A group of NGOs gathered outside the residence of Economic Minister Mohamed Rasheed last night for publishing regulations permitting the licensed sale of alcohol on inhabited islands.
The protesters called on the minister to withdraw the new regulations, which allow hotels with over 100 beds to sell alcohol and pork to foreigners amid tight security. Newspaper Haveeru reported that some elements of the crowd even called for the minister’s “execution”, calling him “an infidel”.
Police media official Sergeant Athifa Hassan said police received information about the protest around 11:00pm, and immediately attended the scene.
”It was a very peaceful protest and nobody was injured,” she said, adding that the protesters went home at 1:00am.
A second protest was sparked outside the Iskandhar Koshi (police base) after reports that police had discovered 168 bottles of alcohol in a car belonging to Maldivian Democratic Party MP MDP’s Parliamentary Group leader ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, who is currently in Singapore.
Sergeant Abdul Muhsin from the Maldives Police Service said the protesters gathered in front of Iskandhar Koshi around 10:30pm and were dispersed at 2:30am, reportedly with tear gas.
Muhsin said the protest was “not very violent” but ”three police were injured and five men were arrested.”
Reaction
Political parties including the Adhaalath Party, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Peoples Alliances (PA) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) strongly condemned the regulation.
The Adhaalath Party has indicated its intention to host a protest on Friday afternoon, calling on the president to invalidate the regulation “and apologise to the people.”
Vice president of the Tourism Employment Association of Maldives (TEAM) Mauroof Zakir said more than 80 NGOs were present at the protest.
”We called on the resignation of the Minister,” Mauroof said, adding that ”nobody called for his execution.”
He claimed more than 1000 members took part in the protest, the first in a series of planned events.
”We will not say what kind of events and when we will start,” he said.
Spokesperson of the Adhaalath party and State minister for the Islamic Ministry Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said the party would not allow alcohol to be consumed and sold on inhabited islands.
Shaheem said he regretted that the government had not discussed the issue with the Islamic Ministry.
”We invite all political parties and all people against the new regulation to take part in the protest [on Friday] so their voices are heard by the government,” he said.
The use and sale of alcohol was not permitted under the tenets of Islam, he said, ”and nobody under the sky can allow it.”
Vice President of the DRP Umar Naseer said he “knew this would be happen” and ”I am not surprised.”
Naseer claimed the government was trying to promote alcohol in the country “and make everyone drink it.”
”This government consists of alcoholics,” he claimed, accusing President Mohamed Nasheed of “building a bar inside Muleeage three months after he came to presidency.”
”I bet on that,” he said. ”One day let’s go inside Muleeage with journalists to check.”
Secretary General of the PA Ahmed Shareef said the party would be taking part in the protest held by Adhaalath party.
”We are against [the sale of alcohol],” Shareef said. ”Maldivians would not let the government to sell and use alcohol in the inhabited islands.”
He said the party was confused about the government’s policy on the subject.
President of religious NGO Jamiyyath-al-Salaf, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Ibrahim said the organisation would also take part in Friday’s protest by the Adhaalath Party, and that the entire coalition of concerned NGOs would participate.
”The whole country is against it,” he said. ”We will continue our protest until we succeed.”
Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said he was confident that the president would not pass any law against the tenets of Islam, and would discuss the matter with the Islamic Ministry and the Economic Ministry over the coming days.
He said that the regulations would “not technically” become effective until they were published in the government’s gazette, and noted that “the President has not yet made the decision to do so. He has reservations and is seeking advice as to the extent the regulations [can be implemented].”
The ministry of economic developments commented that the regulations would come into effect on 1 March “were not true”, he said, “even if gazetted, as certain criteria have to be met by sellers.”
State Minister for Economic Development Adhil Saleem said the regulations would be effective from 1 March “unless we receive instructions otherwise.”
“We have a mandate to regulate controlled substances,” he said. “This ministry regulates the use of alcohol and pork in this country, and working with police and customs we have formulated regulations we believe are best suited for today’s economy.”
The sale of alcohol, he said, was innately linked to Western tourism in the Maldives and its ability “to provide an environment conducive to foreign investment.”
“The Maldivian people want an international airport at Gan, and there are many development projects to boost economic activity through foreign investment,” he said. “If we want to be [a hub] like Singapore, we have to allow big hotel chains to establish themselves here and create an environment attractive to foreign investment. City hotels create economic activity and jobs.”
