Tag: MDP

Police not only solving crimes, but developing responsible youth: Commissioner Waheed

Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed has said the Maldives Police Service is not only aiming to solve and combat crimes, but also to develop a responsible youth community in the country.

Speaking at an award ceremony for the participants of the latest ‘Blues for Youth’ camp, Waheed said that the police are conducting programmes in every island of the country in order to reduce crime while providing opportunities for youth communities.

He highlighted the importance of universal participation in the reduction of crime in the country while claiming that some individuals were trying to incite unrest and violence by holding protests on the streets.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) accused the government last week of attempting to obstruct the party’s demonstrations after launching its first protests since the 2013 presidential elections – claims denied by the police.

The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has based many of it policies on youth empowerment, with President Yameen noting recently that his major aim was to rebuild the country through opportunities for the youth.

To this end, he has cleared the criminal records of over 2000 young people in the country during his first year in office.

PPM Parliamentary Group Leader Ahmed Nihan recently expressed concern that young people were being labelled as gang members unfairly, although comments by the home minister and a rise in violent crime suggests a persistent problem with gangs in the capital, Malé.

“Youth in these small congregations with young blood will have the courage to defend each other. Small things like that will roll over… It’s true. I know while saying this that some incidents have gone beyond bound,” Nihan was quoted as saying by local media.

Speaking at the ‘Blues for Youth’ event, Waheed also said police would not reveal details of ongoing investigations, regardless of how much pressure was applied. Two cases are currently lodged with the Police Integrity Commission in relation to the missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

The youth camps began shortly after the government took office last year, with the stated aim of broadening the role of youth in national activities, building a healthy young generation, preparing youth for the job market and facilitating opportunities to strengthen assertiveness.

The police also held a road show at the Raalhugandu area this weekend, the starting point for an MDP march, with the aim of raising awareness about road accidents.

The show, held in collaboration with Allied Insurance, included games for children and model displays of accidents.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the road show, Waheed expressed hope that the show will raise awareness amongst the many motorist on Malé roads.


Related to this story

Criminal records cleared for over 2,000 youths, home minister informs parliament

“There is no task too menial or lowly for a Maldivian”, says Home Minister

Yameen pledges to end violent crime at ‘Successful 365 Days’ rally

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MDP rejects MP Shareef’s proposal to reduce Supreme Court bench

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) national executive council has rejected an amendment proposed by MDP MP Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef to reduce the number of Supreme Court judges from the current seven to five.

Speaking to the press today, opposition leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed said the amendments would require reappointment of the Supreme Court bench, and said the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives’ (PPM) majority in the parliament and their refusal to consider the opposition’s concerns would result in a bench biased towards the PPM.

“The current issues within the judicial system does not amount to the number of judges at the Supreme Court. There are bigger issues that require immediate resolution,” he said.

In a speech last night, Nasheed described the amendments as an attempt by the PPM to fit the Supreme Court bench into President Abdulla Yameen’s fist.

The amendments came in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to accept a complaint over “an unconstitutional decision” to reappoint the auditor general, he claimed. The Supreme Court today rejected the complaint.

Shareef defected from the MDP to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) in 2008, but rejoined the MDP during the presidential elections of 2013. Gayoom left the DRP to form PPM in 2011.

Shareef said he believed a seven member Supreme Court to be too large for the Maldives. He has also proposed two three-member High Court benches be established in the North and South.

Meanwhile, MDP Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih said Shareef had not consulted the party before he submitted amendments.

MDP Chairperson Ali Waheed said the party’s MPs are now obliged to proceed with the national council’s decision.

Meanwhile, local media reported that Hulhuhenveiru MP and Deputy Speaker ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik had boycotted the council meeting following a heated argument. Speaking to Haveeru afterwards, Manik pledged to support Shareef, even he if he has to do so alone, and claimed MDP members had treated Shareef disrespectfully at today’s meeting.

