An article on Haveeru Online details how former president Ibrahim Nasir(2 September 1926 to 22 November 2008) put an end to the corrupt influences of the vora traders, first intitiated by the republic's first president Mohamed Amin Didi(20 July 1910 to 19 January 1954).
What an irony it is that for a country with a 100 per cent Muslim population, within the 30 years of the Egypt's Azhar scholars regime led by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, our government has become mired in massive corruption and faces difficult social problems such as increasing crimes, poor healthcare and education and cramped living conditions. Drug addiction, a health problem is rampant and affects nearly every family in Maldives. Such addiction which is a direct result of the Gayoom government's failure to stop drug trafficking, is deemed only as a crime by our government who failed to provide proper treatment and rehabilitation for the addicts while promoting this idyllic paradise to woo wealthy foreign tourists that make the rich even richer.
Maldives has followed the megalomaniacal path of leaders like Iraq's Saddam Hussein whose mad quest for self glorification has brought disastrous consequences for his country and its people.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Stage is set for political confrontation
Provincial results of the 77 parliamentary seats contested in this year's elections show the following results.
MDP 26, DRP 28, IND 13, PA 7, DQP 2, REP 1, TOTAL 77.
No single party has secured the majority in the new parliament i.e,39 seats. It appears DRP and PA coalition with 35 seats together with independents who could be lobbied to their side could form the majority voting bloc.
This is a huge setback for the MDP and it will make it very difficult to pass their legislative agenda. In order to fulfil the pledges in their election manifesto, MDP needs to pass 65 bills on transport, taxation, public utilities, housing, health insurance, privatisation, and reforming the drug laws, penal code and criminal justice system. We will have to wait and see the horse trading that will take place inside the parliament to pass any of these bills.
MDP who were confident of securing 50 seats must be wondering what went wrong.
Speculation is rife that MDP government's refusal to hold the leaders of the previous DRP government accountable for the numerous cases of wrong doings including the financial irregularities cited by the independent Auditor General has led the electorate to turn against the MDP as show by the election results. Whatever is the merit of this argument, parliament will be in gridlock over several legislative bills of the MDP because the opposition is out to prove that the current government has failed and is unable fulfil its promises.
President Nasheed has to now move beyond the hard-nosed campaign rhetoric and prove himself to be a national leader capable of lifting this country out of the rut that it has endured for the last 30 years.
MDP 26, DRP 28, IND 13, PA 7, DQP 2, REP 1, TOTAL 77.
No single party has secured the majority in the new parliament i.e,39 seats. It appears DRP and PA coalition with 35 seats together with independents who could be lobbied to their side could form the majority voting bloc.
This is a huge setback for the MDP and it will make it very difficult to pass their legislative agenda. In order to fulfil the pledges in their election manifesto, MDP needs to pass 65 bills on transport, taxation, public utilities, housing, health insurance, privatisation, and reforming the drug laws, penal code and criminal justice system. We will have to wait and see the horse trading that will take place inside the parliament to pass any of these bills.
MDP who were confident of securing 50 seats must be wondering what went wrong.
Speculation is rife that MDP government's refusal to hold the leaders of the previous DRP government accountable for the numerous cases of wrong doings including the financial irregularities cited by the independent Auditor General has led the electorate to turn against the MDP as show by the election results. Whatever is the merit of this argument, parliament will be in gridlock over several legislative bills of the MDP because the opposition is out to prove that the current government has failed and is unable fulfil its promises.
President Nasheed has to now move beyond the hard-nosed campaign rhetoric and prove himself to be a national leader capable of lifting this country out of the rut that it has endured for the last 30 years.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Waging deceptive politics and misleading the public
One profession in Maldives has so far escaped the high standards and accountability that the present reform process has brought about. The politicians. Higher standards are expected in most other professions including civil servants and everyone from public company directors to doctors. Politicians have always acted with impunity in Maldives. The MDP while in opposition to the Gayoom government cited numerous cases of fraud, torture and alleged killings by the state. None of these cases have been taken up by the MDP government with a view to put the past behind us by going through the kind of restorative justice-a truth and reconciliation commission that they promised during the presidential campaign, where the perpetrators of crimes face their victims seeking a cathartic reconciliation.
