Tag: MDP

“I’m too old to sit around. We genuinely want to improve the way things work”: Dr Waheed

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan recently said he was not completely satisfied with his job and wanted more consultation between the government and the coalition parties when he appeared on VTV’s show Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) on 12 April.

At a rally for the Gaumee Itthihaad Party (GIP) last Saturday, Dr Waheed reiterated his concerns of lack of communication within the government and lack of consultation.

Minivan News spoke to Dr Waheed today about his comments, concerns, achievements and what improvements he thinks the government needs to make.

Laura Restrepo Ortega: Why are you airing your issues publicly? Why not speak to President Nasheed directly?

Dr Waheed: We have brought about this change to promote democracy and human rights, and good governance is a very important part of it. Part of the reason why I air these things publicly is because obviously I don’t feel that there are enough opportunities for us to discuss these things. To some extent, it is because of communication, but also these are things people need to know.

We’ve been in government for a year and a half now, and I have said these things in public before. I have tried very hard to work together and I’m still committed in doing so. I also like to be heard. I’m too old to sit around. We genuinely want to improve the way things work here.

Clearly this is still a young government and there is lots that needs to be done to improve. If you listen to what I said, and not what other people are saying, you will see that my comments are constructive comments. They are not meant to criticise. They were suggestions on how things can be improved.

LRO: Has anything changed or improved since your first TV appearance?

Dr Waheed: I don’t see any major difference still. It hasn’t been very long since I appeared on television. I am still hopeful that there will be an opportunity to work out things.

LRO: What is it you want to change?

Dr Waheed: I would like more consultation on major policy issues. I know that the Constitution doesn’t specifically say that I have to be consulted. But the spirit of the Constitution is that the vice president is here for a reason. Not to wake up every morning and find out the president is there so you go back to sleep — for five years.

LRO: So you want more communication within the government?

Dr Waheed: I think there’s no alternative to that. Any alternative to inadequate communication is breakdown.

One of the problems is that we still don’t have a culture of sharing information. Even in government offices decisions are made, and these decisions are not adequately communicated to the rest of the staff and to the people who should receive that information. So that is something that can be done fairly easily, but we have to develop a culture of doing that.

I am used to working in places where, when you make a decision, everybody who is concerned with it are informed. And it’s very easy to do that now with e-mail. We don’t have a culture of using e-mail effectively for work. People use it for personal communication, but not so much for improving office communications.

LRO: Do you think that the opposition will use your comments against the government?

Dr Waheed: It’s a competitive political environment, and different people will use them differently. The most important thing is public impression. In the past, we don’t say anything. I also worked in the previous government. We don’t say anything and we just stay quiet, and we just continue as if everything is perfect. And then it blows up.

I think we are in a different environment now. For us, freedom of expression and human rights are the reason why we are here. And part of it is also respect for each other’s views.

LRO: What do you think of the opposition? Are they being constructive or are they working against the government?

Dr Waheed: You’re talking about the opposition, and the opposition’s interest is in opposing the government. But one of the things I said was there should be a mechanism for dialogue, between the opposition and the government.

LRO: Are there no such mechanisms in place?

Dr Waheed: I don’t see that. There is too much polarisation. There are things, of course, we want from the opposition. We want their support to pass the bills in Parliament, and there may be things they want from the government. And that is also to address some of their own concerns. I believe we should be able to engage with all parties.

LRO: Do you think it’s possible for a coalition government to work in practice?

Dr Waheed: I think it’s possible. We have to be a lot more tolerant and respectful of each other. We cannot pretend that we know everything. That’s why we have to listen to others. It’s healthy to take other people’s views and to be consultative. Of course, you cannot get everything you want when you talk to other people. Sometimes you have to do things differently. But because no one is infallible, the decisions we make together are likely to survive and to succeed more.

The wisdom of consultation, I think, is probably more valid but also it helps to get buy-in and ownership. So to me, in a democratic form, in a democracy, good governance means more teamwork.

LRO: Will your party (GIP) survive?