The Supreme Court – established in 2008 – has been in the midst of numerous controversies in and out of the Court room.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court used a ‘suo moto’ proceeding – allowing the Court to act as both the plaintiff and the judge – against the Elections Comission (EC)’s President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz.

They were charged with contempt of court and disobedience to order and sentenced to six months in jail as a result of testimony given in the People’s Majlis independent commission’s oversight committee.

More recently, the Court employed a similar ‘suo moto’ proceeding against the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) after it criticized the judiciary in its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) sent to the UN.

The Court charged HRCM with undermining the constitution and sovereignty of the Maldives by spreading lies about the judiciary in the UPR while stating that the report – based on a 2013 report by the UN Special Rapporteur for Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knau – was ‘poorly researched’, ‘irresponsible’ and ‘dangerous.’

June this year also saw Judge Ali Hameed – a sitting Judge at the Supreme Court – being cleared of a sex tape scandal after three recordings surfaced allegedly showing Ali Hameed engaging in sexual acts with three different woman.

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Foreign terrorist organisations planning to topple government, claims Nasheed

Foreign terrorist organisations are planning to overthrow President Abdulla Yameen’s government with help from elements of the police and military, former President Mohamed Nasheed has claimed.

“The government of our country is on the edge of being toppled. Foreign terrorist organisations and domestic institutions are carrying out this work swiftly together,” Nasheed said at a gathering of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) last night near the Hulhumalé ferry terminal in Malé.

The opposition leader accused President Yameen of attempting to conceal the alleged efforts from the public, which Nasheed said would not benefit either Yameen or the Maldives.

The MDP would remain vigilant and watch developments closely, he said, adding that the party did not want any harm to befall the nation.

In late September, Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed dismissed allegations of links between Maldivian security services and foreign terrorist organisation as false and intended to bring disrepute to the police and military.

Waheed said such claims were harmful to national interest, adversely affects the economy, and could incite unrest and strife among the public.

Allegations that damage national interest and threaten national security would be investigated, Waheed warned, and “necessary action would be taken.”

Waheed’s remarks followed Nasheed claiming in an interview with the UK’s Independent newspaper that the vast majority of Maldivians fighting in Syria and Iraq were ex-military.

Following the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s claim in May that extremist ideologies were prevalent in the security services, the defence ministry dismissed the allegations as both “baseless and untrue” and intended to “discredit and disparage” the military.

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) meanwhile issued a press release on September 18 condemning Nasheed’s allegations in the Independent.

While police estimated that about 24 persons with links to militant jihadist organisations might be active in the Maldives, MPS insisted that none of them were police officers.

“And the police leadership has always been working to ensure that such people are not formed within the police,” the statement read.

Police urged all parties to refrain from making false statements “to gain the public’s support, achieve political purposes, or win approval from foreign nations”.

Police and gangs

Nasheed meanwhile went on to say that the unexplained disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan109 days ago symbolises the extent to which security and personal safety have been lost.

The police had solved only 53 of the 465 cases filed this year, Nasheed claimed.

The reason police are unable to properly investigate the cases was due to the involvement of police officers in most of the cases, he alleged.

Elements of the police and military were tied to criminal gangs in Malé, he continued, which were in turn connected to foreign terrorist organisations.

“We see all the dark activities happening in the Maldives going on through this connection,” he said.

Nasheed had previously suggested that radicalised gangs were behind the recent “atrocities” in the capital, noting that extremist religious indoctrination of youth was a relatively recent phenomenon in the Maldives.

He further claimed that many young men from criminal gangs were seen in a protest march held in Malé on September 5 with participants bearing the militant organisation Islamic State (IS) flag and calling for the implementation of Islamic Sharia.

Of the approximately 150 participants, Nasheed had said most were “active in gangs.”

Referring to a bomb threat made to a Flyme passenger flight this week, Nasheed noted last night that the incident occurred a year after a Flyme flight departing to Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Kaadehdhoo was delayed after a group threatened to hijack the plane.

