are his references to the “Port of Spain media” liking to pick on Sat Maharaj “because Sat is an easy target” and his claim that the Port of Spain media “refuses to acknowledge is its inherent bias against him, simply because they don’t like him. They don’t like his value system, they don’t like that he confronts what they believe to be the truth…”

        My questions are:

        1) If one acknowledges that TV6/Express are part of the Port of Spain media, does Mr Mohammed not perceive that he is (an important) part of the Port of Spain media, as the host of a successful television programme and a well-read column?

        2) While Mr Mohammed is not an employee of the Port of Spain media house, is he disputing that he is paid compensation on a monthly basis commensurate with the significant value he contributes to both the television station and the newspaper?

        3) If we agree that Mr Mohammed is an important part of the Port of Spain media, could he explain his contention that the Port of Spain media, as a singular and unified entity, hold an “inherent bias,” against Mr Maharaj?

        4) Could Mr Mohammed clarify exactly what he meant when—with regard to the Port of Spain media, of which he is part—he referred to “this side of the lighthouse,” “inherent bias” and “they don’t like his value system.”

        Anthony Wilson
        Employee of Port of Spain media

        PS: May I personally offer Eid Al Fitr to the entire Muslim community in T&T.

    • Wired868 seems to be the only responsible media organisation in my view. I yearn for them to cover more than just sport. (They do, just not their main focus.)

    • I somehow feel sorry for ignorant detractors…great journalism wired868

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