Adhil said he felt people were “being misled” over the issue, and “do not understand what this means for the economy.”
“It’s not just the development of airports [at stake] but schools and hospitals. We cannot achieve this development by 2013 unless our revenues increase.”
He claimed that many countries grappled with the issue, “and if you take a religious angle on this, many Muslim countries issue liquor permits to non-Muslims. Some of them have minerals, soil or gold, we have based our economy on tourism. For 15 years we’ve been attracting Western tourism development, and that includes alcohol. If that is unacceptable we should design another industry.”
He noted that many resorts in the Maldives “employ more than 1000 Maldivians, which is larger than the population of some inhabited islands.”
Like those opposed to the new regulations, he said “the real public reaction will be gauged on Friday. Let’s see how many people turn up. If this is something the majority of people don’t want, then no doubt the government will reconsider it. I am defending the new liquor regulations openly in public and I believe we should stand firm against these attacks.”
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I am just wondering if Adhil Saleem have any knowledge of business, tourism, or strategic development. It does not need to be a core competence to serve alcohol in city hotels in the context of Maldives. Maldives have a robust competence of natural beauty which would be the primary motive of tourist when choosing a destination. Also there are many ways competitiveness could be managed.
Secondly, there are many different models which can be applied to Maldives to develop foreign investment in Maldives without selling or allowing alcohol in city hotels and when Adhil Saleem has no knowledge of this it does not mean that we should be naive to beleive whatever he says.
haha don't question adil saleems economic and financial grasp after all he brought ONE billion dollars worth of investments into Maldives. Sorry all of them didn't want to invest as holiday inn doesn't serve alcohol hence a suitable business environment will only be created once we have free flow and happy hours at holiday Inn.
I agree with AA. There are billions of humans in this world. Im sure not everyone travels for the sake of alcohol.
We Maldivians are so plagued with ignorance.
I urge President Nasheed to kick out among those he has appointed to political posts, who do not support government's policy.
I think the new regulation will be thousand times more effective to control narcotics in Maldives.
And I am sure Mr Shaheem and Mr Majeed Bari know this.
And who are these people who are creating this hype and misleading the public?
The pioneers are Adalat who disguises itself in Salaf, TEAM and those 80 NGOs which I believe are 80 people.
The agenda behind the protest is to pump up sensational issues under the banner of Islam, show their numbers on the streets of Male on Friday so that they can assess their numbers.
The longterm agenda is to become a political power to win the 2013 elections and rule the country under an Ulama who would dictate the Maldivians how to even let a fart out.
I'm convinced that we are now witnessing the emergence of a new religion called Salafdheen in the name of Islamdheen (Islam).
nobody is forcing anyone to drink...also its not a licence for maldivians...so what is the problem.
the only reason muslims dont drink is cause its unavailable? and why muslims dont turn to other faiths or none is cause its punishable by death???..must be so.
So basically what the state minister is saying is that we should do whatever that would increase profit. what’s next? casinos and sex tourism? i’m sure this is also going to increase revenue.
And what is this about many resorts emplying more than a THOUSAND maldivians? someone please tell me one or two resorts. i don’t need more than that to believe this nutcase.
@AA i am curious about the different model? can you enlighten me..coz if this is good we can make a lot of money, revolutinse the way tourism is done in maldives 🙂
SUSTAINABLE tourism would not be feasible in the Maldives if liqueur is banned...There are many countries with similar beauty like Maldives...Seychelles and moricious to name a few!....Tourists need to relax and alcohol is one major Aphrodite to give instant relief from stress.....Investors would not invest here to make city hotels if they cant woe tourists...Alcohol is one of many things necessary to Market tourists to the city hotels...common try to build a good Islamic strength and belief in the people,If they have strong beliefs why would they turn to alcohol...so instead of taking this issue by related parties its better to increase the awareness of Islam and alcohol so that there wouldn't be any uncalled demands or necessity for locals to consume liqueur..If we want prosperity we have to legalize alcohol in city hotels. and these city hotels would create jobs for the people...I call upon the people to be patient and thus salute the governments decision
Shaya Ali,
I agree with you 100%. Well, 99%, I don't believe I've seen anything from Shaheem to indicate that he will support this policy. However, I do believe Dr. Majid Abdul Majid Bari does understand the situation in the country and is less likely to try and use Islam as means of oppression.
