A senior member of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)’s Z-DRP faction has confirmed to Minivan News that the party’s Deputy Leader and Council Member Ali Waheed is shortly to join the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
Head of the DRP’s sports wing, Hassan Shujau, will also join the ruling party along with Waheed, the source said.
The opposition figure confirmed that the pair were shifting sides “after receiving offers that, if they accept, will allow them to live the rest of their lives without doing any work.”
Rumours of Waheed’s possible jump to the MDP began circulating in the media over the weekend.
MDP Parliamentary Group’s former spokesperson, MP Ahmed Shifaz, told Minivan News that Ali Waheed was “99 percent likely to join MDP.”
”Ali Waheed is very, very close to joining MDP,” said Shifaz. ”But I do not have any information that he has joined as of yet.”
Recently MDP Deputy Leader and MP Alhan Fahmy was quoted in local newspaper Haveeru as saying ”the next time I step foot on this land it will be with Ali Waheed.”
Alhan, himself a former opposition MP and now the deputy leader of the ruling party, was speaking at an MDP rally held in Waheed’s North Ari Atoll constituency of Thoddu.
Waheed kept media silence amidst the spread of the rumours that he was intending to shift parties.
Leader of the DRP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali said that he could not believe Waheed would join MDP “unless I see him join.”
”I don’t believe that he will join MDP after getting elected to the parliament on DRP ticket,” Thasmeen said, refusing to speculate on what Waheed’s departure would mean for the party.
DRP Deputy Leader and Spokesperson Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef said that Waheed had not signed, “and still remains a deputy leader of the DRP. This is propaganda to try to discredit some of us in the party.”
However, “Ali Waheed is a rising star with widespread support, and it would be a great blow to the party if he were to leave,” Shareef acknowledged.
Waheed’s decision comes at a time when the opposition is torn by factional strife, between leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and the ‘Z-DRP’ faction organised around former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who remains the ‘Honorary Leader’ of the party he founded since announcing his political retirement in February 2010.
“It is very sad that our Honorary Leader believes that the opposition can under no circumstances support the policies of the government, even if they are good. This is a government elected by the people, and we must honour their decision, and accept it.”
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Double tapes mavota shareef and boon boon balak. As usual ready to be martyred for the sake of the country. hehehe
These are just pawns in the game. Contemporary maldivian politics is based on the ideology of Maumoon and Anni.
Even the constitution and laws come after that.
I always knew he was for sale. After all he is a follower of the great theif Thasmeen. Ali Waheed was never loyal to anyone. Know that MDP is paying him millions of dollars to join... Ali Waheed Sold - till someone pays a bigger price for this ***.
Can minivan please ask double tape mavota any specific issue which the government listened to the opposition. Listening means taking actions based on what opposition says.
Who knows, perhaps maybe I am not living in Maldives and that is why I can't see what shareef sees.
A 'Zaeem' literally has to love the people. In Sahih Muslim, it says, in the Book of Government, that a leader of the Muslims has to be a 'shield' for them. What does love mean? I believe true love is where you put the welfare of the one/ones you love before your own needs or desires. It requires self sacrifice and is therefore, can be very painful.
It takes a lot of courage to truly love, because you have to be very strong to take the pain of self-sacrifice. Those that are selfish in this world, or whose desire for revenge overcomes their sense of love, are too weak to handle the pain of love, though it may seem that they are the strong, those who are not strong enough to suffer love are actually the weak! This is because, it takes more strength to handle the pain of love than any one could imagine. It is so easy to take the weak path, the path of selfishness, the path of narcisism, the path of moral cowardice. Only a person who can truly love can do justice, as true justice requires that one overcomes their own subjectivity. Vengeance blurs the measure of justice.
ZAeemi needs to learn true love. That DRP or Z-DRP would seek to overthrow the Government by force and that the Zaeem refuses to co-operate with the Government even if the Government is serving the good of the people is evidence that the opposition do not care for anything but power, and would crush, oppress any to get it.
Revenge is a very powerful force, I also want revenge on some who had hurt me. But I have to be very careful not to hurt my family to get it, which I already have done, and I am ashamed. Yet, a Zaeem has to be a person who has won the struggle between self and love in his own heart. Hadith's talk about the greatest wrestler is the one who has overcome his own anger. Mystics have taken this to imply that a Jihad Al-naffs is the greater Jihad (Jihad-al Akbar. Now the hadith which reports about jihad-Al-Naffs is inauthentic according to scholars, but it does not change the fact that it reflects true Islamic sentiment expressed in other Hadith.
