Tag: maldives news

Wataniya and Dhiraagu “collude” against public interest: DRP Deputy Leader Ahmed Mohamed

Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Ahmed Mohamed has claimed that changes made by telecommunication companies Dhiraagu and Wataniya are diluting market competition and damaging the public interest.

Both companies have upgraded their fair usage policies and increased the possible number of free texts per credit top-up from 20 to 50, effective January 1. They have also requested a tariff change due a hike in package prices.

“In the past, Dhiraagu had a monopoly. When Wataniya came in there was health competition in the country and phone charges decreased dramatically. But these recent actions, the fair usage policies and the change in tariffs, can be seen as colluding,” said Mohamed.

“I don’t know if there is a law against anti-competitive behavior in the market,” Mohamed explained, “but these colluding behaviors by the telecomm companies are not healthy for the general public.”

Mohamed said the government should act on any law which prohibits companies from colluding to reduce competition and drive up prices, or should create one to address such a situation.

Wataniya and Dhiraggu are the only two telecommunications companies in Maldives, and both introduced BlackBerry services to the Maldives this year.

CAM Deputy Director General Abdullah Pasha confirmed that CAM had approved tariffs for price changes, but said the authority did not regulate changes to free minutes “because it is used to manage excess capacity on their networks, and so it’s up to them.”

Pasha did not believe that the changes would hurt competition or impact the general public.

“Prices are going up in every sector right now, so this isn’t unusual,” he observed.

Officials at both telecommunications companies were unaware of Mohamed’s statement, and did not believe that there was cause for concern.

“Competition is one of the fundamental things of a strong, successful business. We definitely don’t engage in anything that would compromise market competition,” said Dhiraagu Marketing and PR executive Imjad Jaleel.

Jaleel said Dhiraagu has made several changes which bear similarities to upgrades made by Wataniya, but claimed that the coincidence was an effect of catering to the same population.

“After all we are talking about the Maldives market,” he said. Jaleel added that changes at Dhiraagu are always monitored by an outside party. “Dhiraagu must go through the Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) to make any changes, and we follow CAM’s advise and cooperate with its regulations. There is nothing we would do to damage competition, or have a negative impact on the general public.”

Wataniya’s Head of Marketing and Communications Aishath Zamra Zahir said the company was also “following the usual procedure with CAM, and [has] fulfilled all the licensing requirements.”

Zahir added that Wataniya’s changes have not tamed the market, but rather have maintained the company’s  competitive edge.

“We still offer the lowest IDD (international direct dialing) in the country,” she pointed out.

According to Wataniya‘s new fair usage policy, customers can receive up to 1000 free minutes when making calls from a free phone number.

Dhiraagu customers with post paid plans can now receive between 1000 and 5000 free minutes per month for calls with free numbers, according to their plan.

Jaleel pointed out that these revisions are not unique to the Maldives, but rather reflect “a trend that is happening everywhere in the world.”

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Criminal Court, Juvenile Court suspends drug cases awaiting formation of Drugs Court

The Criminal and Juvenile Courts have suspended all drug cases while they await the formation of a Drugs Court over the next two to three months. The decision follows stipulations for court formation provided in the recently-ratified Drugs Act.

Under Article 33 of the Act, all drug cases currently before the Criminal and Juvenile Courts must be transferred to the Drugs Court, following discussions between the Prosecutor General and judges.

Article 39 meanwhile requires the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to appoint at least five judges to the Drugs Court within 60 days after the law was ratified.

After that two month period, the courts have 30 days to transfer those cases determined to fall under the jurisdiction of the Drugs Court.
Meanwhile, article 33(b) states that the Criminal and Juvenile Courts should not hear or accept drug-related cases during that period.

The Drugs Court will have jurisdiction over those charged with possession and abuse of drugs as well as those accused of committing criminal offences under the influence of drugs.

According to the Act, a specialised Drugs Court of superior court status will combat drug addiction by integrating rehabilitation services into the court system.

Traffickers will be tried in the Criminal Court.

A 2011 prison report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) argued that the unnecessarily high number of inmates serving drug sentences was a major concern for prison reform. A majority of inmates are males under the age of 30, while 66 percent of inmates are serving time for drug use or possession.
Speaking to Minivan News at the time, Co-author Naaz Aminath pointed out that most modern judicial systems carried heavier sentences for traffickers, “but here, traffickers get 25 years while small-time users get 60 to 80 years. These are not hard-core criminals, but they’re put away for almost their entire lives.”
Police officials today said that while drug arrests are made on a regular basis, they did not expect any complications to their work while the cases are suspended at the court level.

