Minivan News – Archive

Dear Editor,
As Maldives is a Muslim nation, the news editors should be careful in publishing religious issues.
I believe a letter which supports homosexuality should not be published in a Muslim country, as Islam does not support it.
Publishing the letter was an insult for the Muslims.
I would not say the decision of Islamic Foundation was wrong. In a way it was right. They have expressed their views, anger for insulting Muslims.
Publishing the letter was like slaughtering a cow in front of a Hindu.
The editor should believe, if a controversial letter like this was published in a country like Iran, Pakistan or India, the religious organisations would have gone for direct action.
Few say that the editor should not take the responsibility as it is not the view of Minivan News, because the letter was sent by an independent author. But, the regulation on registration of dailies and magazines clearly states the responsibility shall be taken by the editor.
I read Minivan News daily. And it is one of the best news online in the Maldives. But I call the editorial of Minivan News once again to be careful on publishing issues related to Islam.
We want democracy, but a democracy which does not contradict Islam.
Regards,
Anonymous

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Dear Editor,
I think it’s a good decision that the government took to sell alcohol to the hotels and inhabited islands. What’s wrong with that?
Come on guys stopped talking crap.
Regards,
Anonymous

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Dear Editor,
The will to freedom and safety of the Maldivian people has been crushed and oppressed for far too long by corrupt judges. The ruthless vanity of the judiciary will soon come to a horrific end at the hands of the enraged masses if justice and saftey is denied for much longer!
Judges, you have failed to protect the people from the cruelty of blood thirsty gangsters. You have failed to protect the masses from being economically raped. Your own hands are therefore stained with the blood of the innocent due to your filthy greed and lack of compassion for the people’s safety.
You have mocked the cause of the needy and the fearful, and have offended the Creator of Heaven and Earth who is one with the oppressed! The vendetta will be terryfying when the oppressed arise in majestic triumph over the tyrants! The vendetta of the oppressed is the wrath of the Divine!
Every day the atmosphere is intensifying with frustration, hunger for justice, hunger for freedom and desparation for safety. The combustion of this oppressed primeval universal will to freedom is going to be unleashed like a volcanic eruption, and the fierce rage that shall be unleashed will pound the tyrants with a velocity so immense that they will be shattered into an eternity of helpless agony.
Don’t say you have not been warned – judges, this is not me making a threat, this is how nature works.
Regards,
Anonymous

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A case was filed at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday alleging misappropriation of funds from the Islamic ministry by three high-profile members of the Adhaalath Party, including Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, state minister of Islamic affairs.

In his letter to the ACC, Mohamed Raaidh from G. New Moon in Male’, alleged that Shaheem, Sheikh Ilyas Hussein and Sheikh Ibrahim Rushdie each received Rf15,300 from an Islamic ministry account.

The letter alleges the money came from account number 410 of the Islamic ministry’s account at the Maldives Monetary Authority, which is used to deposit both domestic and international aid to promote Islam.

ACC Vice President Muaviz Rasheed confirmed to Minivan News that a letter had been sent today but said he was unable to provide details at this early stage of the investigation.

Ahmadullah Jameel, assistant director general at the ministry, denied the allegations in the letter.

“No member of the Adhaalath Party has been given money from the Islamic ministry,” said Ahmadullah. “This is propaganda spread by certain people to ruin people’s reputations.”

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Hussein Rasheed Hassan said the funds were from the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) for four people, the three party members and a Qur’an teacher to participate in an international meeting.

The WICS is a non-profit body, composed of more than 250 Islamic organisations from around the world, funded by the Libyan government.

The Libyan government sent the funds with the names of the recipients to the Maldivian government, said Rasheed.

“I think it was about US$250 each,” he said.

Rasheed said the money was received by the foreign ministry and forwarded to the finance ministry. He added the Islamic ministry’s finance section asked the finance ministry to deposit the money in their account.

“It’s actually got nothing to do with the Islamic ministry,” he said.

Rasheed claimed the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) were behind the allegations.

The Adhaalath Party are a member of the coalition government and are in charge of running the affairs of the Islamic ministry.

“DRP is a name for the corruption party. If you look into any money that’s been stolen, you’ll find them at the bottom,” he alleged. “So they’re trying to spread these lies and ruin people’s reputations.”

But DRP Secretary General Abdulla Mausoom told Minivan News today that the allegations were unfounded.

