Category: Society & Culture

Comment: Asian growth rebounds – must now focus on broader development goals

As Asia rebounds from the Global Economic Crisis, and resumes rapid economic growth, a big question will be whether Asia will lead the world in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – a set of eight broader development goals for 2015 to which world leaders signed on in 2000 at the United Nations.

At a meeting held in Jakarta on August 2 and 3, Asian ministers and experts discussed the region’s progress and strategies to accelerate it.

Progress on the MDG’s can be described as uneven – some good, some bad and some ugly.

First the good news: Asia has succeeded in the aggregate in reducing poverty since 1990 by some 500 million people. The global crisis of 2008-2009 has halted this progress and may even increase the number of poor by some 30-40 million people. As growth is restored poverty reduction will resume although with a lag and those that fell back into poverty will need greater support to climb back. Asia has also made good progress on education: particularly on enrollment, and quite noteworthy is the increase in girl’s enrollment.

Infant mortality has also declined and helps explain the rise in life expectancy in the region as immunization programs have been successfully rolled out in many parts of Asia. More than half of Asia’s population now have access to safe drinking water. Across the region China, Vietnam, Thailand , Malaysia, Iran, Sri Lanka and some Pacific Island countries as well as Maldives stand out in making the most dramatic progress across a wide range of MDGs.

Now to turn to the bad: much less progress has been made on health indicators such as maternal mortality, as well as on sanitation and environmental goals.

In many countries in Asia well organised health systems – especially in rural areas – do not exist. Even in those that have them, like China and Vietnam, they have deteriorated and out of pocket expenditures have risen to amongst the highest in the world.

Basic sanitation has also not been accorded the highest priority in many parts of Asia leading to greater propensity of health epidemics.

While the carbon foot print per capita in many parts of Asia remains small because of low incomes, the carbon intensity of development in Asia as a whole remains very high and China is now the largest consumer of energy in the world. Degradation of land and water systems also has a worrisome trajectory.

Growth has helped reduce poverty but rising inequality in almost every country in Asia has enhanced social tensions and reduced the potential impact of growth on poverty reduction. Had inequality remained the same as in 1990, another 300 million people could have climbed out of poverty for the same level of growth.

Incomes at the top of the distribution have grown faster than those in the bottom. Though reasons behind rising inequality are complex, some broad themes emerge. First, there has been a relative neglect of the agriculture sector by the development community both at the national and international levels. Second, globalisation processes favour skilled labour against unskilled labour – leading to slower growth of wages among the poor.

In this context, Asian countries that have grown rapidly over a decade, but have not seen substantial reduction in poverty and hunger rates will need to focus specifically on the inclusiveness of their growth strategy.

This is also is the ugly side to the Asia story; which is that of hunger and malnutrition; with almost 600 million people going to bed hungry every day. The irony is that over this period Asia has eliminated the scourge of famines and per capita foodgrain availability has increased, yet hunger affects millions.

Asia’s social assistance programs and food subsidy systems have not succeeded in reaching these hungry people. The massive rise in food prices in 2006-2008 had a hugely disproportionate effect on the poor, with the bottom quintile seeing a decline in purchasing power by 24 percent versus only a decline of 4 percent of purchasing power for the top quintile.

Well targeted conditional cash transfer programs – such as those in Latin America and cash for work programs such as the Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Program in India could help the hungry get the minimum needed to avoid hunger and keep their children sufficiently nourished.

The resources and political will exist in Asia to fix these problems. As world leaders gather in September at the UN for the MDG Summit there is much to learn from Asia and much to be gained by renewing the political will within Asia to try and accelerate progress on the MDGs.

As growth resumes in Asia the smaller resource rich Asian economies such as Mongolia, Laos, and Papua New Guinea are on the verge of a dramatic increase in their resource base to tackle the MDG’s. The attainment of MDGs offers a good guidepost to ensure that their resource boom does not become a resource curse, because the MDGs offer a much broader yardstick of development than income alone.

In the rapidly growing export led economies of Asia, reducing inequality by ensuring a much more inclusive development strategy, improving social protection for health, old age and natural disasters is vital for ensuring that those who get out of poverty do not fall back into it permanently.

Greater regional integration is vital to ensure that the benefits of rapid growth in the region benefit all. Free trade agreements are stitching together, slowly but gradually, a common market; but pan Asian infrastructure still lags behind and is vital to ensure that prosperity spreads across Asia.

Above all Asia must begin systematically to address social and cultural inequities: gender, caste and ethnic to ensure that not only will huge progress be made to achieve MDGs by 2015 but that an Asian renaissance will be triggered to lead to an Asian century.

