maldives news – Page 872 – Minivan News

Former DRP councillor wins Filladhoo council by-election on MDP ticket

Dismissed Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) councillor for Haa Alif Filladhoo, Adam Inaz, regained his seat on a ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ticket in Saturday’s by-election.

Inaz was dismissed from his post after being expelled from the DRP for voting against the party line in a no-confidence motion against DRP councillor Mohamed Vijan, chair of the Filladhoo island council.

An opposition-sponsored second amendment to the Decentralisation Act passed in December 2010 stipulates that councillors elected on a party ticket must remain a member of the party or be stripped of the seat.

According to provisional results announced by the Elections Commission (EC) last night, Inaz received 331 votes (55.7 percent) to DRP candidate Mohamed Jameel’s 263 votes (44.3 percent). Of 674 eligible voters, 598 cast their ballots.

Saturday’s win secures a majority of the five-member council to the ruling party, which also won by-elections last week for two Shaviyani Milandhoo constituency atoll council seats and one Alif Alif Mathiveri island council seat.

On November 19, MDP won by-elections for a Faafu Bilehdhoo atoll council seat and Alif Alif Himandhoo island council seat while a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) member won the mid-Fuvahmulah atoll council seat.

Popular mandate

MDP meanwhile celebrated the victory last night with short-eats and the traditional rice pudding at its Haruge headquarters, where President Mohamed Nasheed attended and addressed supporters.

Elections in a democratic system reveal the extent of public approval of the government and its policies, Nasheed said.

In the first multi-party elections of the past four years, Nasheed noted, MDP’s share of the vote in Filladhoo rose from 20 percent in the first round of the presidential election of October 2008 to 46 percent in the local council elections of February 2011.

The MDP candidate for the Kelaa constituency which includes Filladhoo lost by 20 votes in the 2009 parliamentary elections, he continued, of which MDP won 31 percent of the popular vote.

Nasheed went on to lay out the MDP’s election returns in detail: 44,293 votes in the first round in 2008 (25 percent); 51,176 votes in 2009 (31 percent); and 61,661 in 2011 (44 percent).

“In my view, we now have a comfortable majority, a very good majority in a democracy -that is we are now [governing] with the consent of above 55 percent to our party, our government and our policies,” he claimed.

President Nasheed also referred to a protest by a group of Filladhoo islanders during his visit on December 24.

The protest leader addressed the President’s delegation with a megaphone “from the time we arrived till we went to the office,” Nasheed recounted, adding that he was “very pleased after seeing that as it’s been a while since I’ve seen a megaphone.”

While the incident was reported in local media, Nasheed argued that that “the people’s decision” was not “based on news headlines”.

“Two TV stations and two or three newspapers are constantly, relentlessly, criticising the government,” he said. “And sometimes the criticism goes beyond bounds.”

However, he contended, “the receptiveness of the message” on opposition-aligned media is diminished due to glaring contradictions “between what you can see for yourself and what you hear on TV.”

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French tourist found dead near Paradise Island Resort

A French tourist, identified as 49 year-old Alan Marshall, has been found dead near Paradise Island Resort this morning.

Marshall went missing during a late afternoon swim on January 7.

Marshall was vacationing on Club Med Kanifinolhu resort with his wife, daughter and son-in-law since last week. The family was due to leave the Maldives on January 12.

Kahifinolhu General Affairs Manager Abdu Samad said the victim had been snorkeling off the northern end of Kanifinolhu when he went missing around 4:30 pm. The family immediately reported him to resort staff who launched an investigation with divers.

Police were informed within one hour of Marshall’s disappearance. According to Samad, the search continued through the night until Marshall was found this morning within 30 meters of Paradise Island.

No details have yet been released as to the cause of death. However, police officials today said there was no cause for suspicion of foul play.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police would “try to find out as much as possible about what happened” during their investigation.

“We have never had an issue with that area of our reef,” said Samad. “It is narrow and there can be a strong current but he was swimming during low tide. We can’t understand what happened.”

