President Mohamed Nasheed has ratified the bill on establishing the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation, which was originally passed by Parliament on 6 April 2010.
The bill will see the establishment of a national broadcaster which will be presided over by a nine-member board of directors. The board will be appointed by and has to answer to the People’s Majlis.
The government wants the corporation to be free from political and commercial influence, and to broadcast public service announcements and matters of the state (such as President Nasheed’s speeches) to be televised at no cost to the government.
Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said Attorney General Husnu Suood told the president there would be “some difficulties” in implementing the bill, and the government will now be proposing some amendments.
Zuhair said the formation of a new public broadcaster “will be best for the general public” as it will be a “limited liability company.”
Zuhair added that the assets from the existing Maldives National Broadcasting Company (MNBC) will be transferred to the new corporation. “They are looking at the legal aspects of it right now,” he said.
The strike began on 14 April when four villa hosts were dismissed by the resort for locking themselves in an empty guest room to play PlayStation.
Sixty-one other staff members signed a petition to reinstate the four dismissed staff, but instead, they were all escorted by police to Feydhoo in Seenu Atoll and dismissed from their jobs.
Since the strike began, they have been joined by another 110 other staff members as well as members of TEAM. Over 157 people are now protesting at Feydhoo, hoping the management of Shangri-La will reconsider their decision and reinstate the 65 staff.
But Vice President of TEAM Mauroof Zakir doesn’t think it will be over soon, saying “it might last for another week.”
“Management doesn’t want to change their decision,” he said, noting that the strike is still going strong and is “well organised.”
Zakir said the PlayStation was originally brought at a guest’s request, but the guest said something was wrong with the console. He said the four staff went into an empty guest room—noting all the rooms around it were empty “so there would be no disturbances”—and were checking the console.
“They acknowledged they started to play a football game for about 5 or 10 minutes,” Zakir said, but claimed the resort’s management did not deal with the situation “as they should have.”
“After 45 minutes, they had made their decision [to dismiss the villa hosts],” Zakir said.
He said a number of staff then went to the Human Resources department to demand resort management reinstate the four staff members, but management refused.
“We are still trying to negotiate with management,” Zakir said, “but they don’t want to negotiate with our demands.”
He said management then decided to fire everyone who had taken part in petitioning for the reinstatement of the four staff members, and called police to have all 65 staff escorted to nearby Feydhoo.
Shangri-La Villingili Resort
Zakir said the 65 dismissals were unlawful as staff were given no warning and no termination letter. He added that since the incident took place, they have been receiving informal messages from resort management that all staff who joined the protest will be fired, too.
“[Management] is still trying to protect their decision,” Zakir said, “they wanted to investigate the case but they don’t want to discuss it [with us].”
Zakir said the resort management was scheduled to have another meeting tomorrow and they were bringing in people from the company’s head office.
He added that the resort needed to not only reinstate all staff but also the trade union.
“Under the Constitution, we have the right to protest and freedom of association,” Zakir said.
He said because the Maldives is a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), they had the right to form unions, and he said he hoped the ILO “might step in” and help resolve the situation.
“They won’t give up and neither will we,” Zakir stated.
Shangri-La’s Director for Communication Leslie Garcia said the resort is “running smoothly and operating as normal,” and added the investigation is currently ongoing.
She said management is “working closely with local government authorities” and was trying to solve the issue, but would not give any comments or details regarding the strike or what measures were being taken to resolve the problem.
Islam and politics are inseparable and it is unIslamic to suggest otherwise, President of the Adhaalath Party Sheikh Hussein Rasheed has announced.
”I regret that there are some MPs also who are claiming that politics and Islam should be separated, after taking a oath swearing that they would respect the religion of Islam,” Sheikh Hussein said. ”Politics and religion cannot be separated.”
State Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told Minivan News that Islam was a comprehensive religion containing information on economy, family, social, business, communication, politics, military “and many more things.”
Shaheem claimed that separating politics from religion was “a Christian philosophy from the 1940s.”
”The Christians at that time were influenced by the power of their kings and popes, ” Shaheem said, ”so they fought together for their rights and demanded the separation of religion from politics, and that was the time democracy was born.”
Shaheem noted that there were some principles of democracy which were contrary to Islamic principles.
”There are many things that are similar things and there are some things we refuse,” he said. “The resolution in democracy is ‘to keep the religion separated from the state.”’
The Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) was also a good politician, Shaheem explained.
