Category: Society & Culture

Aminiyya School board threaten resignation over introduction of grade one

The board of the girls-only ‘Aminiyya School’ have expressed concern over the Education Ministry’s decision to introduce grade 1 students to the school next year, claiming that the structural integrity of the building made it a danger to minors.

Ahmed Ali, a board member of the school, told Minivan News that the board members were concerned that the school building was “very old and weak”.

“The building is 32 years-old and was built with stones, it is very weak and if minors were brought in it would be very dangerous,’’ claimed Ahmed. “We have informed the education ministry several times about the condition of the building – last Sunday the whole board went for an urgent meeting with the ministry to discuss the issue.’’

The whole board, Ahmed said declined to bring minors to the school unless the building was renewed or refurbished to a strong condition and decided to resign if the ministry acted otherwise.

‘’The education ministry said there was nowhere elsewhere to keep the students,’’ said Ahmed.

The board also claimed it opposed the introduction of grade 1 students because of “social issues”.

“This is a school for females and some of them wear short skirts up to the knees,” said Ahmed. “If minors were brought in parents will have to come inside the school compound to fetch the students. If parents can come inside the schools compound, it won’t be only parents who will come in.’’

He claimed that other people would also come into the school “and harass the students.”

Deputy Minister for Education Dr Abdulla Nazeer said the ministry was aware of the concerns of the board.

“Their main concern was the building and it’s structural weaknesses,’’ said Dr Nazeer. “We have surveyed the building to determine its condition and have included the money needed to renew the building in our budget.’’

Dr Nazeer said when the parliament approves the budget, the project to renew the building will be commence.

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Civil Court returns missing Rf10,000 to owner

The Civil Court of the Maldives has returned Rf10,000 (US$778) after the money was lost by its owner.

The Rf10,000 was found by a person the court identified as Abdulla Zuhury of Hithadhu in Seenu Atoll.

Zuhury found the money on the pavement near Sultan Park on October 22, and handed it to the Civil Court, Chief Judge Ali Sameer said.

The Civil Court then issued an announcement informing the public that it held lost Rf 10,000 and asked the owner of the money to claim for it.

A person named Mohamed, of Alimasge of Hulhudhu in Seenu Atoll, came forward to claim the money.

The court decided that Mohamed was the legitimate owner of the money after he told the court the color of the bag the money was in, the area it was found in, and the denomination of notes.

The court handed the money to him declaring that later if the court found out that he was not the owner of it, it would be handed over to the court again.

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Man sentenced for indecently exposing himself to a minor

The Criminal Court yesterday sentenced a man to three years in prison after the court found him guilty of the indecent exposure of his body to a minor in Villingili.

The court identified the offender as Mohamed Saeed, 39.

The Criminal court said the brother of the male victim received information of the incident and reported to police that Saeed was attempting to have sex with the boy inside a guest house named ‘Beach View’ in Villingili.

“When police went to the guest house after receiving the information from the victim’s brother, police attended the scene and saw Saeed standing naked near the bed,’’ said the Criminal Court. “The boy was lying on the bed when the police arrived.’’

The Criminal Court said the victim told the court that Saeed went into the toilet and came out naked.

Saeed told the court that he worked in a cargo ship and came to Male’ for his vacation.

The Court sentenced him according to the ‘Act on special actions against sexual abuse to minors’ section 22[a] and 22[b].

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BML ‘phishing’ website targets mobile banking customers

The Bank of Maldives (BML) yesterday issued a statement warning that fraudsters had created a false BML website to deceive the company’s mobile banking service customers, obtaining their bank account number, credit card number and its security code through the fraudulent website.

The fraudsters were inviting BML customers to their fraudulent website under the bankofmaldives.net domain by sending text messages from 00455, claiming it was a registration website for the BML mobile banking service.

The fraud, known as ‘phishing’, is relatively common in the Western world and many banks instruct their customers to never access their website by clicking a link in an email. Technology analyst group Gartner estimate that 3.6 million adults fell victim to such scams in the 12 months ending August 2007, losing US$3.2 billion in the process.

Since then phishing attacks have become markedly more targeted and refined, with the emergence of ‘spear-phishing’, with individual and high-value targets such as corporate account executives being targeted.

BML warned that if any of its customers filled this registration form displayed in the fraud website, the fraudsters will be able to take advantage of them and misuse the information.

The statement said that the mobile banking was a service provided by BML “with high security and confidentiality.”

