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MDP primary winner loses party ticket over incomplete documentation

The winner of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) primary for the upcoming by-election of the vacant mid-Fuvahmulah atoll council seat, Shaffaf Naseer, has lost the party ticket after failing to submit an ID card original before the 3pm deadline yesterday.

Shaffaf won the primary election that took place on October 9 with 112 votes followed by Mohamed Abdulla Didi with 97 votes. In lieu of not fielding a candidate, the runner-up was registered at the Elections Commission (EC) on Sunday as the MDP candidate.

MDP Secretary General Hassan Shah told Minivan News today that Shaffaf contacted him from Fuvahmulah on Thursday and requested assistance with completing the documentation.

After collecting a stamped document from the Department of Judicial Administration around 2pm yesterday, Shah said he discovered that Shaffaf’s ID card original was missing from the documents when he went to file them with the EC.

According to the application form (page 11, bullet point 3), the form should be submitted with the original ID card of the candidate.

Shaffaf had sent his ID card on a flight that landed “10 minutes before [the 3pm deadline].” Shah explained that he did not believe the person delivering the card could make it to the EC from the airport before the deadline elapsed.

The second-placed candidate was meanwhile “monitoring the situation very closely” and was prepared with the required documentation.

“My thinking was that the party should not lose the opportunity to compete in the election,” Shah said, adding that the application form was handed in “seconds before the EC closed.”

If the last minute decision had not been made, Shah argued that the party would not have had a candidate in the by-election scheduled for November 19.

“They [the EC] had already rejected one of our candidates for a by-election because he didn’t submit an ID card original,” he said.

The former mid-Fuvahmulah atoll councillor, Hassan Saeed, also a member of the MDP, lost his seat after the Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that he had a decreed debt.

The EC announced yesterday that three candidates have filed applications for the mid-Fuvahmulah by-election, including one MDP candidate, one opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) candidate and one Independent candidate.

Primary winner

Speaking to Minivan News today, Shaffaf Naseer criticised the party’s administrative staff and senior leaders for not providing adequate assistance with his application.

“It is not at the last minute that the party should know that the ID card original is missing,” he said.

Shaffaf however praised MDP Secretary General Shah for “working very hard” this week to complete the documentation.

“But when it came to him it was too late,” he added. “He was very helpful and cooperative. But I didn’t get any cooperation from the party officials before that.”

After winning the primary and returning to his home island, Shaffaf said he was assured by senior members of MDP that the party would handle the application process.

“So I was busy preparing my campaign and meeting family members, relatives and supporters,” he said. “Our forecasts show that I would have won easily.”

Shaffaf particularly objected to the party not providing him with a signed resolution confirming his candidacy: “They didn’t monitor the situation or check the documents to verify them,” he said. “There should be principles, rules and procedures to follow in everything.”

If the party had informed him of the requirement of the ID card original, said Shaffaf, he would have flown to Male’ during the weekend.

“If they submitted my forms with the Elections Commission and got rejected, I would have accepted it,” he continued. “But they could have waited 15 minutes [past the 3pm deadline] for the person delivering my ID card to get there.”

As a result of the incident, Shaffaf said, MDP members in Fuvahmulah were “divided, confused and fed up.”

Shaffaf called on senior leaders of the party to “investigate what happened and take action against those responsible.”

“I believe the party leadership has to come to Fuvahmulah now and explain how this happened,” he said, adding that the move would be necessary to unite members ahead of the by-election.

Shaffaf said he hoped that the party would strengthen its internal mechanisms and administrative functions as a result of the incident.

The ruling party has strong support in the mid-Fuvahmulah constituency, which is represented in parliament by MDP MP Shifaq Mufeed ‘Histo’.

While he was “disappointed” with the incident as “this should not happen in the largest and most exemplary democratic party in the country,” Shaffaf said he would back the MDP candidate and support the campaign.

However, he added, the voters in Fuvahmulah were independent-minded and he “could not influence how they vote.”

Shaffaf insisted that he did not wish to pursue the matter any further or cause internal disputes in the party.