“But police did not investigate the case,” he said, adding that the threats should be taken seriously.

“Our Maldives is under a dark cloud. Our Maldives is on the edge of a dangerous pit,” he said.

The MDP was forced to take to the streets once more because of President Yameen’s “carelessness and arrogance” in response to Rilwan’s disappearance, Nasheed said.

The party would not back down in efforts to hold the government accountable and push for good governance, he added.

Nasheed also claimed that an internal opinion poll conducted by the government revealed that its support among the public was below 25 percent.

The MDP’s victories in recent by-elections has shown that a majority was behind the opposition party, he contended.

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MDP condemns government’s failure to fulfil promises to fishermen and farmers

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) hascondemned President Abdulla Yameen’s government for its lack of commitment to promises made towards the betterment of fishermen and farmers in the Maldives.

While speaking at a press conference, MDP Fisheries and Agriculture Committee’s Chair Ibrahim Rasheed said that the government’s lack of commitment is clearly illustrated by the fact that no funds are allocated towards the promised MVR10,000 (US$650) for fishermen.

“Even though President Yameen has promised on multiples podiums to provide fishermen with MVR10,000 and farmers with MVR8000, the budget does not have any allotted funds for this,” said Rasheed.

The committee also expressed concerns over the high recurrent expenditure budget allotted for the fisheries and agriculture ministry while there are only three new programmes to be added to the few ongoing in the upcoming year.

The record24.3 billion (US$ 1.5 billion) budget for 2015 has an allotted MVR134 million (US$8.7 million) as recurrent expenditure for the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary debate for the proposed budget concluded today with 79 out of 85 MPs sharing their thoughts on the budget during the process.

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MDP condemns insecurity as PPM celebrates peace and order

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has expressed concern over rising insecurity, claiming President Abdulla Yameen has failed to protect right to life and security on his administration’s first year anniversary.

In a statement issues yesterday (November 16), the MDP highlighted Yameen’s failure to find missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan, to address the rising numbers of Maldivians traveling abroad for jihad in Syria, or to bring to justice perpetrators behind the stabbing of former MP Alhan Fahmy, the murder of MP Afrasheem Ali, or the torching of opposition aligned Raajje TV.

“On this administration’s one year anniversary, there is no peace in the Maldives and the government has failed to protect citizens,” the statement said.

The MDP said the Yameen administration has failed to investigate the abduction and beating of several individuals by gangs, a spate of knifings and killings, death threats against journalists and politicians, and the vandalism of MDP members’ residences and properties.

However, speaking at a rally to mark the third anniversary of ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), Yameen said his administration has established peace and order in the country and accused the opposition of inciting terror and calling for anarchy in the Maldives.

“We have peace and order in Malé and all regions of Maldives. We have peace. However, this is not to say that isolated and significant dangerous crimes do not occur,” he said.

The PPM was established in 2010 “as an act of Jihad” to address terror, anarchy, torture and climate of fear during Nasheed’s tenure, he continued.

Referring to Nasheed’s order to arrest himself, Vice President Dr Ahmed Jameel Mohamed, and Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim, Yameen said the former president had attempted to silence all dissident voices in the country.

The PPM will tolerate dissent, he pledged.

Nasheed had arrested judges, refused to abide by the decisions of opposition MPs, undermined religious scholars and Islam, and his supporters had torched government buildings, Yameen continued.

“President Maumoon then believed we had to embark on jihad,” he said.

Yameen went on to defend Nasheed’s ouster in February 2012, claiming the move was not illegal, but necessary to uphold the constitution.

“PPM is a party that loves peace,” he said.

The MDP has recently described Yameen’s administration has having been taken hostage by gangs and rogue police officers, while international groups have expressed alarm at the rise in gang violence in recent months.

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MDP criticises 2015 housing budget

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has heavily criticised the proposed housing budget for the year 2015 for lacking clarity and new projects aimed at providing adequate housing.

