A former prime minister of Samoa, Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese, has taken exception to an article in the Samoa Observer newspaper which accused members of the Council of Deputies of taking from society without giving much in return.
Tuiatua says he wants to dissociate himself from the story, saying the words in the article are not his.
He says he had an off-the-record discussion with an Observer reporter to provide same insight for commentators.
But he says the story is a case of bad manners, describing good manners as the essence of Samoan culture.
The paper's editor, Savea Sano Malifa, wrote in a note accompanying Tuiatua's comment that he accepted responsibility of the publication of the article.