It is true.
When your own thirst for revenge is more powerful than your sense of caring for the people, when your hate overwhelms your love for those you are supposed to care about, you become a tyrant, you use, abuse, exploit, dehumanize and wound those you are meant to care about.
If Maumoon, or any of his people come into power, you, all Maldivians will be used so that he can serve his thirst for revenge.
Yes, justice must be pursued, but it must not overwhelm the need for caring.
I said before, if Maumoon, Umar, Thasmeen, really cared, start a charity foundation like, as was explained to me by Ahmed Bin Addu Bin Suvadheeb is the main reason for the success of parties like the Muslim Brotherhood and HAMAS over other parties which have equally fundametalist platforms. I can't level the same criticism at Gasim, because I understand he has been very generous.
I am not a follower of Anni or MDP, I mean, I would criticize Anni if I felt he was doing the wrong thing. I don't follow any man. But my point is, put the nation first.
Dear M P
I just wish all the Maldivians to get united and solve this crucial political and financial crisis as early as possible. As an foreigner i definitely don't have a right to comment on government policies, but as i am working in Maldives from years i would just request all politicians of this peaceful country to get united and stop blaming each others and bring a solution.
Please also make sure that policies to towards restricting the expatriates fund transfer would makes the economy down at faster pace and which cant be recoverable in upcoming moments.
Stop playing politics , now Maldivians are also getting more awarer and educated and as its a nation which is purely based on service industry please don't let expatriate,s to move out during such a critical situation by making hard times for them.
Zaeem wants to built a new democracy in the Maldives, as he puts it "PURE DEMOCRACY" In this form a government comes to power through ballot but will be thrown out by the mob.Good luck Z-DRP
“It is very sad, especially given that our honorary leader, who has served for the past 30 years, should now put his own interests before those of the country,”
As if he had ever put the country's interests ahead of his own! He's doing what he always did; looking after himself and his family even if that means sacrificing the rest of the country! Is there anything wrong with that? Read above on what Ben Plewright has to say about love and form your own opinion.
What on earth is this "Honorary Leader" business? You cannot have an "Honorary Leader" and a non-honorary leader. This is at the heart of DRP's troubles. DRP needs to sort this out first and foremost. Either have an Honorary Leader or an ELECTED leader. As the Highlander says, "there can be only one". Watch the film to see what happens otherwise. That's pretty much what's happening to DRP now.
Regarding the topic of this story, if Ali Waheed does indeed join MDP, it will certainly be a blow to DRP; but DRP is exploding within and people like Waheed are going to look for alternatives. My fear is that the hardliners within DRP will eventually silence the moderate intelligencia. Perhaps a coalition of moderates within DRP together with MDP parliamentarians can save this country from the forthcoming abyss. Lets hope so.
@ANORMOUS
"Please also make sure that policies to towards restricting the expatriates fund transfer would makes the economy down at faster pace and which cant be recoverable in upcoming moments."
It has been clearly proven that unrestricted transfer of foreign currency is doing a lof of harm to the economy. Your argument is baseless. The negative consequences of an over populous expatriate community are far greater than the positive contributions they are making at the moment.
The legislation that has been proposed is quite generous. It allows a daily transfer of US$ 3000.00 per individual to Western Europe and North America. I think this is quite generous for any individual. If you need more than this, then you're either laundering money or doing something dodgy anyway! Businesses that will typically do more than this have other routes for currency transfer and won't be affected by this legislation.
It's time to take control of this before it deteriorates even further. We can't have the situation where no one knows how much money is entering the country or leaving it. The central bank needs to get this under control once and for all.
I call upon the government to disseminate information regarding this as much as possible. The Friday morning sermon by the president is just not enough. They should hold open discussions, debates for people in all walks of life. May they be debates organised by/for schools, colleges, university, NGOs, political parties, general public etc etc.
I think there is a lot of freedom of expression in Maldives. What we are lacking is freedom of Information.
Sorry by 'regarding this' I meant economy not Ali Waheed. Would appreciate if Minivan could edit that before publishing.