Ajay Chhibber is UN Assistant Secretary General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director for UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.

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]

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives fasting as month of Ramadan begins

The Maldives has entered its second day of fasting after the holy month of Ramadan began yesterday.

The Islamic Ministry of the Maldives declared that yesterday was the first day of Ramadan and that people should begin fasting, abstaining from eating and drinking between dawn to sundown. Muslims who are ill or travelling are permitted to delay their fast.

Ramadan marks month in which the Quran was revealed to mankind, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.

The rituals of month – such as fasting and sexual abstinence – are intended remind those who follow Islam of their duty as a Muslim, by keeping them away from worldly temptations to tame the mind and instill determination.

“Ramadan is an occasion to renew family ties and brotherly relations among Muslims,’’ said President Mohamed Nasheed, requesting that disputes and disagreements people be left behind as people work for the benefit of the country.

The daytime pace of life in Male’ has already slowed, with the capital’s usually vibrant cafe culture shifting to the evening, after sunset. Government offices close at 1:30pm during Ramadan, rather than 4:00pm, and the streets are noticeably quieter.

Interestingly, the popularity (and price) of watermelon surges during Ramadan in the Maldives, with the fruit valued as a ‘break fast’ specialty because of its high water content and easily-absorbed sugars.

The Islamic Ministry will meanwhile hold religious sermons every day after Asr prayer. Special functions will be held on every Friday and Monday evening, when religious scholars will preach on different topics. The Islamic Ministry has said those present will be able to querying the scholars who attend.

State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed explained that in all Islamic countries it is also prohibited for non-muslims to eat or drink anything on the streets during Ramadan.

”Non-Muslims should respect the month of Ramadan, and our beliefs and culture,” said Shaheem. ”That doesnt mean that they can’t eat in their homes, in their private life.”

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police would take action against foreigners observed to be eating publicly during the holy month of Ramadan, ”and as for Maldivians, we will send cases to the Prosecutor General’s office and to court. With foreigners also we will take action according to suggestions from the PG.”

President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Hussein Rasheed Ahmed, has posted Ramadan greetings to the president and first lady of the Maldives, as well as the Vice President and his wife, senior state executives, leaders of all the political parties, diplomats from different countries, members of the party and the people of the Maldives.

Vice president of religious NGO Jamiyytahul Salaf, Sheikh Hussein Moosa Fikry has delivered a sermon on how to correctly observe fasting, according to the habits of Prophet Mohamed [PBUH].

Famous religious scholar Sheikh Adam Shameem Bin Ibrahim has also has delivered a sermon related to the holy month of ramdan.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Adhaalath party congratulates parties for ending Supreme Court deadlocks

The Adhaalath Party has congratulated the parliament and the government for coming to an understanding over the controversial issue of establishing the Supreme Court and appointing a Chief Justice, on conclusion of the interim period of the constitution.

“We praise and thank the speaker of the parliament and the government for the sacrifices they made and for the unity they showed for the first time, to establish the Supreme Court and to appoint the Chief Justice,’’ said the party in a statement.

“We also congratulate the new Chief justice and the Supreme Court judges who have been appointed permanently.’’

The party said they hoped the Supreme Court would bring balance and justice to the country and that the unity parliament had showed would be continued..

Earlier this week a surge in political partisanship, caused by disagreement over the interim period set out in the Constitution and the locking of the Supreme Court by the military, had threatened to derail the appointment process and leave the Maldives without its highest judicial authority.

However on Tuesday morning parliament approved the amended judge’s bill with 71 in favor, out of 73 members present. It was quickly ratified by President Nasheed shortly after lunchtime.

The new Judges Act enshrines judicial independence, governing ethical standards and rules on appointment and dismissal, as well as powers, responsibilities and practicalities such as salaries and allowances. The law also requires serving judges to meet a certain standards within seven years, or face dismissal.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Customs seizes shipment of 260 toy guns

Maldives Customs Service last night seized 260 toy guns and handed them over to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) for investigation.

Spokesperson for the Maldives Customs Service Ismail Nashid said the shipment was imported to the Maldives from Thailand and the items were classified as toys.

“We are trying to determine whether these guns could potentially be used for other purposes, even though they have been shipped as ‘toys’,’’ said Nashid. ‘’After the investigation sn concluded we will hold a joint press meeting with the media and reveal details.”

The ship was a commercial cargo ship, which was loaded in Thailand, he said.

He said the guns were now under the observation MNDF.

Spokesperson for MNDF Major Abdul Raheem said MNDF had determined that the guns were toys.

“We are yet to find out how dangerous these guns are and in what other ways they could be used,’’ said Abdul Raheem. ‘’We can only provide information about the case after the investigation is concluded.’’

