Day: August 25, 2013

‘Costed and Budgeted 2013-2018’: MDP manifesto launched

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) held a parade and rally on Saturday (August 24) that it claims was attended by over 8,000 supporters in order to launch their complete manifesto, titled “Costed and Budgeted 2013 – 2018”.

After a parade down Majeedhee Magu – the main street through Male’ – MDP presidential candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed addressed his supporters and explained the contents of the party’s manifesto.

“These policies in our manifesto are based on what we learned when we walked door to door, conversing with citizens, enquiring what your thoughts and needs are,” Nasheed said at the rally held in the ‘Raalhugandu’ area.

“In the next 5 years, the state will make a revenue of MVR 72 billion [US$4.6 billion] through the tax system, investments and other programmes we run. Within those 5 years, we will implement 137 development projects. We have budgeted to spend a total of MVR 30 billion [US$1.9 billion] on policies directly related to the people’s development,” Nasheed explained. “The rest will be spent on salaries of civil service staff, debt repayment and administrative matters.”

“I am not contesting in the upcoming elections with a handful of empty vows. Our competitors’ pledges are made in a manner where, if coming on to an island the first person they meet asks for a fishing vessel, they promise to deliver fishing vessels for them all. And then say they meet a teacher who asks for an iPad, whereupon they’ll pledge to give iPads to all teachers. The next person in line might say he is not feeling well, whereupon the candidate may vow to deliver a nurse and doctor to each house. This is not how a political party should form its pledges,” said Nasheed, criticising the competing candidates for the upcoming September 7 election.

“Our pledges contain things that will be fulfilled upon implementation of our policies. Take a look, this manifesto will not contain even a single policy which has not been accounted for. Even if we are asked to submit a budget to the parliament by tomorrow, we are ready to do so.”

Highlighting the contents of the manifesto, Nasheed stated that it included plans for introducing 51,000 job opportunities, a MVR120 million (US$7.7 billion) savings scheme for higher education, MVR118 million (US$7.6 billion) student loan scheme, 20,000 accomodation flats, a MVR2000 (US$129) allowance for every single parent and person with special needs, and an allowance of MVR2300 (US$149) for the elderly.

Nasheed further stated that the party found it highly concerning that “the national debt is 82% of national production”, saying that the manifesto has been designed keeping the factor in mind.

“We will continue to implement the tax system we established in our first term. We will carry out development work without increasing GST and taxes from business profits. We will also introduce income tax, as we previously proposed in 2010,” he continued.

The presidential candidate also stated that it was “of utmost importance” to establish a development bank in the country.

“We especially discussed this with the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, and based on existing studies made with the assistance of the UNDP, our aim is to establish a development bank within the first year of our term,” he stated.

“With 600 million rufiya from our state budget, and 400 million rufiya from international financial bodies, the development bank will be able to release funding for the generation of 1 billion rufiya capital,” he continued.

“Our aim is for the development bank to issue to private entities 20 percent [of total funds] for the construction of houses, 8 percent to implement a transport system, 44 percent for agriculture, travel and fishing, 13 percent for the education field, 13 percent for education.”

“MDP’s basic objective has been to ensure that if there is a service that is available to any citizen of the Maldives, then to make it available to all other citizens equitably.”

According to Nasheed, the manifesto includes plans to spend MVR16 billion (US$1 billion) on social protection.

Concluding his speech, Nasheed stated that the MDP Manifesto included plans to assure that life becomes better in many aspects for the public. The former president finished by stating that all that was now left for the public was to go vote.

“September 7 is the day we vote to regain the development that we lost on February 7, 2012.”

Parade of Pledges

Prior to the rally, MDP held a parade down Majeedhee Magu with over 8,000 supporters.

In addition to Nasheed, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid, Male’ City Mayor Ali Manik, and several MDP MPs were seen in the frontlines of the parade.

The atmosphere appeared festive, with different groups performing different acts throughout the parade.