According to Samad, Marshall’s son-in-law had spoken with him in the water prior to returning to shore. On the beach, Marshall’s wife inquired after her husband’s whereabouts. Unable to see him, they alerted the resort.

Samad noted that Marshall had said he could swim upon arriving at the resort, however his family confirmed that he had a weak arm. “The investigation will look into any medications he may have been taking,” Samad said.

Marshall’s body has been moved to a mortuary on Male’. Samad expects the investigation to be concluded today, and that the resort is currently arranging to transport the family and the body to Sri Lanka. “There they can arrange for a proper autopsy or a cremation. We are also looking into their transport back to France,” Samad said.

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Petrol bombs launched into MDP Haruge

Two petrol bombs landed inside ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Haruge (headquarters) around midnight last night, January 7. MDP activists allege that the culprits were paid recruits of opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

Police were called to the scene where they spoke to activists then inside the headquarters. Police officials today said the incident was minor, involving a few “bottles with petrol”, and that there was no confrontation.

No arrests have been made, and there is no investigation.

MDP activist Mohamed Areef described the incident to Minivan News.

“Some activists were just sitting near the wall of the haaruge, talking and playing chess. Then one bomb landed from over the wall, and I ran. Next another bomb was thrown just inches from my head.”

Areef said one man had sustained burns to his ankle, but that the injury was minor.

Areef noted that opposition PPM had held a gathering on January 5, and he was “quite sure [the attack] was planned by PPM. The party probably paid some people to do it.”

According to Areef, MDP will not retaliate.

PPM Spokesperson Ahmed Mahlouf denied that the party had any involvement in the matter.

“We have no interest in taking MDP Haruge, and we definitely do not support violence as a way of addressing issues,” he said.

Mahlouf added that the party had not held discussions regarding MDP “for two, three days”, and had no reason to launch petrol bombs into the ruling party’s headquarters.

“We are shocked to hear the news, and to hear that the blame has been put on us,” he said.

The incident follows several weeks of political controversy over demands made during a religious protest on December 23, in which PPM members and leaders joined six other opposition parties and religious NGOs in a call for stronger Islamic policies at the government level.

In response to these demands, the government ordered that all resort spas be closed and announced it was considering a ban on pork and alcohol. The first resorts to experience these effects were those owned by Jumhooree Party Leader and MP Gasim Ibrahim, the owner of Villa Hotels. Gasim subsequently sued the government over the matter.

Meanwhile, PPM argued that the demands against the sale of alcohol did not refer to the 100-plus resorts currently operating in the Maldives. However, going along with the high-stakes game of chicken the party announced that it would support the government’s suggestion to ban pork and alcohol provided “it has the courage” to do so.

Last week, the government requested a “consultative opinion” from the Supreme Court over the legality of selling pork and alcohol in a nation whose constitution is based on Islamic Sharia. Twenty-four hours later the government announced it was lifting the ban on spa operations in order to protect business interests while the court deliberates the matter.

The Judicial branch of the Maldives has been widely labelled as a remnant of the former regime, which appointed all of the current judges. A majority of the judges have little or no legal training, and have not been educated beyond grade seven. This year, MDP activists requested international support over the “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary – most of whom were appointed by Gayoom during his thirty years of power.”

Speaking at a press conference last week, President Mohamed Nasheed credited the spa controversy for having “woke the nation from its slumber and sparked a healthy national debate about the future direction of the country”.

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State revenue increased 89 percent in 2011

The Maldivian State received Rf4.5 billion (US$290 million) in revenue last year through the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA).

Revenue in 2011 increased by 89 percent compared to 2010’s revenue of Rf2.4 billion (US$155 million).

According to MIRA statistics, most revenue was received from the tourism industry.

Within the industry, resorts pay Rf752 million (US$48 million) as tourism tax, Rf666 million (US$43 million) as Tourism Goods and Services tax (T-GST) and Rf511 million (US$33 million) to extend a resort lease, Haveeru reports.

Airport Service Charge (ASC) raked in the second-highest revnue at Rf337 million (US$21 million).

