Category: Society & Culture

Carnival atmosphere in Male’ as capital prepares for polls

Votes on Male are divided for Saturday’s presidential election, however ‘Nasheed’ and ‘Yameen’ are the two names on people’s minds as they look forward to a resolution of the 18-month campaign season.

Forty-eight year-old shop owner Ahmed asserts that former president and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Mohamed Nasheed, and Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen, are the two most likely winners of Saturday’s election, but believes that the final decision will be made in a second round.

“The candidates are equal right now,” he said, suggesting that Yameen and Jumhoree Party candidate Gasim Ibrahim had conducted the most effective campaigns “because they have the money… to spend on traveling to the islands.”

To the Maldives’ 350,000 citizens, the four presidential candidates’ personal and political histories are familiar tales. For one middle-aged man surveyed on Majeedhee Magu, the present campaign cannot undo past experiences.

“Anni’s [Nasheed] campaign is most effective, he is good for campaigning but not for the presidency,” he said. He firmly believes that the MDP executed the most effective campaign, but feels that Nasheed’s actions during his presidency have lost him the vote to PPM’s Yameen.

“We have seen 30 years [under PPM president and former president Maumoon Gayoom, Yameen’s half brother]. And then we saw Nasheed’s three years. In these last three years we didn’t see development,” he said. “Giving my mom MVR 2,000 (US$130) is not development. Giving insurance to buy Panadol pills for my mom is not development either. I do believe Nasheed is the one who can bring the development we desire, but the way his Aasandha [health insurance] program and other policies are organised is not helping the most needy.”

The man explained that his request for then-president Nasheed’s help for his dying 18-year-old son elicited only a letter from the party stating that “the Attorney General has instructed them not to spend on anything beside state expenses.”

Across town, 49-year-old Asfari anticipates a 70 percent win for Nasheed in the first round, but allows that Yameen was the likely runner up. “He is the second-best man to be president,” she said.

For some, familiarity generates confidence; for others, apathy.

“Politics gives me a headache,” declared a middle-aged female shop owner.

Some youth surveyed were similarly apathetic.

“In my thinking there is no candidate that is suitable for the election,” said Naushad, age 22, adding that alienation of the young generation was a key factor. “Politics will destroy the country, 100 percent.”

Twenty-three year-old voter Ahamed said the campaigns “were really good, but some of them have been using money and buying people’s vote.”

Although he intends to vote, he expressed frustration with the way that voters we reacting towards free handouts.

“Most of the people just take it. If they’re given money, they don’t see the disadvantages of it… but the campaign will affect the votes, obviously. Some will even feel guilty when they vote.”

Ahamed pointed out that party manifestos have become another means of buying votes.

“One of my friends is voting just because one candidate promised to give a salary to all the national chess players,” he explained.

Of surveyed youth who said they will vote, most self-identified as MDP supporters who anticipated a sweeping win on Saturday.

Rhombus employee Ibrahim, age 23, expects MDP “will win 100 percent”. In a nearby shop Ahmed Ibrahim, age 19, declared “this is the young generation voting for Anni [Nasheed].”

Ahmed works on a safari boat that was recently chartered for President Waheed’s campaign tour in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll. He said he is tired of “chaos and fighting” and that if Nasheed is elected “everything will go back to normal and the Maldives will [progress].”

While many youth surveyed cited general hopes for calm and progress, a few highlighted the importance of a manifesto.

“I wouldn’t vote if there wasn’t a manifesto,” said Ahamed, noting that MDP’s manifesto was a “very different, good and cost-effective manifesto.”

Shauna Rashid, age 18, said that as a student she sides with MDP for its position on education.

Peaceful polls, but “we had a coup”

Security preparations for the election have been a concern since the February 2012, when forces clashed with protesting citizens over the change in government.

With the security forces on red alert all week, Male residents surveyed expect a peaceful election but were hesitant offer predictions beyond close of polls.

Several people, ages 20-50, said they expect the roads to be crowded with excited voters and are wary of possible trouble.

Naushad and Ahmed Ibrahim expect Male’ to be calm on Saturday. “But after the election something will happen,” Naushad surmised.

“There are a lot of concerns because we had a coup, so there is a possibility that there will be a fight,” Shafa said.

Others dismissed concerns of violence. “It will be normal,” said shop-owner Ahmed.

A Commonwealth-appointed security expert will oversee security activities this weekend.

Some observed that rainy forecasts may temper election enthusiasm- forecasts show a 40-60 percent chance of rain through Sunday.

Race to the finish line

Candidates are squeezing Male’ for votes prior to Friday’s 6:00pm campaigning deadline. Party camps were partially closed on Thursday while candidates and volunteers conducted door-to-door campaigns, representatives said. All parties will be holding rallies between Thursday evening and Friday afternoon; MDP, JP and GIP will hold marches on Friday afternoon.