Maldives Customs recently intercepted five three-foot double-edged swords inside a container imported to Maldives from China.

Spokesperson for Maldives Ports Limited (MPL), Hassan Muzni Mohamed, said the swords were discovered during an inspection by customs officers.

The ship that carried the container, ‘MOL KOMATI’, was loaded in China and stopped at a port in Singapore prior arriving in the Maldives.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Woman alleges senior police officer sexually abused her inside police car

A woman has filed a case at police headquarters alleging she was sexually abused last Thursday by a group of people, including a chief inspector.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed the case had been filed and that police were now investigating the matter.

“The person accused denies the charges,” he said. “She alleged there was also a police chief inspector included in the group she claimed had sexually abused her.”

He declined to give further information on the case, saying police would disclose more information once the investigation was concluded.

A close friend of the alleged victim told Minivan News the incident occurred near Seahouse restaurant in Henveiru.

“She would not be older than 22 years, she was friends with the police inspector,’’ he said. “According to what she told me, she was partying with a group of four police officers, including a senior inspector, and they were all drunk.’’

He alleged that the incident occurred inside a police car.

“She said they threw her onto the street after sexually abusing her,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, local newspaper Haveeru reported that a group of people had burned the motorbike of the police inspector in an arson attack.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

GMR and MACL hold workshop on upgrading airport

GMR and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) have held a joint two-day workshop with senior staff at Male’ International Airport to collect ideas on how to improving the facilities and upgrade the airport, prior to the construction of the new terminal.

The Indian infrastructure giant won the management contract to upgrade the airport build the new terminal by 2014, following a bidding process that was criticised for its fast speed and alleged lack of transparency. Opposition parties also opposed the privatisation of the airport on nationalistic grounds.

Chairmen of MACL ‘Bandhu’ Ibrahim Saleem said that the workshop was very useful and that the two parties had managed to collect constructive opinions from customers and staff on how to improve the services and facilities provided by the airport.

‘’It is a necessary task to upgrade the international airport,” Saleem said. “We are very confident with GMR, we have witnessed three airports developed by them under public private partnerships.’’

GMR Manager P Sripathi said that the paperwork was almost concluded and that the company needed only final approval for some documents.

‘’We know there will be a lot of complaints from different areas of the airport, but one by one we will sort out all the issues eventually,’’ said Sripathi. ‘’We are just in the final stages of forming the airports company.’’

When journalists present at the meeting queried about the different issues being encountered, senior officials on the panel recommended focusing questions “only on the subject of the workshop.”

The GMR-Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) consortium won the controversial bid to develop Male’ International Airport and will spend US$373 million on the upgrade.

Speaking at the opening of the cavernous Delhi Terminal 3 recently, GMR Manager P Sripathi told Maldivian journalists that physical work would begin on the airport towards the end of this year.

“The first phase is organising the finances and transitioning the airport from a government-run enterprise to a privately-run enterprise,” he explained.

“The transition will be a new thing [for the Maldives] and we will be there to help with that. We have done such things in other places, and we know how to go about it,” he said.

Male International Airport will remain as a property of the Maldivian people under the leasing agreement with GMR, said the former minister of civil aviation and communications Mahmood Razee recently in a local news paper Miadhu report.

Opposition political parties has repeatedly expressed concern and called on the government not to lease the Male’ Inernational Airport to a foreign company, claiming it could disrupt the national securit and harm the peace and harmony of the country. However, the government dismissed the claims, alleging vested interests on behalf of certain opposition leaders.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Salaf sends immigration list of alleged missionaries deported by former government

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has sent a letter addressed to the Immigration Controller requesting further information on expats who were deported during the previous administration, most of them for alleged missionary activity.

In their letter, Salaf requested the immigration department clarify why some of the deported alleged missionaries were missing from the immigration’s black list, and asked the department to clarify whether the issue was acted upon and when the deported expats were removed from the black list.

The letter, published by Salaf on its website, contained names of people “most of whom were deported for alleged missionary  activity,’’ claimed the NGO’s president Abdulla Bin Mohamed Ibrahim.

“We confirmed the names and the information we have, it is from very relevant sources,’’ said Abdulla. “They were deported by the previous government and we want to know why they were removed from the black list, and when they were removed from the list.’’

Immigration Controller Ilyas Ibrahim said it was the power and duty of the immigration to look after such matters, and that Salaf was “not in a position to raise questions over the department’s duties and responsibilities.”

”They can go to the courts if they wish,” said Ilyas. ”No person on our watch list will enter the country, and if we allow them in, it means that either their deportation period is over or they were granted clemency.”