”Those who suggest religion should be separated from politics are not apostates,” he said. “They are only saying such things because of their lack of knowledge.”
He said the Islamic Ministry was a part of the government and the government cooperated the ministry.
The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said the Adhaalath Party was “power hungry” in accusing the government of secularism.
Newspaper Miadhu today reported Adhaalath party member Sheikh Ilyas Hussain as saying the government had forgotten the Adhaalath’s Party’s role in the country’s democratic transition and that the presence of the party was one of the reasons the new government had been accepted.
If dialogue failed to keep the government on the right path, Sheikh Illyas warned, the party would “not hesitate to fight against this government like we did the last one.”
He further claimed there were groups within the country that had begun challenging the party’s efforts to promote Islam, and that such trends were bringing the party’s patience to an end.
Zuhair claimed some of the party’s scholars were “directly lying to the people.”
”We support the work they are doing politically, because according to the new law any political party with less than 3000 members should be disbanded. If so, how are they supposed to be in the government if they are not a political party?”
He said the government had provided mosques for people, appointed Imams to the mosques and established the Islamic Ministry.
”We do not know why they are saying all this about the government,” he said. ”We can’t worship in our offices.”
Zakir Naik
In response to concerns about the religious qualifications of visiting Islamic speaker Zakir Naik, who is a medical doctor, Shaheem explained that Naik “is not a a preacher but a lecturer”, and his talks in the Maldives would not contravene the Religious Unity Act.
”The law says that anyone is allowed to give sermons with the permission of the Islamic Ministry,” he explained.
”We have researched his CV, and he is man who has knowledge of Islam and has written many books on Islam as well.”
Police have arrested 22 people including four children under the age of 18 in Laamu Gan, after they were attacked during a wave of gang violence.
Police said the attacks occurred on Saturday morning at 4:00am, after the gang, believed to be from Mathimaradhu, “appeared suddenly from a forest.”
Police alleged gang members broke the glass windows of a shop in the industrial area of Mathimaradhu, burnt down a hut in Mulurimagu [district] and broke the windows of two houses. When they tried to stop the gang members, police claim they they were attacked and a police vehicle damaged.
Two policemen were seriously injured in the attack, including one suffered a broken arm after he was hit by a metal tube and another who was struck in the arm by a piece of wood with nails in it.
Police have recovered some of the weapons used in the attack from a house in Mathimaradhu, including swords, knives, metal pipes and blocks.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the injured two police officers have been brought to Male’ and admitted in Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
He said the police were investigating the case but refused to give more information.
Island Chief of Gan office Abdul Rahman said that the attack on Saturday night was a gang war between the two districts Mathimaradhu and Mukuri Magu that had been going on for a long time, “for at least three months.”
”Several times many of them have been injured,” Rahman said, ”but this is the first time they attacked the police and damaged property.”
He said most of the gang members were under the age of eighteen.
”We do not know why they have been fighting,” he said. ”We had not received any reports on these fights.”
He said there was a distance of 30 minutes between the two districts on foot.
A Sri Lankan man is being held by police for charges of fraud connected with the recently postponed Boney M concert.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed the Sri Lankan national has been in police custody since Thursday and will be taken to court later this evening.
The Mega International Music Fiesta, which was scheduled to take place at the Galolhu National Stadium in Malé on 14 April, was being organised by Pro Maldives Inc Ltd (also known as Pro Models) in partnership with Sri Lankan company ‘Rokomaestro Inc USA’.
The event was cancelled at the last minute and managing director of Pro Models Mohamed Nizam told media although they had not received any pressure or complaints, the show had to be postponed and there would be a full refund for people who had already bought tickets.
Tickets were sold at Rf 250 and 500 (US$19.5 and US$39).
Minivan News was unable to find a website, business registration or contact details for any company called ‘Rokomaestro Inc USA’ in Sri Lanka.
A ‘completely new show’
The original show would have starred disco legends Boney M and featured British reggae legends Aswad and North American rapper Bubba Sparxxx.
The Maldives Entertainment Company Ltd, backed by the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports, has now taken over planning and executing the event, which will be held on 26 April in Dharubaaruge.
Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, said the concert was postponed because “the agency in charge of delivering the stars here had some technical difficulties.”
He said Boney M cancelled the show because of these “technical difficulties”. Zuhair said Pro Models then “appealed to the government for help” and the government agreed because they felt it would be “good for the country.”
He added refunds were being given for those who bought the original tickets.
