Month: May 2011

Commodity prices vary “significantly” between retailers, reports Economic Development Ministry

The Department of National Planning and the State Trading Organisation (STO) have conducted a price comparison exercise across Male’ in a bid to show that while some retailers are charging inflated prices for basic commodities, most prices have risen little.

Speaking yesterday evening from the President’s Office, Economic Development Minister Mahmood Razee said the statistics, which were compiled by the Department of National Planning in collaboration with his ministry, indicated that although certain prices had been found to have risen in the last few months, there was no pattern to link these costs solely to a controversial managed float of the local currency.

The opposition has maintained that demonstrations raging across Male’ this week were against the government’s decision to implement a managed float of the rufiya and are led by youth unhappy with rising commodity prices.  These claims were made despite the active involvement of dismissed opposition Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, and MPs Ilham Ahmed, Ahmed Mahlouf, Ali Waheed, and Ahmed Nihan.

However, Razee added that discussions were ongoing with the STO – a main buyer of goods to the country – to try and maintain import supplies of 27 key food items in attempts to try and keep prices stable as well as enacting a cabinet pledge to cut import duty on diesel fuel by 50 percent.

Speaking ahead of a fourth night of protests by young people, parliamentarians and political activists on the streets of Male’, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahlouf said that although he had not been made aware of the content of the statistics at the time, he believed that protestors would not believe or be satisfied by the government’s claims and reaction.

“At this time, I think it would be difficult to accept that this is a genuine or positive message. At this point I don’t think [this] one press conference will help people,” he said.

Mahlouf added that he believed comments made by President Nasheed earlier this week, where he allegedly denied knowledge of the street protests concerning increased living costs that have garnered news coverage all over the world, had been extremely offensive to people gathering on the streets .

“It would be better to have a statement from President Nasheed apologising for the stupid comments he has made,” he added. “These comments have only made protestors more angry.”

Government findings, which were compiled on April 2 by officers visiting ten different stores across Male’, were said to highlight prices found to vary, sometimes significantly, between the retailers.

Speaking at press conference last night alongside Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz and representatives from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Razee said that when talking about changes in prices, it was important to try and determine how extensive they were.

“Yes, there are changes in prices, however, we should also see that in terms of essential commodities, what are the different brands that are there [in stores] and the price variations between them?” he said.

Following price comparisons conducted on May 2 at 10 different stores in Male’, Razee took the example of the prices of five powdered milk products, where prices between the stores were said to vary between Rf150 and Rf345. In addition he also pointed to the price differences in diapers, which he claimed varied between Rf118 and Rf150 for the same product.

The figures presently supplied by the government to Minivan News did not appear to verify these price fluctuations.

Razee added that he was unable to speculate on how long some of these potential differences in prices may have been present in stores across the capital or when and for what purpose they may have been implemented.

“What we are saying it, if you look at the price fluctuations that were there in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and if you look at the price fluctuations of the last few years, you will see there is no clear cut format or reason to believe this is directly related to the float of the currency,” he said. “Yes, it would have a bearing, but what needs to [be understood] is that there may changes to the prices. However, these are varied.”

Razee claimed that the government was not using this explanation as an excuse to avoid acting on public price concerns and said that measures were being taken to try and offer stable prices for certain “essential products”.

“We are in consultation with the STO and we have identified together 27 elementary items, out of which six are currently imported directly. [STO] is going to import the other items [on this list] as well to try and maintain price stability and ensure the availability is there,” he said. “In addition to this, the cabinet today advised the president to remove 50 percent of the duty on diesel. So this will give some relief to power generation, electricity bills and transportation costs.”

Finance Minister Inaz added that the government had decided to release some of its statistics to try and highlight current prices being paid by goods in relation to the last few years.

“It is very easy in a small economy to play with and manipulate the confidence of the economy,” he said. “Confidence is the most important factor to build an economy and it can be easily twisted. We agree the prices have gone up, but we want to maintain these price levels at a competitive level compared to other international rises.”

Cost statistics

The government, in figures compiled by Department of National Planning, outlined a number of changes in the average prices paid for goods between March 2010 and March 2011.