And for the record, I've been inside Muleeaage. There is no bar.I'm sure the MALDIVIAN staff who work there would have seen it too if there was. Umar Naseer has got to be the most reckless, idiotic politician in the country.
adil without those regulations we have enough of international brands here, one n only, hilton, soneva, shangarila, etc .. so who do you think you fooling with? still you guys are thinking we are fools? listen to me very carefully adil saleem we have changed 30 years of dictatorship while you voted on first round to dictator we voted anni, and when you were sure that maumoon is going to fail you changed the boat like a chameleon, so please we can also throw you.. why you guys are damaging this government i don't really understand?
The changes to the alcohol regulations has exactly nothing to do with government embracing secularism or even controlling the illegal sale of alcohol in male’. It has everything to do with a certain clan showing how powerful they are within this government. You remember there was a phase during maumoons dictatorship ” the people near him are corrupt and he listens to them only” well this is that phase of a democratic government. Rumors which flew around male’ that a hotelier offered vast number of monies to throw the alcohol bill out of parliament and I certainly believe its true. Check the chart of government and you’ll see the amount of influence they carry even the six month old baby from that household has a political post of some sorts.Maybe special adviser on infancy issue and thumb sucking? The goverment is showing signs of weakness like when it comes to criticism n its performance, DhiFM pint deduction and the case they have filed against civil service shows that elements within this government certainly don’t understand the meaning of democratic governance. By the time Anni realizes it those elements will have the strong hold on power and we all know what happens next…..
Banning or allowing alcohol in Maldives - i dont want to comment on that. But Pleeease i beg MDP to listen to Maldivians. The majority is AGAINST it believe me. its not just the religious people. Even all my friends and the whole extended family is AGAINST it and willing to attend the Friday protest. I am not scared of alcohol but i am worried about Maldivians starting to hate MDP. Pls.. whether its a good thing for the country or not. just listen to people this time because i dont think there is anyway the government can change the minds of the majority. We dont want DRP or PA and all those stupid other people to win the 2013 election. So just forget about this alcohol selling thingy Mr President!
@ G
Its difficult to explain this in an email but let me just highlight some points. There are many factors that we need to consider to enact a model and we are discussing about one of the world largest industry -Tourism and the competitiveness can be achieved without allowing alcohol to the whole nation. Also successful longterm planning could not be achieved overnight. Check the competitiveness model of Crouch & Ritchie for further understanding.
The benefit of the existing system of tourism is that the amount of expenditure spend by tourists staying in Male is high as they have to go to a resort or HIH to indulge alcohol, which is good if we think from a macro perspective as it would also indirectly benefit to other businesses. We only need a good flow management such as efficient transport linkages and effective communications. This is one of the core focus in tourism planning. With regard to the human resource factor, the recent survey conducted by the tourism ministry about tourism employees witness that Maldivians are motivated to work in the industry if they could access to their family though they have to travel to another island for work. This can be achieved by a community based tourism.
In the worst case scenario, the government could permit alcohol in focused economic areas and to certain regulated establishments with stringent regulation such as Holiday Inn Male', Equator Village Gan etc instead of whole nation.
for 300000 population of Maldives alcoholism can spread in short time around Maldives.young generation will be addicted very soon,same situation was with drugs.half of new young generation drugs addict.it is will be very serious situation for health of many maldivians.so business for government more important than health of future generations?
What is it with Maldivians and their own scale of the sinfulness? Why is alcohol, pork, and dogs the biggest of the sins? What about honesty, decency and goodwill towards fellow person? Dishonesty, Deceitfulness, fraudulence, corruption, treachery and so on are the best terms to define the current Maldivian society and is Islam completely silent on these? Where are the protests against these sins which in my views should be many many times more sinful than drinking alcohol.