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Public finds Parliament “most corrupt” institution: Transparency International

A new report published by Transparency International finds that 90 percent of surveyed Maldivians believe that “corruption has increased” or remained level in the last three years, while they dubbed the parliament as the “most corrupt” institution.

The “Daily Lives and Corruption: Public Opinion in Maldives” report surveyed 1001 people in the Maldives between April 23 and April 29 of 2011 to capture public perception of corruption in the country. The survey was conducted by Gallup Pakistan of Gallup International, a leading polling service.

The report revealed that over half of the people interviewed (56 percent) believe the level of corruption in Maldives has increased over the past three years, while another 34 percent believed it remained the same. Only ten percent said corruption levels declined.

When people were asked to rate the extent of corruption in nine different institutions on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “not at all corrupt” and 5 meaning “extremely corrupt”, 55.9 percent of responders claimed 77 seat People’s Majilis (Parliament) is “extremely corrupt” – suggesting that the public perceive the elected legislative body as among the most corrupt institutions in the country.

Meanwhile, 55.4 percent of respondents viewed political parties as “extremely corrupt”. The judiciary received a similar ranking from 39.4 percent of individuals polled.

Military and religious groups were considered the least corrupt institutions.

In addition to measuring public perception, the report also evaluated the prevalence of bribes in the civil sector. According to its findings, six percent of responders claimed to have paid a bribe to one of the nine service providers over the past 12 months. The most bribes were paid to Customs, while the fewest were paid to the Police.

Bribes were reportedly paid to either accelerate procedures or minimise conflicts at institutions which provide land services, registry and permit services, utilities, education, and medical services.

Transparency officials point out that although the government or executive was not classified as an individual institution at the time of polling, the services for which people paid bribes are government components.

Most bribes were paid by men (8 percent) with women paying fewer than half that amount (3 percent). All bribes were paid by people of low income, the report reveals.

Speaking at the report release ceremony held on Thursday at Traders, Senior Program Coordinator at Transparency International Rukshana Neenayakkara pointed out that it is significant that 90 percent of Maldivians believe that the presence of corruption has increased or remained unchanged over the past three years.

Referring to the high perception of corruption within the parliament and judiciary, Neenayakkara said the figures reflect a “dismal drastic situation” of grand corruption in Maldives, which can create a “worse situation” in the coming years. “So we need action now”, he asserted.

According to Neenayakkara petty corruption is uncommon in Maldives though it is endemic in other South Asian countries which were similarly surveyed.

Project Coordinator for Transparency Maldives Aiman Rasheed explained that “grand corruption” which spread across the judiciary, parliament and members of the executive is “more dangerous” compared to the petty cash corruption, and stressed on the need to address the problem through systematic change.

Faced with such endemic and high-level corruption, it is “up to the people of the Maldives to demand better governance”, he insisted.

The Maldives rose slightly to rank 134 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), released in December 2011.

The country scored 2.5 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 10 (very clean), placing it alongside Lebanon, Pakistan and Sierra Leone.

The score however is a mild improvement on 2010, when the Maldives was ranked 143th and below Zimbabwe. The Maldives still rated as having higher perceived corruption than many regional neighbours, including Sri Lanka (86), Bangladesh (120) and India (95).

Speaking with Minivan News in December, Rasheed said it was “up to the people of the Maldives to demand better governance”, and noted that the nation’s ability to address corruption would have political ramifications for the 2013 presidential election, particularly for young voters.

The “Daily Lives of Corruption” report concludes that 93 percent of Maldivians think that “ordinary people can make difference in the fight against corruption”.

Other countries surveyed were Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

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“Tariff rationalisation a positive to economy”: Care Ratings Maldives

The new tariff structure that came into force on January 1, 2012 will have a positive impact on the domestic economy, predicts an economic review report for December released by Care Ratings Maldives this week.

Care Ratings Maldives became the first credit ratings agency recognised by the Capital Markets Development Authority (CMDA) in May 2011 to carry out ratings of debt instruments and facilities.