These price changes include:

• One kilogram of loose rice – up 1.07 percent from last year

• One kilogram of ordinary flour – down 1.89 percent from last year

• One kilogram of frozen chicken – up by 8.73 percent from last year

• One medium sized coconut – up 69.71 percent over last year

• One hundred grams of garlic – up 22.34 percent last year

• One kilogram of potatoes – up 8.74 percent last year

• One kilogram of imported onions – down 12.64 percent from last year

• One kilogram of yellow coloured dhal – up 17.63 percent from last year

• One 500 millilitre bottle of Kinley mineral water – down 30.30 percent from last year

• One 185 gram can of Felivaru brand fish chunks in oil – up 22.24 percent from last year

• One unit of state-supplied electricity – unchanged from last year

• Thirteen kilogram of cooking gas – up 12.12 percent from last year

• One litre of petrol – up 32.65 percent over last year

• One packet of Fitti brand small baby diapers – up 4.35 percent from last year

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Umar Naseer among 30 arrested in fourth night of ‘cost of living’ protests

A fourth night of protests in the capital city of Male’ ended shortly after midnight with the arrest of 30 demonstrators, including former deputy leader of the opposition, Umar Naseer.

Protesters gathered at the artificial beach area made to march towards the intersection of Male’s main street Majeedee Magu and the tourist strip Chaandhanee Magu, the focal point of the protests so far, but were blocked by police.

Thirty people were taken into custody with most later released, including two men delivering a pizza and the former Deputy Leader of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Umar Naseer.

“Umar Naseer was trying to make the situation worse and was not obeying police orders,” Shiyam said, adding that the former deputy leader was released later in the evening.

Naseer was dismissed from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) last year by the party’s disciplinary committee, for organising protests without the authorisation of the party’s Council.

His dismissal from the party led to an acrimonious factional split, after the Elections Commission upheld the DRP’s decision to strike Naseer from the party’s membership register.

Last Thursday the ‘Z-DRP’ faction – named after the former president and ‘honorary leader’ Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, announced it was “commencing work”. The party has maintained that the four nights of violent protests since then are ‘youth-led’ demonstrations against the rising cost of living.

After being blocked by police, protesters – fewer than previous protests this week – split into groups and began gathering in areas across the city demanding Naseer be released.

Police did not use much force until a group of protesters came near the Chaandhanee Magu intersection and attempted to gather in the area.

Minivan News observed police aggressively dispersing protesters in the intersection with violent force. Well-known comedian Yousuf Rafeeu ‘Yousay’ was among the protesters and was reportedly injured and admitted to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), after a group of unknown assailants attacked him while he was attempting to run away from police.

Unlike previous protests this week, Minivan News did not observe a large gathering of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters attempting to clash with anti-government demonstrators.

Police continued to arrest small groups of protesters until 2:30am, using cable ties to restrain them and removing them from the scene.

Police also confiscated a pickup truck carrying speaker equipment they said was being used disruptively. It was later returned to its owner.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said shop owners around the intersection had begun complaining to police that the protests were adversely affecting their businesses. have been gathering – the intersection of Male’s main road Majeedeee Magu and the tourist strip on Majeedee Magu.

“The area has among the most expensive rents in Male’ and shop owners are complaining to us that they have been unable to profit every night of the riots, which are taking place during their peak trading hours,” Shiyam said. “They are taking huge financial loses.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police had Mohamed Rishwan yesterday announced that protests would be restricted to the open artificial beach and the tsunami monument areas in Male’, unless prior permission was given by police or Male’ City Council.

The week of protests has attracted international coverage. Spokesperon for former President Gayoom, Mohamed ‘Mundhu’ Shareef told Associated Press that the protesters had done nothing unlawful in trying to demonstrate in the intersection, as the constitution permitted protests at any place without notice.

The opposition has announced a large-scale demonstration on Friday, with reports that supporters from islands are being brought to Male’ for the protest.

The government has said it “welcomes peaceful protests and respects the right to freedom of assembly”, and acknowledged concerns about the economy, yesterday halving import tariffs on diesel.