Dr Waheed: I believe it will. But the political landscape of Maldives is not fixed, because it is in the very early stages of democracy. It’s not like a mature, old democracy. I’m sure in the future there will be many changes. Whether our party will survive will depend on how active our members are and how determined they are to build it. So we’ll see.

LRO: Should political parties be dissolved all together?

Dr Waheed: Political parties are very new in the country, they’re also struggling to develop and be at capacity. At the moment there is vicious competition among parties to grab members. And in so doing, maybe inadvertently, people are making direct or indirect threats about their job security, their benefits, about their businesses and privileges and so on. It’s not good for the country.

LRO: Do you think there are elements in the government that are detrimental to the country’s progress?

Dr Waheed: There are always people trying to influence the government’s efficiency and so on. There are also individual interests in that, but this is precisely why we have checks and balances. Within the government also there are mechanisms for getting things through, as long as we don’t short-circuit them. And we have the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and other watch-dog institutions. I believe those checks will be there. I’m optimistic that there will be those checks, if you compare now to the past.

But all of these institutions are still at an infant stage. And this is why we have to raise some of these issues. My comments certainly are not meant to be detrimental. I am trying to say things that I believe are good for the country. I have nothing to personally gain from this. But I don’t want to be sitting around, not being as useful as I can. I believe I am part of the senior leadership of this government, but there are people who don’t agree with that.

LRO: What do you think of statements made by members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) calling for the resignation of anyone in government who doesn’t adhere to the MDP manifesto?

Dr Waheed: This is very short-sighted and narrow thinking. This is not coming from everybody at the MDP, it’s coming from some people. I have a lot of affinity to MDP, as well. I helped found that party, as well. I was there at the initial stages when we built the party, and a lot of my relatives are still there.

So it’s not that I’m against MDP, we are sister parties. And I believe we should have a mechanism for working together, instead of the big fish trying to swallow the little one. That’s why I think my party’s people are resisting. They may not have a choice because it’s a much smaller party. We have a number of people from our party in the government.

The level of tolerance of this government will be judged very soon by how many of our colleagues will be forced to join MDP if they want to retain their post.

LRO: Do you think that will happen?

Dr Waheed: My colleagues in government are under pressure to leave my party (GIP) and join MDP.

LRO: What did you mean when you said the country is becoming ‘colour coded’?

Dr Waheed: If you talk to people, you don’t have to just talk to me, talk to people in government, do a survey. You will find that there is a lot of concern about this. People are having difficulty, the way they were also having in the last government. I thought we wanted to get away from these pressures.

LRO: What pressures?

Dr Waheed: If you don’t join the government, if you don’t join the political alliances, you don’t get jobs, you are threatened, you might lose your job, these kinds of things.

LRO: Is this happening within the government or to members of the general public?

Dr Waheed: This is happening everywhere. And every day we are getting complaints about this. Just yesterday, a civil servant has been transferred from one department to the other because that person signed up for my party.

These things are happening all the time. And I don’t think we should do this, because what happens next? You have another government, when a new government comes, they kick out everybody who was hired during our government. And it’s not healthy for the country. So we have to be a lot more tolerant and value people for their merit, their experience, not their political affiliations.

LRO: What would you say are your biggest achievements as Vice President?

Dr Waheed: I had been assigned the responsibility for guiding the National Narcotics Council. And I believe that there has been a very marked reduction in the availability of drugs in the country. I also believe that we have a good plan for prevention of narcotics in the country. We had a very successful stake-holder meeting and the findings have been reflected in the National Strategic Action Plan.

Implementation of it is slow. If I had sufficient powers I would have set up a stronger department for drugs and rehabilitation and treatment. It’s not working very well at the moment. I have proposed that it should be much more empowered. And once that happens I’m sure it will move faster. We have successfully revised the narcotics bill, it is now in the Parliament. And once it is approved by the Parliament, we will be able to move faster. So this is one area.

And the other is I was trusted by the president to lead the international donor conference. I believe that we had a successful one. I’m very proud of it. Now we have the pledges and commitments, we have to now still do a lot of work to access the resources. And we are in the process of doing that. I’m not the key person responsible for that now, different departments do their work, but I’m hoping that I will have a lead role in monitoring and supporting that. At the moment, my role, in fact, is a little bit vague.