However, it is the responsibility of the customers to keep confidential information such as their card number, expiration date, pin number and security code, account number, internet banking user ID and its security and password, said the statement.

The BML said the most common method fraudsters used was to obtain information to misuse credit cards and debit cards after obtaining the data by sending emails from sources trusted by the victim, linked to fraudulent sources.

The fraudulent website is designed to appear just like the legitimate website.

BML warned customers to never use a link to access the bank’s website, and recommended its address www.bankofmaldives.com.mv be typed directly into the browser.

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Group claims ‘2000 strong’ protest against Dhiraagu over privacy and latency concerns

A group of Maldivians calling themselves “Firaagu’’, led by Firaagu Mohamed, have scheduled a protest against the first network service provider in the Maldives, Dhiraagu (Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun), claiming to have “many issues” with the company.

Protest organiser Firaagu Mohamed claimed that more than 2000 people have said they would join the protest.

“We are expecting 3000 to join us on the day of protest, January 1. We will launch a website and a hotline this month so that everyone joining can discuss and disclose more information about the protest,’’ said Firaagu.

Protesters will gather at Jumhoory Maidhaan and will march towards Dhiraagu Head Office in Medhuziyarai Magu, Firaagu said, claiming the group would also be distributing T-Shirts.

Firaagu, who claims to have obtained information concerning matters of privacy and latency from a whistleblower inside the company, say they will present their allegations in the lead up to the protest.

“We do not want our every move sniffed and monitored. And do not give us false messages when we try and call somebody by saying ‘The number you are calling is switched off’,” he alleged.

Outside the resorts, the country’s telecom providers are among the most marketed and media savvy organisations in the country, and desired employers among many young people.

Spokesperson for Dhiraagu Mohamed Mirshan yesterday told Minivan News that Dhiraagu had not received any information regarding the planned ‘Firaagu’ event officially.

”If anyone had any issues concerning Dhiraagu, they could always contact us,” Mirshan said. ”we are always easily accessible,” Mirshan said.

”Expressing peoples views on large companies through social network is very common in the Maldives as well as in other countries,”

Mirshan said if the protest was organised by a genuine person he would have contacted Dhiraagu before deciding to launch a protest.

“I have also seen the page on Facebook, and its credibility looks doubtful,” he added.

Dhiraagu is one of the only two network service providers in the Maldives, and has been providing telecom services for 22 years.

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Islamic Minister condemns humiliation of tourist couple

The Islamic Minister of the Maldives Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari has strongly condemned the humiliation to a foreign couple by the celebrant of a renewal of vows ceremony held at Vilu Reef Resort and Spa.

The video of the wedding ceremony held at Vilu Reef, in which the celebrant degrades oblivious couple with a torrent of insults in Dhivehi, appeared on social networks last week.

The couple were initially told in English that the ceremony was a ‘traditional Maldivian’ ceremony, “according to Islamic and Arab norms”, and then attacked as “infidels” and “swine” in Dhivehi during the US$1300 proceedings.

“The religion of Islam has not taught us to treat non-Muslims as enemies,’’ clarified Dr Majeed. “While a tourist is in a country with a valid visa,  according to the rules and regulations it is a responsibility of the state institution to provide them protection.’’

Dr Majeed said that “under no circumstance” did Islam allow a person to be humiliated or robbed of their money or property if they did not follow the religion.

The Islamic Minister also appealed for resorts not to conduct any irreligious activities “to delight the tourists.”

Police have now arrested the celebrant, who was an assistant working at the Food and Beverage Department, and another individual involved in the ceremony, and are holding discussions with the Prosecutor General to determine the charges.

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Comment: Culture and misfortune

The Vilu Reef Beach & Spa Resort disaster reminds me of the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, I read in June. It has a story, about how Korea Air became one of the safest airline (almost overnight) from being the worst. The author explained, justifiably, without emphasis on the number of accidents or the technical issues behind, rather how our culture (Asian culture) was responsible for the misfortune events that occurred before the Korean government took responsible measures. The specifics of the case related to a concept defined by the Dutch Geert Hotstede. Our Vilu Reef case, I feel is very similar to Korea Air story.

The story unfolds into pointing the conversations between pilot and the co-pilot of a specific flight, recorded in a black box. When the conversation was critically analysed, the Korean government accepted how much a role their culture had taken in the death of thousands. This was serious, but Koreans learned and corrected.

According to Hotstede, there are five major variables of life in a society. Where I feel we are at, on these scales are irrelevant. These are questions each and everyone has to confront in life!