MDP and GIP alleged that they are targeting all demographics, although JP hopes for a strong turnout from the elderly in response to the party’s welfare proposal. PPM and JP representatives were unavailable for comment.

Party representatives interviewed all said they are hoping to reach the winning minimum 51 percent vote on Saturday; one ambitious MDP activist said they anticipated more than 80 percent.

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Police summon white magic practitioner to investigate possible cursed coconut

Police summoned a white magic practitioner to evaluate a young coconut believed to have been cursed by a black magic spell, after it was found near the Guraidhoo Island presidential election polling station in Kaafu Atoll.

Police told local media they took the coconut into their possession around 7:05am yesterday (September 3) after receiving a report that the suspicious ‘kihah’ (immature coconut) was located near the Guraidhoo Island School – the island’s polling station for the September 7 presidential election.

The coconut was discovered near the school where the polling station is to be set up, Island Council Vice President Abdul Latheef Ahmed confirmed to local media.

“The police brought a ‘ruqyah’ practitioner (white magician) to examine the coconut, who said it was a fake,” a police source told Minivan News today. “Because it’s a fake the police are not worried,” the source added.

No arrests have been made in the case, according to CNM.

“The four-inch coconut had a Sura [Qur’anic verse] written in Arabic and was lying on the ground near the school, easy for the public to see,” said a source from Guraidhoo with knowledge of the incident.

“When school students saw the coconut they called the principal, who then contacted the police,” he continued.

“It was not really ‘fanditha’ (black magic) on the coconut. If it was fanditha, there would have been Arabic letters and numbers written, not a Sura,” he explained.

“It seems like it was a joke, just a prank, so that people will become aware, learn the moral, and not do it again,” he noted, suggesting the coconut was a lesson for islanders not to practice black magic in an attempt to influence voting, and that the polling area would be closely monitored to prevent such activities from occurring.

“Now the police and school officials are more aware and police are patrolling the school at night, so magicians can’t practice real black magic at the school,” said the Guraidhoo source.

Currently nine police are stationed on Guraidhoo for the upcoming election. Normally only five officers are present.

Election fanditha

Using black magic to either prevent people from voting or influence them to vote for a particular party or candidate is common practice on Guraidhoo.

“Here for most of the elections people use  black magic to win [elections],” said a source from Guraidhoo on condition of anonymity.

He recalled an incident where a black magic practitioner predicted a man would die because of the election.

“Then on the election day the 45 year-old man died and people said it was because of black magic,” said the source.

In July, parents at Guraidhoo Island School refused to allow a polling station in the school for the upcoming presidential elections, due to concerns over black magic practiced by a local witch.

The parents alleged there was a witch on the island who, during previous elections, had cast spells to influence the outcome in favour of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) which had affected children after targeting the school premises.

“Girls in the school were getting headaches and having been fainting school for years,” the island source explained.

The Elections Commission ultimately decided to place the ballot box inside Guraidhoo School despite parents’ concerns, reported CNM.

Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek reassured the parents that the commission would take full responsibility if any black magic incidents occurred.

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Loyalty, support, money: The motivation behind Male’s political decoration

In the months leading to the September 7 presidential election, the streets of Maldives have erupted into a mosaic of party banners, with posters, flags, banners, and graffiti decorating every street corner.

While it may seem to an onlooker that the amount of material each party has placed around the country represents the amount of public support they enjoy, some volunteers putting up the decorations suggest another side to the story.

Party supporters are largely responsible for the colourful displays, but some parties are accused of spending thousands on hiring groups to help them keep up with the campaign craze, oftentimes spending large funds on the process.

“Doing it for democracy”

“We’re doing this for democracy. We don’t want any money or incentives for this. All we want is an elected government that cares about the people”, one group of young graffiti artists painting Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) themed artwork in their neighbourhood told Minivan News.

“The thing is, if we don’t get involved and try to guarantee a better life for ourselves, why would anyone else bother? I’m all for MDP, especially after the rest of the political lot brought about the coup d’etat. That is the ultimate shove of their boot against the people, a blatant admission from the ‘baaghees’ that they have no respect or concern for the common man,” said Ahmed Affan, a 26 year old man, an accountant who volunteers in his free time with a team hoisting MDP flags across the streets of Male’.

Another 23 year old volunteer who frequents MDP campaign offices during his free time to help out with banner and t-shirt printing explained his own motivations: “With the best manifesto and policies, I want MDP to win of course, I volunteer to help as I believe our artwork and ideas would get the message across in additional ways to the public and help gather more support.”

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) teams also told Minivan News that they were voluntarily engaging in campaign decorating.