LRO: Will you be running for presidency in 2013?

Dr Waheed: I have no idea where this is coming from. There are lots of political pundits in Maldives, there’s no shortage of them now. It must be coming from them. No, I have not made that decision. I think it’s a little early. But if that’s how the political formulations work in the country, and if that’s the best way I can serve, then why not?

LRO: So there is a chance you will run?

Dr Waheed: As I said, the circumstances will determine.

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MPs vote against referring to Supreme Court on provinces issue

Yesterday MPs rejected the resolution presented by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to refer to the Supreme Court on the controversial provinces issue.

35 MPs voted for the resolution while 38 MPs voted against the resolution.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party Vice President and MP Ali Waheed said that he doubted the accuracy of the resolution, claiming that it was presented “to mislead the people.”

”MP Ahmed Sameer (who presented the resolution) has told so many lies standing near the podium,” Waheed said. ”Maybe he wanted to make a record for the first ever issue taken to the Supreme Court.”

The provinces section was removed from the decentralisation bill on the vote of the DRP, Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP), Peoples Alliance (PA), Jumhoory Party and several Independent MPs.

”I never knew that people voted to divide the country into seven provinces,” he said.

Waheed said even if the issue was taken to the Supreme Court, they were also unable to divide the country.

”It can only be done by the vote of 77 MPs,” he said.

Independent MP Ibrahim Muthalib said he was concerned that if the issue was taken to the Supreme Court, it would set a precedent and many decisions would be made by the Supreme Court.

”We are losing our dignity on our own,” he said.

MDP MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed said that the issue was not a constitutional issue, and was rather a political issue.

”Dividing the country into provinces were in both the MDP and DRP manifestos,” Nasheed said. ”To fulfill the pledges of MDP, it’s one path we have to go down.”

He said that it would be more beneficial if there were seven ‘Males’, instead of one.

”What is really going on is that some DRP MPs and vice presidents had told me that if the issue was taken to the Supreme Court, it would rule that it is lawful,” he said. ”They asked me how they will save face in front of the people if that was the case.”

He called on the DRP MPs to take the issue to the Supreme Court if they were confident on the matter.

”If the Supreme Court rules it is unconstitutional we will also be supporting DRP MPs,” he said.

DRP MP Ahmed Mahloof said the purpose of MDP presenting the resolution was to mislead the people.

‘The ‘DRP manifesto do not say it the party will divide the country into provinces,” he said, ”it says it would make four cities like Male’.”

Jumhooree Party MP Gasim ‘Buruma’ Ibrahim said it was not necessary to pass the resolution and take it to the Supreme Court.

”We should take this out of the parliament floor and continue our work making laws,” he said.

DRP MP Ahmed Nihan said that before taking the issue to the Supreme Court people should define the meaning of MDP’s pledges they made to the people.

”They pledged to provide houses for people made homeless by the Tsunami within one year,” he said. ”We should ask them what they meant by ‘one year’ and ‘providing houses’.”

MDP Parliamentary group leader Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik recently said that the MDP parliamentary group would put forward a no-confidence motion against the speaker of the parliament.

However, newspaper ‘Miadhu’ reported that DRP MP Rozaina Adam had claimed there were MDP MPs who would not vote for the no-confidence motion.

Rozaina told Minivan News that she did not wish to speak about the matter.

Reeko said that the parliamentary group would be deciding the matter after the decentralisation bill.

”We do not want to speak about it yet,” he said.

MDP Secretary General Ahmed Shah, Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem and Chairperson Mariya Didi did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

DRP Vice President Umar Naseer said Reeko had promised to draft the no-confidence motion against the speaker not with the intention of doing it, ”but just to charge their activists.”

MDP can only get 27 votes even if the no-confidence motion was forwarded, he said: ”MDP can’t shoot goals in parliament.”

