Jumhooree Party (JP) leader and presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim launched a new pledge on Tuesday – three days ahead of the re-scheduled election – titled ‘Personal Pledges’, vowing to provide each citizen with a “more dignified life”.
Speaking at a press conference held to reveal the new pledge Gasim’s coalition partner, former interim Deputy President of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer – stated that the new pledge would “benefit and be a long-term advantage to every individual Maldivian citizen without any discrepancies between one another”.
Naseer stated that the JP candidate is currently sending letters to members of the electorate detailing the new pledge. Along with the letter, a form with a list of applicable pledges that citizens can request is to be sent to each citizen, which needs to be filled out and returned to the JP campaign offices.
“If you beloved citizens, God willing, elect me as President in this year’s presidential election, I pledge to fulfill one or more of the pledges listed in this letter preferred by each citizen so as to ensure a dignified and respectable life for every citizen,” the letter reads.
It then goes on to state that, if elected, Gasim would assign “an annual amount of MVR1.5 billion from the state budget to fulfill these personal pledges in accordance to a law or regulation which will be passed to support the matter”.
The categories in the attached list are: aid/loans, advance to newly begin building houses, purchasing of flats, costs to complete houses, materials needed for a household, funds to start-up a business, funds to expand a business, course fees/tuition fees/school fees, funds to receive treatment abroad for permanent illnesses, repayment of loans, repayment of debts, and payment of house rent.
It ends with an additional column titled ‘other’, which, according to Naseer, can be used to request for anything not already listed in the form.
However, the party does not detail – either in the letter or the press conference – any application for the deadline.
JP Spokesperson Moosa Ramiz said that this was done deliberately so as to let the electorate know that if Gasim is elected, their requests will be processed even if submitted at any time in his five year term.
“The thing is, we will only be able to fulfill the pledges if we win the elections and come to power. And so we decided to not specify dates as the people can continue submitting their ‘Personal pledges’ at any point in time during Gasim’s five year term,” Ramiz said.
“Now, once elected, it doesn’t matter to us who is submitting a request – whether it is someone who voted for Gasim or not. We will fulfill their wishes regardless of who they might have voted for,” he continued.
“We are getting an extraordinary amount of support for this pledge. I don’t know yet what the exact number of submissions are, but I am confident that we can tell just by using commonsense that such a pledge will be receiving immense support. After all, for over 30 years even to date, the average Maldivian citizen cannot make ends meet, even married couples are unable to find time to sleep together as they are forced to share rooms with children due to population congestion. Therefore, I am sure this pledge is being very well-received,” he stated.
Elections Commission Secretary General Asim Abdul Sattar told Minivan News today that the pledge has not been brought to the commission’s attention. He further said, if it the matter is submitted as an official complaint to the commission, it would investigate whether the failure to provide a deadline to submit pledges by citizens exerts undue influence on the elections.
An official from the Anti Corruption Commission, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that the commission members “wished to refrain from commenting on the matter at the current time”.
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Hahahahahahahahahahahah
We are the idiots of first class if we listen or even consider what Gasim proposes.
Instead of telling the public on how his would be government will improve the education, health, jobs, crime and living standards...he is giving fake promises as if he can conceive the 1.5 billion ruffiya. Where the hell would he generate such an amount yet the country cant afford to main its staple food stocks!!!
True, lack of formal education is one main reason Gasim cannot see what lies below his tummy. With ideas from hard core supporters like Mohamed Saeed..how can he manage a country after failing to manage his own employees.
My advise which i also gave loli jabir is please pay your creditors, suppliers, and staff before talking rubbish. Jabir has done but villa still owes millions of dollars to so many people..leave alone the banks.
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE STUPID PROMISES FROM JP.
What would a cheap chinese air condition help a child or an old sick woman on an island???? By now the units gasim gave before election are alread rusted, and so is the team from JP. RUSTED morons
Even crooks need some intelligence to commit crimes. But for Qasim, intelligence does not seem to be a useful device. His money can buy more than with intelligence
Qasim makes pledges and promises everyday. Often completely new ones. And now he has promised you to meet all your needs without even a deadline
Not even the King of Brunai makes promises at this level, especially when Villa company is 100 percent over borrowed and in debt. So where is the money comming from
He is asking citizens to elect him so that he can sell their assets and their own future.
Vote for Qasim, anyone?
Qasim has nothing to offer except bribery
He is not even ashamed of offering it without a deadline
Buruma thinks that Maldivian are still living in his age. Buruma’a ignorance is becoming more clear as time goes on. Buruma you must know that the majority of people are now more advanced then you. Even a fishermen of this age is more clever then you. Do you think people will buy you bullshit and will pave the to satisfy your crazy ambition?. It seems you think that owning few resort in Maldives, you can do whatever you imagine. Your few dollars is nothing to run the Maldives and your debt is bigger than coffer of Maldives so don’t bullshit with your craziness.
