Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi has rejected a call to change the country's flag, saying it is beautiful and its colours are meaningful.
He has told the national broadcaster Radio 2AP that the blue represents freedom, the red represents blood and thus life, and the southern cross in the flag tells the world where Samoa is.
Tuilaepa said the late Head of State Malietoa Tanumafili II drew the flag and painted in the colours.
A Tautua Samoa MP, Motuopua'a Dr Aisoli Uifagasa Va'ai, suggested a new flag be chosen to mark Samoa's 50th independence anniversary next year because the current one is a remnant of colonialism.