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Vice President voices concerns about government at GIP rally

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed once again spoke out publicly against the government at a Gaumee Itthihaad Party (GIP) rally on Saturday, where he reiterated his opinion that the government’s coalition platform, which won them the 2008 presidential elections, is not being put into practice.

Dr Waheed appeared on the new VTV programme Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) earlier this month, where he voiced his concerns that the government was not employing the multi-party system they based their 2008 campaign on. He also said President Mohamed Nasheed did not consult with him enough, and he did not want to be a Vice President who “slept for five years.”

The vice president told Minivan News at the time he was “not completely satisfied” with his job and felt it was time for him to speak out without being afraid. “It’s my responsibility to express my feelings,” he said.

At Saturday’s GIP rally, the vice president once again spoke out against Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members who were acting as though MDP was the only party in the government, and said the Maldives would soon be “colour coded.”

According to reports, toward the end of the rally more than half the audience walked out in protest when Deputy Minister for Economic Development and GIP member, Ahmed Inaz, spoke of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, reiterated Dr Waheed was speaking as the head of a political party and not as the vice president at Saturday’s rally.

“I believe he has identified a need to strengthen his own party. New political party regulations require a party to have 3000 members, otherwise the party will be dissolved,” he said.

Zuhair added “another factor may be the local government elections in June, and he feels he needs to be seen as active. All this has nothing to do with the government.”

He noted the president and vice president “get on well at the office” and everything is running normally.

Zuhair said Dr Waheed’s comments on “colour coding” were taken out of context by the media. “I don’t believe this is correct,” he said. “The government does not favour any one party, which I believe is a compliment to the government.”

He said “the vice president accepted the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) manifesto. He is raising these problems with the government but he is part of it, so perhaps he should be more proactive in solving them.”

Zuhair added the opposition would surely try to use this to drive a wedge into the government, saying “it’s already happening.”

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef said he believes there have been “some misunderstandings between the president and vice president.”

He said he doesn’t see anything wrong with the vice president making his comments public, as he “wasn’t criticising the government.”

Shareef said many people, both in the government and general population, were “blowing it out of proportion” making many people think there is disunity in the government.

He added Dr Waheed was asked difficult questions, and “I believe the vice president has answered correctly. Everybody knows it to be the truth.”

He said the government’s problem was they were “trying to change things for the sake of change” and had “so far failed to deliver anything concrete.”

Shareef said “people’s lives are becoming very difficult”, especially for those in the civil service, and noted that even if the government could not deliver on anything concrete, people were still expecting it from them.

“It’s only been a year and a half,” he said, “but some decisions are very hasty and not thought out properly.”

Spokesperson for MDP Ahmed Haleem said he thought the vice president “wants to get more sheets for the local elections [to be held in June]” and “wants to show he is still alive.”

“Seventy-five percent of the people reject this vice president,” Haleem said, adding the Vice President’s recent comments were not injuring the image of the government or the MDP, but were injuring Dr Waheed himself.

Haleem said there is “no more coalition” in the government, since most parties withdrew from the coalition. But noted the GIP was “very supportive of us” and are supportive of democracy, too.

According to GIP’s website, the party joined the MDP to “create a platform for those individuals who wish to present new ideas, who value honest leadership that cares about the Maldivian people.”

The GIP promises to “bring new ideas on health care, education, housing and other development to better improve our country and give our citizens something we’ve never had – a truly representational government.”

As of last week, the GIP has 3,508 members according to the Elections Commission.

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Presidential commission sends corruption case against Yameen to police

A case concerning the People’s Alliance (PA) leader Abdulla Yameen has been forwarded to the police by the Presidential Commission.

The investigation concerns corruption allegations against Yameen during his time as chairman of the State Trading Organisation (STO). It involves a Rf16.7 million loan from the STO to buy a resort, which was allegedly given to local businessman Abdulla Jabir by Yameen.

The transaction was found to be in violation of corporate principles and was red-flagged in last year’s STO audit report.

Spokesperson for the Presidential Commission, Abdulla Haseen, confirmed they have “finished the report and we have submitted it to police.”

Haseen said the loan was “against corporate governance” and claimed it had been connected to corruption.