In a previous article, Police Drug Enforcement Unit Superintendent and Chief Inspector Mohamed Jinah said the bill would be “very useful and instrumental for the police enforcing the drug policies,” and would allow police to focus more on drug trafficking.

Jinah was unavailable for comment at time of press.

Ahmed Nazim, a Research and Development officer at Journey Rehabilitation Center in Male’, added that by distinguishing between the source (drug traffickers) and the consequence (drug use), the new system would reduce the amount of drugs on the street.
He said the Act “puts a lot of emphasis on giving addicts proper treatment”, and accepts the modern argument that addiction is a medical condition rather than a behavioral problem.

The Drugs Bill was introduced in 2009, detained in the Committee for Social Affairs since early 2010, and approved by Parliament on December 28. President Mohamed Nasheed ratified the bill on December 31, 2011.

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GST rises to six percent as revised import duties come into force

The General Goods and Services Tax (G-GST) passed by parliament last year rose to six percent from 3.5 percent yesterday while import duties were lowered or eliminated for a range of commodities starting on January 1, 2012.

The Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) was meanwhile raised to six percent for 2012 as stipulated in the GST Act.

Under the tax legislation approved last year, items with GST rate set at zero percent for which import duties have now been eliminated include rice, flour, sugar, salt, milk, cooking oil, eggs, tea, fish products, onions, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, baby food, diapers, gas, diesel and petrol.

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The President will not apologise for Pillay without Parliament: Zuhair

President Mohamed Nasheed will neither condemn nor apologise to the people over the statements made by UN human rights chief Navi Pillay about flogging, Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair has said.

Zuhair explained that the comments were made before Parliament, which has not yet spoken against the comments.

He said the President would respond after “the head of the particular state body cites a valid reason to speak against Pillay’s comments.”

During her visit in November, Pillay told Parliament that flogging as a punishment for extra-marital sex was one of the most degrading punishments for women, and asked that the government issue a moratorium on the Shariah-based penalty.

According to Haveeru, Zuhair said that former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom earlier made statements similar to those of Pillay.

The demand that the President apologise for Pillay’s remarks is one of five demands made the coalition which protested in defense of Islam on Friday, December 23. Since then, the government taken steps to address the demands which include removing SAARC monuments in Addu, preventing Israeli airlines to operate flights into the Maldives, closing down brothels and places where prostitution is practiced, and reversing the decision to declare areas of inhabited islands uninhabited in order to permit the sale of alcohol.

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Universal health insurance ‘Aasandha’ service begins

The government’s universal health insurance scheme ‘Aasandha’, in a public-private partnership with Allied Insurance, began services at midnight on the new year for all Maldivian citizens with valid national identity cards.

Allied Insurance Managing Director Abdul Waheed Thaufeeq told state broadcaster MNBC One that those with expired ID cards have been given a six month period to renew their cards.

The scheme provides coverage of up to Rf100,000 annually for health services for all Maldivian nationals from hospitals and health centres operated by health corporations as well as private hospitals ADK in Male’ and IMDC in Addu City and the private operations Central Clinic and Central Medical Centre.

The scheme also covers stays in hospitals in neighbouring India and Sri Lanka on the condition that the treatment is not available in the Maldives. A claims administration centre has been established to evaluate requests for medical treatment overseas and issue referral letters.

Allied Insurance expects between 15,000 to 20,000 people to seek medical care under the scheme daily.

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Former President denies being invited to scholars symposium

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has denied claims by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs that he was invited to the religious scholars symposium organised by the ministry to reduce conflicts on religious issues.

In a statement yesterday, Gayoom said he “deeply regretted” the Islamic Ministry informing the media that the former President declined to participate in the two-day symposium that concluded last night.

Gayoom is a graduate of Egypt’s al-Azhar University where he finished top of his class in 1966.

Islamic Ministry Spokesperson Ahmadulla Jameel told newspaper Haveeru that a text message was sent to Gayoom’s phone on Friday night upon his return to the country after two months in Malaysia.

The other scholars were first invited through text messages before official invitation letters were sent, Jameel explained, adding that he could not say whether Gayoom received the message.

The ministry had previously corresponded with the former President from the same mobile phone number, Jameel said.