We now have a multi-party political system and the separation of powers- the executive, the legislature and an independent judiciary. The bureaucracy of the government now comes under the independent Civil Service Commission. Other independent agencies prominently playing their roles are the Human Rights Commission and Auditor General.
The two major political parties that dominate the national politics are the Maldives Democratic Party, the MDP whose leader Mohamed Nasheed won the first multi-party presidential contest deposing the Divehi Rayyitunge Party, the DRP's zaeem Maumoon Abdul Gayoom whose remained in power for 30 years. Now the DRP is the main opposition party. Clearly the electorate has voted for change in leadership and a change in the direction of the country.
In the run up to the first multi-party contested parliamentary election to be held on 9th May 09, the two main political parties- MDP and DRP are engaged in endless bickering of the gripes of what's wrong with each party. The country has many pressing problems to deal with which includes a faltering economy and the growing illegal substance abuse and drug addiction among the youth of the country. The political parties have not engaged to find common ground and positive outcomes of these difficult problems that are faced by our small communities. Instead, political debates on the campaign trail from both the DRP and MDP have become opportunities for telling outrageous lies and ridiculing the opponents. In a free society that has freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution, we cannot force politicians to tell the truth or face litigation for that is not practical.
It is up to the politicians to decide standards of honesty and ethics that will enable voters to elect capable politicians who will rise up above partisan politics to do what is good for the people and the country. Even with such high standards politicians can engage in vibrant political debate without resorting to the name calling and the gutter politics that has now become a source of amusement to the public.
We now have a multi-party political system and the separation of powers- the executive, the legislature and an independent judiciary. The bureaucracy of the government now comes under the independent Civil Service Commission. Other independent agencies prominently playing their roles are the Human Rights Commission and Auditor General.
The two major political parties that dominate the national politics are the Maldives Democratic Party, the MDP whose leader Mohamed Nasheed won the first multi-party presidential contest deposing the Divehi Rayyitunge Party, the DRP's zaeem Maumoon Abdul Gayoom whose remained in power for 30 years. Now the DRP is the main opposition party. Clearly the electorate has voted for change in leadership and a change in the direction of the country.
In the run up to the first multi-party contested parliamentary election to be held on 9th May 09, the two main political parties- MDP and DRP are engaged in endless bickering of the gripes of what's wrong with each party. The country has many pressing problems to deal with which includes a faltering economy and the growing illegal substance abuse and drug addiction among the youth of the country. The political parties have not engaged to find common ground and positive outcomes of these difficult problems that are faced by our small communities. Instead, political debates on the campaign trail from both the DRP and MDP have become opportunities for telling outrageous lies and ridiculing the opponents. In a free society that has freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution, we cannot force politicians to tell the truth or face litigation for that is not practical.
It is up to the politicians to decide standards of honesty and ethics that will enable voters to elect capable politicians who will rise up above partisan politics to do what is good for the people and the country. Even with such high standards politicians can engage in vibrant political debate without resorting to the name calling and the gutter politics that has now become a source of amusement to the public.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Vitamin B9 treats allergy, asthma
Folic acid, or vitamin B9, essential for the health of red blood cells and known to reduce the risk of spinal birth defects, may also suppress allergic reactions and lessen the severity of allergy and asthma symptoms.
Johns Hopkins scientists, who conducted the first ever study examining the link between blood levels of folate, the naturally occurring form of folic acid and allergies, said results add to mounting evidence that folate can help regulate inflammation.
Recent studies, including research from Hopkins, have found a link between folate levels and inflammation-mediated diseases, including heart disease.
Cautioning that its far too soon to recommend folic acid supplements to prevent or treat people with asthma and allergies, researchers emphasise that more research needs to be done to confirm their results, and to establish safe doses and risks.
Reviewing the medical records of more than 8,000 people aged between two and 85 years, investigators tracked the effect of folate levels on respiratory and allergic symptoms and on levels of IgE antibodies, immune system markers that rise in response to an allergen.
People with higher blood levels of folate had fewer IgE antibodies, fewer reported allergies, less wheezing and a lower likelihood of asthma, researchers report.
"Our findings are a clear indication that folic acid may indeed help regulate immune response to allergens, and may reduce allergy and asthma symptoms," said lead investigator Elizabeth Matsui.
"But we still need to figure out the exact mechanism behind it, and to do so we need studies that follow people receiving treatment with folic acid, before we even consider supplementation with folic acid to treat or prevent allergies and asthma."
