Category: News in Brief

Select committee decides composition of ‘241’ security services committees

The composition of parliament’s ‘241’ security services committee has been determined today by a five-member select committee chosen at Monday’s sitting.

Article 241 of the constitution states, “A committee of the People’s Majlis shall be established to exercise continuing oversight of the operations of the security services. The committee shall include representation from all the different political parties within the People’s Majlis.”

Parliamentary rules dictate proportional representation in standing committees for political parties based on the number of MPs in each party.

The select committee decided to allocate four seats for the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), three seats for the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), two seats for the Jumhooree Party (JP), and one seat each for the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) and the Adhaalath Party (AP).

Along with Independent MP Muaz Mohamed Rasheed, the committee will consist of 12 MPs.

The select committee decided the number of seats to allocate for each party in the other 12 standing committees during meetings yesterday.

The PPM with 38 MPs will have five seats each from 11 committees and four seats from one committee while the MDP with 25 MPs will have four seats from nine committees and one seat from three committees.

The JP with 15 MPs will have two seats each from 11 committees and one seat from one committee.

The MDA with its five MPs will have one seat from eight committees while Adhaalath Party MP Anara Naeem and Independent MP Muaz will each sit in two committees.

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Maumoon Hameed and Criminal Court Judge Muhuthaz Muhsin nominated for prosecutor general

President Abdulla Yameen has nominated his nephew Maumoon Hameed and Criminal Court Judge Muhuthaz Muhsin for the vacant post of prosecutor general (PG).

The 17th People’s Majlis had rejected Hameed for the position in March. However, he is expected to win the post as Yameen’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) holds a majority in the new Majlis.

The 18th People’s Majlis was sworn in on May 28.

Acting PG Hussein Shameem’s resignation in early May brought the criminal justice system to a halt after state prosecutors went on strike, citing concerns of a lack of accountability in the absence of a PG.

However, the Supreme Court ordered prosecutors to resume work “without any further excuse” and ordered the seniormost official at the PG office to assume the relevant responsibilities.

Yameen refused to submit a new nominee to the 17th Majlis during the crisis and opened up a third call for applicants.

In addition to Hameed and Muhsin, former Tourism Minister Mariyam Zulfa, state prosecutor Fazna Ahmed, and Drug Court Judge Mahaz Ali applied for the position.

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BML aims to provide basic banking services to all islands by 2017

The Bank of Maldives Pvt Ltd has announced it will provide basic banking services to all inhabited islands in the Maldives by 2017.

Speaking at the national bank’s annual general meeting on May 29, CEO Andrew Healy said these services would include cash deposits, cash withdrawals, transfers and payments.

By December 10, 50 islands that do not have banking services will receive cash withdrawal services. BML intends to install card machines in retail and other outlets on islands.

“Today’s announcement reflects our steadfast commitment to expand banking services to all parts of the country and in particular to reach out to the remote islands. This financial inclusion programme will take time to roll out but 50 islands will benefit this year and we will be in a position to announce more details on these over the next few months,” Healy said.

The bank’s three-year strategy, unveiled at the AGM, said it will focus on financial inclusion, customer service and support for businesses.

BML will introduce a new business banking unit where each business customer is to be assigned a dedicated relationship manager and dedicated counters are to be allocated for business customers.

The bank also plans to launch Islamic banking services by the end of this year.

If the targetted progress is made, BML will be in a position to consider international expansion in 2017, a press release by the bank said.

On May 27, the bank announced customers will no longer have to pay for cash withdrawals from its ATMs. Customers can withdraw MVR 10,000 using the Visa Classic and American Express Green debit cards, and MVR15,000 using the American Express Gold debit cards without the previous MVR2 transaction charge.

BML customers also no longer have to pay for transferring money between different branches or accounts across the country. Previously, a charge of between MVR25 and MVR3,000 was applicable, depending on the size of the transfer.