“It’s ‘Zaeem’ [Supreme leader – referring to former President and Leader of PPM Maumoon Abdul Gayoom] who has done the most for our poor country. We will do whatever he wants of us. We are determined to have our candidate [Abdulla Yameen – half brother of Gayoom] have a clear win in the election, and we are spreading this message to as many people as possible,” said a 37 year old man hoisting PPM flags and putting up posters down a street in Galolhu.

One team of PPM volunteers refused to speak with Minivan News, stating, “Our leadership refuses to speak to you, and that means we have nothing to say to you either.”

“Heartfelt support” vs “just for the money”

Aishath Zubaira, a 63 year old supporter of President Dr Mohamed Waheed, who has posters of her preferred candidate on the walls of her residence, says she supports him “with heart and soul”.

While Minivan News spoke with two different groups streaming the streets with strings of small ‘Forward with the Nation’ coalition flags, they had contradicting reasons for doing so.

“Waheed’s a capable man, and the majority of his supporters are mature and, well, kind of elderly to be honest. There are few young people like us who are aware of just how much Waheed can do for this country, so we need to come out and help make him more popular,” said a 43 year old volunteer, holding a dozen or so rolled up posters sporting photos of Waheed with his running mate, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

Another man who appeared to be in his late twenties, who introduced himself as “Issey”, put up posters and distributed copies of the coalition’s manifesto. “It doesn’t matter which candidate’s campaigning I am doing, it’s not even like these ugly flags and photos will make a difference for any party,” he said.

“I sometimes even go with the Jumhooree Party guys. Point is, this is an excellent time to make some money on the side and I’m going to make the best use of it. But then, I know who I’m voting for and no one’s got any business asking me who it is.”

“They spend like crazy, we earn like crazy”

A 31 year-old man working at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) told Minivan News – on condition of anonymity – that he works in one of Jumhooree Party (JP) coalition’s campaign teams of six to ten persons each.

“When we finish putting up the strings of flags across a street, we need to ring a number that the party has given us. Then a party official will turn up with a file which has information on when and where the teams are active. They will put a tick confirming the job is done and pay us in cash on the spot. We get about MVR 3000 (US$195) a night on average,” he explained.

“Some teams wait a while after the official has left and then cut off the recently hung flags, thereby allowing some other team to earn from the same street a few days later. It’s probably not right, but well, the politicians spend like crazy when elections near, and so us lucky folks earn like crazy.”

Another young volunteer laughed when asked for his reason for being so actively involved in campaign activity, “Every JP graffiti artwork that goes up is a job done for about MVR 10,000 (US$650). We’re economizing the situation when there is a demand for skills like ours. Nothing wrong with that, eh?”

According to local media reports, Police have arrested at least eight people for cutting off lines of flags of various political parties in late August, though police media officials were not responding to calls at the time of press for confirmation.

Visit our facebook page for more pictures as Male’ dresses for the election

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Six hundred flats awarded to police and military

Government authorities have awarded 600 apartments to Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) personnel this week, including to Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz and senior police officers.

The housing development projects – providing 300 apartments for MPS, and 300 for MNDF officers – are being jointly managed by the government-owned Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in conjunction with the Police Cooperative Society (POLCO) and the MNDF co-operative SIFCO.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has described the awards as a continuation of the patronage policies that prevailed under the 30 year autocracy of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Under the MPS’s MVR580 million (US$37.6 million) ‘Blue’s Housing Project’ 210 three-bedroom and 90 two-bedroom apartments will be built.

The housing scheme was described as being important for the maintenance of the police force’s welfare by Commissioner Riyaz during the project’s foundation laying ceremony in March. Acting Home Minister Ahmed Shafeeu presented recipients with the official documents yesterday (September 2).

Apartments were awarded to officers with at least 20 years of service and based on a points system used in other housing schemes, Chief Superintendent of Police Abdulla Nawaz told local media.

The awarding of flats marks the beginning of the POLCO project, which is seeking private investment for a further 150 apartments, said Commissioner Riyaz during Monday’s ceremony.

Last month, 50 apartments on Hulhumale’ were handed over to police officers by President Dr Mohamed Waheed, who expressed hope that more housing would be made available exclusively for police and military officers.

Since the controversial transfer of presidential power involving elements of the police force, 1000 officers have been promoted and 110 new officers were hired. More recruits have been sought for a “special constabulary” reserve force, a loan scheme has been established for officers, and arrangements have been made for officers and their families to receive cheap accommodations and medical treatment in Sri Lanka.

The Maldives Police Service had not responded to Minivan News’ enquiries at time of press.

MNDF flats

Meanwhile, the government has re-started construction of 300 housing units on Hulhumale’, specifically for MNDF officers.

President Waheed, Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim, and senior MNDF officials laid the foundation stone for the apartment complex during a ceremony held on Hulhumale’ yesterday.