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Police arrest arson suspect in Miladhoo fire case

Police have arrested a suspect in the arson attack on Noonu atoll Miladhoo island council office last week.

Police confirmed the arrest, however they did not give any further details as the investigation is ongoing.

Local newspaper Haveeru identified the arson suspect as Mohamed Aboobakuru, aged 45, of Kashmeeruvaadhee in Miladhoo.

The fire, which was reported on the early morning of December 28, wreaked extensive damage on the Miladhoo council office and the adjacent island court.

President of the Miladhoo island council Hussain Ghassan earlier told Minivan News that the had received “several threats” from some people unhappy with the council, of which a majority sides with opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

“Some even threatened to burn down the office”, he said.

Ghassan reported that the council work has been halted due to the incident and they are looking for a new office to continue work.

However, he said it would be difficult to proceed as “all the paperwork, furniture and other items were lost to the fire”. The damage would cost the council around Rf 1 million (US$65,000), he added.

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Tourism Ministry may revise spa ban

The government is looking to revise the circular issued late last week requesting that resorts, hotels and guesthouses close down their spas over public allegations that they double as brothels.

“As specifying a certain distance from Male’ would not be a wise decision [in closing down spas] and that other resorts, which also cater for locals, are located close to inhabited islands, the government has decided to close down the spas in all the resorts on a fair basis and by giving a higher priority to the allegations made,” the circular read.

The decision to reconsider the circular was made after several resort owners and the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) expressed “serious concern”.

A statement signed by MATI Secretary General ‘Sim’ Ibrahim Mohamed released last week expressed concern with financial losses as a result of the decision as well as effects on holiday-makers currently in the Maldives.

MATI urged the government and opposition parties to “find a peaceful solution” to the dispute.

“The tourism industry wishes for all actors in the political sphere to prioritise the domestic economy, development and security over differences and disagreements among political parties and not involve the economy’s main industries in these disputes,” reads MATI’s appeal.

MATI’s Chairperson M U Manik and Vice Chair ‘Champa’ Hassan Afeef have made statements in the media urging the government to reverse its decision to shut down resort spas after considering the consequences for the economy.

Meanwhile the government has also announced that it is considering banning pork and alcohol across the country, in response to the large number of Maldivians who protested against the government’s current purported “anti-Islamic” policies.

Tourism Minister Dr Mariyam Zulfa told Haveeru yesterday that the circular was issued in response to demands made by the coalition of religious NGOs and opposition parties during the protest to defend Islam on December 23. These demands included the closure of places which support prostitution, namely spas and massage parlors.

Zulfa noted that a policy shift towards strict Islam would have a profound economic impact on the Maldives.

“We can only sustain our economy by following the moderate form [of Islam] which has been in the Maldives until now,” she told Haveeru. “We [ministers] are labelled anti-Islamic because we support the tolerant form [of Islam]. But that label is a disgrace to our parents as well.”

According to Zulfa, several resorts had raised concern over the circular, and while they “are aware of the reasons that led us to take the decision,” the ministry is investigating a compromise.

The Minister was unavailable for comment at time of press.

Minivan News understands that several tour operators have also been calling resorts to inquire if indeed their spas and massage services have been closed down. Hulhule Island Hotel, near Male’, has closed its spa indefinitely.

Maldives Association of Travel and Tour Operators (MATATO) earlier issued a statement condemning the government’s decision to close five Villa Hotels’ resort spas over allegations of prostitution. MATATO noted that local and foreign resorts, tour operators and travel associations had expressed concern over the decision and that the damage to the industry would be grievous.

“The spa and wellness concept is very popular among tourists,” read the statement. “We urge the government to keep politics away from Tourism and also advise various
Tourism stakeholders as well to do same, as majority of Maldivians depends on Tourism for their livelihood and is something to be dealt with extreme caution and care.”

Today, MATATO did not respond to phone calls.

Speaking at a press conference held the day before the circular was issued, President’s Office Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair justified the strong measure by saying that given the difficulty of distinguishing spas which endorse prostitution from those which do not, and that many high-profile Maldivians visit resort spas, it was important that strict measures be taken to protect those Maldivians’ good names.

Meanwhile, members of the coalition which made the demands have accused the government of “making a mockery of the demands” and “making excuses.”

Alleging that the government is targeting protesters, coalition spokesperson Abdullah Mohamed announced a sixth demand–that the government “stop causing harm to anyone who participates in the religious movement”.