While speaking at a press conference today, MDP housing committee chair and former environment and housing minister Mohamed Aslam said that the funds allotted towards housing projects for the upcoming year were for projects initiated by the MDP government elected in 2008.

The record MVR23.4 billion (US$ 1.58 billion) proposed budget – currently under discussion at the parliament’s budget committee – has MVR1.4 billion (US$90 million) allotted to the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure, of which MVR83 million (US$5.3 million) is recurrent expenditure.

The MDP housing committee noted issues in the 2015 budget such as the inclusion of a feasibility study of the proposed Malé-Hulhumalé bridge for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017.

The committee also brought up issues with a budgeted land reclamation project at Gaaf Dhaalu Thinadhoo, saying that the project has been ‘unnecessarily’ dragged on until 2017.

The land reclamation project in question has an allotted MVR9.8 million (US$635,000) for the years 2015 and 2016 while the actual MVR168 million (US$11 million) required for the land reclamation project has been delayed until 2017.

Previously, the MDP budget review committee described the overall 2015 budget as ‘aimless’ and as serving administrative purposes alone.

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MDP says 2015 state budget neglects transportation

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) transportation committee has said that the proposed 2015 state budget does not give adequate importance to transportation.

While speaking at an MDP press conference today, the Committee’s Chair Dr Ahmed Shamheed said that the government has failed in fulfilling its manifesto which states that providing cheap, effective, and speedy transportation as one its aims.

“Even though the government recently announced that it has achieved 90 percent of the goals outlined in its manifesto, not even 1 percent of the transportation related goals have been achieved,” said Shamheed.

Shamheed noted that the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) in its manifesto outlined that it would finish up the ongoing regional airport development projects. However, He said that no regional airports have been opened in the last year.

President Abdulla Yameen recently revealed plans of developing an airport in the north at Haa Dhaalu Kulhudhuhfushi in the upcoming year.

The government has secured a preliminary agreement for the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, with the cabinet revealing recently that  the Beijing Urban Group and Maldives Airports Corporation Limited had finished the drawings of the airport and were in the process of submitting the proposal to China’s Exim bank in order to finance the project.

Plans for the ambitious Malé-Hulhulé bridge project were also said to edging closer to realisation as a Chinese team visited the Maldives to conduct a preliminary survey this month.

While the record MVR24.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) proposed budget for the upcoming year allotted MVR63 million (US$5 million) for regional airports under the tourism ministry, it is unclear whether the amount is for recurrent or capital expenditure.

Also speaking at the press conference, MDP transport committee member Ahmed Zahir said that the atoll ferry system introduced during MDP’s government is currently in turmoil as the government does not prioritise development of the ferry system.

“The transportation systems in the atolls are being destroying and I am afraid that it might go back to the old days where the inter-atoll transportation was monopolised by individuals with boats,” said Zahir.

The MDP committee also slammed the government for budgeting expected revenues from increasing the import duty on vehicles and fuels, stating that the measures would have a significant impact on the guest house industry as travelling costs within the country would increase severely.

Previously, MDP’s education and training committee claimed that the funds allocated for education in the budget were poorly prioritised and would lead to corruption.

Additionally, the MDP budget review committee stated that the budget is ‘aimless’ and serves only administrative purposes, suggesting that programme budgets submitted during the MDP government were part of a strategic action plan aimed at fulfilling the party’s promises.

President Abdulla Yameen dissolved the Ministry of Transport and Communication in July, transferring regional airports to the Ministry of Tourism and the Transport Authority to the Ministry of Economic Development.

The move came shortly after the dismissal of Transport Minister Ameen Ibrahim following break down of the election-winning coalition of the Jumhooree Party – of which Ameen is a member – and the PPM.

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MDP says poorly prioritised 2015 education budget will lead to corruption

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said that the poorly prioritised education sector of the 2015 state budget is structured in a way which will eventually lead to corruption.