You don’t need to be our guardian angel. We need free democratic society and policies that can open up opportunities for every individual to use his potential to contribute to the economy and for the society. You lack such leadership and wisdom. It is MDP who has such vision and this is known to most of Maldivian and they will vote this time for Ebburun.
""" It then goes on to state that, if elected, Gasim would assign “an annual amount of MVR1.5 billion from the state budget to fulfill these personal pledges in accordance to a law or regulation which will be passed to support the matter”. """
I seriously hope that my fellow citizens are clever enough to see through this deceitful ploy and total lie.
(1) Firstly, he has no authority to make personal pledges to spend state money.
(2) A "law of regulation which will be passed" is not going to happen! Gasim doesn't own the law making body. The law makers are elected by the people and Gasim has almost no representation there.
(3) The worst part of this is that he is shamelessly getting people to beg him for money, in return for votes. He's not promising to make the lives of people better by making them more self sufficient. Rather, he'd like to make them permanently dependent on the Villa Empire, so he remain Sultan of the Maldives.
(4) Here we have a new despot in the making. With all this money, and being such a "Mu'min" has he performed Hajj? How many times has he set foot in Makkah or Medina? Or is he like the Ottoman Sultans who never set foot in the Holy places they looked after?
Hear Ye, I am The Supreme. Ye can't buy me votes.
What could I do with a 1/340,000 equal share of 1.5 billion MVR ($US97,625,744); or $US287 for each citizen?
Maybe a better question is what the country could do to improve the lot of everyone - not offer band-aid ad hoc promises which are just as useful and beneficial as buying everyone a bucket of tuna from their own taxes and then asking for their vote.
$US97 million could go into:
- raising the street level around Male and improving drainage and sewage, which would also create jobs for Maldivians and a cleaner capital
- creation of recycling plant capable of processing Male's +200,000 plastic bottles a day (a renewable and sustainable project)
- improving teacher quality
- investment in research to benefit the whole country
- creating a buy-back scheme for scooters in the capital to reduce fuel consumption and create cleaner air and streets
- reinforcing sea walls, which would also create jobs nationwide
- training and education to qualify the judiciary at the basic level of a bar exam
Hear ye, I am The Supreme. But ye can not buy me vote, Gaseem.
This is BRIBERY!!
How can he deliver this?? He bankrupted the country before and he will do it again given half a chance. What an embarrassment. What lies.
This does not add up = BRIBERY
What about the huge waste management problem facing Maldives. Thilafushi is a huge toxic bomb,.
This issue should be addressed and dealt with ASAP.
Gasim's pledges is just hot air just to buy votes.
JP and PPM prez candidates are greedy individuals.
We are quite well aware of how dream merchants work. Can Qasim explain how he stole an airport (99 years lease) through the back door?
This man is a perfect example of a small minded pedlar who makes calls as he plods along. This promise indicates many things about you Gasim.
One- You have no idea that you are not living in the middle of the early 20th century Maldives. Things have changed Gasim! Look around you. A great many of us are more aware, more savvy about all things political and social.
Two- this is a window into your character. You think every one can be bought. This is poor thinking. You haven't got any answers for those of us who see this struggle not in a selfish, individual way, but in terms of what is good for the preople (long term) and the country.
Three- the trouble you have caused the nation, through your power over the judges, have not gone unnoticed. People have woken up to your real ambitions. I am sorry if you cannot have any self esteem without being a president,but really this is another example of how you are prepared to use people.
Four- this is also an example of your lack of maturity and know how in managing your life.I don't want to be personal, but this behaviour shows the way you deal with personal failures. Get tired of one wife, find another amusement, another woman. You have not learnt that somewhere in life we all have tocome to terms with things we have done before. You can't keep collecting more and more wives or offering more nd more bribes. If you do, people begin to really understand what an idiot you. You lose your reputation and what is more important than the reputation for a wannabe leader of the people.
Gasim. Wake up, save what is left of your tattered life and do something real for the people of the country.
Gasim O Gasim, get thee to a shrink (and spare us your loony cycles of thinking). We have moved on- or at least are trying to move on, from the grand old days of patronage and asking for favors. Do you even realize that this latest "form" amounts to bribery or the old status quo of patronage for your cronies? Time you did.And time you learnt that democracy implies individual and collective responsibility for everything, including our finances. We are ready to take on the responsibility that comes with freedom,tough though that is, mainly because we are sick of being shackled by fear imposed upon us by others in the name of what? security? prosperity? Pah. Not buying that claptrap anymore.Not with that track record of yours - and certainly not with what we are seeing.
Speaking of which, thanks mate, for yet another non-election. Why didn't you just take a chance - and lose??? Its okay to lose sometimes you know, especially in a democracy, where not everyone can be the leader. Depends on what the majority want and as long as its conducted fairly. Its not the good old days,anymore, capito? One of the many lessons you have yet to learn in life, you sad sad soul. So! shrink it is for you - or just grow up, will ya? Take some responsibility for your (many) actions and be done with it, you foolish,deluded man.