Basil had been very vocal about how badly the O’Neill-Dion government had handled the economy and finances of this country. He even declared O’Neill as his number one enemy in an anti-O’Neill slogan, ‘Friend to all enemy to one –Peter O’Neill’.

Most Papua New Guineans looked up to him Basil, ranking him alongside Garry Juffa, Mekere Morauta, Kerenga Kua, Allan Marat and Belden Namah to lead a strong alternative government for the next 18 months before a vote of no confidence motion could be taken against the O’Neill regime.

However, Basil ditched his own integrity and the trust, respect and honour the people of PNG had placed in him and proceeded to marry his number one enemy, Peter O’Neill.

In my view, Basil will go down in history as the hypocrite of the century. He has also made himself a laughing stock in the eyes of the international community.

In PNG politics, personal integrity as a national leader is not important to most members of parliament. There is no moral principle in them.

They something now and tomorrow they twist their tongue the other way. They cuddle a point of view now and tomorrow they embrace an extreme opposite. They are like driftwood tossed by the sea; where the current goes, they flow with it.

That’s why O’Neill can play football with anyone he likes. Those whose personal integrity and moral principles are not grounded are highly vulnerable to O’Neill’s cunning bait. Many have fallen into his traps and Sam Basil and his group are just the latest victims.

Only those with a lion’s heart can turn down the bait of O’Neill, and there are very few of them. O’Neill knows them and he will not dare to entice them for it will backfire. He knows the weak ones and he knows when and what most delicious bait to throw to them.

There is a saying that to know your enemy better you have to eat with him from the same table. If Basil and his 12 members who crossed the floor to the government are double agents, we can expect another interesting turn of events 17 months from now. Papua New Guinean politics will come into play, so expect the unexpected.

Just a month ago, Sam Basil led a strong anti-O’Neill campaign which drew him a lot of respect from people all over Papua New Guinea.

Now that respect and honour for Basil are down the drain. He will go down in the history book along with his prime minister as the a great hypocrite.

Papua New Guinea politics is always unpredictable. Individual politicians are like yoyos. They’re integrity is all over the place and their track records are uncertain.

I had been thinking that O’Neill is the only politician who lied publicly but now I see there is another like him, the member for Bulolo, Sam Basil.

It was he coined the anti-O’Neill slogan and spoke many words against the prime minister, including attacking him in a newspaper headline as a “spineless leader”.

And now he twisted his tongue into a knot and married Peter O’Neill with 11 other members of the opposition –a hypocrisy of the century.

On balance, though, my main concern is not the marriage of O’Neill and Basil. My concern is about the personal integrity of the man we once called the Honourable Sam Basil.