Besides pompoms, streamers, and balloons, each ward of Male’ had prepared a small truck to represent one of the pledges included in the party’s manifesto.

While one truck represented the health insurance policy – with actors depicting a scene in a hospital’s maternity ward – another represented the guest house policy – with an actor lounging on a truck designed to look like a beach.

Traffic police officers provided security throughout the parade.

Contrary to some previous demonstrations and rallies, no hostility was observed between police and participants of MDP’s rally.

Minivan News observed one policeman being asked by rally participants if he had received a letter from Nasheed, adding that if he had not then he must be ‘baaghee’. The young participants were referring to a speech delivered by Nasheed last week, in which he stated he had sent letters to all police officers, except those who had directly partaken in what the MDP alleges to be the February 7 coup d’etat.

The policeman responded by taking a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and showing Nasheed’s signature on it to the supporters who had questioned him.

“I am not a baaghee. We will win ‘eh burun’ [in one round],” he said

Read the full MDP Manifesto here (Dhivehi)

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Maldivian bodyboarders shine in Australian competition

Maldivian bodyboarders who took part in the Jeff Wilcox Memorial 2013 competition held in Australia this weekend stood out as “some of the best in the event”, with 17 year-old bodyboarder Ali ‘Shaam’ Raafiu winning first place in the competition’s Junior Division.

The Jeff Wilcox Memorial is described as one of the longest running, most respected, prestigious, and independent bodyboarding competitions in Australia – having held 16 contests since 1990 – with some of the best riders in the sport participating.

The competition was revived, after a nine year hiatus, by the Forster Tuncurry Bodyboard Association (FTBA) and is being held on August 24-25 in the Great Lakes region of New South Wales, Australia, with over 100 bodyboarders participating.

Representing the Maldives, the Maldives Bodyboarding Association (MBBA) sent their top three bodyboarders – Ali ‘Kuda Ayya’ Khushruwan, Ali ‘Shaam’ Raafiu, and Ali ‘JD’ Javid – who took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, respectively in the Burunu Shikaaru Bodyboarding Challenge held in Male’ this May. Team official and MBBA Vice President Mohamed Khushruwan Ahmed also attended the event.

The MBBA team “made their presence felt” early on, despite the challenging surf conditions on Saturday (August 24) that eventually opened up by the afternoon with four to five foot waves, the FTBA reported.

“The MBBA riders took a little time adjusting to the cooler climate, but when they did they found their groove and were amongst some of the best in the event,” Jeff Wilcox Memorial Event Director Aaron Dodds told Minivan News today (August 25).

After placing first in his heat during the opening round of the competition, Ali ‘Shaam’ Raafiu went on to win the Junior Men’s Division today.

“Shaam built his assault early, the music and great vibe keeping him in the mood. He continued with his clean consistent comp surfing, drawing tight lines for big aerials and quick whipping spins,” Dodds said of Ali ‘Shaam’ Raafiu’s winning performance.

“Shaam drives clean lines and [demonstrates] brilliant combo surfing by linking multiple maneuvers. His lightweight frame always helps,” Dodds added.

In addition to this being Shaam’s first international competition, this was also his first bodyboarding contest win.

“The competitors were tough and the wave conditions were small on the first day of the event, but the final day was pretty challenging with better, good sized waves,” Shaam told Minivan News today.

Shaam explained the keys to winning the competition were “staying sharp and wide eyed during the competition. Also, having the Maldives’ team here supporting me gave me a lot of confidence.”

“This is the first [competitive] invitation MBBA has received after forming the association [earlier this year]. Winning the Juniors title seems good for the youngsters in the Maldives,” he added.

While Shaam does not yet have a professional bodyboarding sponsor he is “looking forward to it”.

Meanwhile, during the first round of the Men’s Open Division, Khushruwan fought off tough opposition.

“Ali Khushruwan beat top seed IBA Australia Jones Russell in his first heat, securing Khushruwan as a potential favourite,” explained Event Director Aaron Dodds.