The apartments will be given to female officers who had not been previously awarded housing units, as well as to retired officers, the MNDF told local media.

Once constructed, the housing units would provide MNDF personnel and their families “adequate accommodation” as many are currently “living under a degree of hardship, having to rent their living spaces,” Waheed said during yesterday’s ceremony. Nazim added that the project would provide facilities such as playgrounds, a swimming pool, and a gym for residents.

President Waheed also awarded 50 apartments to MNDF personnel and their families last month, although seven of these flats had yet to be assigned.

Waheed noted during yesterday’s ceremony that the provision of shelter for military personnel was not an act of kindness, but rather a government obligation.

“The development and welfare of personnel should be improved in accordance with financial capability of the government, and the flats awarded today provides evidence of that fact,” Defence Minister Nazim stated at the time.

In April 2012, MNDF officers were given two years of allowances in a lump sum, which amounted to MVR 150 million (US$10 million) for the institution.

The Maldives National Defence Force was also not responding to enquiries at time of press.

“Patronage” continues: MDP

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) believes the award of 600 housing units to MNDF and MPS officers is a continuation of the patronage system established during former President Maumoon Gayoom’s 30-year autocratic rule.

“In the light of extensive exposes, such ‘patronage’ is familiar to voters from the single party dictatorship of Gayoom and I believe they will simply say to each other ‘I told you so’,” MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told Minivan News today (September 3).

The MDP previously raised concerns about whether the already constructed flats – which it contends forms part of the “Veshi Fahi” Male’ (decongestion) project launched under the previous government in 2011 – were being given to the “needy” and most deserving.

Ghafoor said it was “very concerning” that police should be given flats exclusively, to the detriment of teachers, doctors and other civilians. He also questioned how officers themselves had been selected for the process.

While some of the officers may have deserved the housing, there was concern that some officers involved in last year’s mutiny had been rewarded with flats, claimed Ghafoor.

Last month, President Waheed requested parliament approval to obtain a US$29.4 million loan from the Bank of Ceylon to finance the government’s budget and manage cash flow.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury was seeking to secure the loan as a way to “enforce” the 2013 budget approved by parliament, stated a letter from the President’s Office read during a parliament session held on August 13.

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Maldives scores 10 in record-breaking victory

The Maldives national football team yesterday began its South Asian Football Federation Championship (SAFF) by putting 10 goals past two Sri Lankan goalkeepers in record breaking style.

The high scoring game represents the biggest win in the tournament’s twenty-year history, with six goals by the Maldives’ ‘man of steel’ Ali Ashfaq making him the competition’s highest goalscorer.

“I feel happy about the result. I was excited that lots of goals were scored,” coach Istvan Urbanyi told the press after the game.

Commenting on Ashfaq’s six goals, Urbanyi hailed an “extra ordinary performance” but maintained that the win was a team effort.

It was Assadhulla Abdulla who opened the scoring for the Maldives after just five minutes from an Ahmed Rasheed cross. Sri Lanka kept their opponents at bay before Ashfaq began to take over, proving too quick for keeper Mohamed Imran who upended the Maldives’ captain when through on goal in the 19th minute.

Imran’s subsequent red card prompted the flood gates to creak, with Ashfaq converting the spot kick before adding another prior to the break. They had finally broken 15 minutes into the second half by which time Ashfaq had added another three to his tally, with his apparent hypnotism of Imran’s replacement in the 51st minute the pick of the bunch.

Sri Lanka appeared in disarray by the time Hassan Adhuham made it six on 76 minutes. The Maldives went on to put another three past the Lankan Lions, with Ashfaq claiming his sixth in the 87th minute and making the his team the first to score 10 goals in a SAFF championship game.

After the match, Sri Lankan coach Claudio Roberto declined to discuss individual players, but accepted blame for his side’s humiliation.

“Everything went wrong I will take the full responsibility of the match,” he told the media.

Post-match congratulations soon appeared across social media, with perhaps the most notable praise coming from former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who praised Ashfaq as “the best player in our region”.

Politicians from all parties took to Twitter to congratulate their side’s historic result. Both presidential and vice-presidential contenders for Saturday’s election took time away from campaigning to send their regards to Urbanyi’s team.

Maldives chief opponent in Group B, Afghanistan, had started their own campaign with a 3-0 win against Bhutan earlier in the afternoon.

The Maldives will take on Bhutan – the lowest ranked team in the tournament – tomorrow, before taking on Afghanistan on Friday.

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Comment: A Jumhoree Maldives?

This article was first published on DhivehiSitee.com. Republished with permission.

I went with a friend to the Jumhoree Maalan on Majeedhee Magu last night to get a copy of the Jumhoree Party manifesto.