“During 2001 the loan was given to the business partner of the STO chairman at the time,” Haseen said, though he would not confirm “who that business partner was.”

He said the commission hopes the case will be forwarded to the Prosecutor General, although it might take a few weeks.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed police had received “a new case from the Presidential Commission related to the STO,” but could not give any more details.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokesperson Ahmed Haleem confirmed Jabir had recently signed up as a member of the MDP and said the party will benefit from having him as a member “as he is an experienced politician, former MP and spoke out for the change to democracy.”

He noted the MDP was not concerned about Jabir’s suspected involvement in the case, claiming “MDP is not like that, we are very straight-forward.”

He said if someone is accused of corruption, the party would want the Presidential Commission to look into the case.

Former member of the Presidential Commission, Idham Muizzu Adnan, who recently resigned over “political influences”, said he could not discuss details of his work at the commission and could not comment on the case as he had signed a non-disclosure agreement on his departure.

Yameen did not respond to Minivan News by time of press.

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Resolution on standards of conduct presented to parliament

A resolution governing standards of conduct of MPs has been presented to the parliament by Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed.

MP Nasheed said the objective of the resolution was to establish a standard of conduct for all the MPs with their support, and to see if MPs could follow it.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) member ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik said that the problem in the parliament was not that there was no standard of conduct or law.

”It’s the pressure and anger that one has when they lose the luxury received during a certain administration,” he said. “The law will remain there, but there will still be no control over the parliament.”

He said that he did not support narrowing the rights of MPs as they had to fulfill their responsibilities.

Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed condemned the resolution and said he had lost one night’s sleep due to it.

”We have the right to claim whoever presented this bill on judgment day,” he said. ”This resolution takes away all our rights,”

Peoples Alliances MP Abdul Azeez Jamaal Abu Bakur said he believed he supported the purpose of the resolution, which was to form a standard of conduct.

”To make good use of our minds means maintaining our discipline,” he said, ”or else we are falling into the category of wild animals.”

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Mausoom said he was concerned about the resolution and said he had also lost sleep over it.

”I believe it’s important to pass this resolution,” he said, ”but with some amendments.”

MDP MP Alhan Fahmy said that the resolution should not be brought to the floor.

”It is not a must for us to do as the America’s specific house or how India’s specific place does,” he said. “The people have elected people who have reached the level of conduct they expect in the parliament.”

DRP MP and Vice President Ilham Ahmed said that it was necessary to form a standard of conduct.

”We have witnessed scenes when some people unplugged the microphones in committee room and broke the glass of the name notice board,” he said. ”And it’s embarrassing to say we have also witnessed a scene when an MP pull down his zip.”

He said that to avoid repeat performances, the standard of conduct was necessary.

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MPs reject bill banning alcohol, approve bill governing political parties

The parliament yesterday rejected a bill completely banning the importation of alcohol and pork to the Maldives

The bill on banning the importation of alcohol and pork was presented to the parliament by independent MP Ibrahim Muthalib, which he claimed was an amendment to the list of things that cannot not be imported under 75/4 of the law concerning contraband.

15 MPs voted in favour of the bill while 53 MPs voted against it. Four MPs did not vote.

“The last time I presented a bill banning the sale and usage of alcohol on inhabited islands parliament sent it off the floor claiming that it only banned particular areas (inhabited islands),” Muthalib said, upon presenting  the bill.

“This time I am presenting a bill to ban [alcohol and pork] from being brought inside the country at all.”

Almost all of the MPs were against the bill, claiming that it would harm the country’s tourism industry and its economy.

Meanwhile, another bill governing political parties was approved in a near-unanimous vote 68-2.

Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ahmed Abdulla presented the bill to the parliament on behalf of the government, with the stated aim of strengthening the democracy of the country by providing people “a peaceful” way to participate in political activities.

The bill was approved by the vote of 68 MPs, while 2 MPs voted against the bill.