“The new export-import tariff structure may be viewed as a pragmatic policy, designed to diminish structural fragilities of the Maldivian economy,” the report found.

Amendments to the Export-Import Act proposed by the government as part of its economic reform package was passed by Parliament on November 21 and ratified by the President shortly thereafter. Import duties were subsequently reduced and scrapped entirely for a range of items.

Under the new tariff structure, the report observes, “products such as metals, minerals, chemical products and manufactured goods, which together constitute about 57 percent of total [imports], have by and large been awarded with a reduction in tariffs.”

However it noted that tariffs or import duties for certain items have been significantly hiked, such as tariffs for tobacco from 50 to 150 percent and non-biodegradable plastic bags from 200 to 400 percent.

The report also noted that the contribution of import duties to government revenue has been declining, from 73 percent in 2008 to 46 percent in the first ten months of 2011.

Meanwhile the implementation of new taxes, such as the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and Business Profit Tax (BPT), is expected to account for a higher portion of government income.

“It may be noted that the Maldivian government is making a conscious attempt at augmenting revenues from direct tax sources, rather than indirect taxes,” the report stated.

The report predicts that “the largest beneficiary of this new tariff structure” could be the secondary sector as tariffs have been lowered significantly (between 10 percent and 100 percent reduction) for inputs of the manufacturing and construction industries.

As a result, the report forecast that the contribution of both sectors to the GDP could reach pre-recession levels of five and 11 percent, respectively.

“The reduction in import tariff would impact the construction sector by freeing resources for projects under implementation and reducing their costs during gestation periods,” the report explains, adding that the construct boom “could boost the tertiary sector of the economy as well.”

Retailers meanwhile expect prices of foodstuff to fall in the wake of the import duty waiver. Items with GST rate set at zero percent for which import duties have now been scrapped include rice, flour, sugar, salt, milk, cooking oil, eggs, tea, fish products, onions, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, baby food, diapers, gas, diesel and petrol.

While the State Trading Organisation (STO) announced a reduction in diesel and petrol prices, Maldivian airline reduced airfares for domestic flights by Rf50 in line with the reduction in import duty for jet fuel.

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Coalition condemns government for “not complying with demands and respecting Islamic principles”

The ‘December 23 coalition’ of NGOs and opposition parties has condemned the government for “making a mockery of the demands” and equated its decision to shut down resort spas and massage parlors with “committing atrocities to defame Maldivians in front of the world.”

In a press statement today, the coalition noted “with surprise and regret” that the government has “not shown any indication either through words or deeds of complying with the demands and respecting Islamic principles.”

On December 23, the coalition rallied thousands of protestors across the island nation in a call to ‘Defend Islam’ in the Maldives.

Five demands were addressed to the government: prohibit Israeli flights from operating in the Maldives, close all massage parlors “and such places where prostitution is practiced”, reverse the decision allowing the sale of alcohol in areas of inhabited islands declared ‘uninhabited’ – such as in Addu City and Fuvahmulah where the government plans to build city hotels – condemn UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay and apologise for her comments against flogging, and remove allegedly “idolatrous” SAARC monuments in Addu City.

The coalition previously set January 5 as the final day for the government to address the demands.

Observing that deadline, the coalition today made notice that participants of the December 23 mass protest “are not enemies of the Maldivian economy and made no calls for any measures that would limit or undermine opportunities provided within the law for tourism or any other economic activity.”

The coalition argued that the government “gave a deaf ear to the demands, insulted principles of religion and mocked the Maldivian people.”

Religious party Adhaalath’s spokesperson Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed was unable to comment on the discussions. Referring to the coalition’s next step, he said the party “will always prefer to solve problems peacefully.”

Speaking in his own capacity, ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy predicted that “it looks like another protest.”

Fahmy disagreed with the coalition’s allegations against the government. “The government has been really responsible in this matter, it has made progressive moves to respond to the demands from the coalition and those who supported it,” he said.

Fahmy said MDP leadership had not yet convened to discuss the matter, and he could not comment on behalf of the party.