Minister for Human Resources, Youth and Sports, Hassan Lateef, said the original show was “a flop” because the companies in charge of organising the event “couldn’t bring [Boney M] down to the Maldives.”
“There was not enough communication with Boney M management,” Lateef said, “so [Boney M] cancelled.”
He said he had no suspicion that the previous organisers were playing a scam on ticket buyers, and added it was “a lack of trust” on the part of Boney M management that stopped the show from taking place on its original date.
Lateef said because tickets had been sold and the public had the expectation of seeing the show, “the government intervened” and Boney M’s appearance has been confirmed for 26 April.
He added the agreement is being sent to Boney M management for signing today.
“A lot of things were not arranged properly,” he said, noting that advanced payments were not made and the event organisers had trouble in getting the members to the Maldives.
Lateef said the ministry had not received any complaints about the Boney M concert and added, “I have received calls from government officials… a lot of people have made bookings.”
He acknowledged “it’s not good for the government to host a show,” but assured the government has no intention of hosting other events in the future. “Because of how things went, we had to intervene,” he said.
Lateef also noted this is “a totally new show”, distinct from the original ‘International Fiesta’, and new tickets are required.
“I heard the [original] tickets have been refunded,” he said, and advised people to buy tickets for the new show “as soon as possible” as there is limited seating in the new venue.
The new show, which will feature an original member of Boney M, will feature a local band, but he said the local artists have still not been selected.
Hithaadhoo in Baa Atoll has completely run out of water, claims Island councilor Amir Abdul Latheef.
He said he has been getting complaints since yesterday morning that all houses on the island had no water.
”We informed the utilities company that we have no water on the island,” Amir said, ”they told us that they would send water as soon as possible.”
Amir said the islanders were using ground water from the island, a practice banned by the Health Ministry twelve years ago because of the toxicity.
”Only a few wealthy men use mineral water but the majority of people cannot afford to buy water everyday,” he said. ”There are 1227 people on the island,” Amir noted.
He said he had never witnessed a situation similar to this in his whole life. ”[The last time] it rained was eight months ago,” he said,”the situation on the island is now much worse.”
He said the island office was trying to prevent infants from having to use the impure ground water.
”It rains occasionally but that much is not usable as the roofs are dusty and such small amount of rain does not even clean the roofs,” he said.
Amir said people of the island were now in danger of becoming sick with fevers and diseases due to drinking impure water.
State Minister for Health Abdul Baary Abdulla said there were many diseases that could potentially result from the use of contaminated water, including diarrhoea, stomach ailments and skin diseases.
Amir had recently complained several times that the island would completely run out of water during the weekend if the government does not provide it for them urgently.
Staff at the Shangri-La Villingili Resort are on strike after four workers were dismissed for allegedly playing on a PlayStation in a vacant villa.
A person familiar with the matter told Minivan News that the four men, who were ‘villa hosts’ at the luxury resort in Addu Atoll, took their PlayStation to a vacant guest room during their lunch break, “double locked the door and put up a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign.”
“The staff usually do not get a break during lunch time if the occupation of the island is high, but that day they got a break,” the source said, claiming the dismissal was “against the handbook of the resort.”
The source said the four men were dismissed after they were caught by security manager Jack David and Duty Manager Mohamed Ashraf. In response, 157 staff at the resort went on a four-day strike demanding their colleagues be reinstated.
The men were discovered when the house keeping manager found the room double locked and reported it to the duty manager, “as nobody was supposed to be inside,” the source said.
”The security manager and duty manager attended the place to see who was inside,” he said.
He claimed the security manager went to the back door of the villa just as one of the men inside opened it to see if anyone was outside.
”The security manager thought he was attempting to flee,” the source said.
”He pushed the man, saying ‘You do not know my background, I worked at the military for five years, your life is short now,’ and he fell to the ground and was hurt,” the source alleged.
The security manager “then ordered everyone to stay still until they finished investigating.”
He said that after taking pictures of the scene Ashraf told them the investigation was finished but did not allow them to leave.
”The of them the wanted to leave the room and go,” he said, “but security did not allow them to leave, and it because heated.”
He alleged that when one of them walked toward the door security pushed him back by neck.
”After shouting at each other for a while they managed to leave the room,” the source said.
Resort management gathered a council committee which included seven staff from the resort.
”The committee requested management to act according to the resort’s handbook,” he said, ”which stated that the four men should be given a ‘Category C’ punishment – a written warning – while security management should be given ‘Category D’ punishment – dismissal.”