He repeated that no person on the immigration department watch list would enter the country.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Comment: That evil democracy thing

A fool and his valuables are soon parted.

The general understanding of this adage is, of course, that a fool cannot truly appreciate the value of his prized possessions, and is easily swindled out of it.

Truer words have not been spoken, as evidenced in this article originally published on the website of a local NGO that calls itself the ‘Islamic Foundation of the Maldives’.

The article, titled ‘The Evils of Democracy’, is clearly inspired by the neo-conservative school of debate that absolves the writer from furnishing any intellectually honest evidence to support his claims, as long as he makes a decidedly passionate attack against a straw-man caricature – in this case, the Islamist’s skewed perception of democracy.

The post is riddled with such vacuous assertions as ‘Democracy is a system of infidelity..’ and ‘…openly hostile to the faith of monotheism’, but provides very little by means of actual evidence to justify these bizarre, sweeping statements.

It would be easy to dismiss the unfortunate article as mere farcical comedy, if it weren’t so highly irresponsible and dangerous.

As clueless as this NGO appears to be about the concept of democracy, there are actually ordinary, simple-minded folk who form judgments based solely upon information derived from such dubious and disreputable sources.

The author of the article betrays no evidence of an ability to distinguish between democracy, hedonism, capitalism and anarchy – all of which have been conveniently bracketed together as ‘evil democracy’. Nor does he suggest any alternatives to his rather bleak, dystopian portrayal of democracy.

The article mentions that, in democracies, the functions of the state are divided among three separate powers, but fails to mention why this is a bad thing.

As expected, it also criticises the existence of an opposition, and the din, commotion and confrontation this ensues. What it fails to mention is that this ‘noise’ is actually the sound of openly expressed opinions, and a public that actively participates in its own governance.

The often cacophonous noise of energetic democratic debate is much more soothing to the ear than the defeated, graveyard silence that pervades present day theocracies.

Democracy is definitely not a fool-proof system – nor is any other system, for that matter. That is because humans are flawed beings. We are all susceptible to greed, corruption and avarice.

But that is precisely why democracy is the best system we have today. Democracy has inherent checks and balances, and pays obeisance to concepts like Human Rights, accountability, public mandates and universal franchises on which the system is erected.

The tendency towards theocracy among neo-conservatives is baffling.

Would this NGO rather prefer the alternative, where every flood, famine and pestilence is conveniently pinned by authorities on the common man’s sins?

Would they rather Dhivehin lived under a system where the failures of an incompetent ruling clergy – the illiteracy, starvation and poverty that have become hallmarks of such societies – are routinely blamed on the common man’s defiance of God and lack of ideological purity?

When apologists for clergy-rule claim that democracy is an example of Human Law superseding ‘Divine Law’, will they also kindly point out to us a single example of a modern theocracy that is not a clear-cut case of a small group of humans dictating their ruthless will on others – only, this time with no accountability or room for redress?

It is an absolutely fatuous claim that clergy-controlled human-rights disasters like Saudi Arabia or Iran are somehow more sparkling examples of Islamic values than a democratic state like the Maldives.

The Maldives could have meekly followed the pied piper’s malevolent tunes, established a theocracy, and joined the league of failed states. Instead, Dhivehin have chosen to empower themselves with a modern democracy – of its own free will, without any foreign coercion.

The Muslims in this country, like the vast majority of Muslims around the world, have chosen a democratic system for the simple reason that IT WORKS. It has given its people a voice. It has prevented tyrants from abusing their authority with impunity. It has made their governments accountable to them.

The article finally comes to a head with a tired, worn-out, Chicken Little narrative about how democracy is a ‘conspiracy’ of the (entirely imaginary-) “diabolical forces of Jews and Christians” that, for unspecified reasons, have been compulsively harassing our fundamentalist friends since the dawn of time.

Even if we were to buy for a moment, for this NGO’s benefit, that democracy is a sinister plot devised by medieval Europeans (presumably in collaboration with ancient Greeks) to ‘divide’ and destabilise future Islamic societies they couldn’t possibly have foreseen, it is still a highly facetious remark.

For one thing, isn’t it rather absurd that the alleged diabolical agents of Judaism and Christianity have chosen to implement this ‘evil democracy’ thing in their own homelands – with much success to boot?

Modern democracies leave the clergy-states and dictatorships of the world biting the dust on every single human development index.

Today, the democratic Europeans and Americans are able to clothe and feed their people. Their elected governments have lifted millions out of poverty and starvation, and given them jobs and opportunities. They have the best health care systems in the world, the best schools, the top universities and made unparalleled scientific and cultural advances.