“I was among the first people from Fuvahmulah to sign for MDP and I will remain a member of the party,” he said.

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DRP accuses PPM of using cash incentives and development funding to poach members

Spokesperson and Deputy Leader of the Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP), Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef, has alleged that the breakaway opposition party of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has been offering cash incentives and development funds to island groups, in a bid to persuade them to join the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

“There are many social clubs in the Maldives with the purposes of developing islands. Many have been offered cash incentives and funds for development activities if members join the party. Even individual members have been offered,” said Shareef, who has made similar claims to local media this week.

PPM Spokesperson Ahmed Mahlouf was not responding to refute the allegations at time of press.

“We’re not about to file a court case, but this is happening on a wide scale. If the clubs involved need funding, members are inclined to accept. We couldn’t afford to lodge so many cases,” Shareef said, when asked if the party had any evidence to back the claims.

Prior to the PPM’s inaugural convention on October 15, the EC verified and approved the membership forms of 3,019 party members.

Several thousand people attended the convention at Dharubaaruge, including at least one prominent ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activist.

The 971 delegates present elected Gayoom interim leader unopposed, while his half-brother MP Abdulla Yameen was elected acting parliamentary group leader.

Yameen’s party, the People’s Alliance (PA), recently split from the main opposition DRP which remains under leadership of Ahmed Thasmeen Ali. The relationship between the PPM, formerly known as the Z-DRP faction of the opposition, and the DRP leadership remains strained.

Shareef expressed surprise at the large numbers of people who attended the convention, and acknowledged that support for Gayoom’s party had the potential to affect the DRP’s membership base.

“This was a 30 year regime and we have to accept that there are pockets of support everywhere. During Gayoom’s time he did a lot a lot of work and has many supporters, and we have to recognise this,” Shareef said, but questioned the PPM’s “ability to work together as a party.”

“I don’t see any future for PPM. They are saying that 99 percent of [DRP members] are joining the party but we don’t see any such thing happening. At the same time there are a lot of people who have remained steadfast and believe the DRP has a future, and that the leadership has the experience and qualifications to run the country,” Shareef said.

The breakaway faction consisted of Gayoom’s immediate family and “former DRP members who failed in elections while they were in the DRP,” Shareef said. “PPM is a family enterprise, promoting a private hidden agenda in the name of the national interest.”

Gayoom had capitalised on growing dissatisfaction with the government, Shareef contended.

“At the grassroots level, people are very unhappy, and the swing voters have been moving away from the government. This is why Gayoom chose now to form his new party. In 2008-2009, and even midway through 2010, there was no political space.”

The division was as much ideological as it was acrimonious, Shareef explained.

“Many people do not believe the DRP is able to hold the government accountable, because we do not create violence or street protests. Many people think the opposition should make the country ungovernable, even the media and opinion leaders. I’m not sure if they understand it themselves, but it makes it very dangerous, as it risks the whole society falling and becoming a failed state,” Shareef said.

“We believe we are a responsible opposition and we oppose the government’s polices where they are wrong, and support them when they are right. There is nothing personal and we are not out for revenge, and we do not see the ruling party as personal enemies.

“Gayoom’s family and his inner circle view them as personal enemies and are out for revenge, using chaos and anarchy to try and stop the government from doing any work. We are clear we want a stable government, and to change it through elections, but the immediate family of Gayoom has a different idea. They want street action, so that every day the government is under pressure, while we voted for a presidential system of government that gives the President a free hand to run the country [while he is elected].”

Beyond the poaching of its member base, the DRP faced new financial challenges with the departure of the former President, Shareef said.

“Finance is a great challenge. The current DRP leadership is not as rich as PPM’s top leadership. It presents a challenge, but I like to believe money is not everything.”

Road to 2013

Shareef was a founding member of the MDP, Deputy Parliamentary Group Leader in Nasheed’s shadow cabinet, then later a deputy to Gayoom, and now a deputy to Thasmeen.