The current recommendation for daily dietary intake of folic acid is 400 micrograms for healthy men and non-pregnant women. Many cereals and grain products are already fortified with folate. Folate is also found naturally in green, leafy vegetables, beans and nuts, said a Hopkins release.
The study appeared online in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.
Source: The Times of India
Johns Hopkins scientists, who conducted the first ever study examining the link between blood levels of folate, the naturally occurring form of folic acid and allergies, said results add to mounting evidence that folate can help regulate inflammation.
Recent studies, including research from Hopkins, have found a link between folate levels and inflammation-mediated diseases, including heart disease.
Cautioning that its far too soon to recommend folic acid supplements to prevent or treat people with asthma and allergies, researchers emphasise that more research needs to be done to confirm their results, and to establish safe doses and risks.
Reviewing the medical records of more than 8,000 people aged between two and 85 years, investigators tracked the effect of folate levels on respiratory and allergic symptoms and on levels of IgE antibodies, immune system markers that rise in response to an allergen.
People with higher blood levels of folate had fewer IgE antibodies, fewer reported allergies, less wheezing and a lower likelihood of asthma, researchers report.
"Our findings are a clear indication that folic acid may indeed help regulate immune response to allergens, and may reduce allergy and asthma symptoms," said lead investigator Elizabeth Matsui.
"But we still need to figure out the exact mechanism behind it, and to do so we need studies that follow people receiving treatment with folic acid, before we even consider supplementation with folic acid to treat or prevent allergies and asthma."
The current recommendation for daily dietary intake of folic acid is 400 micrograms for healthy men and non-pregnant women. Many cereals and grain products are already fortified with folate. Folate is also found naturally in green, leafy vegetables, beans and nuts, said a Hopkins release.
The study appeared online in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.
Source: The Times of India
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The blame game of a Failing State
Following the murder of a youth recently, the acting home minister and police commissioner gave a press conference explaining the reasons for the uncontrolled street violence and escalating crimes. It was revealed that a contributing factor for the epidemic of violence was the release of more than 500 prisoners by the previous government. If they were dangerous criminals sentenced to be locked up, then why did the previous government release them free? Should those responsible in the previous government not be summoned to answer why they created this uncontrollable risk to the safety of society?
At what point in time will the current government have to take ownership of these problems that they inherited from the previous government? At some point, the present government has to stop passing the buck and deal with these problems. If the previous government has committed serious crimes, then the Nasheed government has to rise up to the task to expose them and bring those responsible to justice. Due process of the law has to be given to the alleged offenders.
In the prosecutor general's annual report, the state's prosecutor informs that he does not have the required staff and office space to do his his job. Most of the cases that the police have sent for prosecution remain unattended.
Presently this government is going through the decentralisation of public services in Male' to provinces and privatisation of public companies. Decentralisation and privatisation will bring greater benefit to society. It will ease some pressures on the capital Male' which is so over crowded that it is about to burst at the seams. This situation did not come about only because of the centralised method of control. The main reason is that we allowed an incompetent and uncaring government to go on for too long.
If officials holding responsibility in the provinces also are incompetent and uncaring, then we could up in a worse situation than where we are now. To reap the benefits of the decentralisation, responsible officials in the provinces need to be trained and motivated to serve for the good of the public. If we cannot do that, we certainly are on our way to become a failed state if we are not one already. Some of the former colonised countries like those in Africa prove the case that with bad and corrupt local leaders, the people have to suffer one tragedy after another. They may have escaped the injustices of their colonial masters but not the injustices of their own leaders.
How ironical is it that the country that has a "sunny side" as a peaceful paradise for rich foreign tourists is unable provide peace to its own citizens by locking up convicted criminals. Rubbing salt to the raw wound, the DRP government that caused these problems by releasing convicted prisoners is now protesting to protect the police- this time playing the politics of the opposition. The MDP government has so far refused to make the call on those who committed atrocities and still continue to wreak havoc on society.
Unfortunately for Maldivians, it is the government that has been the major cause of our biggest problems- from gangsters and violence to trafficking illegal drugs which has addicted a third of our youth.