The Maalan is a vast space of two floors, on a piece of land well over 2000 square feet. Part of it, towards the back, is cordoned off with a big red banner saying ‘Voting Booth’. Two men sat at a table to the side – they looked the closest thing to receptionists we could find. We asked them for a manifesto.

For some reason, the request surprised them. They called over a harried looking man, ‘Ahammadhey’. He agreed to give us a copy and walked over to a room at the back with a big bunch of keys. JP manifesto is kept under lock and key, like a tightly guarded trade secret. He brought us each a little leaflet, a six page summary of the People’s Manifesto: Development Certain.

The frontpage is an illustration of JP’s vision for Maldives. There’s a small island to the far right, connected to an ‘Islamic city’ rising from the sea. The entire shoreline is dominated by a mosque which itself dominates a university standing adjacent, to the left. There’s one or two trees, a crane busily constructing more buildings in a concrete jungle.

A father and son are at the forefront of the picture, walking into the mosque together. They are the nucleus, the centre of the universe as imagined by JP. A woman is somewhere in the distant background, attending to a little household chore, as women do. The only other person is a figure of non-distinctive gender, standing on a bridge. S/he looks about to jump off it. A Maldivian flag is the tallest of all things, rising above everything except the minaret. Not one but two suns shine down on this JP idyll.

There’s quite a few things—eighty three to be exact— that JP promises will happen to make this vision a reality. It begins with the promise to build an Islamic university, followed by the promise to include Nationalism as a separate subject in the national curriculum. Four regional institutes for ‘Arab Islamic learning’ will be established across the country. Next to religion is crime and punishment. Better forensics, more surveillance, better trained police with its own ‘world class’ Police Academy and an all powerful Anti-Drug Agency that will ‘completely stop’ Male’s thriving drug trade.

We asked Ahammadhey if he could talk us through some of the pledges. ‘I am a masakkathu meeha [handyman],’ he said. ‘I don’t know what’s in it.’Ahammmadhay went to fetch us a man more familiar with what JP wants to do for us people. The resident expert turned out to be Umar Bey [Mohamed Hameed], who used to teach in Majeediyya School and is a familiar figure to thousands, like us, of Male’ voters.

‘Can you tell us a little bit more about the pledges here?’

‘It’s pretty straightforward, is it not?’

‘Can we have a copy of the full manifesto?’

‘I don’t have it. To be honest, I haven’t seen it yet.’

‘It does exist? You have one?’

‘Yes, there’s a big manifesto, it’s printed and everything.’

‘So where is it?’

‘I don’t have access to it.’

‘Who does?’

Umar Bey summoned another person who confirmed there is a manifesto the party can give us, but ‘not right now.’ He asked us to come back another time.

We continued our conversation with Umar Bey.

‘There’s a manifesto published on Scribd by Hassan Saeed, promoted on his FB page. What’s that about?’

‘Haha. That’s not a JP manifesto. That’s Hassan Saeed’s.’

‘Oh? Hassan Saeed has a different manifesto?’

‘He must do. I haven’t seen it.’

We had. A few days ago it appeared on running mate Hassan Saeed’s Face Book page.

The summary we got last night is a summary of Hassan Saeed’s manifesto on Scribd: build an Islamic state where religion, together with nationalism — taught as a subject in the national curriculum — will inform all socio-political and juridical decisions and conduct of society and individuals. It also speaks of ‘maintaining’ this traditional Islamic state, as if this is not an imagined place yet to be created but the way we have always lived.

I wonder how many people intending to vote for Gasim Ibrahim know the Maldives they are voting for.

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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World champions and Maldivian locals shred ‘sultans’ during Four Seasons surfing competition

Famed big wave surfer Taylor Knox dominated the Four Seasons Surfing Champions competition, winning the twin-fin, thruster and Grand Champions Final events, while six-time Maldives national champion Hussain ‘Iboo’ Areef clinched the Domestic Champions competition for the second year.

This is the third consecutive year the Four Seasons Resort at Kuda Huraa and luxury surfing pioneers Tropicsurf have hosted the contest for the ex-world champions. It is the second year Maldivian talent has competed in this prestigious event.

Six ex-world champions – Tom Carroll, Layne Beachley, Damien Hardman, Tom Curren, Taylor Knox, and Pedro Henrique – “represented the toughest field ever assembled” at the Four Seasons competition, according to the event organisers.

They competed in single-fin, twin-fin, thruster (three-fins) events that kicked off last Tuesday (August 27) at Thamburudhoo Island – home to two of the Maldives’ “premier” surf breaks ‘sultans’ and ‘honkeys’.

The two surfers who accrued the most points following the three divisional rounds qualifyied for the Grand Champions Final. Divisional and Grand Champion winners split a prize pool of US$25,000.