Following the December 23 demonstration, in the interest of “respecting Islamic principles”, the government adopted an all-or-nothing approach. The Tourism Ministry ordered that spa operations be shut down while the government announced it was considering a nationwide ban on pork and alcohol, two commodities prohibited in Islam.

Parliament’s National Security Committee also passed a resolution advising against licensing of Israeli national airline El Al to operate direct flights to the Maldives.

The government noted that the monuments in Addu fell under the remit of Addu City Council, and added that only Parliament could issue or request a statement against Pillay as it was to that independent body that she made her claim, noting that her visit was organised by the UN office in Male’.

President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday lifted the week-long ban “because the government does not want the economy to suffer any damage during the time Supreme Court takes to come to a decision.”

The government has lately sought a consultative opinion from the Supreme Court over whether operation of spas and the sale of alcohol and pork for tourism purposes within the Muslim nation of Maldives is constitutional.

Tourism is the nation’s leading economic contributor, generating 70 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP) indirectly. Attorney General Abdullah Muiz yesterday pointed out that a substantial amount of the 2012 state budget of Rf14.8 billion (US$959.8 million) relies on expected revenue from the tourism industry.

Although no statistics are currently available, tourism officials have noted that the industry has suffered booking cancellations and “irrevocable damage” since mid-December, when news of Islamic extremism and political unrest began reaching international media.

Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) filed a case against the government at the Civil Court over the spa ban earlier this week.

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Comment: Maldivians helping 700,000 non-Muslims go to hell every year

As all of us know very well, we Maldivians are a pious Muslim community who have it enshrined in our constitution that to be a Maldivian necessarily means to be a Muslim. If we give up our Muslim identity, our rights as a Maldivian citizen are taken away automatically.

How this has been accommodated within the framework of the International Convention on Human Rights (of which we are a signatory) is still a mystery to me. For it says that every human being has the right to the freedom of conscience. And what is freedom of conscience if we cannot choose our religion?

Recently I found myself discussing the issue with some friends and we thought of a scenario where a Maldivian waiter is serving non-Muslims in a resort. The waiter will serve all alcoholic beverages that the guests (referred in this article as non-Muslims) request for. He will also catch glimpses of them wearing bikinis and frolicking about in the white sandy beaches. And yet, he himself is strictly prohibited from any such behavior, not only because of his job description as a waiter, but because, if he chooses to engage in any of these activities he is facilitating his guests with, he will find himself a criminal. I told my friends that I found this contradiction a bit troublesome. I understand that some Maldivians justify this state of things by citing various reasons.

Even though the Maldivian constitution was last revised as recently as 2008, it clearly states that a Maldivian citizen can only be a Muslim. And from this follows other laws and regulations which prohibit Maldivians from consumption of alcohol and any other behavior that is deemed outside of the Muslim moral code. And tourism regulation in the country is perhaps a good example of this. We facilitate tourists to travel thousands of miles and spend as much dollars to travel to the beautiful islands of the Maldives (of which we are the inhabitants) and do things we believe will only take them closer to hell; drink alcohol, engage in sex outside marriage, wear revealing clothes in public, etc. So we have a situation where we ourselves refrain from the bad things but actually help others who do not belong to our community to do these very sinful things. The same laws of the land has different provisions to different persons, and while some laws describe us as having certain unalienable rights, others deny us those very same rights.

I have often thought of bringing this up with the MPs that represent the community I live in, who are individuals vested with the responsibility to scrutinize the laws of the country so as to make them more compatible with our beliefs and outlook. However, after seeing them on TV recently and hearing them speak on the radio, I have come to the conclusion that a majority of these MPs will not warm up to such an idea. I find some of them highly insular and provincial. And sometimes I wonder what they are trying to achieve by being in the parliament.

A friend recently commented that ‘Maldivians are the niggers of this country’, encapsulating the feelings I have tried to state above. He was referring to the black Americans in USA who were deprived of even the basic human rights until the Civil Rights Movement. It is one thing to have attitudes about things, but it is quite another to enshrine them in the highest code of regulation for a community, the Constitution.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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