Author: Mohamed Saeed

Letter on lack of child care facilities

I totally agree on the importance of women’s contribution to our economy and our job market.

So, let me share my experience. I have noticed that the practiced rules and procedures for employees do not encourage women to work.

If one looks at a working woman who requires no-pay leave for a short intensive course, leaving behind her young child with an expatriate baby-sitter, it’s not a difficult thing. But if a woman requests no-pay leave due to a problem with her child – for instance, if it is suffering from being severely underweight and no one is available at home to take care of the child, she has no choice other than to resign from her job. This means the existing rules and procedures for employees are encouraging the importing of a baby-sitter for each and every woman working in this country.

I think this is a serious issue that has to be addressed without any delay. Why has a concept like day care centres not been set up? I have noticed there is a Hulhumale’ ferry service for those living in Hulhumale’ to go to Male’ for their work. Also there is now a bus service between Hulhumale’ jetty and various locations of Hulhumale’.

I take interest in the issues, hidden and untold, and I thought I would try to bring this important issue to all concerned to comment on.

Regards

Mohamed Saeed

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Letter on waiters doing cleaning jobs

Dear Director General of the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA),

I appreciate the good work that you are doing, especially the newly started inspection of the country’s food catering services, like hotels, restaurants or cafés.

So, let me bring to your notice something which I believe important looking at today’s situation. The unskilled laborers who are actively working at our food catering outlets in Male’ City are doing the floor and toilet cleaning jobs and as well as the waiter’s job. And also it’s these laborers who are doing the table clearing or cleaning jobs using an awful looking damp and dirty piece of cloth (which actually is a white color piece of cloth but one would look at the cloth and say it’s a black color piece of cloth). Here my worry is that the same laborers who do the waiters’ job are doing the cleaning jobs like toilets, floor and clearing the tables.

I have noticed that a Food & Drug Authority of a country like ours does not allow those who do the cleaning or clearing work to also do the waiter’s job or serve food to customers. I believe it’s only for the sake of the people’s health.

So, I think now it’s time for us to think about such issues as we all know those who are at these areas are very unskilled laborers who know little about food handling. We also notice them digging nose and spitting here and there while doing waiters’ jobs. Here I am not talking about the costly restaurants but the normal places where the majority of people are going for their meals.

Yours truly,

Mohamed Saeed

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter, please submit it to [email protected]

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Letter on Hulhumale’s rubbish

Dear Editor,

I spoke to the Municipal Section In-charge of the Hulhumale Development Corporation (HDC) regarding the waste dumped at various wastelands (unused goathi) of Hulhumale’, and also the waste dumped at the bottom of the beautiful bushes beside brand-new pavements.

I understand that the authority tried to solve this problem by keeping waste bins at various locations but failed to solve the problem because people started dumping household waste and waste from the shops, so that they stopped keeping the bins.

Similarly, I have seen very old sick people, with the family members’ support, boarding on MTCC Ferries and looking for a seat when there are seats reserved for them. Neither the captain nor the crew is able to help our beloved senior citizens or the sick, by letting them have their reserved seats on the ferry.

Since the authority for the Municipal Section of HDC is also the chairperson for Hulhumale’ Crime Prevention Committee working together with Hulhumale’ Police, I feel sorry that they had no solution other than to stop keeping the bins in public areas. I also feel sorry that the captains keep quiet, watching such inhuman scenarios, while he has the authority to question passengers who disobey rules like not purchasing a ticket before boarding the ferry and so on.

I think what’s actually happening is that the hospital has no concern over the issue because at the moment this waste has not caused an epidemic. Police have no concern over the issue because they feel people would not like them for interfering in their freedom to do whatever they want.

HDC has no worries over the issue because they get monthly rent from these wastelands, and they get no complaints from the public who believe they can do anything they want and it’s their freedom to do so.

I think all the government and non-governmental agencies must work together to strengthen the monitoring mechanism and action taking so that those who are responsible do their job in order to keep Hulhumale’ clean and attractive. A country can never afford to watch such scenario and wait until the issue becomes a difficult and expensive problem like drugs, murder and so on. As we all know, drugs and murder was not an issue here before but can we say it’s not an issue today?

So, why can’t we all join together to stop such crimes in our society before it’s too late?

Regards
Saeed

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Letter on expatriate workers

To the Employment Minister,

If one asks me what time it is, I would say it’s time for us to check and screen the expatriate workers working throughout the country, and the expatriate staff doing tourism and fishing industry jobs that Maldivian young men and women could do.

And if someone asks me why we have to do this, I would say it’s for the sake of developing our economy, for the sake of repairing the country’s damaged social fabric, for the sake of not making our country famous for spitting here and there (the majority of the laborers working here do it as if it’s part of their life or habit).

Minister, it’s unbelievable that we see 300-400 expatriate laborers standing at various corners of the capital Male’ like a minor demonstration, and at the same time the country’s Immigration Department and the Employment Ministry keep quiet and silent, enjoying the art of doing nothing.

I agree that we have to recruit laborers for government and private construction projects and also an individual can recruit laborers for building a house. But it doesn’t mean that these laborers live here for the rest of their life. I think the reason why we see 300-400 expatriate laborers at various corners of Male’ are because the country’s relevant authorities do not work together for the sake of the country.

In Malaysia, I have seen Malaysian young men and women working in the shops and restaurants, but here we see expatriate unskilled laborers doing everything for us. In Dubai we see same scenario as our country but I think we better look at Malaysia for making our fragile economy better. I tried to get a job in Malaysia and Singapore and it was impossible, but here a foreigner gets a job much easier than a Maldivian.

A friend of mine living in Malaysia told me that if the government authority knows someone making even a boakiba (short eat) and sells it, immediate action is taken by the authority, and that no Maldivian could think of earning an income there.

But here we see expatriates moving like the nationals – they can prepare lunch packs in their rooms and make money freely. I think this is a problem to be solved for the sake of the country’s economy and the country to remain as an independent country.

Thanking you,

Mohamed Saeed

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter piece, please submit it to [email protected]

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Letter on food safety

To the Maldives Food and Drug Authority:

It has been repeatedly noticed that foodstuffs like eggs and fish sold at various shops in Hulhumale’ have been found rotten. These shop owners know that customers don’t take rotten eggs back to the shops and that they can easily make money out of the old stock they purchase from Male’ shops at very cheap prices.

Let me also share a similar information regarding cooking oil found in yellow cans (20 litres) and in bottles (2 litres) coming under OKI brand. Normally products packed in the Free Trade Zone in Singapore are labeled as a product of Singapore. But it seems import of this product has been rejected by Singapore’s Food & Drug Authority (FDA) and is exported to Somalia and Maldives where FDA surveillance is poor.

I understand from an importer of food items that many times he receives egg shipments containing numerous rotten ones but he receives no complaints from customers. This means either people are using such food without knowing the danger or taking it easy and simple.

I believe this is a critical issue because we hear doctors saying they are concerned over the very high number number of cancer, kidney and heart problems diagnosed with causes unknown.

I think it’s very irresponsible if we wait and see if these problems relate to lifestyle changes. We must make our FDA work in line with the times, and with today’s technology.

In the old days we used very fresh eggs and very fresh fish which we did not even need to refrigerate. We used eggs direct from the nests and fish we used a few minutes after catching them.

I believe this is a health hazardous issue that has to be brought to your notice so that you can discuss the issue with relevant agencies or stakeholders.

Mohamed Saeed

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter piece, please submit it to [email protected]

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