Very constructive comments here.I think people are worried more because this'll open new doors ,likely to worsen existing destructive forces within our society.Like my comments on DO,I think the core issue of public concern lies in the lack of public trust and confidence among the public towards our law enforcement institutions.So in such a scenario what guarantee do the people have that this new regulation prevents illegal consumption of alcohol in pulic, when the government is powerless to control the much obvious detrimental activities prevailing among ourselves,crime being the more prominent ,next to drugs.Then if today we allow pork and alcohol,yes tomorrow the next...sex tourism,casinos,all involving lots of hard currency ,badly needed for our hollow economy.Do we call this islamic?.. besides being totally alien to our culture.If we sacrifice what binds us together "muslim brotherhood",in yearning for material wealth then what'll be left with us.Let's wait and see. Can't we promote our tourism on a very unique concept.. 🙂
what's the big deal? maldivians can't drink under the new regulations anyway. soon the fundamentalists will lobby for alcohol to be removed from resorts... then the economy will go down the pan
the day Thasneem stops his resorts selling alcohol is the day the DRP can preach about not selling the stuff in Male'. Otherwise, they are a bunch of hypocrites.
To echo the sentiments of someone who commented earlier, democracy is NOT capitulating to engineered protests. Of course, the present administration will consider the implications of allowing the,apparently, unified opposition front to gather support under the banner of Islam by sparking protest.
There are some very real issues at stake here. For one, the existence of a robust and unregulated black market based solely on the sale of alcohol, among other narcotics. The proposed regulations would provide the state with revenue from this industry where the purchase of alcohol by foreign indivduals from Maldivian sellers is concerned. However, the Maldives Police Service (MPS) needs to make an unequivocal statement regarding their stand on this issue and their plan for combatting the sale of alcohol to Maldivian nationals through the black market.
Denial is not the solution. we have to accept that recent generations of Maldivian youth find the consumption of alcohol both acceptable and trendy. Unless we enter into productive dialogue these individuals will continue to engage in unsafe practices such as gulping down bottle-loads of alcohol on a daily basis without any knowledge of the health risks as well as depraved sexual activities while inebriated.
Mere rabble-rousing will not erase these problems. A political solution to this problem may be hard to find. The MPS may need to increase publicity of alcohol busts.
One also finds it hard to believe that proposed legislation on the ban of alcohol will do any good without a suitable enforcement mechanism. The Economic Ministry's proposal seems like a step forward in developing a more comprehensive framework.
Political parties are clearly not interested in saving the youth from cirrhosis and HIV infection. Or else, they would disturb the peace around the residences of gang members and popular haunts where alcohol consumption by minors as young as 14 years of age is practised on a daily basis.
My hope is that the outcry to bury the problem among piles of legislation and insincere religious grandstanding does not stifle the sincere dialogue on this issue at such a nascent stage. I applaud the Economic Ministry for its efforts and hope they will find a solution that caters to the populist elements and the hardworking bureaucrats who are trying to do this country some good.
@ Salim Waheed,
I agree to you and thank you for pointing out on Shaheem...
My message was unclear on Shaheem.
What I meant was both Shaheem and Majeed know that the new regulation will be much more effective, yet they refuse to acknowledge it and has called the public to protest.
Why? because they knew liquor has a special ring about it among Maldivians and are therefore using the opportunity to drill their agendas into people's mind.
Why haven't they've been protesting against the way liquor permits are given now?
Yes, Majeed does appear less likely to use Islam as a means of oppression.
Is it because, in this liquor issue particularly, he is having conflicts?
We all know he belongs to a family who has large investments in resort businesses.
Therefore, he allows Shaheem to be his public mouthpiece.
What other reason could there be when Majeed is the Minister and Shaheem is his subordinate?
I believe both Majeed and Shaheem are leading architects of Salafdheen.
I am no fan of this alcohol regulation but I have to agree with Shaya and Salim.
President Nasheed should ask Shaheem and Co to resign if they do not support government policy. It's ridiculous that they are sitting in the government and orchestrating these protest.
'Yes yes, we hate this infidel government but we love the cushy job and ridiculous salary they provide us with.'
This level of hypocrisy is something only the religious conservative can stoop to.
I don't see any problem with this new rule. I am living in Brisbane and I find many pubs around.I don't go to these bars and never tried alcohol. I see many women around and I have never screwed a woman. If someone wants to drink or have sex, they will do it. It is your personnel choice.