With the split in the opposition, and the collapse of all the MDP’s coalition agreements, Shareef predicted that “given current trends” the 2013 presidential election would effectively be a replay of the 2008 election in which Nasheed won power in a run-off election against the incumbent Gayoom, due to the support of coalition partners.

The MDP would need to gain 51 percent of the vote in the first round to secure a clean win, while “none of the opposition parties will secure enough votes to reach the 51 percent mark,” Shareef said. “Meanwhile the MDP has chased away all its coalition partners, and they cannot now turn around and say ‘We can work together’, because nobody will believe them.”

Faced with a run-off, the disparate opposition groups would temporarily unify over the common ground of ousting the MDP, Shareef predicted, giving power to the largest opposition party.

“Look at the last three elections. In the first round of the 2008 Presidential election Gayoom got 40 percent, while the rest of the then opposition got 60 percent. In the second round the opposition totaled 54 percent. The MDP lost ground in the parliamentary elections, and the majority of the islands voted for the DRP in the local council elections,” he claimed.

“The incumbent government has the resources of the state to get votes, and can get at least 20-30 percent just by being in power. At present trends, the 2013 will be a replay of 2008, and as things stand now, whoever is in opposition will go to the second round. But we need a leader who is not out to take revenge.”

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VVIP airport lounge opens after four month project period

“Tourism begins here. The resort begins here.”

Plaza Premium Lounge Executive Director Linda Song described the newly-opened Koimala Executive Lounge at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) as “everyone’s apartment” during today’s inaugural event, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, speeches and a reception.

The lounge, which includes three sitting rooms, two verandas, a kitchen and a presidential sitting room, is part of GMR Infrastructure Ltd.’s project to expand and upgrade INIA by June 2014. GMR shares the venture with Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad in a 77 to 33 percent relationship.

The Presidential Lounge offers privacy to government officials.

During a tour of the facility, Mrs Song commented on the facility of working with GMR. “I think its international experience has shaped GMR as a very flexible, open-minded company,” she said.

Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa made a similar observation during the opening ceremony, reinforcing her praise of GMR from the earlier opening of INIA’s Plaza Premium Lounge.

“GMR is a company that listens to the stakeholders in the tourism industry, and that pleases the government to no end. I’m always delighted to come to the airport with stakeholders from the industry to open the dialogue for tourism,” she said.

Noting that Plaza Premium was invited to undertake the project only four months ago and with the caveat that the area is due for demolition in two years’ time, Zulfa said the lounge was an impressive and valuable accomplishment.

“Everything to do with the socioeconomic development of the Maldives should center arround tourism,” she said. “Because tourism, of course, is our number one industry, and everything we do should center around making the product even more perfect than it is today.”

The common area features television, wi-fi, and a variety of seating areas.

For a reservation of US$150, VVIP lounge guests are relieved of their luggage at a private security screening while their flights are monitored and their schedules arranged by the lounge concierge. Meanwhile, guests can enjoy an open kitchen and cafe, wi-fi, plasma screen televisions, and spacious seating arrangements.

Plaza Premium Lounge Management Ltd currently services 17 international airports and 60 locations with infrastructural development. The Hong Kong-based company is the world’s first ‘pay-in’ lounge.

Several people noted that the lounge’s opening was well-timed with the SAARC summit, which will bring heads of state from across the region to the Maldives.

Plaza Premium Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Song Hoi See said he did not agree with the project’s constraints but appreciated the challenge.

“Airports and tourism don’t always work together. But the Maldives is a special place, and the airport is the first and last place to impress the tourists,” he said, adding that he anticipated the new airport’s design.

Mrs Song attributed the success to Plaza Premium’s high level of preparation to overcome constraints of the Maldives’ industry. “We are well planned, and we shipped most interior design materials here pre-made. There aren’t many resources here for interior design development, so it would have been difficult otherwise.”

Designer Kinney Chan said the project was enjoyable in spite of the short notice. “It’s great to do something for comfort here, to blend with the resort feel, without getting too heavy.”