Far from being divided into tiny, squabbling factions, countries that were killing and bombing each other just a few decades ago, have opened up their borders to allow their people to travel and mingle freely.

Despite the diversity of their languages and cultures, their societies have stabilised enough to come together and form a common Parliament, implement a common currency, and adopt a common flag.

A spectacularly failed ‘plot to divide people’, by any measure.

Given this reality, the factions that continue to advocate a system where a limited group of people is allowed to oppress everyone else on the grounds of ideology can only be taken for those who seek to occupy the plush seats of authoritarian power. One suspects this is also the case for some of our own homegrown organisations.

May the Maldives beat back these retrograde forces, and continue to uphold the proud democratic freedoms that they have earned through sheer perseverance and sacrifices.

In the best democratic spirit, we must make Dhivehi Raajje a scintillating example of peace, democracy and harmony that so many other Muslim nations have failed to achieve.

Or else we’d end up like the fabled fool, too dense to appreciate the true worth of our invaluable freedoms, and caged once again in the all-too-familiar dark mental prisons of fear.

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]
Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

JSC reappoints 59 judges in ceremony, evicts Velezinee

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) last night reappointed 59 sitting judges, including all but two of the judges currently serving in Male’ courts, swearing them during a closed-door oath-taking ceremony in the Supreme Court.

Minivan News understands that three members of the 10 member JSC were present during the oath-taking ceremony, including two members who were taking the oath as sitting judges, and opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

A senior staff member of the JSC today told Minivan News he had been unaware the ceremony was taking place until he saw media reports, but said he felt there were “no legal issues” blocking the reappointments.

Meanwhile, President’s member of the Commission Aishath Velezinee, who has criticised the issuing of tenure to those judges appointed under the former administration as “robbing the nation of an honest judiciary”, claims she was locked outside the ceremony after attempting to intervene when she learned it was taking place.

Prior to being locked outside, Velezinee took to the podium and called on any judges who supported her position not to take the oath of office, however none did so.

“I don’t think the international community is going to accept that this is legitimate,” she said. “They locked members of the JSC out. The only ones present were Dr Afrasheem Ali and two judges on the commission, who took the oath themselves.”

People’s member on the Commission, Sheikh Shuaib Abdul Rahman, also objected to the JSC’s action, stating in an interview with Television Maldives (TVM) that while he supported reappointing judges and training them to improve their standard, he did not endorse granting life tenure to judges who did not meet the requirements.

Head of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), Supreme Court Justice Mujthaz Fahmy, answered his phone but did not respond to questions from Minivan News. His phone was subsequently switched off.

Parliament was due to debate a bill on judges in a special sitting of parliament on Saturday, to coincide with the constitutional deadline for reappointments of August 7.

Velezinee contends that parliament’s Independent Commissions Committee (ICC) did not issue an injunction against the reappointment pending investigation of her complaint that the JSC’s behaviour was contravening the Constitution, thus giving the JSC the opportunity to rush the appointments through before the passing of the bill.

Speaker Abdulla Shahid did not respond to calls today. But in a text message reportedly sent to Velezinee last night, Shahid expressed his “deep disappointment” that the event was organised without consulting him, and despite his request to Mujthaz Fahmy that the reappointments be held until Saturday after the bill on judges had been adopted.

According to the Constitution once tenured, judges can only be removed following allegations of gross misconduct and a two-thirds majority vote in parliament, the same number required to impeach the President or Vice President.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said the government “regretted” the JSC’s decision to reappoint judges behind closed doors while the Majlis was “actively discussing and debating a decision on the bill on judges for the 7th, and despite this being communicated to the JSC.”

Zuhair claimed that as a consequence the reappointments were “not credible at all to a large section of society – and the whole point of the exercise was to establish credibility.”

The activities of the JSC were “legally questionable” Zuhair added, “and the government intends to follow up on it. Today we have received complaints that the commission has contravened the Constitution.”

Zuhair observed that while two members opposed the move to rush the reappointments – Velezinee and Sheikh Shuaib – “a common thread ties all the other eight members. They either belong to the opposition DRP, or they are strong supporters.”

“The outgoing government has made sure it would retain control of institutions like the judiciary,” he noted.

Zuhair explained that while the government was communicating with international institutions on the issue, such as the International Committee of Jurists (ICJ), “so far we have been advised to do everything possible to keep to ‘norms and standards’. But that’s difficult when of the 197 judges, only 35 have any recognised qualifications. All the others have a local diploma.

“We can’t dismiss the other 150 judges, because that would only leave 35 to take care of the rest of the country. There has to be a middle ground,” Zuhair suggested.

The government was working on “attractive” overseas training and retirement packages for judges, he added.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)