I hope Ali Waheed and more MPs defect. This opposition is effectively two parties. The opposition party and the party of the loons. With a proper opposition, usually, bills will get passed even after wrangling and an opposition effectively ensures the peoples' interests are taken care of. Our opposition by their own admittance and as their name clearly suggests has become a party by a man, for a man and will always work for that man.
If Thasmeen has no balls to begin effectively defending and differentiating himself from the crazies, he will soon become a has been. He needs to more forcefully put forward his views, show Zeday who is boss.
"What we are lacking is freedom of Information."
Very true. A very high priority item for the government is to publish detailed information on expenditure. Lack of transparency here is one of the biggest grievances around. Also, this is where the political opportunists are grabbing headlines.
If the government is sincere and has nothing to hide, they ought to put up detailed public expenditure with regular updates. After all, a mobile phone is powerful enough to look afer an economy the size of the Maldives! A "back of the fag packet" calculation is all it needs to setup a budget around here for God's sake.
It is no secret that GMR and other sponsors of MDP are trying to buy MPs for MDP. There is a rumor now that Ali Waheed (MP) has been offered 17 million Maldivian Rufiya and apartments both in Male' and Malaysia. Alhan Fahmy joined MDP in a smilar fashion, instead of apartment he preferred a BMW (Wow! an MP showing his style in a BMW in this little island Male'). Most of parliament members are "Political Prostitues" and they are on auction. Anybody with a good cash in hand can buy these lads. If MDP thinks it is a good course for them, they are very wrong. This is going to have a very negative effect to the party and to the nation in the long run. This is killing the good spirit of very dedicated and loyal MPs and other members of MDP who sacrificed their life to the party. The end result will be that the loyal MPs of MDP will join the race too and will be on auction soon. Kesto (MP of MDP) has indicated he might has to change side and will surely be followed by others. No surprise!
All the hypocrites, ciriminals and corrupted thugs of this nation have now hijacked MDP. Look at the Red Wave Saleem, Lolee Jabir, Alhan Fahmee, etc. Some are so called divisors to the president. I wonder what kind of advise these people can give to a president of a country.
MDP is turning into the most corrupt political party in the nation. In Gayoom's era, crooked deals were done under the table, but now it is happening in broad day light.
Is this the kind of change that we wanted. Absolutely not. Things are going from bad to worse. Our president is a blatant liar, our parliament members are on auction, the judiciary is corrupted. Everybody is playing party politics.
@ BEN
Gayyoom knows what is on "Sahih Muslim" betten than anybody. What we need is not "Charity" and "True Love" from these people. What we want from them is to stay at home and be silence. There isn't an easy solution for all these problems. It might take generations before we get things right on the condition that things go right now, not tomorrow. I hope and pray that Allah will put this nation on the right track soon and will always keep this nation in the safe hands.
"Ameen"
This is good news..I sure hope Ali Waheed and all hypocrites remove there masks and move over to MDP..Sooner or later these people will be the end of MDP as well, i Sure hope Thasmeen becomes President Nasheeds running mate next election.....By removing all these hypocrites now we can finally begin to get a picture of the real opposition.
Cheechee, cheechee!!!! thee reygandu naatteh hifaigen saudhaagarunge gethakah dhuvaa MP aalaaggadeh noon?
When the majority of Citizens are in hunger and miserable condition, these Buffalo MPs are shameless to discuss on raising their income again and again.
When there is no proper hospital in the country, these dirty MPs are provided with World-class Health Insurance, USA and UK standard monthly income, additional allowances, respect though they are wanted in the country's Audit Report...hehehehe Vaaaneeves ehenthaa...Rayyithunge gina meehunnakee seykun viyyaa.....
Mi raajjeyge Parliament balaaleemaa engeyne Rayyithunge seyku kamuge minvaru
Biggest loss to DRP and MDP. I wonder why MPs such as Hamza, Ibu, Hamid and Eva stand by when all these are taking place. I understand the MDP needs a parliament majority to bring in the promised changes, but at what cost. Are we to sacrifice all that we fought for. I understand sarangu has money to spare. But what power is MDP giving to him in return.
US$1 million is a lot. Specially a younge person like him. He can get his kids educated in international. He can live a great lift. Its worth about 15 flats. Can get a great condo in Singapore or Malaysia. So..whats the problem.