The source said the management wanted to give the same punishment to four staff and the security manager, “but everyone was against it, so we told the management that all the staff were against the decision,” he said.
”The next day the manager gathered us and said that he and the general manager had discussed the issue and decided to dismiss all five of them.”
He said that upon hearing the news staff across various sections of the resort were unhappy and petitioned management asking for the case to be reopened a dealt with according to the handbook.”
Shangri-La workers on strike
Bulk dismissal
”When we gave the petition to the manager he told us that everyone who had participated in the petition could also consider themselves dismissed and should leave the island immediately,” the source said.
”So all 65 of us gathered near the administration block demanding he take back the order and reinstate the jobs of the four dismissed villa hosts.”
He claimed the Shangri-La management refused to hold further discussion over the issue, and repeated that they were all dismissed and were to leave immediately.
”Police arrived that night and told us to leave the island within 10 minutes or they would use force,” he said, ”so we left on the resort’s ferry to Feydhoo in Seenu Atoll with the police.”
Police reportedly told the workers they could continue the strike on Feydhoo “in accordance with the law.”
”We are now in Feydhu continuing our strike and we now we have 157 Maldivian staff from Shangri-La with us,” he said.
”We will not stop until management decides to give us a written document reinstating the jobs of the four villa hosts.”
Vice President of the Tourism Employment Association of Maldives (TEAM) Mauroof Zakir said the association “fully supports” the strike.
”The International Union of Foodworkers (IUF) are also supporting the event,” Zakir said, adding that he was now at Feydhoo with the strikers taking part in the event.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that police arrived at the island upon request of the resort management.
Shiyam said the management claimed the situation was threatening to escalate into a brawl and requested police remove the staff from the island.
Shangri-La’s Director for Communication Leslie Garcia said investigation of the case was ongoing and she was unable to provide more information.
Deputy Minister of the Labour Relations Authority Aiminath Shifaya meanwhile said that the ministry was trying to resolve the issue peacefully by negotiating with management and employees.
Shifaya said two representatives of the ministry were now present on Feydhoo.
”We hope that the issue would be solved by tomorrow,” she said. ”Both sides are co-operating with us.”
The bill was widely based upon the Residential Tenancies Act (1987) of New South Wales, Australia, and proposes the creation of a tenancy deposit scheme, with deposits made at the start of a tenancy to be held by the government rather than individual landlords.
There would be a limit on how much the deposit could be and tenants would have the right to appeal if they believe they are not getting a fair rental price.
When he first presented the bill in 2009, Nasheed told Minivan News stricter housing regulations are necessary in a city as overcrowded as Malé, where demand for accommodation dramatically outstrips supply, leaving tenants vulnerable to unscrupulous landlords.
Even then, Nasheed admitted the bill was controversial and said he was unsure it would be passed as it was, but now that it has been accepted by the Majlis, Nasheed said he has “greater hope that a compromise will be reached between those who agree with it and those who don’t.”
“I basically looked at it from a consumer protection point of view,” he said. “So far [housing] has been regulated by ordinary terms of contract.”
Nasheed said he wanted to protect the rights of both the tenant and the landlord, and hopes the bill will help the market by leaving “less room for undue influence.”
The bill was accepted by 45 votes, “seven votes above majority,” Nasheed noted. It will now be sent to a committee before being sent back to Parliament for approval.
“I hope it will all be over in six months,” Nasheed added.
Demolishing a house in Malé
A holistic approach to the housing crisis
Minister for Housing, Transport and Environment, Mohamed Alsam, said the bill “has got rather ridiculous things in it. It’s very foolish to control the market.”
Aslam said the government was trying a more “holistic approach” to the housing crisis in Malé by “diverting demand elsewhere.”
“It’s a national development issue,” he said. “Other parts of the country aren’t attractive enough.”
Aslam said that is where the government’s decentralisation plan comes into play. “We have always seen the issue of housing as a broad development issue, not an isolated thing. If we leave Malé as it is, no law will regulate it.”
Although the minister did admit “certain elements of [the bill] are good,” he said “I don’t think I would go with it.”
Housing in Malé
With a growing population of over 100,000, Malé is among the most densely populated cities on the planet, and the housing crisis is only getting worse as more people migrate from other islands and demands grow, allowing rental prices to spike.
Due to the high demand and low supply for housing in Malé, many people who own land choose to rent it out for extra income, either by renting a part of their house or giving the land for the construction of apartment buildings.
