President Mohamed Nasheed has discussed the importance of land use planing for a sustainable economy in his weekly address on the Voice of Maldives last Friday.
President Nasheed said planning land use needed to insure everyone’s interests and needs, and noted that land was one of the most important assets in the Maldives.
He said when planning how to use land, it is necessary to facilitate housing for all citizens, as well as providing equal economic opportunities for everyone and minimising negative impacts on the environment and people.
President Nasheed said the government will create a register of all sandbanks and small islands “in the near future.”
He said unused or abandoned land in the islands posed difficulties, and noted that some people were reclaiming “vast swaths of land” and exploiting them for economic benefits, but the state or public were not getting “due profits.”
President Nasheed said the Cabinet is working on a framework on land use laws, keeping in mind relevant laws, regulations and other historical documents.
Governor of Riyadh Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud arrived in the Maldives on 15 April, where he was greeted at Malé International Airport by President Mohamed Nasheed, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed and a procession of traditional guards.
Meeting at the President’s Office, President Nasheed thanked Prince Al-Saud for visiting the Maldives and said the visit would enhance relations between the Maldives and Saudi Arabia.
President Nasheed said Saudi Arabia was an important development partner for the Maldives and thanked the Saudi government for all their assistance.
Prince Al-Saud thanked President Nasheed for his hospitality.
President Mohamed Nasheed opened the exhibition titled “Painting Dreams” by Uz. Hasen Didi at the National Art Gallery on Friday evening.
President Nasheed also released the official catalogue of the exhibition and thanked Didi for his numerous contributions to Maldivian society.
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture wrote in the catalogue: “[His paintings and photographs] can be deemed as symbolic of what the 20th century meant to many Maldivians.”
“Painting Dreams” is the first exhibition to open at the National Art Gallery this season and will remain until 20 May 2010.
President Mohamed Nasheed has confirmed his participation in the upcoming B4E Business for Environment Global Summit in Seoul, Republic of South Korea, from 21-23 April, reports Miadhu.
The summit is an international summit for dialogue and business-driven action for the environment, with some of the topics on the agenda being resource efficiency, renewable energy and climate change policies and strategies.
CEOs and senior executives will join politicians, international agencies and NGOs to discuss bridging the fight against climate change and the business world.
A bill on political parties presented to the parliament by the government yesterday triggered debate over the merits of the political system in the Maldives.
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Abdulla presented the bill to the parliament on behalf of the government, with the stated aim of strengthen the democracy of the country and to provide a peaceful way to participate in political activities.
The bill contained aspects such as what a political party should and should not do and how members should be disciplined, how political parties can legally earn money and how a person can resign and join another political party.
Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Mausoom said that the country was “now in chaos because of the invention of political parties.”
”The peacefulness and unity among us has changed,’ ‘Mausoom said. ”The question in our hearts is: ‘Do we really need political parties?’.”
He proposed to amend the article 18 of the bill in the committee stage.
Independent MP Ahmed Amir said that the question on his mind was why MPs were not included in the list of people “who cannot be a member of any political party.”
Amir claimed that the majority of the population “does not support political parties in the country.”
“More than 50 per-cent of the population of above the age of 18 is not involved in any political party,” he said.
DRP MP Rozaina Adam said that now it was too late to make bills governing the conduct of political parties.
Rozaina proposed to add a article whereby the Elections Commission (EC) was obligated to provide places for political parties to hold their meetings.
”When the opposition tries to hold a meeting we don’t usually get a place,” she claimed. ”So I suggest we design the bill in a way that political parties would have to get permission from the EC to hold meetings and they provides a place.”
She said that she had noticed that the screening of private phone calls was now very popular.
”I see they regularly screen our private phone calls – I wonder if this would not be spying, a power that the government has,” she said. ”I wish that when the bill gets passed there would be a solution for these types of things.”
MDP Chairperson and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi said she recalled a time when political parties were not registered, on the assumption that the invention of a political party system would disperse society.
”But people sought in their own ways to express their opinions and raised their voice for a political party system,” she said, ”and after listening to their voices parliament made a law permitting parties.”