However, on the competition’s final day, four to five foot waves with “clean wedging bowls” allowed Russell to “shine and just notch out” Khushruwan from the Men’s Open Division quarter finals, Dodds continued.

While Khushruwan did not advance beyond the first round heat of the Drop Knee Division, he still established himself as a formidable competitor.

“Looking for an opportunity to show his skills, Khushruwan made the most of the challenging conditions and busted out some solid maneuvers,” the FTBA highlighted in their competition coverage ‘Visitors Dominate Day 1 at the Jeff Wilcox Memorial‘.

Although the Maldivian bodyboarders are no strangers to difficult wave conditions, the cold water posed an entirely new challenge.

“It’s totally different, we don’t wear wetsuits. We wear only board shorts and surf, so it’s really difficult for us,” Khushruwan told Australian media outlet NBN News.

Javid also competed in the Men’s Open Division, but was eliminated after the first round of competition, as only the top two bodyboarders from each heat advance to the next round.

In addition to the competition, the Jeff Wilcox Memorial 2013 also provided coaching sessions to the junior bodyboarders, as well as free surf awareness and CPR courses for competitors as “a lot of surfers are responsible for thousands of unsung rescues”.

Three coaching and development sessions that focused on nurturing younger riders’ skills were led by professional bodyboarding coach Haydon ‘Da Boogie Man’ Bunting.

“One of the major things that is missing from bodyboarding is mentoring at club level, these kids have great style and posture, it is a matter of building their confidence and the young riders understanding that it is more than catching waves,” said Bunting.

“Just observing others surfers, watching their techniques and having good understanding of the ocean is very important,” he added.

Photographs 1 & 2 provided by Shane Chalker Photography

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Transparency Maldives voices concerns over Supreme Court integrity

Transparency Maldives has raised questions over the integrity of the Supreme Court after a recent scuffle within the seven-member judges bench over the appointment of parliament’s choice to replace former Chair of Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Fahmy Hassan.

“Transparency Maldives calls upon the Supreme Court to maintain its actions in such a fashion that the court does not allow further diminishing of its integrity and to be transparent in its functioning and sharing of information to strengthen the public trust towards the institution,” read the statement.

The Supreme Court’s seven-member bench was split following the issuance of an injunction ordering the appointment of Dr Mohamed Latheef at the CSC. Chief Justice of Supreme Court Ahmed Faiz Hussain released a statement to media accusing his own court of issuing the injunction without the knowledge of himself and two other Supreme Court Justices (Ibrahim Areef and Muthasim Adnan).

The local NGO has released a statement claiming that the Supreme Court’s failure to make key documents public, such as the recent injunction, showed how much the apex court of the country disregarded the need for transparency in important matters.

Transparency in the functioning of an institution and respecting the right to information being a fundamental necessity in order to refrain from corruption and corrupt practices, said Transparency, pointing out that disregard for such necessities a negative impact on public confidence.

The Supreme Court, being the final authority to decide on all legal and constitutional matters of the state, was irresponsible to allow the public to question its integrity at a time when political polarization has taken its toll, said Transparency.

The NGO called on the court to release a copy of the injunction, and the statement made by the Chief Justice regarding the injunction, to public as it concerned the interests of the public.

Parliament and courts clash

The parliament and the Supreme Court came to loggerheads following Supreme Court’s decision to overrule the parliamentary deposition of then CSC Chair Fahmy.

In November last year parliament voted 38 – 32 to remove the CSC chair after the Independent Institutions Committee investigated a complaint of sexual harassment lodged by a female employee of the CSC.

Fahmy was alleged to have called the female staff member over to him, taken her hand and asked her to stand in front of him so that others in the office could not see, and caressed her stomach saying ”it won’t do for a beautiful single woman like you to get fat.”

On 14 March 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that parliament’s decision to remove Fahmy from his position was not based on reasonable grounds and invalidated the decision.