A 2008 report by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) found that 68 percent of families in Malé were living in accommodation that “qualifies as slums by UN definitions.”
Additionally, they found survey participants spent 85 percent of their income on rent and utilities in Malé and Vilingili. They also found some landlords were increasing rent “at will” and forcibly evicting tenants if they were unable to meet their ever-increasing demands.
Effects of overcrowded areas
There are many other issues with overpopulation besides money and rental control; health problems, psychological welfare and even sexual abuse have all been directly connected to living in overcrowded areas.
Dr Jorge Mario Luna, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to the Maldives, wrote: “Several social problems are also faced within the household including child abuse, psychological impact in growing up in areas of overcrowding, breakdown of many families due to the hardship faced by them stimulating a ripple effect of social disorder for the families, particularly the children caught in the situation.”
Buildings in Malé
Dr Luna added: “It is important to note that the major drivers, or social determinants, of health in urban settings are beyond the health sector, including physical infrastructure, access to social and health services, local governance, and the distribution of income and educational opportunities.”
Controversial Islamic scholar and popular public speaker Dr Zakir Naik will speak in the Maldives on May 25-31 at the the invitation of the Ministry for Islamic Affairs, an event the ministry claims will be “the biggest event ever held in the Maldives.”
Permanent Secretary for the Islamic Ministry Mohamed Didi said the ministry expects over 10,000 people to attend Dr Naik’s talk in Male’. Additional talks will be given by Dr Naik’s son, Fariq Zakir Naik, and a third by Dr Naik’s wife, Farhath Zakir Naik, targeted at a female audience.
While Dr Naik is visiting at the invitation and expense of the Islamic Ministry, Didi explained that “the expenditure should be less than we expect – ministry is calculating the costs. We are getting a lot of help from outside sources.”
“We are hoping to get sponsorship from a businessman or a resort,” he said, “and we expect we will only have to pay the airfares. It will have a limited impact on our budget.”
The ministry has authorised TVM and Voice of Maldives to broadcast Dr Naik’s appearance, which will include an hour-long question-and-answer session.
Dr Naik’s talk would not be translated into Dhivehi, Didi noted, apart from “perhaps the Q&A.”
“With an Arabic-speaking scholar we have to translate into Dhivehi, but because Dr Naik will be speaking in English he can speak directly,” Didi said, noting that “in the Maldives 99 percent of people can understand English, even if they cannot always communicate in it.”
The ministry intended to invite many more English-speaking scholars to speak in the country, he said.
Based in India, Dr Naik conducts lectures all over the world, claiming on his website to “clarify Islamic viewpoints and clear misconceptions about Islam using the Qur’an, authentic Hadith and other religious scriptures.”
Dr Naik is also the founder and president of Islamic satellite television network Peace TV, which broadcasts from Mumbai to 150 countries around the world in English and Urdu. The Indian Express newspaper places him 82nd in its 2009 list of the top 100 ‘Most Powerful Indians’, and third in the ‘Top 10 Spiritual Gurus of India’ behind Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
He is well known for vigorous question-and-answer segments during his live appearances, often with members of other faiths, and frequently references passages from the bible and other texts to substantiate his views on Islam, some of which have proven controversial.
In one particular appearance Dr Naik announced “every Muslim should be a terrorist”, claiming that if Osama bin Laden was “terrorising America, the biggest terrorist, then I’m with him.”
The Islamic Ministry has previously said that one way of addressing the issue of religious fundamentalism in the Maldives is by inviting moderate scholars to preach in the country.
Whether Dr Naik’s views could be described as moderate “depends”, Didi explained.
“He compares religious documents such as the bible and the Holy Qur’an, that is why I describe him as moderate. He uses a lot of logic and references. For us he is good, and can give the logic on Islam.”
The Ministry for Islamic Affairs noted that while many of Dr Naik’s talks involve discussions on comparative religion, as the Maldives is a 100% Islamic country “we are giving the topics to him. We’re still waiting for confirmation – one of the topics will most likely be misconceptions of Islam,” Didi explained.
“I think we will tell him about the situation in our country and guide him as to our traditions,” Didi said.
Inviting foreign scholars with potentially differing views to speak in the country did not risk breaching the country’s religious unity act through advocating a different version of Islam than that prescribed by the Islamic Ministry, Didi said. “If he speaks on Islam, there is no difference of opinion. We’ll see.”
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