The coalition has given the government until January 5 to fulfill the demands made on December 23, and has warned of further mass protests or direct action in the event that the deadline is not met.

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Comment: Extreme times…extreme measures?

Are you familiar with the game of ‘chicken’? It’s when two testosterone (and probably alcohol) fueled teenagers, egged on by their often scheming and cowardly friends, challenge each other to get into a car and drive towards themselves at high-speeds to see who will back-down or steer-away from certain collision and probably death. The first person to do so is then regarded as a ‘chicken’, with subsequent consequences on pride, relationships and social standing.

Over the last fortnight in the Maldives, we are witnessing the silliest, but most high stakes game of chicken being played by politicians who really should know better. From both sides of the political spectrum, rational individuals who should know better are getting into their respective cars – that on which the entire country relies on – and simply revving up their engines and let go of the brake.

By their side, we have the bearded Islamists, egging them on and waiting for the entire foundations of the Maldivian economy to self-destruct – so that the atoll caliphate can be reborn in all its glory.

In the old days (i.e. the time right after Maumoon forgot his criticism of Nasir for allowing alcohol to be sold), we were told that a central tenet of islam was : to each, his own. If you wanted to be a Christian, Buddhist, Shinto, Scientologist – that was your right and we will not try to change that. It conveniently allowed an ideological space for our tourism sector to grow.

However, according to the new religious authorities of the Maldives, this is no longer the case. A Maldivian economy that relies on the money of Kafir’s drinking and sleeping with their unmarried partners in our hotel rooms is hypocritical and should be overthrown.

These are extreme times we are living in. However, it is perhaps becoming slowly but abundantly clear that the existing status quo is slowly disintegrating. History has shown that when there are two parties of people living on the same area with wildly different ideas of what society should be like – the only sad solution is separation. Think India and Pakistan, West and East Germany, North and South Korea, South and North Sudan…etc.

Or perhaps take a more domestic metaphor – for many years, the relationship between the tourism industry and moderate Islam in general, and the firebrand conservatism of the current Islam in the Maldives, was like a marriage of convenience. Like any partners in a marriage, they each had their idiosyncrasies. However, for the sake of a young growing nation, both sides simply put their differences aside and tried to work it out. Today, both sides argue that the other are simply not playing fair and making unreasonable demands on each other. For the sake of the children (and future generations), isn’t it time now to consider a divorce and go their own separate ways?

Now, I’m not saying that a separation is not going to be a messy affair – what separation is not? However, in our case, it does not have to be.  The Islamic conservatives do not want to have anything to do with the tourism industry. So naturally Male’ atoll and Ari Atoll will be part of the Liberal Maldives – where most of the existing resort infrastructure are. Male has also been built on money ill-gotten from trading in alcohol, adultery (not all tourists who stay in resorts are married), and generally haram behavior. Every single aspect of the existing economy has been tainted with it, so surely they cannot in good conscience live in Male’.

So for the Islamic conservatives we provide them with a part of the country and call it the Islamic State of Maldives (or the Arabic name for Maldives) – say North or South – they can choose – and they will give up their existing land in Male’ so that people from that part of the country can come and stay there. Now I am not so certain quite what they will base their economy on – but surely they must have ideas (fisheries, agriculture, Islamic banking hub, Islamic tourism) And to be frank, good luck to them. I value diversity, and I hope they are successful and show us an alternative way to live to the western dominated environment destroying globalised economy.

The other part of the country will form the Liberal Democratic Maldives. The nature of that liberal democracy is one that puts individual freedom at heart – and runs an economy on the basis of that. The role that religion plays in this society is clearly complex – as it is in any society. It could be a moderately religious place (i.e. like Malaysia) or it could be one where religion has no place in public life but only in private life. It could for example be a dual economy – where a different set of rules apply to visiting tourists than to locals in terms of what they can and cannot do. Or it could (Allah forbid) be one where people are free to practice whatever religion they please.

As you may be able to tell from my tone, I have a small bias towards the liberal viewpoint and my preference is to live in the LDM. However, I truly and genuinely respect that you may have a conservative viewpoint. Your idea of Islamic banking and Islamic tourism hub may work like a charm – I mean they do say that Europe is now a dead economy. And who knows, as I grow older and as my wife grows uglier, I may be convinced of the joys of a second younger wife – and then, I’ll be on the first boat to your side.

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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