On 8 January 2007, however, she was appointed Minister for Social Welfare and Women in the interim Cabinet of Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
Malani is the daughter of Ratu Meli Salabogi, Member of the Order of the British Empire- MBE, former Fiji Senator and paramount chief of the Nakorotubu district in the Province of Ra in the northern part of Viti Levu (elder brother of medical doctor Dr Ratu Wilisoni Tuiketei Malani, Order of the British Empire-OBE).
A Fiji Times article "A legacy to remember" by Tauga Vulaono described how she mortgaged her premium Rt Sukuna Road-property to pay off the Guest House of the Ra Provincial Women Association (Ra Soqosoqo Vakamarama) and repay the loan herself.
[1] She again mortgaged her premium Rt Sukuna Road property to secure a youth hostel at Reki Street in Suva to cater for students from Ra Province who were finding difficulties to secure a place to stay while studying at one of the tertiary institutions in Suva, i.e. the University of the South Pacific (USP), Fiji National University (FNU), etc.
[1] Both properties have been transferred as assets of the Ra Province under the Uluda Holdings Limited portfolio.