However President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, accused former President Gayoom “of taking advantage of economic situation to cause violence in the streets. These protests are more to do with Gayoom trying to shore up his position in the opposition, than the state of the economy.”

“It is unclear what Mr Gayoom hopes to achieve through violent protest. His faction says it wants ‘the price of things’ to fall. Perhaps Mr Gayoom could explain how throwing bricks, smashing windows and torching motorcycles helps reduce the cost of living,” Zuhair said.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong yesterday became the first state to issue a travel advisory for the Maldives, raising the country to ‘amber’.

China’s Xinhua news agency reported a government spokesperson as saying that “Those who plan to visit the Maldives or are already there should monitor the situation and exercise caution.”

The threat indicator now ranks the Maldives alongside Israel, Iran, Indonesia, Russia and Pakistan.

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Conflicting reports on death of elderly man following violent protests

The President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said the government had not been officially informed of the death of an elderly man who reportedly died after being injured by police attempts to disperse the crowd during yesterday morning’s protests.

Police spokesperson Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam meanwhile said the police had not received any such complaints about a death of an elderly man in the riot. Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) also told Minivan News that it had not received any information about a fatality during the protests.

However, local radio station SunFM reported State Home Minister Mohamed Naeem as saying that an elderly man who was in the riot was injured that admitted to hospital, and died later that evening.

”An elderly man was injured that night and we received news that he passed away that same evening,” SunFM quoted Naeem as saying. ”Some say he died because of his injuries while others say he died of a heart attack, but this has to be confirmed.”

”We have not so far received any official reports regarding incident,” said Zuhair, insisting that police had been “very professional” and had the government’s full confidence.

”We have every confidence in the police to protect the state,” Zuhair said. ”The government welcomes peaceful gatherings but will not tolerate any sort of violence. In no country do the police tolerate this amount of violence.”

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Comment: Democratic openings and Islamic nahda

Who is not worried about the recent spike in violence of all forms? Who is not anguished by the madness of senseless killings? And inflation? What explains these issues?

And what explains Adhalaath’s reaction or action? Maybe ‘functionalisation’ of Shari’ah in an effort to enlist more members before the upcoming Adhalaath party elections?

Maaddi was a word that was prominently censured in Sheikh Ilyas’s darus on April 22. Now according to maadi social science, attempts toward ‘shariatisation’ of the state happen under such general socio-political conditions as we now see in the Maldives, and as we witnessed under not very dissimilar conditions but in a different context of post-Suharto Indonesia.

That is, however, another story for another comment.

So is lack of Islam to be blamed for social ills?

History of Islam in the Maldives: a mixed story

Maldivian history is littered with examples of ‘bad’ religious beliefs and practices: from Maloney’s ‘parallel religious system’ of fandita, sihuru-haahooru, astrology, and so on to visiting the dead, maulood, and beliefs in demons of all sorts; from unveiled women to women who would not cover their chests; from a woman ruler (which was noted with ‘strangeness’ by Ibn Battuta) to ex-wives sharing homes with ex-husbands and to people fainting when Ibn Battuta passed hudud punishments, we see a very mixed story in our history. The popular Islam in the Maldives especially prior to late 1970s was a far cry from the ‘puritan’ Islam we now see.

Hence, I argue, it is simply bad maaddi social science to blame the recent social ills on alleged lack of proper Islamic education.

Gayoom’s ‘renewed commitment’ to Islam

Writing in the late 1970s, Clarence Maloney, a maaddi anthropologist who did maaddi ethnography in the Maldives, has this to say: President Gayoom’s government ‘engineered a renewed Islamic commitment’. In fact, since the 1980s we have seen a hitherto unseen effort to Islamise the society.

From Mau’had to Arabiyya to the introduction of Islamic studies at all levels in the education system; from annual Ramadan Ihya darus started by Gayoom at Mulee-aage to darus throughout the year by Gayoom’s government in the islands; from the ‘lot of attention given to Islam, as part of nationalism’ (as the then Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Mohamed Hussein was quoted in Gayoom’s biography) to re-marking of the mythical Maldives’ conversion-to-Islam day in 2000, the Maldivian society we see today is far more conscious of ‘true’ Islam than it had ever been in the past.

