Fiame Naomi Mata'afa was publicly by censured by PM Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi last week for questioning an amendment to the Electoral Act.
She and other cabinet ministers were then told that any who disagreed with him should resign.
This showed the prime minister sought none but his own counsel, said lawyer Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu.
Taulapapa said Samoa has huge respect for its first female deputy, a trailblazer who has been in parliament since 1985 and is a member of the Tama-a-Aiga, or traditional nobility.