The evolution of the surfboard was showcased by the competition’s format, with the old school 1970s single-fin in round one, and round two celebrating the twin-fin boards that dominated during the early 1980s, while round three featured the state-of-the-art contemporary three-fin thrusters.

Knox, who retired as one of the most respected surfers on the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) world tour last year – aged 41 – said he achieved today what he had failed to do at the elite level.

“I could never do it on the world tour, I had to come to the Maldives and learn off these guys, and as Kelly Slater said ‘I’m one of the best surfers but not a good competitor’, but that’s changing now,” said Knox.

Single-fin division

Former three-time ASP world champion, American Tom Curren defeated former world junior champion Brazilian Pedro Henrique to win the single fin division of the Surfing Champions Trophy the first day of competition.

The surfing legends had to contend with high winds and sporadic rain throughout the day at ‘sultans’ which forced the organisers to stop and start the event several times throughout the day.

“Today was difficult because the wind comes around and creates rips [on the waves],” Curren told Minivan News.

“I’ve surfed in the Maldives three times before. When conditions are good, these are some of the best waves in the world,” said Curren. “The water is beautiful, the water temperature is warm, the reefs are well shaped and swells come from far [out to sea] when its less windy.”

“It’s rarely heavy, but a lot of fun,” Curren continued. “It brings a lot of people here. The Maldives is quite a destination for intermediary surfing.”

Despite the difficult conditions Pedro Henrique was able to make the most of the four foot waves, beating defending event champion Australian Damien Hardman in the semi-final and taking second in the final.

“This was the first time I’ve surfed a single fin,” Pedro Henrique told Minivan News. “It required heavy use of the surfboard’s rail and different body balance.”

Twin-fin division

The surfing pros faced another day of difficult weather conditions and “testing but fun” three foot waves during the twin-fin division held Saturday (August 31) at ‘sultans’.

Lone female competitor Australian Layne Beachley – the only woman to win seven ASP world champion titles, and arguably the greatest female surfer in history – was literally blown off her first wave due to strong offshore winds, causing her to ultimately suffer an opening round loss.

“They were really challenging conditions out there,” said Beachley. “Never underestimate the competitive spirit of these guys, they don’t want to lose, especially to a girl. It doesn’t matter how many world titles you have,” she added.

Competition was fierce with successful twin-fin performances requiring speed and maneuverability.

Ultimately, it was big wave surfing legend Taylor Knox defeated Tom Curren to claim the divisional win.

“That was an emotional contest for me because I was surfing with all my hero’s,” said Knox. “It was just really cool today, everyone I came up against was just surfing so well.”

Thruster division and Grand Champions final

After a week of surfing in stormy conditions, light offshore winds, sunny skies and steady four to five foot surf made for a fierce final day of competition yesterday (September 1).

Beachley narrowly missed out on the semi-finals after being defeated by former two-time world champion, Australian Damien Hardman on the buzzer during the thruster division round one heat.

Ultimately Knox’s “extremely committed power surfing” in which he scored the tournament’s first-ever perfect 10-point ride and tallied the event’s highest heat score enabled him to to defeat Hardman in the thruster division final.

Hardman noted that Knox’s performance raised the bar of the entire contest.

Following the thruster division, the Grand Champions Final pitted Knox against Curren and culminated in a showdown during the final 30 seconds of the competition, when Knox scored a late 9.17 to claim victory.

Domestic Champions competition

The Domestic Champions contest kicked off last Monday (August 26) with 14 local surfers facing off on conventional thruster boards, vying for glory and the MVR35,000  (US $2275.7) prize money pool.

The competitors’ excited energy escalated during the short 45 minute trip to Thamburudhoo – the last untouched island in Kaafu Atoll with public surf break access – known for its left and right hand breaks.

While en route to ‘sultans’, local surfers from Himmafushi and Thulusdhoo islands in Kaafu Atoll appeared on ferries they had arranged to transport them from their home islands to compete.

Although conditions at ‘sultans’ were not ideal – choppy seas, rain, wind, and three to four foot “fat lady” waves – the weather and surf improved by early afternoon.

After six fierce but friendly 20 minute heats, four surfers advanced from the semi-final round to compete in the final, last year’s Domestic Champions winner and six time Maldives’ national champion Hussain ‘Iboo’ Areef, Ahmed ‘AJ’ Aznil, Ahmed ‘Ammadey’ Agil, and
Ahmed ‘Madey’ Rasheed.

“This is a great opportunity for the Maldives’ best surfers to showcase their talent alongside world legends at our ‘home break’ of Thamburudhoo – the heritage and heart of Maldivian surfing,” said Maldives Surfing Association (MSA) President Ahmed Fauzan ‘Karo’ Abbas.