Why is Adhaalath Party and NGOs protesting now? Why has adhaalath party and these other NGOs not protested about the provision of alcohol to foreigners working in Maldives, through alcohol permits, under the earlier regulation? Under that regulation most foreigners working in Male' could get alcohol and consume alcohol in inhabited islands even in their homes. It is well known that many a times these people resold to Maldivians, the alcohol made available to them through that regulation. Now at least alcohol will be more regulated as all these people will no longer have individual permits. In my mind the current regulations will make alcohol less accessible to Maldivians as the majority of the foreigners working in Maldives will no longer have individual permits issued to them.
alcohol cannot be sold in inhabited islands or otherwise.
If it needs be sold in resorts Muslims cannot be involved in any part of the business including transportation,serving,importing,selling..etc
And the bars in resorts should completely seperated from restaurants.
Alcohol politics: To ban or not to ban is the question
But for Majeed and Shaheem, whatever that keeps them in office is fine..
Now Anni cannot sleep without blocking all the roads around his palace, he is a coward more then Golaa.
It is absolutely ridiculous to ban alcohol in a country that depends on tourism. Yes, many come for the underwater life, but like to enjoy a glass of wine or beer after it. It's not all about getting drunk.
There are a few more places in the world, similar to Maldives, nice underwater scenes and white beaches - it's just a matter of tourism shifting to other destinations and then they are gone... probably they will first leave once they realize the growing Salafi sect here in Maldives... that's a far greater danger to tourism than the lack of alcohol... Maldivians are building their own graves, good luck.
ALI, I guess you mean 'Mauritius' by "moricious"...
I agree with "stranger", it's not a license for Maldivians to drink, it's to be served to non-Muslims from all over the world, so what's the problem? Maldivians will continue to consume alcohol as they have done in the past, whether in the country or abroad.
How many are out there who do NOT have a glass of liqueur once in a while???
Absolutely useless discussion!
I agree with Shaya Ali saying that the protests are just to show how many beardos can gather together on the street. It may be also a competition on 'who's got the longest beard and shortest capri trousers'...
spoton HassanK.!!
this has got nothing to do with being "religious". Politics it is.
Saleem can forget the dream of becoming a Singapore like hub, cause that is not what Maldivian wants... we want saudi like (Men, especially those who have oil buck, in our case tourism cash ruling) society. others supressed, tortured and made to work for the Sultans... oh yes, that could happen very soon. did i mention of womens place in society, no! actually they'd have no place:(
Hypocrits like TEAM and other parties are all dreamers of a world like that disguised in Maldivian skin. they all are the same.
I like to hear a commitment by Adaalath Party or any other party that they would ban the import of all alcohol to the country if they come to power.
If they don't then all these parties are just punks who are hiding behind Islam for the sake of Political power.
My vote is sold to any party who bans Alcohol from Maldives.
Allah Akbar.
Pray tell me. What's the difference between selling liquor in an inhabited island and a resort that consists of Maldivians more than the total population of an island in Vaavu Atoll? How hypocritical can we get?
1. In my opinion the new regulation is better then the old one as to contain the use of alcohol by locals. BUT is it how overwhelming majority of the population think? Definitely NOT.
2. If Adhaalath did not oppose the new regulation will the public at large would have accepted it? or will it not create public outcry? If the answer is no and Adhalaath's voice is not good enough to sway peoples opinion, then it dosent make much difference whether Adhaalath is WITH or AGAIST the government on the issue.
3. I just dont understand why would this government want to loose their popularity over this issue. Has the government done any political cost/benefit analysis? or is this a way of making a statement that we dare to do anything regardless of what most of the public thinks or be the consequences? If you ask me, I will say thats not quite smart.
I fully support and congratulate Anni on this decision - he closed several hundred doors (the individual permits are cancelled) and opens other doors for the ones who are allowed to drink and bring money to our country.
I agree with Hudha that under this regulation, alcohol is much more controlled than before.
if alcohol is banned from maldives - which is what this debate is all about in the end game - the economy will collapse coz the foreigners won't come; unemployment will increase, government revenue and spending will go down, so goodbye to all those health insurance and education schemes and the country will slowly decline into a third world african like country - a bunch of beggars in the indian ocean. still at least we'll be 'pure' as we starve to dealth. thanks a lot adhaalath
There is not a single location in Maldives where anyone hold anything like a license to sell drugs (controlled drugs).
Despite this, we all know that a good percentage of our youth are drug addicts.
So far the sale of alcohol is restricted to holders of a special permit.