Earlier this August, the parliament disregarded a prior Supreme Court’s ruling when appointing Fathimath Reenee Abdul Sattar to replace Fahmy at the commission.

However, just minutes before the former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence was given the letter of appointment by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan to, the Supreme Court issued an injunction to halt the appointment contending that Fahmy had requested the Supreme Court to look into the matter.

According to local media reports, the court’s injunction stated that appointing a new member to the commission, when the court had already decided the dismissal had been in violation of the constitution, was itself unconstitutional.

Shortly after the Supreme Court Injunction, the chief justice then accused his own court of issuing an injunction without his knowledge.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General Azima Shukoor has reportedly advised President Waheed that he does not have any responsibility for determining members to the CSC.

Last week, Parliament appointed CSC member and former chair Dr Mohamed Latheef as the new chair of the commission. However, Fahmy has refused to step down and is still continuing to appear at the CSC meetings as the chair of the commission leading to further disputes.

Last Thursday, the new CSC Chair Dr Latheef sent a letter to the President asking him to find a solution to ongoing issues with Fahmy. Dr Latheef stated that Fahmy continued to come into work after his dismissal by the parliament, obstructing the running of the institution.

Latheef told the president that this issue affected both the civil servants themselves and the services being provided to the public. President Waheed responded last Friday stating that he would make a decision within the next three days regarding the issue.

“I have to seek the legal advice on the matter. This matter has become very complicated now,” President Waheed told local newspaper Haveeru on Friday.

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Government to offer scholarship in name of late foreign minister

The government has decided to offer a new special scholarship under the name of late Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla.

Dr Samad passed away this Sunday while undergoing treatment after kidney dialysis at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. The 67 year-old died during treatment at 1:05am Male’ time on Sunday morning, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Dr Samad was first admitted to intensive care on August 20 in a critical condition after suffering a severe heart attack. The 67 year-old had undergone heart bypass surgery 15 years ago.

In a cabinet meeting held on today (25 August), the government decided to hold a special ceremony in appreciation of Dr Samad’s services to the country.  Funeral prayers were conducted in every mosque in the country today after Asr Prayers.

Cabinet members noted that Dr Samad was a very honest courageous person and had proven his capacity as the Foreign Minister who had faced the toughest time while in office.

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Presidential candidate Gasim has no plans to boycott TVM

Presidential candidate Ibrahim Gasim has no plans to boycott national broadcaster Television Maldives (TVM), despite media reports last week suggesting his Jumhoree Party (JP) was considering such a move.

“Gasim would never do anything like that. We have no plans to boycott TVM,” said JP Policy Secretary Mohamed Ajmal.

Ajmal also confirmed that the JP’s leader would be participating in the upcoming presidential debate, due to air on TVM on September 1. Competing parties had claimed that talk of a boycott was a pre-planned attempt to “dodge” the debate.

JP deputy leader Ilham Ahmed last week told local media that the JP would be considering a boycott of the station after TVM presenter Liza Laurella asked Gasim a series of personal questions in what he interpreted as an attempt to damage his reputation.

“This was done with the intention of demeaning a person under a systematic plan. We don’t believe that this could have been done under press freedom,” Ilham explained to reporters from Haveeru. “We have seen TVM going after Gasim.”

The Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) defended its station, telling local media that Gasim’s TVM interview was conducted within its editorial policy.

The interview with Gasim was the first of a series of programs titled ‘Siyaasath’ (‘policy’) featuring all four presidential hopefuls in discussion of their respective parties’ policies.

The program concluded last night with the interview of former president and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Mohamed Nasheed.

Reflecting on all four interviews, Ajmal alleged that all candidates had not received equal treatment from the host.

“We are not happy with the way Liza handled it. Maybe [that approach] is okay in Europe, but not in the Maldives,” he said.

Ajmal noted in particular Liza’s tendency to point her finger at Gasim during the interview: “It was very disrespectful.”