Following the competition heats, Tropicsurf Founder and CEO Ross Phillips conducted a coaching session for the Maldivian surfers. They were enraptured as Phillips leveraged his 24 years of professional coaching experience to delineate the five fundamental principles of surfing: 1) weight distribution, 2) center of gravity, 3) how the surf board is used (e.g. rail transitions), 4) body rotation, and 5) extension (for speed).

“I’m very happy and willing to offer coaching [tips] and give the Maldivian surfers my time,” Phillips told Minivan News.

During the coaching session, Phillips explained that professional surfers “make it look easy, like they’re not trying” and develop their own personal style, which is “all about body movement and flow”.

“The average surfer has a lot of body movement and minimal board movement. But for the board to maximum ‘radical’ movement, body movement should be minimal,” he continued.

Phillips also explained some of the science behind surf board shaping as well as providing contest strategy tips before everyone – including Phillips – took to the water for the last surf of the day.

“We didn’t know the five principles, we tried it [after the coaching session] and it helped a lot,” exclaimed Maldivian competitor Azly ‘Dude’ Nazeem.

“It was a good experience to participate, we’ve never had a coach before. No one taught me [to surf], I’ve never had a coach in my life,” added semi-finalist, 21 year-old Hussain ‘Kuda SP’ Rasheed.

The Maldivian surfers who attended the coaching session were elated on the trip back to Male’, having experienced noticeable improvements after applying what they learned during the brief coaching session with Phillips.

Domestic Champions final

Maldivian finalists Hussain ‘Iboo’ Areef and Ahmed ‘AJ’ Aznil from Male’, as well as Ahmed ‘Ammadey’ Agil from Thulusdhoo Island in Kaafu Atoll faced off in the late afternoon after spending the day chatting with the pros aboard the Four Seasons’ luxury catamaran.

Ahmed ‘Madey’ Rasheed was unable to return from his home island in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll to compete.

Areef dominated the competition for the second year running, scoring a 10 during the trials and taking an early lead during the final. He ultimately won the competition, with Agil placing second.

“It feels great to win. I applied the contest strategies [Phillips discussed during his coaching session] and surfed smart,” 36 year-old Areef told Minivan News.

“I made sure to have an early start and caught a wave right after the buzzer. That was really good because it gave me lots of confidence and set the bar for the judges,” Areef explained. “After that I waited for good waves with scoring potential.”

His message for the young generation of Maldivian surfers is to “surf a lot, get advice from experienced people, watch surf movies, and always push the limits.”

“This competition was really good from a local point of view, it was an awesome opportunity,” third runner-up Aznil told Minivan News.

“It was great to have a chance to hang out and talk to the champions,” he continued.

Aznil, also a finalist in last year’s event, noted that the bigger, cleaner waves made for a great last day of competition.

Although this was the second year the Four Seasons hosted a Domestic Champions competition for Maldivian surfers, this was the first time the Maldives Surfing Association (MSA) – the country’s surfing governing body – was involved.

While there were some hiccups, ultimately representatives from the Four Seasons and Tropicsurf sat down with some of MSA’s leaders – who were also competition finalists – after the event to discuss how they can better involve MSA and the local surfing community in next year’s competition.

“This year was the first time communication was established between MSA and the contest organisers,” Areef explained. “We had a long meeting with these guys and they are going to better involve our members in the event next year.”

“We were not asking for much – we don’t care about money – just fair involvement for the development of our local surf community. To be given an opportunity for local judges to improve their skills, to be involved in event organising, and to gain experience from the whole event,” he continued.

“Next year will be a bigger event with better local involvement, including shadow judging, beach marshalls, and we’re hoping locals will be given wildcards to compete in the main event,” he noted.

“It was great to sit down to talk and work it out,” added Aznil.

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Maldives to kick off SAFF championship

The Maldives national football team will kick off its South Asian Football Federation Championship (SAFF) campaign against Sri Lanka tonight.

Despite the resignation of the Team Manager Ibrahim Amir after a dispute over player discipline during the team’s pre-tournament trip to Thailand, officials are confident that all adversities can become overcome.

“I believe it’s a loss to the team if we lose anyone close to the team,” said Assistant Secretary General of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), Mohamed Nasir.

“However, the team is very determined to win despite the situation,” he added.

Amir left the team after disagreements with the FAM over the inclusion of two players in the squad. Nasir recommended the suspension of Ismail Easa and Hassan Adham after the pair returned late to the team hotel, but was overruled by the FAM who argued it was too late to replace the two important players.

Team captain and all-time leading goalscorer Ali Ashfaq told media today that he felt preparations for this tournament had been better than ever before.

“We came here to win the tournament and be with us as the 12th player. Insha Allah we will win the tournament this time, so be with us.” said Ashfaq.

