The Maldives Police Service (MPS) will begin using bicycles to conduct patrols, unveiling the new fleet yesterday on the 77th anniversary of the service.
The new bicycles were given a test run on the streets of Male’ during the inaugural ceremony by President Mohamed Nasheed, First Lady Laila Ali, Vice President Mohamed Waheed and Commissioner of Police Mohamed Faseeh.
Police Sub Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the police bicycles would commence patrolling with the other police vehicles 24 hours a day.
”It is a new method of police patrol, like foot patrol,” Shiyam said.
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that the new police bicycles would ease congestion on the streets and make it easier for police to patrol.
However, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP and former minister for environment, energy and water Abdulla Mausoom said the new initiative proved the Maldives was “going backwards day by day.”
“This will make it easy for people to attack police,” he said, noting that Male’ was a “risky environment” and there had been an attacks on police last year.
The Maldives ”does not have to go back to the stone age to be a carbon neutral country,” he said.
Zuhair said the DRP were stuck in the past “and do not understand the new political environment.”
As well as a gesture towards the country’s ambitions to become carbon neutral by 2020, the government hopes the sight of police riding bicycles on the streets will set a precedent and inspire others to follow.
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These bicycles are very cool! Sort of like what they used to use on Baywatch back in the day!
Bicycles are more agile, can go more places, and you can do tricks on them. Tell me that's not incredibly cool.
You know what else we should do? We should close down some of the smaller allies and streets to ALL motor traffic. Allow only bikes and pedestrians on it. That'll make male less congested and safer. Male' is so ridiculously small that there is absolutely no sense in using a motorcycle or car when walking is almost as fast. A bike will likely be faster.
The bikes are a brilliant move. Though I have a feeling the police men and women driving them may be teased for their helmets. I mean, we're not the most safety conscious bunch, now are we. 🙂
A good start! Instead of giving motor bikes, expensive cars, government should consider of giving bicycle to the Minister's and all!
Bicycle are more healthy for ppls and its environment friendly ..yeyyyyyyyyyy
Go Green 🙂
Keep it up government 🙂
Make the streets a safe place to ride.
wheres the camel shipment??
the climate is just too hot, i am afraid it will never catch on.
@same boat...
oh its coming along with the mulla's...
very cool idea, now just to get rid of all those mndf gas guzzlers, i mean why on earth does mndf need all those luxury cars?????? i dont suppose those are all james bond mods incase of an attack. 😛
Salim, when is your Dad and President going to show that we can be a carbon neutral country.. give up the car and start pedalling or walking?
Great move by government. I for one cannot understand why anyone would think this is a bad move. Logically speaking, you cant congest a small island with big luxury cars. Don't know what the previous government was thinking. It should have made Male' into a more pedestrian friendly environment which is also a more healthy lifestyle.
guess what i'm imagining. a bunch of cops chasing a criminal on these bikes. now thats gonna be a cool clip for youtube.
oh come on even in UK or in EU police bicycles are there to patrolling the city.so this is stone age then even in Singapore the police are using bicycles.is this stone age.Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP and former minister for environment, energy and water Abdulla Mausoom u can go on hang on a tree.these old fellows dont understand a thing, u are the fellow who is in stone or ice age. hehehehe.
very smart move, just cant believe DRPs Mausoon saying were going back ages and moving back cos we introduced bicycles. These comments by Mausoom show the public just what kind of mentality these people are stuck with- its actually them who are stuck in the bygone age. Every advanced society has pedal forces, Switzerland even has an Army unit on pedals. Cant wait to take a pic with these cool riders.
Police demoted to status of rubbish collecting banghalhis? Or Banghalhis promoted to status of police?
Another reason Im glad DRP isn't in power anymore. The congested, pedestrian unfriendly streets of Male' were probably designed as their idea of modernity.
@Rini: Even those "rubbish collecting banghalhis" are better than you; you who can't bear to throw away your own trash, on the pretext that someone you know might see you hauling garbage.
For DRP doctor Mausoom I would like to ask does going forward mean having more motorbikes, cars and heavy tanks.
Male is a small place. cars and motor bikes are not needed. Government should try every possible means to reduce the motorbikes on the streets.
another drp person said if somebody mugs a person and run away police cant catch them on a bicycle. but that cant happen they have good communication now, and there are many cameras on the streets of Male.
for DRP I would say MDP is doing better job than what you have done.