Political analysts believe that the Maldives Dictator has all but lost his stronghold on power as he could not push the Amendments to the Civil Service Act in the Parliament. The Dictator failed to secure the 26 votes necessary to debate the Amendments. And, the Dictator is making a complete fool of his youngest minister. It appears that the Information Minister Kutti Nasheed is an incompetent dimwit who could not do his homework and was paying lip service to the Dictator's orders.
Either way, the Dictator is hell-bent on getting his own way and therefore has now proposed further amendments to the Civil Service Act by instituting several commissions to deal with the various groups that come under the Civil Service Act. He wants to dilute the Civil Service Commission into oblivion so that he can maintain his grip on as many Maldivians as he could.
The Dictator's recent actions prove how desperate the Dictator has now become. Even his own people are deserting him now. Ahmed Shiyam, one of the DRP Vice President's have tendered his resignation from the DRP and unconfirmed reports say that Hoarafushi Saleem, one of the Dictator's appointees to the parliament has also sent in his resignation.
There are many reasons why the Dictator is so eager to restrain the Civil Service Commission. One of the important reasons is that the parliament members who are in civil service have to choose one job after May, when the Civil Service Act comes into force. Out of the 50 members of parliaments, some 22 have to choose. They may choose to remain in the parliament or constitutional assembly or resign and be a civil servant. Another reason is that the police, the army, Atolls administration staff and staff at his Office and Palace will be under the commission from May, which means that he cannot appoint or promote people at will, in return for their loyalty and support for his rule. Put it simply, he cannot bear the thought that in a couple of months, there will be hundreds of Maldivians who would fall under the category of "civil or public servants", who would be hired, promoted and fired on the basis of their merit by an independent commission. In other words, he cannot accept that he would no longer be their 'god' and they would no longer bow down" to him.
A powerful Civil Service Commission means that the Maldives Dictator's power will be considerably weakened and that he will not be able to abuse his position for personal gain and operate a regime based on favouritism and blind loyalty.
As such, it is our foremost duty to ensure that that an independent civil service is establish and people would be treated based on their merit. This is paramount not just for now but for our future as well. Irrespective of who is in power, it is crucial that no future ruler can dominate and treat those who serve in the government with discrimination and disdain the way Dictator Gayyoom has.
The people of Maldives cannot afford it. Not any more.
Saturday, 5 April 2008
Like Mugabe, Golhaabe is loosing his grip on power
Sunday, 2 March 2008
How to choose your leader?
Editorial
A.S.I. Moosa (Sappe'), Editor-in-Chief, Dhivehi Observer, 3 March 2008
There is no doubt that the politics in the Maldives is going through a complete face-lift since the introduction of multi-party system in 2005. Contrary to the old ways, we now have a say in who should lead our respective parties and eventually who should lead the nation. Of course, the Dictator will try his best to rig the elections but even that chance is now limited. In any case, it would be difficult for him to conduct it on the same scale as in the past.
As many of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leaders assert, the choice for the people now is not to elect a specific person to run the country, rather to assign that responsibility to a specific party. However, it is important that the party members elect a formidable leader through its own primaries and internal election. It is imperative that the party leader or candidate we choose to fight the presidential election is a person who embodies all the values that unite us as a group.
Old habits die hard. In the past, voting is just taken as a routine exercise and everyone knows that the regime of Dictator Gayyoom fiddles with both the votes and the final results. In the past, formidable opposition is caste aside way before the polling day and public funds and assets are misused to get the candidates backed by the regime to emerge as victorious. Fortunately, things have changed now to a certain degree that for the first time in Maldivian history, people have a glimmer of hope that there could be fairer elections.
So, for the MDP members who will choose their presidential candidate shortly, it is essential to assess the qualities of the contesting candidates before making their decision. Don't vote just because someone tells you to vote. Instead make sure that you personally weigh and assess the candidates before casting your vote. In a democracy, your vote is the most powerful right and so it must be exercised wisely and responsibly. Does the candidate have a clear identification of the key economic and social problems of the country? Does he have a workable policy on how he would resolve these issues? Does the candidate have the integrity and competence in undertaking the role of the leader of a country?
The ongoing campaigning by the presidential hopefuls within the MDP is a very healthy democratic process. Each camp will do their best to expose the weaknesses of the other while promoting their own strengths, and this information will then be available for the members who will have the opportunity to assess it and to make their final decision. If we had just one candidate, presumed leader of the party and presidential candidate from day one, we would have missed out on the opportunity of experiencing this important democratic process.
Choosing your leader is your responsibility so exercise that in the best interest of the country as well as your party.