Democratic openings and Islamic nahda

If what President Gayoom did was not enough, come 2004’s democratic openings, we saw an unprecedented Islamic nahda in the country. The young public sphere or al-mujtama’ al-madani saw itself largely controlled by Salafi organisations.

From Jamiyyathul Salaf (the first-ever salafist NGO in the country) to quasi-political Adhalaath party to the Islamic Foundation, this rise in the salafi phenomenon has not been matched by all other jamiyyas combined. In terms of organisational capacity, outreach, activeness, and financial capabilities salafis surpass all others.

From rallies addressed by world-class televangelists and da’ees like Zakir Naik, Abdurraheem Green, and Bilal Philips to darus CDs to Facebook groups, blogs, websites like Noorul-slam.com, Dheen.info, Dhiislam.com, MvislamQA.com, and Dharuslive.com to almost daily darus at rallies, in taxis, on television and radio like Radio Atoll; from children’s specialized darus to religious camps like Hijra; from Rihla to I’lmi khazana; from English-language madhaha and nursery rhymes to other innovative outreach programmes such as road-side darus on mega-screens, the country has seen an unprecedented effort to re-Islamise the society.

This is truly an Islamic nahda.

Correlation between Islamic nahda and social ills

Now there is a clear positive correlation between Gayoom’s Islamisation and recent re-Islamisation phenomena and the apparent rise in social ills in the country.

But, no, I will not blame these Islamisation phenomena for the social ills.

Blaming Islamisation phenomena for social ills seems to me as bad an explanation as Sheik Ilyas’s explanation that Islamic studies get a meager three hours weekly in the curriculum, or that Islam teachers are not qualified, or people are not Islamic enough, or there is a harb al-afkar against Muslim Maldivians by adaavaaiythereen (enemies).

If there is one single thing prominently wrong with our education system, it is the utter lack of maaddi social sciences and humanities subjects such as sociology, political sciences, anthropology, philosophy, theology, linguistics, and literature.

Finally, I am not a maaddi sociologist, so I do not know where the explanation for our social ills lies. Disappointingly, we do not have sheiks doing such research in the country, and hence the government’s increasing ‘militarisation’ of the issues.

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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US Assistant Secretary of State urges opposition and government to cooperate on solving economic challenges

The US Assistant Secretary of State covering South Asia, Robert Blake, visited the Maldives yesterday during a tour of the region, and urged the government and the opposition to cooperate in finding a solution to the country’s economic challenges.

“As in many young democracies, the transition to a functioning system of checks and balances between different branches of government is very challenging,” Blake said.

Blake said that he had discussed with President Mohamed Nasheed the steps the Maldives was taking to try and stabilise the economy and reduce the budget deficit, and urged the opposition to involve itself in finding a solution.

“It is very important for them to come together and for [the opposition] to come up with an alternative – if they have an alternative – and negotiate an agreed plan. It is most important to continue momentum, reduce the deficit and put the economy on a firmer financial footing, while at the same time continuing the process of strengthening democracy.

“I encourage the government and opposition to work to together to try and tackle the prblems the Maldives is facing. Even in an older and more established democracy such as our own, politicians can find it difficult to work together across party lines in a spirit of fairness and bipartisanship, for the sake of governing well. But when they do, everybody benefits.”

Blake said he was encouraged during his meeting with the President that Nasheed had “reaffirmed his commitment to freedom of assembly”, and noted that despite the country’s political “growing pains”, “the Maldives’ international influence far exceeds its size, particularly in multilateral organisations such as the UN and its human rights council.”

He thanked Nasheed for the Maldives’ votes concerning Syria, Libya and Iran, and noted that he had “become one of he world’s leading climate change advocates, with a flair for drawing attention to the critical impact climate change is having on island nations.”

US-Maldives cooperation extended to visits by figures from the US legislature, student exchange programs, visiting American Muslim speakers, and military collaboration on security and training, he noted. Blake suggested further cooperation with the new Maldives National University, with faculty visiting from US universities.