GMR CEO Andrew Harrison noted that the design had improved a formerly low-ceiling, dark room by bringing in natural light and creating “a home feel, supported by the excellent service that staff provides.”

“It’s a beautiful country full of beautiful people, and now we’ve delivered a beautiful lounge to match that,” Harrison concluded.

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Tourism industry will benefit from France visit: Sun Travel Shiyam

Independent MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam, chairman of the Sun Travel Group, has said the tourism industry will benefit from President Mohamed Nasheed’s official visit to France last week, reports Miadhu.

The MP for Meedhoo told the newspaper that tourist arrivals from France will increase by 20 or 30 percent as a result of discussions that took place with French travel and tour operators. Shiyam was part of the Maldivian delegation.

The delegation also discussed the importance of establishing a promotional unit in France to advertise the Maldives as a tourist destination.

Shiyam, a former deputy leader of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) prior to the 2008 presidential election, has been voting with the ruling party on the government’s economic reform bills.

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US company scraps US$180m agreement to provide utilities to upper north province

Merciel International, a US multi-national, has dissolved its US$180 million agreement with the Upper North Utilities (UNU) Ltd to provide electricity, drinking water, gas and drainage services to 44 islands in the upper north province.

The agreement was signed in August 2010 to form a joint venture company to provide utility services to islands in the four northernmost atolls in what would have been one of the largest development projects in the country’s history.

Sun Online reported that Merciel informed UNU Managing Director Abdulla Waheed in a letter that the decision to withdraw from the deal was made following the utility company’s failure to provide details of its assets and capital, which were required to form the joint venture.

“As UNU has failed to respect our commitment and to provide the necessary cooperation, we have decided to withdraw from our agreement and to bring an end to all talks on the joint-venture company immediately,” reads the letter from Merciel CEO Bradley Smegal.

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3-week-old tests positive for drugs

A three week-old baby has tested positive for drugs and is being treated at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in the capital Male’.

According to Haveeru, the baby had been affected by it’s mothers drug habit; police records indicate that the mother has a history of drug abuse.

Although police are investigating the case, the mother is staying with the baby at the hospital and has not been arrested due to her child’s young age. However, reports indicate that the baby has not been handed over to the mother.

Previously, the mother of an eight month-old baby who tested positive for drugs was sentenced to six months in prison for negligence, reports Haveeru.

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Jumeirah Dhevanafushi launches ‘Ocean Pearl’ water villas

The Jumeirah hotel group’s first property in the Maldives, the all-suite Dhevanafushi, has announced the opening of the Ocean Pearls, “a cluster of water villas located 800 meters from the main island, suspended on platforms above the most iridescent sea in the world and entirely self dependent.”

The Ocean Revive (270 square metre) and Ocean Sanctuary (340 square metre) villas share an infinity pool, bar, restaurant, in-library and spa, with a boat shuttling guests to the main island on request.

The Ocean Pearls dedicated restaurant, Johara, offers lounge dining contemporary cuisine with influences of Japanese, Southeast Asian, and Maldivian, according to a statement from Jumeirah.

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Chinese artist to exhibit in National Art Gallery

Chinese artist Yuan Xikun will present an artist’s talk at the National Art Gallery in Male’, in conjunction with the Maldives’ Embassy in China and the Jin Tai Art Museum in Beijing.

Xikun is a prominent Chinese artist, curator, environmentalist and the founder of the very first private museum in China. He will be accompanied by Chinese Representative Zhang Zhenshan of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Project Official Hu Shaofang from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and young soprano singer Liu Bing.

Chinese media including CCTV (Central China Television), CETV (China Education Television) and Xinhua News Agency are also attending.

Yuan Xikun’s 11 paintings, 6 posters and 2 sculptures will continue to remain on display at the National Art Gallery until (Tuesday) October 18, 2011. Opening hours are 10:00am to 4:00pm.

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Audience involvement in news changing journalism, observes visiting professor

“No matter how technologically advanced things are, you can’t take away the journalist’s role as a traditional gatekeeper of the truth.”