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The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has suspended Civil Court Judge Mohamed Hilmy pending an investigation by police into alleged sexual misconduct.

Hilmy was arrested in Hulhumale’ last week while he was allegedly undressed at the beach with a woman.

A press release from the JSC states that Hilmy has been asked to stay home until further notice by the commission or until the police investigation was completed.

“Further, the commission has asked the Police Integrity Commission to investigate a complaint from Mohamed Hilmy that police mistreated him, exhibited profane behaviour and gave defamatory information to media,” it reads.

Shahinda Ismail, president of the Police Integrity Commission, told Minivan News today a complaint was filed by the Judges Association (JA) yesterday and the JSC requested the commission to look into the matter today.

“In their letter, JSC said the JA are saying that he has complained to them, that he was walking in Hulhumale’ with his fiancé and police came and handcuffed both of them and basically undressed them by force,” she said. 

In a statement earlier this week, police denied media reports that the judge was abused in custody.

On Saturday, local daily Haveeru reported that Hilmy was arrested in Hulhumale’ and beaten by police.

“In connection with the case written about in that news story, two people were arrested at about 11pm midnight on 12 November 2009,” reads police statement.
“The two had to be taken into custody on suspicion of sexual behaviour in a public place as they were at the garbage dump in the south of Hulhumale’ with their pants down.”

Police further denied the allegation that the judge was abused by police and photographed after his pants were forcibly pulled down.

Hilmy told Haveeru that he lived in Hulhumale’ and was walking with his fiancé when they were set upon by police.

The judge alleged that police handcuffed him, used obscene language and beat him before photographing him.

Hilmy further alleged that a senior police threatened him at a meeting at civil court and told him they would show him how powerful the police force was.

High-profile cases that Hilmy has heard includes Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s request for an injunction against the presidential commission and the Herethere Resort dispute.

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The former atolls ministry has said President Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation was essential for the “salvation” of the country.

In a statement to press yesterday, Abdulla Hameed, ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s brother, denied allegations of corruption levelled against him by police at a press conference in August.

Hameed claimed police had made the allegations on the instruction of the government, which he alleged was determined to ruin his reputation.

“I call upon President Nasheed to stop these personal attacks against me and expend whatever energy he has left to try and lift out the country from the dark pit it has been plunged into during his short reign,” he said.

But speaking to Minivan News today, Police Sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said there was not need for police to falsify information as the case was based on strong evidence.

In May, Nasheed set up a presidential commission to investigate allegations in over 30 audit reports on state institutions and ministries. The opposition have rejected the commission as biased.

In the police press conference in August, police exhibited evidence implicating Hameed in corruption practices including handing out bids without public announcements, making advance payments using cheques against the state asset and finance regulations, approving bid documents for unregistered companies and discriminatory treatment of bid applicants.

However, this week the case was returned from criminal court to the prosecutor general’s office, prompting a letter from the president to the Judicial Services Commission to confirm the reason.

Speaking to Minivan News, a court official said the case was returned due to incomplete documentation. The case was finally registered on Sunday.

Hameed said he believed the president was “worried and anxious” when criminal court rejected the corruption case against him.

He added the president’s letter to the Judicial Services Commission was testament to the president’s “thirst to destroy” him.

“Is the executive influencing the judiciary the way things are done in this excellent democracy that President Nasheed’s government claims they brought to the country?”

Mohamed Zuhair, president’s office press secretary, said that Nasheed did not have a personal vendetta against anyone in the former administration.

“The purpose of the presidential commission is not to pinpoint anyone specifically,” he said, adding the audit report was a documents prepared by an independent auditor.

A separate three-page statement issued by Hameed’s family yesterday said that the government disseminated information about the case thereby conducting his trial through the media rather than the courts.

As a result, it continued, Hameed welcomed the opportunity to clear his name in court.

The statement said the audit report was released a day before the parliamentary election, adding police did not take up the investigation of their own initiative but on a direct order from the president’s office.

But, said Zuhair, the letter to police asked for an investigation into any reports of corruption and did not mention Hameed specifically.

It added that alleging Hameed committed serious crimes in a press conference further violated his right to a fair trial as stipulated under article 42 of the constitution.

It further called on police and the prosecutor general to provide information and documents stored at the former atolls ministry that would exonerate Hameed and prove his innocence.

