Samoan flag Photo: 123RF
The Samoa Observer Editorial Board has called on the Samoan government to either hold a referendum or update existing laws to confirm the official version of the country's national anthem.
"It is quite disappointing and shameful that there is no official word on which version is the right one," they wrote in an editorial on Saturday.
"Is it the one last revised in 1986 and sung at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting or is it the one listed on the government website? This is something that needs to be defined now."
They said it is why it is important to clarify and make amendments to the Official Flag and National Anthem of Samoa Act 1994.
According to the Act, 'Samoa Tula'I' is the national anthem of the country, but the lyrics of the anthem are not provided in the schedule.
The Editorial Board wrote that the same law, however, provides a clear description of the national flag.
"There would have been no issues if the law in 1994 had included the anthem in its entirety in the schedule, just as it has been done for the flag.
"This is another example of laws not being clear and precise. In recent years, we have seen how this can be a problem even for the judges.
"Complex laws and unprecise have not only undermined the functioning of the legislative branch but the courts as well. Judges are often confronted with the need to "clean up" after lawmakers whenever a case involving long-winded, esoteric legal provisions raises questions of statutory interpretation.
The editorial board said the best step forward would be for the government to have a referendum on which anthem the people want to be sung when the national flag is hoisted or at international events.
They said if the government does not want to hold a referendum then it should include the lyrics of the anthem in the Act.
"We need to be singing the right anthem. The failure of the nation to not know which is its true anthem is not something that should be discussed at a later stage. This is urgent and it should be dealt with great urgency.
"We do not want to be known as a nation that does not know its anthem."