Blake also spoke briefly on the successful US assassination of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, explaining the State Department’s decision to issue a worldwide caution for American citizens.

“I think difficult to predict [the reaction],” he said. “It is reasonable to assume that Al-Qaeda will try to retaliate for the loss of its leader, and we wanted to make sure people were aware of this development, especially in areas where there is already anti-American sentiment.”

Blake left for Sri Lanka last night, visiting USAID-supported programs and meeting with local leaders in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.

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Parliament approves new auditor general

Parliament last night approved President Mohamed Nasheed’s appointment of Niyaz Ibrahim, of Thinadhoo in Gaaf Dhaal Atoll, as Auditor General.

Niyaz has voted in unanimously by all 68 members present during the meeting last night.

The Maldives has had no auditor general since the dismissal of Ibrahim Naeem over a year ago, following allegations that he had used government money to buy a tie and visit Thulhaidhu in Baa Atoll.

Naeem claimed the charges were an attempt to discredit his office and prevent him from reclaiming the government’s money stored in overseas bank accounts.

“A lot of the government’s money was taken through corrupt [means] and saved in the banks of England, Switzerland, Singapore and Malaysia,” Naeem had claimed in March, and requesting an audit of the assets of past and serving government ministers.

He was dismissed several days later in a motion put forward by the parliamentary finance committee, chaired by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, who the previous week had pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the former ministry of atolls development while be was Managing Director of Namira Engineering and Trading Pvt Ltd.

Tension over the motion led to violent clashes inside parliament, which spread to supporters of both major parties outside the chamber. Police were forced to use tear gas on several occasions to subdue crowds of violent demonstrators.

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Hong Kong issues travel advisory for the Maldives

Hong Kong has issued a travel advisory for the Maldives, raising the country to ‘amber’, following several nights of violent protests in the capital Male’.

China’s Xinhua news agency reported a government spokesperson as saying that “Those who plan to visit the Maldives or are already there should monitor the situation and exercise caution.”

The threat indicator now ranks the Maldives alongside Israel, Iran, Indonesia, Russia and Pakistan.

Chinese visitors to the Maldives now constitute the greatest number of tourism arrivals, and are a major emerging market. A sharp increase in recent years offset a decline in European arrivals caused by the global recession in 2008.

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Sharia-compliant resort announced for Maldives

Islamic hospitality firm Lootah Hotel Management (LHM) has announced plans to open a Sharia-compliant resort in the Maldives by 2013.

LHM, a division of the Dubai-based SS Lootah group of companies, signed and agreement with Maldives’ Kalaidhu Investment to construct the resort, a US$85 million project it says will include 50 luxury villas with private swimming pool and a private beach, restaurant, recreation centre, spa, marina and yachts among other amenities “to ensure the welfare and privacy of the families.”

In a statement CEO of Lootah Hotel Management, Nasser Lootah, said “the decision comes as part of the Group’s strategy to expand its footprint and customer base towards prestigious tourism destinations around the world.”

Lootah added that” Islamic hospitality is gaining popularity with those who prefer quality services provided in a calm atmosphere commensurate with family values.”

Abdulla Saeed, Managing Director, Kalaidhu Investment said, “We are pleased to be partnering with the pioneer of Islamic hospitality in the UAE. This offers a unique opportunity for us to work towards the development of universally recognised ‘Halal standards’ for Shari’ah-compliant hotels and resorts, to comply with and create similar guidelines for the benefit of the hospitality and tourism industry.”

LHM currently manages the Al Jawhara Group of Hotels & Apartments.

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Reeko Moosa to contest MDP Chairmanship after Mariya’s resignation

Parliamentary Group Leader of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik, has said he will contest the chairmanship of the party following the resignation announcement yesterday of Mariya Ahmed Didi.

“I can provide my full contribution to the party by holding a senior position in the party. I believe that I can work to strengthen the party,” Haveeru reported Reeko Moosa as saying.

During the party’s recent elections, Feydhoo MP Alhan Fahmy was voted Vice-President of the party, ahead of Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam, while former Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi was elected President over Special Envoy Ibrahim Zaki.

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