The ‘siyaasath’ episode featuring current President Dr Mohamed Waheed was singled out as an example of unequal treatment, with Ajmal describing his interview as “very mild” in comparison.

“All interviews should have been equally harsh,” he added.

The JP’s criticism of the show were dismissed as “baseless” by the Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan, whose candidate Abdulla Yameen appeared on ‘siyaasath’ last Thursday.

“The PPM believe Liza did quite well… we understand there will be those types of questions in a hard talk program like this,” said Nihan.

His sole criticism of the program concerned a lack of focus, with what he felt was an excessive time spent discussing the past at the expense of debating policies for the future.

Nihan did however acknowledge that this problem had been consistent in all four interviews.

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HDC to take action over violations of Veshi Fahi lease agreement

Owners of 1000 flats provide under the Veshi Fahi Male’ (decongestion) project will face disciplinary action if found to have violated an agreement on leasing their property, the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has warned.

The HDC has expressed concern that some flat owners were believed to have violated their agreements by leasing their properties to third parties without first having fully completed outstanding payments on the flats, local media has reported.

Local media also reported that advertisements have appeared online to lease properties recently sold under the Veshi Fahi programme.

According to Sun Online, the HDC has warned that any property owner leasing a flat provided under the Veshi Fahi scheme before fully completing payments to the corporation was in violation of their lease agreement.

The corporation said it would not be responsible for any losses to a proprietor or tenant incurred as a result of disciplinary action taken against them over a breach of contract.

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Maldivian Foreign Minister dies during treatment in Singapore

Maldivian Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla has died during treatment after undergoing kidney dialysis at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

The 67 year-old died during treatment at 1:05am Male’ time on Sunday morning, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Dr Samad was first admitted to intensive care on August 20 in a critical condition after suffering a severe heart attack. The 67 year-old had undergone heart bypass surgery 15 years ago.

On Thursday the Foreign Ministry reported that Dr Samad’s condition appeared to have stabilised, although he remained in intensive care in a state of induced unconsciousness after undergoing dialysis.

“On behalf of the Government and people of the Maldives, and on his own behalf, President Waheed extends his heartfelt condolences, at this time of national tragedy, to the family of the late Dr Abdul Samad,” read a statement from the President’s Office.

“The President recognises Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla’s sincere services to the government and the people of Maldives, especially as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, in strengthening diplomatic relations with other countries,” the statement added.

Dr Samad has served in numerous roles for both the Maldives Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

He has also served as the first High Commissioner of the Republic of Maldives to the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh and was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in March 2012, by President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s new government.

Dr Samad’s funeral will take place in Singapore after Zuhr (afternoon) prayers. Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen will attend the funeral, reports local media.

Dr Samad is survived by wife Ameena Ali and three children.

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Elections looking smooth – but what about transition period, asks Eurasia Review

Despite the heat generated by various political parties in the campaign, there have been no major incidents of violence and it looks that the elections will be gone through smoothly on September 7, writes Dr S Chandrasekharan for the Eurasia Review.

The Election Commission has wisely decided to start polling earlier by 7.30am itself and conclude by 4:00pm. The idea is to minimise possible disturbances that often occur after sunset and this I believe has been done on the advice of police.

The police have generally been alert and the Police Commissioner has given detailed instructions on ‘do’s and don’ts’ on the election day. These efforts are laudable. The only jarring note that I noticed was the statement issued by the Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz that the police will continue to refuse any orders they decides are “unconstitutional”.

Who is the Police Commissioner to decide whether the order is unconstitutional or not? This statement has intrigued the political parties, particularly the MDP which has declared that its main task is to reform the police, military and the judiciary.

Riyaz is a post coup appointee and is also a person who was actively involved in the overthrow of President Nasheed. So is the Defence Minister and my concern is- Will they accept the election results in the event the present regime does not come to power? Will they create a constitutional crisis?”

Read more

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