She said that independent MPs also work together as a political party.
”They also holds meetings among them and speak one word,” she said.
DRP MP Ahmed Mohamed said he was against party system “now and then.”
”Forming a political party in a such small country is like playing with fire,” Mohamed said.
”I say, we hold a vote to see if people like or dislike having political parties,” he said. ”Like other MPs have said, the majority of the population does not belong to any political party.”
”In a family, Mum, Dad and their kids are in different parties, so the unity among them gets ruined,” he said.
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.”
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Thimarafushi in Thaa Atoll, Mohamed Mustafa, has spoken against one of the amendments to the Tourism Act in Parliament this week, amendments proposed by his party.
Today he offered assurances that he “would still vote with MDP on the issue.”
Mustafa said he is mainly opposed to the extension of leases for resorts, which will lease islands to resort operators for a minimum of 50 years. This was proposed to make the Maldives a “more investor-friendly environment,” according to former Minister of Tourism Abdulla Mausoom, who spoke to Minivan News yesterday.
Mustafa believes reducing costs for the investor means “one man is getting rich, while the poor are getting poorer.”
“We don’t need to extend a lease to 50 years,” he said, “rather, the government can implement the Taxation Bill.”
He said he does not see how the amendment is beneficial to the people of the Maldives: “Why are we giving the benefits to rich people and not the general public?”
Although he expressed his concerns over the proposed amendments, he said he wanted to “confirm to Minivan News that I will not vote against my party. It’s one of the best parties.”
“I have my own opinion,” he said, but he still believes “the MDP are [working] for the benefit of Maldivians.”
Mustafa also spoke about his “intimidation” by certain MDP members, but said it was not a recent issue and had nothing to do with the Tourism Act.
He said his comments concerning intimidation by his party were “regarding a previous case that went to criminal court” a year and a half ago over a payment issue.
Mustafa said he was acting as a mediator for a payment that needed to be made to someone, whom he claims is “a known money launderer and strong supporter of the DRP”, and this person tried to cash in the same cheque twice.
“He had no right to take the payment the second time,” he said.
Mustafa claimed the case was then taken to court and he was not informed about it. He said “some senior MDP members were behind the case, but they are not MPs.”
He said his comments were taken out of context by the media, “which is putting their own style into things they don’t know. They are poisoning the minds of the public.”
Concerning the recent rumours that he was planning on leaving the MDP and moving to the People’s Alliance (PA), he said “I will never move to the PA, that is totally false.”
“I have nothing against my party, we are on very good terms,” Mustafa noted, adding that “MDP is a democratic party. It’s the most democratic party in the Maldives, and we are working to perform our pledges.”
“We work very well, cooperate, do our best for our party,” he said, “we are very strong, we walk as one. I will never leave my party, I would rather resign [politics],” he added.
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.”
Four expatriates were arrested yesterday for suspected missionary activity, police have confirmed.
Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the four men were arrested yesterday afternoon, but he could not give further details as the case is still under investigation.
A teacher at Maafannu Madharusa, Aishat Rameeza, told Minivan News that four men entered the school office at around 10:00am and gave a book to a teacher and a parent, while she was present.
Rameeza said that they asked if the teachers knew a place called “Higher Education.”
”We said there are many higher educations,” Rameeza said. ”We thought they were asking about the faculty in old Jamaluddeen School, so we told them how to go there.”
She said the men then asked them where the local market was.
”When they were about to leave they gave a book to a teacher and a parent who was here, called ‘A story of redemption and steps to Christianity’, and said ‘here is a nice gift for you.'”
”We immediately informed the police but they did not seem to care,” Rameeza said. “We still have the book.”
Deputy Principal of Maafannu Madharusa Ahmed Farooq confirmed that four men came to the school yesterday and gave a book “of about 470 pages” to a pre-school teacher.
He said the school immediately informed the police.
”I heard they were arrested yesterday,” Farooq said. “They looked like they were Japanese or Chinese.”
(0)Dislikes
(0)
