15 Minutes with resort director Ali Shiyam

Minivan News spends 15 Minutes with Ali Shiyam, a director of AAA Hotels & resorts and member of the Executive Board of Maldives Association of Tourism and Industry (MATI). He was also in the Executive Board of the Maldives National Chamber Commerce and Industry.

AAA Hotels & resorts have 4 resort islands in the Maldives with a bed capacity of over 900, making it one of the top 5 resort companies in terms of bed capacity.

Q1: Politics in the Maldives seems to be moving quickly now, certainly the recent elections are being read as a big change in the political balance of the country. As a leading member of the business community, does this make you feel uncomfortable?

I’m not sure if politics is moving rapidly. It certainly isn’t moving fast enough given the competitive business environment globally. We may think that in our own little world this is good but we are part of a global economic system and that’s where we’re competing. There are so many reforms that are needed now. Many of us don’t see politics shifting nearly fast enough in the direction of business needs.

Q2: In what direction would you like to see political reform move. I mean, what are your key problems?

It’s the uncertainty we sometimes operate in. Business needs to minimize uncertainty. For a business to plan, to grow and mature you need predictable, stable conditions in which to operate. There is room for improvement in Maldives.

The legal environment in the country is more uncertain than one may hope for. The courts are, one might say, dysfunctional, and judges are not competent enough. The lack of judicial independence is also a hindrance. Under such circumstances political interference in the proceedings of the courts is a cause for concern. I feel that the people in the courts are not competent. There is a lack of professional skills, experience and exposure. This also gives room for executive interference.

Q3: What are the reforms the business community is looking for?

There must be checks and balances on the power of the executive. We need a strong separation of powers between the President, the Parliament and the courts. The Parliament has to start making proper laws, practical laws. These laws must be interpreted rationally and objectively.

The Parliament too has to become a meaningful institution where one gets proper debate and scrutiny. The laws that are passed must be relevant to the needs of the business community. That’s where the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for instance could play a meaningful role.

However, even the laws we do have at the moment aren’t enforced effectively, partly because the court system is ineffective. I mean, what’s the point of having laws if they’re not enforced impartially anyway?

Serious capacity-building of the judiciary is required. We need to for instance, select only the very brightest students, send them to top Western Universities (where they will learn commercial law, not just shari’ia), allow them to stay there and become properly trained in these countries and then come back to the Maldives and work in the profession.

The cost of doing business in the Maldives is made much higher because of this failure. The risks are also greater – we don’t have a system we can confidently rely on because the institutions are comparatively dysfunctional.

Q4: Do you think political reform could bring business and government closer together?

Well, we certainly need much greater co-operation. In the context of the budget, for instance, no one asks us for advice. The private sector has no meaningful involvement with the polices that affect us.

Look, we need much more meaningful engagements with the government. We want a partnership with the government. Business is in my opinion not effectively represented at the moment.

So, we need political will to push through a genuine, meaningful partnership with the government in a structured, predictable way. We need sincerity from both sides too.

The reform process itself also needs to engage with the business community more. We need a real say in how the country, especially the economy, is run and not just a superficial engagement.

Q5: Do you see the MDP as people you can work with? Do you view them as pro-business?

I think what the MDP is advocating is what the business community is looking for. Rather then swapping the people at the top, we need structural changes to the political system. It seems that the MDP is committed to this reform – reforms such as separation of powers and putting in place an effective independent judicial system.

For example, at the moment there is no minimum wage legislation but it is actually in our interest to have that in place, set at the right level. But employees aren’t meaningfully represented in the government either. So even legislation that could be good for both of us isn’t even adequately considered because there are no effective channels for the business community or labour groups to influence the decision-making process.

I feel that MDP is much more open to suggestions and input from various sectors in the Maldives and, quite frankly, they better understand business concerns. They also seem open to reform in general.

There is still no formal platform for the business community to engage with the MDP at the moment but the mood music is on track and the reforms they keep talking about do very much appeal to many of us. They also pick up the phone when you call them.

Q6: What type of reform do you hope for with regard to Maldives courts?

Progress in political reform is an imperative in the Maldives. Even to sustain that we have achieved so far we need them. We need more rational, rule-based system especially within the courts. We must create certainty, stability.

One thing we desperately need to help evolve this process is case law so we can develop principals in court rulings which can be applied to the next similar case. Even this fundamental thing isn’t here.

Paul Robinson’s report on the criminal code says that the Maldivian legal system “fails to do justice”. Ok, this is talking about a criminal code but the principal applies across the board.

The issues that are of core value to the MDP seem to be issues that are important to the business community, that’s imperative to us. If we don’t put these reforms in place soon, if we foot-drag on reform, the market will penalize us.

Q7: Given your background and profession, one would have assumed you would be a lot more conservative in your answers. Is this a fair observation?

It’s all for very selfish reasons, I so strongly advocate fundamental change because I want to protect what I have in the long-run. Without these types of reforms business will not progress as it should.

The big tour operators we work with are also very sympathetic to the need for reform. They understand the imperative for reform for the long-term stability of the tourism industry in the Maldives.

Q8: President Gayoom has made a public commitment to reform within one year…

That’s all well and good. Very encouraging. My honest thoughts? I’m not optimistic that meaningful changes would occur in this timeframe. What I would like to see is a detailed breakdown of how this is going to work out, with a detailed timeframe. Past performance is not particularly encouraging.

I believe a change in mindset is called for. Courage, political will and a strong sense of commitment is needed. My appeal to the Government, to MDP, to hardliners, in fact to our entire community is to put our differences behind us and to work together to ensure that a timeframe for reform is put forward by the President and strictly adhered to.

What we cannot afford, both the business community and the population at large, is to back slide on reform. I firmly believe timely, meaningful political reform is an imperative for a vibrant economy.

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