Dr William Silcock used these words to describe Maldivian journalism student Lujain Ismail Shafeeq’s video, “The Future of News”. Shafeeq’s video was a finalist in the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy’s 25th Anniversary video contest at the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States.

Dr Silcock is an assistant professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in Arizona, one of the largest universities in the US. He was selected as a Fulbright Scholar in Ireland and Sweden, has received several awards over his 25 years of broadcasting, and is considered a pioneer in the research of global television news culture. Dr Silcock has previously organised workshops for journalists in Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro, among others.

He spoke to journalism students at the Maldives’ National University on Sunday, October 16 regarding topics in communications such as ethics and the evolving nature of the press.

He observed that Lujain’s video presented modern journalism as a function of technology: using phones, cameras and global positioning systems (GPS), the journalist covering a story is relieved of the tasks of identifying a story, verifying sources or selecting quotes.

“In his vision, machines do a lot of the work for us. The traditional facts of who, what, where, when and why don’t need to be asked anymore.” But as Silcock points out, one flawed Tweet could jeopardise the journalist’s value as a messenger. “The audience contributes to the story, but what if the information is bad?”

Silcock used this and other videos at Sunday’s lecture, “Social Media and Online Journalism”, sponsored by the United States State Department in Colombo, to explore the concept of free expression.

Silcock began by identifying the original meaning of a message.

“Sacred texts were the first ‘Word’. Across the spectrum of religious belief we have lots of varieties of sacred texts. I once asked a Muslim student to teach me the value of the Word in the Qur’an. She taught me this: words are synonymous in Islam with responsibility. She quoted from the Qur’an: ‘Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared to record. Each word we utter we are responsible for in front of Allah.'”

Today, however, the nature of a message and the responsibility it entails is morphing.

“We are in an era of the ‘visual village'”, said Silcock. “We all want more images across the news.”

Although visuals have been attached to words in many religious and mythical texts throughout history, Silcock pointed out that those detailed images required attention and appreciation. Today, however, audiences want immediate satisfaction.

Noting that “journalism is market-driven” and “advertising is fundamental to the free press,” Silcock observed that, “we now have so many devices, so many platforms to communicate, that the audience attention has become fragmented and fractured.”

The impact on journalism, he said, was serious.

“There’s the traditional legacy media, papers such as the New York Times which have been around. But now we have ‘down in the valley’ media. The audience is actively engaging in and contributing to the news.”

Referring to the blogs and websites that many news outlets use to provide further information about their stories, including the process of creating them, Silcock also highlighted the effect of Twitter: “It’s microblogging, a story comes out in under 140 characters.”

Turning the focus on Facebook, Silcock suggested that social media outlets were adapting to a growing concept of “tribal journalism: people sharing information across platforms.” In the interest of free expression, everyone’s voice is given room for consideration.

Yet it remains the journalist’s task to navigate the possible pitfalls of so much information. Not only can journalists get false information through social media, they can also get too close to the spotlight.

“It’s important to put up a firewall between show business and journalism,” Silcock said. “TV news in the US, for example. Anchors sit in front of a fancy desk with all kinds of monitors that make the place look like something from Star Trek or outer space. But we don’t need all that.”

Silcock consolidated the ethics of ambushing a source for a story-breaking quote in the following terms: “Heat for light’s sake. You want to clarify the story. The negative side to that is heat for heat’s sake.”

In his concluding remarks, Silcock recognized the impressive and useful influence of social media on the news industry.

“Historically, we got through lots of transitions with technology. The typewriter, radio came along and then the television,” said Silcock, showing slides of these items. “But notice this picture of America’s famous pioneer of television Edward R Murrow. What is he doing? He’s reading a newspaper.”

Silcock advised his audience to apply social media forums in innovative ways for positive results. Referring to American documentary maker Ken Burns’ concept of the computer as “the electronic campfire,” he said, “we can compare people sitting at a campfire late at night, to people at a computer. They’re fueling the fires of free expression.”

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