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MJA cancels executive council vote amidst chaos

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has cancelled a vote to elect members to its governing executive council amid chaotic scenes.

Members disrupted the meeting over the secretariat’s decision to hold an open vote. Journalists called for a secret ballot claiming junior reporters would be compelled to vote for their employers in an open vote.

However, the secretariat decided to go ahead by counting hands in favor, but cancelled the vote when some members refused to back down.

This is the second attempt by the MJA – founded in 2009 – in the past year to elect its governing body.

Journalists also took issue with the absence of their names from the membership list.

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PPM and MDP elect parliamentary group leaders

The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have elected leaders of their parliamentary groups.

Ruling PPM elected MP for Villimalé constituency Ahmed Nihan in an election held on Monday. MP for Vilifushi Riyaz Rasheed was elected as a deputy. Nihan is now the majority leader as PPM holds a majority in the parliament with 38 MPs.

MP for Hinnavaru constituency Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Solih was elected uncontested to head the opposition MDP’s parliamentary group in an election on Sunday. He is now the Majlis’ minority leader.

MP for Meedhoo constituency Rozaina Adam was elected deputy PG leader of the 25 member MDP group.

The 14 MP Jumhooree Party (JP) also elected their MP Gasim Ibrahim as parliamentary group last week.

The 18th People’s Majlis convened on May 28.

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Maldives to buy 15 sniffer dogs

Home Minister Umar Naseer has said the Maldives will buy 15 sniffer dogs from the Netherlands to detect drugs brought into the country.

Speaking to news agency Haveeru last week, Naseer said the dogs will cost US$ 80,000. The Ministry of Finance has confirmed it would pay for the dogs, he said.

The Maldives Police Services will train with the dog squad in Kandym,  Sri Lanka.

“After the dog squad is brought in, no vessel can enter the country without attaining a drug clearance. This means that the dogs will go on board the vessel and check every nook and cranny,” he said.

Under President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, sniffer dogs had been leased from the Sri Lankan government.

“This time we are purchasing the dogs. So now no one can claim them back, they will become the state’s property,” he said.

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JSC lawyer to be elected under new regulations

The Attorney General’s Office has compiled new regulations to elect a member to represent lawyers for the ten-member judicial oversight body.

The regulations publicised on Sunday set new qualifications for a lawyer to stand for the Judicial Services Commission (JSC). A lawyer must be above 25 years of age, and must not hold political party membership or a criminal record.

Further, if a lawyer has completed a five year term previously, they will not be eligible to stand again.

The election will be held at the AG office. The office will give ten days notice to all lawyers before elections take place. Polls will be open from 8:30am – 4: 30pm on election day. If the date falls during the month of Ramadan, polls will be open from 9:30am – 3:30pm.

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Maldives to ensure there is no pig DNA in imported Cadbury chocolate

The Maldives Food and Drugs Authority (MFDA) has said that Maldivian authorities are working with the Malaysian Health Ministry to confirm allegations of pig DNA being discovered in two types of Cadbury chocolate sold in Malaysia.

In addition to this, the MFDA is working with the Health Protection Agency to see if these types of Cadbury chocolate have been imported to the Maldives and to confirm whether these chocolates have pig DNA, local media has reported.

“So far there have been rumors about finding pig-related substances from two types of Cadbury chocolate. This has not been confirmed yet. The Islamic Ministry is working with Malaysian authorities to look into it. Further decisions will be made once it is confirmed,” Haveeru quoted an MFDA official as saying.

Citing Malaysia’s Islamic affairs agency, Reuters has reported today that authorities did not find any pig DNA from the chocolate bars in question, contrary to a previous findings.

Other Islamic countries currently testing Cadbury chocolates are Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Both Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond, produced in Malaysia, were labelled as halal although accusations of them containing pig DNA have been raised.

The two products were earlier recalled from the Malaysia market after traces of pig DNA were found during a routine halal check.

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