Autagavaia and Samoa Observer editor-in-chief Savea Sano Malifa in appeals tp the government to remove restrictions, they urged Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi and Deputy Prime Minister Misa Telefoni to remove the Printing and Publishing Act, to try to force news media to reveal their sources of information and remove the criminal libel laws.
During the 2004 World Press Freedom Day awards, along with veteran reporter Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia, Malifa made appeals to the government to remove restrictions; they urged Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi and Deputy Prime Minister Misa Telefoni to remove the Printing and Publishing Act, to try to force news media to reveal their sources of information and remove the criminal libel laws, which Autagavaia had described as a relic of the past.
•
Savea, an outspoken critic of former Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana and his government, lost a civil claim over a story alleging the use of public funds to upgrade a hotel owned by Tofilau's children for a visit by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.