Environment Ministry, Chief of Protocol and Corruption - Round 4
It appears to be the Round Four of the Corruption Cycle involving the Environment Ministry, Chief of Protocol Ahmed Rasheed and the determination to stop anything being built in H. Ameeneege at any cost. This is irrespective of the fact that this hotel would feed several poor Maldivian families by providing employment to local people. Now that the Environment Ministry has once again given the go-ahead to start the piling activities, the campaign to stop it seems to have begun with a vengeance. All this seems to be mainly directed at protecting one family and that is of the Chief of Protocol, Ahmed Rasheed. This is primarily because the palace where he lives, H.Athiriveli (his wife owns several other houses), is built adjacent to the Asters building and with the windows facing east, towards Ameeneege. So he does not want his view blocked by a big building there. more
Dictator promotes his brother-in-law Abbas to Minister rank
Male' - As part of the on-going promotion spree by the Maldives Dictator, Abbas Ibrahim, President of the National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research, was promoted to the rank of Minister on Wednesday. Abbas, a brother in law of the Dictator, was demoted from ministerial position after he fell out of favour and has been lurking around since at the Linguistic Centre since for more than 10 years. Earlier he held cabinet posts such as Fisheries and Agriculture Minister as well as Minster for Presidential Affairs. On 9th February, the Dictator increased salaries of minister, deputies and state ministers and have been going wild promoting his cronies to the ranks. In addition to the hefty pay package of a minister rank official, Abbas will also get more than 25,000 for being a member of both parliament and the constitutional assembly. This is the Dictator paying his cronies handsomely ahead of the presidential election this year. Abbas is an infamous pyromaniac who ran a long campaign in the capital in the 90s, torching several properties, on the orders of the Dictator.
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
Late Saleem's funeral to take place in Colombo tonight
Breaking News Update
MDP Saleem passes away
Breaking News
Colombo - MDP regional President for South Huvadhoo Atoll, Saleem Ali passed away very suddenly this morning after suffering a heart attack. He has been in Lanka for the past couple of months settling his family there. Mr. Saleem is one of the most prominent activists of MDP and has been under pressure from the Dictator as he is constantly called to appear in court and was jailed a few times in the last couple of year. Mr. Saleem is also a close relative of DO Editor in Chief, Sappe'. Saleem will be greatly missed. On behalf of DO readers and members of MDP, we send our deepest condolences to Saleem's family and pray to Almighty Allah to grant him eternal bliss.
Saturday, 15 December 2007
Violence! Violence! Violence! - the Dictator's dirty deals
Editorial
Dhivehi Observer, 16 December 2007
"Violence! Violence! Violence!" When those three lethal words left Dictator Gayoom's lips during that now infamous interview, there were some among our people who did wonder if the protest was all about violence. Now, two years later, the realization of those words have come to fruition. Now, we are wiser as to why those words oozed so smoothly out of the Dictator's lips. Violence is what he knows. Violence is what he practices. Violence is what he will resort to in the future.
To be fair on our own leader, it is not unusual that in dictatorships, the criminal fraternity is utilized to further a Dictator's cause. In this regard, Dictator Gayoom is no pioneer. Quite often violent gangs, juvenile delinquents and drug dealers are used to promote an undesirable agenda while the regime turns a blind eye. This way the regime maintains its "innocence" in front of its citizens and the international community at large, while all their dirty work is continued by these elements. 
The Dictator also uses these criminal elements to harass all his opponents. When Dr. Hassan Saeed and Ahmed Jameel resigned as the Attorney-General and the Justice Minister respectively, he used one such gang to throw oil on to the houses of the former Ministers. Apparently the Dictator later laughed about it and said, "a small incident happened last night", referring to the unsavoury attack.
While all this continues the people of Male are living in total trepidation about the spiralling violence. They are not safe inside their homes. They are not safe outside their homes. One does not know when one would be mugged, knifed, or even killed. Male' has indeed become the gang capital of South Asia.
However, the Dictator's "contribution" to our society as the patron of these gangs goes much deeper. The question is why have our youth fallen into such bottomless pits? The answer is fairly obvious. Poverty. While we claim that the Maldives is one of the newly developing countries with a per capita income over $2500, our most vulnerable stakeholders, our youth, are growing up in disillusionment. With poor education, lack of decent housing, and very little chance of a respectable job with a reasonable pay in the 21st century Maldives, and almost zilch chance of reaching the higher echelons of society, our youth are easily driven into drug abuse and crime. And who is there to exploit their vulnerabilities? Our very own Dictator Gayoom.
It is all very well to blame Chikaa and Rabarey (and the numerous others) who partake in these violent activities terrorizing our society. While not condoning their criminal actions, we also need to look beyond these misguided youth. Deliberate lack of social policies has left our young people extremely exposed. It is not rocket science to know that children growing up in hardship and from deprived backgrounds could internalize their problems and release them later in a violent form. However, this regime is turning a blind eye to these problems because the Dictator can later use these young people for his own benefit. He entices them with lucrative offers of money or to turn a blind eye to their undesirable actions in society in return for them to do his dirty work.
It might have been a gang of young people who murdered Ali Ishar. However, it is Dictator Gayoom who is the real Grim Reaper.