Maldivians, as I have perceived, have preferred explicit rules, of the quiet sort, accepting uncertainty as a fact of life. We accept without questioning and we limit our boundaries. We are of a culture where employees remain with the same employer for a long period of time.

We are not of the culture where rules are flexible or implicit, or where activities are more of the informal. That being the majority, I observe there is a minority amongst us who are at the other end of the spectrum. They are either have convictions in hypocrisy or hidden. A recent estimate by an International NGO said two percent.

The composition of the collectivist thought far outweighs the individualist. The Individualist thoughts progress more quickly in wealthy communities. What the observation though, is a collectivistic counter-fight at its extreme, to a wealth enjoyed unequally. I wonder if the Individualist has the same ideology towards sexual relationships – the multiplier index for the divorce rate. I would think so.

The Long & the Short Term orientation varies according to people’s expectations from future. Some agree with responsibility to the future, while some stay with history and present. Persistence/Perseverance, thrill, thrift and shame is acceptable to the futuristic mind.

Reciprocation of favours and gifts is non-compulsory. Some stand to claim history being futuristic, when it has always proven otherwise. Else time stops. However, stability is more prone to the short-term oriented. On the other hand, instability during early gear-shifts is summoned to futuristic changes and therefore more associated to short-term orientation. A futuristic citizen understands the costs of instability and bears it responsibly.

The masculinity & femininity index measures, without any consideration of its literal value, how strong a value we put on relationships and quality of life as opposed to competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition and the accumulation of wealth.

The feminist elaboration is deliberate. Relationships can strive, with longer and healthier features although softer, even with the Individualistic. Difference acceptance is a survival vitality. Femininity and Individualistic is not therefore mutually exclusive. This index seems to exhibit a dependency on other indexes as well.

Power distribution and its acceptance varies from the consultative, democratic, and equal treatment regardless of position, as to paternalism or autocracy. Positions command power in less democratic approaches, and subordinates acknowledge and accept power of hierarchical positions, compromising critique and contribution. Power distribution doesn’t explain the motives of the people, rather a practice.

One may ask if these indexes relate to the current event, I would love to counter-argue that it very much is so. Ignorance is not bliss for me.

Reflecting on the contents of the video, how did one become accustomed to abusive language such as words like “Nagoobalhu” or swine to mirror a human? These are not just aesthetics but deep rooted in ourselves. I can vouch for hearing such crude language on our streets on a daily basis. Even close friends refer to each other with these words. The embarrassed nimbly tries to ignore it while the receptor tries to outsmart being addressed as such with equivalent or more abusive language.

We need to ask where we are, how and why we arrived at this point. It’s time we tried to measure our scales.

The book was an insightful read, although some stories were very slow in ripening. The gist of my note is that we need to take responsibility to what has happened on Vilu Reef. We need to reflect deeply on the incident and understand the deep rooted issues within. We need to study them, acknowledge them, apologize to those who were hurt, rectify and start over where necessary.

How critical an analysis should our Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture consider when developing the regulatory framework, policies and laws to implement and monitor standards?

Should we not investigate the psychological implications that led to such behavior – is there a role for the Ministry of Health here? Can we study the trends in human development in the context of the Maldivian environment?

How should the education system be overhauled to lay the educational foundation for the development of the children towards growing up to be responsible young adults – is this a responsibility of the Ministry of Education?

When can we start listening to our children? Can parental education be introduced to ensure that the children and youth are supported with social, personal, and other skills required to be part of the growing up community, encouraging critical thinking and promoting freedom of expression?

Should we not study how employment regulations affect the rights of geographically-restricted staff with limited means to reach legal assistance? How do we integrate conditions for employees welfare to meet his social, educational, personal and spiritual needs in a purely working environment such as a resort – what about Ministry of Human Resources, Youth & Sports?

How can the religious education embrace a more holistic and human rights based approach that can instill values in Maldivians – define the role of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs? What about ethics and values of our society including the business community? Shouldn’t Ministry of Economic Development be concerned about why foreign investors think twice before venturing with a local partner?

It is time for serious national action, for we cannot let this be repeated. Or we will hurt ourselves, again and again. We shouldn’t allow this to be swept under the carpet, after a short lived juicy-story-hype, with political veils. The government shall not just condemn it but take responsibility for rectification. Reports have to be published. The government should be questioned over its steps of rectification.