Despite this, we often find Maldivians illegally either selling or distributing or consuming alcohol.
All this happens illegally. Drugs are sold and distributed illegally. So is alcohol (I am speaking of non-permit holders here).
If we give a permission to sell alcohol, it will only increase the availability of alcohol to the locals. It will inevitably lead to and increase alcohol addicts.
We cannot assume that a permit to sell alcohol will cause no problems. Nor can we assume that this kind of a permit will not produce Maldivian alcohol addicts.
That would be denying reality.
I understand selling alcohol in inhabited Maldivian islands will generate revenue for us.
BUT, BUT, BUT, there is an associated detrimental effect of this. And that is, the increasing numbers of alcohol addicts that would be produced.
We already have a good percentage of the youth who are drug addicts. Do we want this to increase and do we want to see a new epidemic of alcohol addiction?
The big question is how do we weigh the effects alcohol will bring to our culture and to our community.
Would we find the revenue it will generate attractive irrespective of the serious negative effects it will cause? Of course, money means a lot. But, for me, further destruction of our community is not worth the money alcohol will bring.
We are already facing the almost unbearable effects of drug addiction. We ended up in this stage because, I will say the issue was willfully ignored by the previous government. So, please, dear President, do not add insult to our injury by paving way to start a new epidemic.
And to those who think drug addiction will decrease once alcohol is made available, I will say in my mind it is an extremely childish thinking.
we must remember that dictator maumoon came to power using the alcohol card..and decades later the same card..when will we ever learn? if we want to be globally competetive in hospitality industry then we must cater to the western lifestyle and be hospitable to them, our future depends on their well being..well said fazu
why is minivan news constantly refusing to publish my comment?? is it because its too 'islamic'(hmm..is there anything of that sort??)
it seems that you only give the opportunity to anti-muslims
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14 cases (168 bottles) of alcohol is no small amount to let go and go on just blaming or acccusing one another.
i stronly urge the responsible authorities to trace the origin of these. surely there would be an unexplained shortage, either at the bonded warehouses or at resorts. wherever it may be....
fareedha, by 'islamic' you presumably mean your comment threatened to murder or hurt someone who didn't agree with your twisted logic. that's not islam, dear, it's fascism. islam is about peace, love, tolerance and respect. not hate hate murder and more hate
just see exactly what twist takes place. the issue is not yet decided by Mr. President. But exactly what is happening otherwise, we all are so peeved off almost on the verge of cutting each others throat.
.. thats the devil in disguise in alcohol....
don't worry. tomorrow morning Mr. President will withdraw the regulations in his mornign address. And we can go on as if nothing happened... until we are peeved off again... that is the policy.
i dont see the problem here.. it is not like you and i can go there and have a drink. HIH is selling alcohol and the place is accessible to any one, but not to the bar. there are so many maldivians working in hulhule and they spend more time there than at home. so whats the problem now?
resorts have been selling alcohol for decades, while employing many maldivians. so whats the problem now?
expatriates have been given personal permits by which they can have alcohol at their homes. so whats the problem now?
and i dont understand how people are relating the increase in drug use with the alcohol issue here and speculating that more generations will drown in alcohol. was it that permits were given to sell drugs? were permits given to carry and use drugs to foreigners?
i am sorry but i dont see the problem here.
if your faith is strong, then you know that you wont drink even if it sold outside your house. or are you scared you might be tempted? are you scared that your faith is not that strong that one day you might walk into Holiday inn and walk out with a bottle? then what is the problem here?
to adhaalath i have a few recommendations.
1) men and women must be kept in different islands. as having sex in haraam if you are not married.
2) alcohol must be banned in all the islands. as alcohol is haraam.
3) maldivians should be banned from travelling to coutries except saudi arabia as in all the other countries alcohol; is available.
4) all men and women should wear veil as homosexuality is haraam.
funny 99% of the comments are hate comments...if u want to solve a problem...be objective...and start with urself...duhhh!!!
The problem is not the decision. a good PR campaign could have eased the decision and reduce the shock value.
Govt. needs to balance loyals and professionals.
this was never a decision related to religion.
Agree with 'HassanK' and 'awesome'. And as Shad says - it is not a man made regulation that will make a person drink or not drink - it is their personal choice. Religious leaders should just concentrate on raising genuine Islamic awareness and strengthening the faith of the local population.