My fear is for the hardcore MDP parliament members who has been with MDP from the very first day and get missed out on these handouts.
I am surprised that we are talking about young finance minister. How about Arif Hilmy and Kothah Guiy Jaleel. They were both very young and did wonderful things despite opposition from Gayoom. Gayoom started with Abdul Sattar who was less than an accountant. Than came Ismail Fathy for for 15 years who knew next to nothing. After a brief period of Arif Hilmy and Jaleel than came world famous Buruma Gasim, who ruined this country under Gayoom's rule. I am surprised the Finance minister spending time with these idiots.
Well on papers we have so many rules but on ground reality its totally different. When i urges on the expatriate transfer its was based on minor limitations i.e 500 $ transfer in a month for the individuals in education sector is really not worthy efforts from any government.
Same if dollars value is increased is that not the responsibility of government bodies to guides the entrepreneurs in Maldives regarding the same for the salary proposal of their staffs.
For all kinds of problems we are blaming other country people but no one realize that this problem is created by Maldives extra consumption within limited resources only.
DRP people who supported their party no matter what they did should understand that any under handed deals were because of their immaturity.
When you were ok with whatever the DRP did with their parliamentary majority then you have to accept the consequences. You did not question the parliament usurping the executives powers. You did not question the parliaments control of the judiciary. You did not question the parliaments attempt to control information.You did not question the dismissal of the Auditor general.
Now you question the executive trying to gain a parliamentary majority? The way I see things there is no way for the government to function, with an opposition whose only objective is to depose the government.
While I don't support buying/blackmailing MPs to join the ruling party.....its seems to be the only hand left to play.
US$1.5 million once, twice and thrice, Chabby Waheed sold. And the winner is Maldivian Democratic Party.
All you people should know, there is no foes or friends in politics. Learn it or dare to darn it.
If one looks at countries that have strong economy, no-one other than ECONOMISTS do not appear on TV to discuss issues related to the country's economy...
I think this is the BIG MISTAKE we have done here...look at our TV!!! we always find people like Burumaa and Gayyoom's half bro Yameen talking about our economy....perhaps one of these guys hold a degree in the field but if that man is believed to be the guy who destroyed our economy with his brother DICTATOR Gayyoom's support, I think the people of this country must think twice if we can listen or believe in what the guy says now....we all must know that this guy is suffering from Power Hungry now
naju is right. Everyone in the Maldives is an award winning economics professor. Yet despite the masses of Phd's which have been accumulated, and you have to be able to speak as though you have at least ten of them to be listened to. In fact, you are not worth listening to until you speak with such high sounding jargon that you can't be understood by anybody but yourself anyway, ironically.
Yet despite knowing EVERYTHING about economics, noone seems to know the basics, that all have to work hard and act justly to sustain a strong economy.
@ Ahmed Bin Addu Bin Suvadheeb
After all, a mobile phone is powerful enough to look afer an economy the size of the Maldives! A “back of the fag packet” calculation is all it needs to setup a budget around here for God’s sake.
A very MDP statement to make just like Nasheed and his 'run the country with two laptops and a secretary' gaffe, are both of you related, atleast in thought, and ignorance!!!
Now what, chubby waheed joins MDP? Great. Maldivian, maldivians.. what to say. All these stupid politicians are selfish, only dance upon one beat, money.
Maybe tomorrow, Maumoon (becomes a gay) and will fall in love with MDP then marry Anni. *whatever*
If MPs are offering themselves for sale at an affordable price, a party with money would be crazy not to make use of the opportunity. Well done MDP.
If Ali Waheed is available, there may be lot of discount deals too..
@Ahmed
"A very MDP statement to make just like Nasheed and his ‘run the country with two laptops..."
Dear chap. Far be it from me to emulate MDP statements. I have no love for that party or for any other, since I don't believe any of them are working in the country's best interest.
Well, I can assure you that I don't need even ONE laptop to manage the affairs of a country the size of this little nation. Pencil and paper will do just fine.
After all, in times past, much bigger challenges have been undertaken successfully with just some pencil lead, paper and plenty of mind...
thi politics akee thee dhen hama thiya kahala ehchekey thee ga onnaanee makaru hedhumaa olhuvaalun, its politricks now