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“Do we really need political parties?”: Dr Mausoom

A bill on political parties presented to the parliament by the government yesterday triggered debate over the merits of the political system in the Maldives.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Abdulla presented the bill to the parliament on behalf of the government, with the stated aim of strengthen the democracy of the country and to provide a peaceful way to participate in political activities.

The bill contained aspects such as what a political party should and should not do and how members should be disciplined, how political parties can legally earn money and how a person can resign and join another political party.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Mausoom said that the country was “now in chaos because of the invention of political parties.”

”The peacefulness and unity among us has changed,’ ‘Mausoom said. ”The question in our hearts is: ‘Do we really need political parties?’.”

He proposed to amend the article 18 of the bill in the committee stage.

Independent MP Ahmed Amir said that the question on his mind was why MPs were not included in the list of people “who cannot be a member of any political party.”

Amir claimed that the majority of the population “does not support political parties in the country.”

“More than 50 per-cent of the population of above the age of 18 is not involved in any political party,” he said.

DRP MP Rozaina Adam said that now it was too late to make bills governing the conduct of political parties.

Rozaina proposed to add a article whereby the Elections Commission (EC) was obligated to provide places for political parties to hold their meetings.

”When the opposition tries to hold a meeting we don’t usually get a place,” she claimed. ”So I suggest we design the bill in a way that political parties would have to get permission from the EC to hold meetings and they provides a place.”

She said that she had noticed that the screening of private phone calls was now very popular.

”I see they regularly screen our private phone calls – I wonder if this would not be spying, a power that the government has,” she said. ”I wish that when the bill gets passed there would be a solution for these types of things.”

MDP Chairperson and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi said she recalled a time when political parties were not registered, on the assumption that the invention of a political party system would disperse society.

”But people sought in their own ways to express their opinions and raised their voice for a political party system,” she said, ”and after listening to their voices parliament made a law permitting parties.”

She said that independent MPs also work together as a political party.

”They also holds meetings among them and speak one word,” she said.

DRP MP Ahmed Mohamed said he was against party system “now and then.”

”Forming a political party in a such small country is like playing with fire,” Mohamed said.

”I say, we hold a vote to see if people like or dislike having political parties,” he said. ”Like other MPs have said, the majority of the population does not belong to any political party.”

”In a family, Mum, Dad and their kids are in different parties, so the unity among them gets ruined,” he said.

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MDP MP Musthafa assures “I will never leave my party”

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Thimarafushi in Thaa Atoll, Mohamed Mustafa, has spoken against one of the amendments to the Tourism Act in Parliament this week, amendments proposed by his party.

Today he offered assurances that he “would still vote with MDP on the issue.”

Mustafa said he is mainly opposed to the extension of leases for resorts, which will lease islands to resort operators for a minimum of 50 years. This was proposed  to make the Maldives a “more investor-friendly environment,” according to former Minister of Tourism Abdulla Mausoom, who spoke to Minivan News yesterday.

Mustafa believes reducing costs for the investor means “one man is getting rich, while the poor are getting poorer.”

“We don’t need to extend a lease to 50 years,” he said, “rather, the government can implement the Taxation Bill.”

He said he does not see how the amendment is beneficial to the people of the Maldives: “Why are we giving the benefits to rich people and not the general public?”

Although he expressed his concerns over the proposed amendments, he said he wanted to “confirm to Minivan News that I will not vote against my party. It’s one of the best parties.”

“I have my own opinion,” he said, but he still believes “the MDP are [working] for the benefit of Maldivians.”

Mustafa also spoke about his “intimidation” by certain MDP members, but said it was not a recent issue and had nothing to do with the Tourism Act.

He said his comments concerning intimidation by his party were “regarding a previous case that went to criminal court” a year and a half ago over a payment issue.

Mustafa said he was acting as a mediator for a payment that needed to be made to someone, whom he claims is “a known money launderer and strong supporter of the DRP”, and this person tried to cash in the same cheque twice.

“He had no right to take the payment the second time,” he said.

Mustafa claimed the case was then taken to court and he was not informed about it. He said “some senior MDP members were behind the case, but they are not MPs.”

He said his comments were taken out of context by the media, “which is putting their own style into things they don’t know. They are poisoning the minds of the public.”