SAFF record

The Maldives are the second most successful team in the tournament’s twenty year history, behind six time winners India. The Maldives’ sole victory came in 2008, after they defeated India team who are otherwise unbeaten in the competition since 2005.

The Maldives take on neighbours Sri Lanka – kick off 5:45 Maldivian time – in the second of Group B’s games. Afghanistan and Bhutan will play this afternoon.

The two sides last met in the semi-finals of the 2009 SAFF championship, with the Maldives claiming an emphatic 5-1 victory in Male’.

Group A’s games began on Saturday, with tournament hosts Nepal beating Bangladesh 2-0. This was followed by champions India beating neighbours Pakistan 1-0.

Coach Istvan Urbanyi – retained by the FAM for his third SAFF tournament – told media last week that the final group game against Afghanistan (September 6) would be crucial.

“No need to talk about options. The first two games we must win, and last game is probably a fight to which position who will qualify, but its better to focus on each game,” Urbanyi told the press.

Afghanistan are the highest FIFA-ranked team in the tournament, followed by India and then the Maldives.

“We have a good team, but nobody can say that they have the strongest team. Small details will make a difference. We are ready to fight. Our target is to take back the trophy to make fans happy,” said the Hungarian coach.

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Australian surfers followed, photographed, questioned for hours by Maldives police

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has confirmed that it held three Australian surfers in Male’ for five hours of questioning yesterday (August 31), before releasing them without charge.

The surf tourists, who arrived in the Maldives on August 30, were wearing ‘Save Thamburudhoo’ t-shirts, in support of a locally-led awareness campaign against the privatisation of a local surf break .

“The three Australian men were not in police custody, they were being questioned in regard to an ongoing investigation,” Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef told Minivan News today (September 1).

“They were released without charge right after being questioned,” he added.

Haneef was unable to state why the Australian surfers who had been in the Maldives for around 24 hours would be involved in a prior investigation, or why they were being followed and photographed, explaining that the investigation was ongoing.

Asked why questioning the Australians took five hours, Haneef said he would need to clarify the details of the investigative process with the MPS Criminal Investigation Department.

Multiple sources in the surfing community with knowledge of the incident told Minivan News the Australians were questioned because government authorities thought they were involved in a political protest against the current government, due to their ‘Save Thamburudhoo’ t-shirts.

Maldivian law prohibits foreign nationals from participating in political protests.

“The Australians have been followed and photographed [by police] since they got to Male’,” a source speaking on condition of anonymity told Minivan News.

“The police kept the Australians in custody for seven hours and checked their camera memory cards,” said another person familiar with the matter. “But they were not involved in any political protests.”

The ‘Save Thamburudhoo’ campaign aims to raise awareness and end surf break exclusivity in the Maldives, particularly the practice of resort islands shooing visiting local and foreign surfers off ‘their’ breaks. The campaign has been led by local surfers in partnership with the Maldives Surfing Association (MSA) and the Liveaboard Association of the Maldives (LAM), and has been widely covered in international surf media.

Thamburudhoo has become the campaign’s focal point, as it is the only uninhabited, untouched island near Male’ with a publicly accessible surf break . However, the island is currently owned by a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) co-operative company that is seeking bids to develop a resort on the island, which would limit access to the Thamburudhoo’s left and right-hand breaks, known locally as ‘sultans’ and ‘honkeys’.

The proposal was first submitted in 2011 under the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government, but appeared to have stalled until it was revived under the new government in early 2012.

Under the July 2011 proposal, submitted by senior Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) figures and Telos Investment, Telos would receive a 50 year lease on the military training island to develop a “boutique surf resort”, in exchange for US$5 million to develop an MNDF training facility on nearby Girifishi.

According to the proposal, the 3.6 hectare island “does not have the normal beauty found in Maldivian resorts”, as it does not have natural lagoon or sandy beaches. Furthermore, the strong currents limit recreational swimming, and therefore “the only development for Thanburudhoo which is sensible is that of a boutique surf resort.”

The surf resort would “open its doors to Maldivian surfers for a special surfing session twice per month,” the 2011 proposal notes.

“Unlike other resorts which do not allow local Maldivians to surf, Thanburudhoo would make available two surfing sessions per month, most likely Friday mornings or Saturday afternoons. The Maldivian surfers coming to Thanburudhoo for the special local surfing session must be in good standing with the Maldivian Surf Association and must abide by all the rules and regulations of Thanburudhoo surfing activities,” the proposal stated.

A ‘Save Thamburudhoo Expression Rally’ organised by MSA and LAM was planned to be held yesterday (August 31) but has since been delayed.

The rally would have involved over 24 vessels cruising between Male’s surf point ‘raalhugandu’ and Thamburudhoo’s surf breaks, as well as a petition to end surf break exclusivity.

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