Punishing is not just a solution. Pointing a finger is not a solution in singularity. Apology without corrective action is not a solution. The solution is within us, which we cannot neglect to admit anymore. We need to learn our issues – issues of principle. We need to fix it and fix it soon.

The repercussions are a serious cost to each and every Maldivian. I believe it is the worst of its kind Maldives has had to face in its history and scars will remain for a long time. Reconciliation with the world, with nations and with religions and cultures is pre-requisite to restore Maldives.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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Police arrest ‘celebrant’ as President expresses disgust over false wedding ceremony

The Maldives Police Service have arrested two men involved in the infamous ‘wedding’ ceremony at Vilu Reef Resort and Spa, in which the ‘celebrant’ and up to 15 complicit members of staff degrade and humiliate a Swiss couple in Dhivehi.

One of the men arrested was identified as Hussein Didi, a food and beverage assistant at the resort who acted as celebrant and who was filmed unleashing a torrent of hateful abuse at the oblivious couple.

Under Maldivian law non-Muslims are not permitted to marry in the Maldives, but many resorts offer ‘renewal of vows’ ceremonies.

“The court decided yesterday that [the men] should be kept in police custody during the investigation,” said Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam.

The men have not yet been formally charged, “but this is a very serious issue related to our economy,” Shiyam said. “Once we complete the investigation the Prosecutor General’s Office will decide the charges.”

President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has meanwhile announced that the government will introduce strict guidelines for the conduct of tourist wedding ceremonies.

Speaking during his weekly radio address, President Nasheed said he was “disgusted” by the incident and described the behaviour of those involved as “absolutely disgraceful”.

He called on staff working in tourist resorts – indirectly responsible for 80 percent of the country’s economy – to be “vigilantly professional”, as such behaviour could cause “enormous damage to the country´s tourism industry.”

The government would leave “no stone unturned to ensure that an incident like this never happens again,” Nasheed said.

Meanwhile Maldives Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed issued a state apology to the couple, who have not been identified but are believed to be from Switzerland.

“The Maldives is a world-class tourist destination famed for its warm welcome and excellent customer service. Episodes such as that captured on video have no place in our tourism industry or in our society more broadly; and are alien to our cultural and religious values,” Dr Shaheed said.

The Maldives is grateful that the couple in question chose to renew their vows in one of our resorts and we cannot escape the fact that, on this occasion, because of the disrespectful and unacceptable actions of a few individuals, we have let them down.”

The Maldives Diplomatic Service had been instructed to contact the couple “and issue a face-to-face apology,” Dr Shaheed said.

“We will also be compensating them for any distress caused by this unfortunate incident. The Foreign Ministry will also be writing to our counterparts in Switzerland to offer our intense regret and to indicate the steps that the Government is taking to deal with the situation.”

Furthermore the government was seeking to hold talks with the Maldives tourism industry “in order to have assurances that this was an isolated incident,” the Foreign Minister added.

“If we do not receive such reassurance, we reserve the right to take all remedial steps necessary, legislative or otherwise, to ensure that episodes such that which occurred in Vilu Reef Resort never happen again, and do not tarnish the positive image of the country built up over so many years.”

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HRCM condemns police attack on media

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has condemned the police reaction towards journalists who were injured while attempting to cover the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) led protest on Monday night.

Several journalists from different media organisations have reported violent police attacks on journalists covering the opposition protest.

A journalist from Miadhu, Three journalists from DhiTV, two journalists from VillaTV, one from newspaper Miadhu and a photographer from Haveeru reported they were attacked by the police.

The two journalists from VillaTV were also arrested, handcuffed, and released the same evening.

‘’As the media is a pillar that plays an important role in democracy, the freedom of media is a right guaranteed under the constitution which cannot be restricted under any circumstances,’’ said the HRCM in a statement. ‘’Persons active in the media have to be given freedom and protection.’’

The HRCM claimed some of the journalists working there were obstructed from conducting their work by using force, and ‘’therefore we condemn these actions.’’

The freedom of gathering shall also be conducted peacefully in a way that it would not be an obstacle for other peoples’ rights.

The commission advised the protesters to pay attention to these issues and  “to keep their actions in accordance with the rules and regulations.”

“And in a situation where gatherings have to dispersed for security reasons, the chance of causing disruption narrows if it is conducted in accordance to the established procedures,’’ the commission said. ‘’We are now investigating the concerning issues raised after the riot.’’

The HRCM called on the police to use methods “that will not injure people and cause disturbance to citizens” when dispersing riots in the future.

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