Concerning the recent rumours that he was planning on leaving the MDP and moving to the People’s Alliance (PA), he said “I will never move to the PA, that is totally false.”

“I have nothing against my party, we are on very good terms,” Mustafa noted, adding that “MDP is a democratic party. It’s the most democratic party in the Maldives, and we are working to perform our pledges.”

“We work very well, cooperate, do our best for our party,” he said, “we are very strong, we walk as one. I will never leave my party, I would rather resign [politics],” he added.

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Government is still “one man show”, says Vice President Dr Waheed

When Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed appeared as the first-ever guest on VTV’s new show Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) on 12 April, he took the opportunity to say he was “not completely satisfied” with his job.

The aftermath of the Vice President’s interview has brought his comments to television shows, newspapers and blogs, with headlines exploiting his words as criticisms directed to President Mohamed Nasheed and his leadership.

Speaking to Minivan News, Dr Waheed said although he usually does not do interviews, but in a small community like Malé “people know when someone is not happy” and he felt he needed to speak out.

“I made a fairly measured response [to the question], careful not to be too critical of the government,” Dr Waheed said. “It is time to get rid of that fear of speaking out.”

He said people had been waiting for him to say something about his role as the country’s first elected vice president, and felt he needed to express “what is good, and what is not working” in the current government.

“This is also my government. Clearly there are ways it could be stronger,” he said.

Dr Waheed said he felt the government should be “shaped in the spirit of democracy and good governance,” adding that “we still have a lot to learn.”

He said he held the responsibility to tell the people who elected him how he felt about the government, their over-all performance and his role in it. “It’s my responsibility to express my feelings,” he said, “I think people in power should express themselves.”

Dr Waheed’s feelings were that the “way we function in [this] government is not too different to what it used to be. It’s still one man running the show,” he said, but assured he was “not picking issues” with the government, but “talking about democratic process.”

One of the main reasons for his dissatisfaction was that he doesn’t feel he is sufficiently involved in the decision-making process. “I don’t feel I am able to contribute, that consultation is not there.”

He said that while it was the president’s privilege not to consult him on everything, he thought the core of a democratic government should be “more inclusive and participative.”

“The people of the Maldives didn’t elect me to sleep for five years. I believe I am part of the leadership of this country and it is necessary for me to be involved,” Dr Waheed said. He added “the government will be stronger if the president consults with us.”

He also expressed concern over the fact that the current government won the 2008 elections on a coalition-party platform, but is now being run by a single party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

However Dr Waheed said this was “nothing that can’t be fixed”, as the government “is going through a learning process.”

He also believes the government is doing a good job in delivering their promises to the people.

“For any government, the first few months have to go into planning,” Dr Waheed said. “There has been a lot of work laying those foundations and results will be seen shortly.”

As the Maldives has not yet celebrated its second year under a democratic government, the vice president is sure these issues can still be resolved.

He said the government must be “much more consultative. We need to be more clear on what is being assigned and how that can be achieved.”

Dr Waheed defended his statements on ‘Hot Seat’ by reiterating that “I don’t see why we should be hiding our feelings now. We did not bring about this change to work in despair.”

He noted that despite the headlines today, “everything is OK” between him and the president.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the vice president’s interview “was not in an official capacity [as vice president], but as a party leader.”

“If he was going in official capacity we would get a notice, but this time it did not happen,” Zuhair said.

Dr Mohamed Jameel, president of the Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP), one of the parties that joined the MDP-led coalition that elected President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration in the 2008 elections, said he “agrees with Vice President Waheed completely.”

“I think [lack of consultation] is the very reason why many politicians from the coalition went away,” he said, adding “this is the final blow in the coffin.”

He said the problem was the government’s attitude: “Ever since they were elected, they have been saying it was a win for the MDP only.”

Dr Jameel said he thought the MDP had been “hijacked at gun point by their activists” and now the government was “conveniently giving into their demands.”

President of the Adhaalath party Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed, another coalition partner, said all the coalition parties had been having problems for a while “due mainly to political competition.”

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