In Maldives we need a democracy but not the democracy that is advocated by minivan news editors. we need a home-grown democracy. we dont need a democracy that is advocated by Amecians or other liberal conservatives.......the main purpose of any government is to make sure people live in harmony.....but we dont find this harmony after 4 decades of independence. Therefore in that way we can say our independence is false. for the past 43 years our lives is being dictated by different authoritarians. However after Anni's arrival into politics many Maldivians started having faith in government which was not the case before. And Anni gave lots of hope and high expectations to many who are depressed about there lives..........the question is how far people trust this government now? Did Anni deliver his promises which he pledged in campaign.? .......surely not.....the dreams of the public has turned into nightmares. Anni failed to deliver his promises resulting to chaos and oppression. The liberal conservative philosophies of Anni and minivan news editors will not work in Maldives.......i kw those editors at minivan news are educated from liberal countries(as they claim). But i wanner say which liberalism u are talking about? it is actually very controversial topic......"what is liberal for me is injustice for another....". and to make public aware about this concept is not a easy task. Changing a mindset that is rooted since the day born cannot be irradiated overnight. Obama is very true in saying "there are people who advocate for democracy when out of power and once in power they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others" I think Anni exactly falls into those lines.
As far as alcoholism is concerned i have to say a big "NO". Being a student of politics i understand that those liberal people(as they claim)will label me as a conservative. But i cant help it.....the most conservative people on the face of this earth is British. Being conservative is not a problem as Edmund Burke claims "wisdom largely reside in experience,history and tradition" Therefore only changes which are natural and inevitable have to accepted. And alcoholism is not a change that majority of Maldivians accept. Therefore we can also say alcoholism is aganist democracy. Because majority of the Maldivians deny alcoholism.Democracy is rule by people, for the people and of the people. so if anything goes against the will of majority the public has the right to protest and get that done in the way that they wish. we can also argue that alcoholism is against human rights because statistics show that drinking is responsible for majority of the abuses that we see at 21st century.
By the way I am not a fan of DRP or any other opposition party, i just expressed my views based on what i see and being pragmatic.
@ Kennedy - On your claim "Anni failed to deliver his promises...", don't you think that you're being too hasty on judging Anni and his gov since there's still almost four years left in his term? Your statement sounds like you're comparing his merely one and a half yr with Gayooms 30 yrs! Not a fair judgment as I believe a reasonable people will allow time and room for any gov (esp. the first democratically elected one in Maldive) to deliver on its promises with much patience.
Agree with 'Awesome':) I say the needless alcohol hype engineered around Male' is all double standards and hypocrisy at its best! The scholars on TV seem dented on their mental capacity as they cannot seem to continue a debate with decency on controversial issues without labeling the opposing side "Anti Muslim" or "Kafar" or "Yahoodee" or "Kiristian" directly and indirectly. How undemocratic and unethical of a behavior this is?! I wonder what is the penalty prescribed in Quran for declaring a muslim brother a kafar!
The Buddhas teaching on morality, ethical conduct, kindness, respect, tolerance, understanding, love and the promote of peace to all human and living beings irrespective of religion, faith, creed, caste, sex, status and nation alike will be enlightening to whoever seeking wisdom if pondered upon and a sure remedy to the hopeless divide present in our society rather than the *type* of 'Islam' promoting fear, hatred, execution by the majority of Religious Sheiks here!
Hi , Could you please ask Mr.Adil saleem why is that only alcoholics are willing to invest in maldives. If they would bring in there 1 billion as he stated only if we provide liquor permits? We seriously need a good detox center then? Lets say if we wanted to create a whorehouse for non- muslims would the economic ministry be willing to issue license?
@ Noya....
I understand still four more years is lefts for anni to show his capabilities......But it seems anni has changed his mind and now he dont talk about the things he spoke off during his campaign.....he promised to conduct another election during his term and he spoke for the religion and guaranteed no law will be enacted against islam.......but see what has happened? so if we look at this anni has failed to deliver his promises. But at the same time i understand that he is faced with lots of hurdles like financial crisis and so forth....But my question is why do he promised things which he cannot deliver? Pessimistically I can assume that is to get more votes. Actually they are guided by self interest and thrust for power......