While speaking at a press conference, MDP education and training committee chair and former education minister Dr Musthafa Luthfee criticised the allocation of a large budget to the education ministry without proper planning.

“A lot of money from the budget has been allotted to the education ministry,” claimed Dr Luthfee. “This includes the salaries of eight new political figures to be hired to the ministry bringing the total of political figures to 20.”

MDP’s budget review committee earlier this week previously accused the 2015 state budget of being ‘aimless’ and criticised it heavily for not being goal-oriented.

The record MVR 24.3 billion (US$ 1.58 billion) proposed budget for 2015 is currently at the committee stage in the Majlis, where today’s session was held behind closed doors for the first time in the legislature’s history.

Dr Luthfee today claimed that the education budget of MVR2.45 billion (US$ 160 million) had no connection whatsoever to the government’s manifesto which had promised to bring ‘innovative’ changes to the sector in the upcoming year.

Education minister Dr Aishath Shiham last week said “significant changes” had been brought to the education sector during the first year of the current administration, including introduction of Quran as a subject for grades one to seven, Arabic language in 20 schools, and vocational training.

A volunteerism programme and a new “vocational education stream” would also form a major part of next year’s plans for the sector, she added.

Malé City Council Deputy Mayor Shifa Mohamed – herself a former minister of education – alleged that the government had not budgeted the required MVR532 million (US$34.5 million) needed to raise the salaries of teachers despite promises made by both President Abdulla Yameen and Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

The Teachers Association of Maldives (TAM) has threatened to stop work numerous times this year, demanding the government to reform the education system and to settle the pay discrepancies.

After a full strike appeared inevitable in September, discussions with the government appeared to have gained results, with TAM expressing confidence that the president was attending to the issue.

The MDP education committee also expressed concern over the MVR481 million (US$31.25 million) increase in the recurrent expenditure of the ministry while questioning the need for 2,159 new staff to be hired under the ministry.

“Current teacher to student ratio stands at 1 to 9. We don’t understand the need to increase the number of teachers while the current teachers are not getting proper pay and the schools are in need of new facilities,” said Shifa.

The government currently employs just under 25,000 civil servants, representing over seven percent of the population. Finance minister Abdulla Jihad told the public accounts committee last month that government would freeze recruitment for 2015 in a bid to control spending.

Shifa today commented on the lack of allocated funds for the government’s promises to provide Arabic language as an additional subject in all schools and to ensure that Quran education is included in all stages of education.

The education committee’s vice-chair, Shaifa Zuabir expressed the committee’s concern over promises to make the Maldives Polytechnic a central hub in training the 95,000 individuals who are to be provided with employment during President Yameen’s government.

“95,000 individuals are to be trained from Maldives Polytechnic,” said Shaifa. “Yet we see the Government has only assigned a mere MVR 13.4 million (US$ 870,000) to Maldives Polytechnic.”

MDP Vice-Chair Ahmed Ali Niyaz claimed the 2015 budget is not different from those during former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom while stating the budget ‘serves for administrative purposes alone

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Budget debate begins in parliament

The budget debate began in parliament today with opposition MPs criticising higher taxes and pro-government MPs praising planned capital investments.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MPs contended that the budget would bring “revolutionary” changes to the economy and spur growth, noting that recurrent expenditure of MVR15.8 billion (US$1 billion) would be covered by government income or revenue of MVR21.5 billion (US$1.3 billion).

The MVR6.3 billion (US$408 million) allocated for the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) – 24 percent of the budget – would see an unprecedented number of infrastructure projects launched in 2015, the ruling party MPs said.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs, however, questioned whether MVR3.4 billion (US$220 million) anticipated from proposed new revenue raising measures could be realised in full during the year.

MDP MPs also argued that the public would have to bear the burden of higher prices caused by import duty hikes and claimed the budget was “discriminatory” as constituencies represented by opposition MPs were ignored.

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