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Dear Editor,
The Islamic Foundation has called for the deportation of Maryam Omidi alleging she is a supporter of gay rights.
There are gay couples coming to Maldives for honeymoon’s and romantic holidays. Do we then have a box to tick in the immigration form asking the sexuality of each visitor in the Maldives.
I find Ms. Omidi to be a great editor and one who will instill great journalistic knowledge in writers like Shazra and Naish. I also find Minivannews to be the most balanced news source in Maldives although they lack the quantity of a Haveeru or TVM.
True democracy is having differences of opinion and being able to accept those varying opinions. Are we saying Islam and democracy cannot co-exist in our society? Those that are too backward for democracy should be given civil education options.
Regards,
Anonymous

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The health ministry has announced that fifteen posts in the health services in the atolls will be dissolved next year, resulting in the dismissal of over 600 employees.

The ministry said on Thursday that the posts were not included in the restructured framework of the health services in the atolls.

“However, before the posts are abolished and the employees are let go, the ministry has decided to transfer those who meet the criteria and wish to transfer to vacant posts in the ministry or the ministry’s sector,” it reads.

The fifteen posts that will be abolished are assistant manager, public health programme coordinator, regional health administrator, physiotherapy assistant, dental assistant, purchasing officer, assistant foreman, laboratory assistant, midwife, cook or cook’s assistant, electrician, assistant electrician, health auxiliary, watcher and ambulance attendant.

Since the number of posts will be lower when the health service centres are ranked and restructured, the ministry said, it has decided to dismiss more employees.

Further, it continues, employees in the posts that will not exist under the new structure from 1 January who wish to resign can do so.

It adds that health service employees who resign will be eligible for allowances and benefits as specified by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in a circular on 4 May.

Mohamed Fahmy Hassan, spokesperson of the CSC, told Minivan News today the commission was in discussions with the health ministry about the proposed changes to the structure.

Last month, the government announced plans to reorder the ranks of the civil service to increase the number of technical staff.

President Mohamed Nasheed said at the time that the changes were needed to government administration to ensure efficient delivery of services.

At the time,Ahmed Assad, state minister of finance, said almost 40 per cent of employees at a typical government office were support staff.

“[These are] not the employees needed to provide the services of that office,” he said. “Therefore, to carry out the work entrusted to us by the people, we need to reorder how the employees are ordered now.”
The president took the example of a health centre in an island.

“What usually happens is there’s no doctor. There might be a nurse. But there are 20, 25 or 30 employees at the place. A lot of cleaning staff and various administrative support [staff],” he said.

“What’s actually happening is that the people who are supposed to provide the service or do the work are not there. But there are people to support the people who are not there.”

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Dear Editor,
Before we talk of alcohol license, we have to talk about why city hotels and guest houses are on inhabited islands.
The idea of guest houses and city hotels on inhabited islands was originally to spread the economic benefits of tourism into local islands and to promote the heritage and culture of Maldivian life to tourists, who rarely see the light of day on an inhabited Maldivian island. This is outlined in brief in the previous tourism masterplans.
Yes ofcourse there are numerous benefits from tourists coming onto populated islands, look at the northern strip of Chandhanee Magu, full of tourist shops and series of restaurants that benefit from catering to tourists. This is a fine working model, but unfortunately one that extorts money from tourists and destroys our culture – fake souvenirs manufactured in the East are sold as genuine Maldivian products, restaurants maintain two sets of menus – one for locals and another overpriced menu for guests, tour guides work also as salesmen for tourist shops! This is a massive extortion scheme. To this date, government has not addressed this issue (Maumoons nor Anni’s government) to the extent it should.
The same sort of markets will bear fruit once fully-fledged city hotels with liquor licenses start operating on other islands, tourists arrivals would create such unregulated markets specially if there’s no authority monitoring and keeping things in check. Guests will be unfairly exploited and worse yet, liquor being made available will most certainly be shipped behind doors into the local community.
Liquor and drugs are already readily available in Male’ and elsewhere. The same illegal distribution networks and those in charge will exploit this opportunity and make a quick buck!
I personally feel, the policy to have city hotels and guest houses should be gotten rid of entirely. A city hotel or guest house for local domestic tourism is fine, but not for tourists coming from abroad.
The tourism model that has worked so far, where tourists stay in a separate island is good as it is and we should not try to meddle with it but to develop it further keeping the core concept of one island one resort intact.
Regards,
Anonymous

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