At what point in time will the current government have to take ownership of these problems that they inherited from the previous government? At some point, the present government has to stop passing the buck and deal with these problems. If the previous government has committed serious crimes, then the Nasheed government has to rise up to the task to expose them and bring those responsible to justice. Due process of the law has to be given to the alleged offenders.
In the prosecutor general's annual report, the state's prosecutor informs that he does not have the required staff and office space to do his his job. Most of the cases that the police have sent for prosecution remain unattended.
Presently this government is going through the decentralisation of public services in Male' to provinces and privatisation of public companies. Decentralisation and privatisation will bring greater benefit to society. It will ease some pressures on the capital Male' which is so over crowded that it is about to burst at the seams. This situation did not come about only because of the centralised method of control. The main reason is that we allowed an incompetent and uncaring government to go on for too long.
If officials holding responsibility in the provinces also are incompetent and uncaring, then we could up in a worse situation than where we are now. To reap the benefits of the decentralisation, responsible officials in the provinces need to be trained and motivated to serve for the good of the public. If we cannot do that, we certainly are on our way to become a failed state if we are not one already. Some of the former colonised countries like those in Africa prove the case that with bad and corrupt local leaders, the people have to suffer one tragedy after another. They may have escaped the injustices of their colonial masters but not the injustices of their own leaders.
How ironical is it that the country that has a "sunny side" as a peaceful paradise for rich foreign tourists is unable provide peace to its own citizens by locking up convicted criminals. Rubbing salt to the raw wound, the DRP government that caused these problems by releasing convicted prisoners is now protesting to protect the police- this time playing the politics of the opposition. The MDP government has so far refused to make the call on those who committed atrocities and still continue to wreak havoc on society.
Unfortunately for Maldivians, it is the government that has been the major cause of our biggest problems- from gangsters and violence to trafficking illegal drugs which has addicted a third of our youth.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Political Parties Promoting Hatred
The multi party political system came into being in Maldives as a means to find a way to remove a president who was serving his 6th consecutive term of 5 years. Historically it has been very hard for Maldivian leaders to relinquish power.
Politics in Maldives has not been driven by any ideology or political philosophy of thinking (such as liberalism or conservatism in the US- the model that we are following), or even on the basis of Islam. All political parties have used Islam for political convenience. All parties insist that Maldives must remain a 100 per cent Muslim nation, with no real desire to deliver social justice that is strongly emphasised in Islam.
For more than 30 years we had no coherent policy on economic development, building infrastructure and housing, providing health care and quality education, or even maintaining social and religious harmony. It was political expediency at best. Just like the dictatorships in the middle east, our government vigorously pursued the extravagant trappings of power while neglecting the poor.
Now our nation is preparing to elect the members of parliament under the new presidential system. It took an MDP coalition to bring down the DRP government. Before the month was up for the MDP led government, Gasim Ibrahim, the wealthy businessman and philanthropist broke ranks with MDP. Although Maldivians have begun to see how fickle-minded these politicians are, they have not fully realised the horse trading that political parties indulge to buy over elected members to increase their chances to govern the nation.
Regardless of which party they represent, most Maldivians do not trust their elected officials because of the past experience. Politicians who needed their vote would appear on their doorstep once in 5 years. The promises they make are routinely broken and the electorate has turned cynical.
Few political parties except the MDP and DRP have developed into national party systems capable of organising candidates for elections or mobilise support to sway public support for party policies.
When the DRP was in power, they challenged their opponents not against the merit of how they wanted to improve what was wrong but by unleashing vicious personal attacks. It appeared as though no one had any reputation to protect. Now the DRP is in opposition. Its main role has to be to question the government and hold them accountable to the public. DRP should be able to offer better alternatives to the MDP led government's decentralisation- the main policy of this government. Where there is wide public support for a government's policy, it is in the public interest for the opposition to support such policy. The MDP and DRP and other political parties will have to learn how work together for the public good.
Even in this adversarial system, the public wants these politicians to work for their good. The personal attacks and vitriol need not be part of that process.
Politics in Maldives has not been driven by any ideology or political philosophy of thinking (such as liberalism or conservatism in the US- the model that we are following), or even on the basis of Islam. All political parties have used Islam for political convenience. All parties insist that Maldives must remain a 100 per cent Muslim nation, with no real desire to deliver social justice that is strongly emphasised in Islam.
For more than 30 years we had no coherent policy on economic development, building infrastructure and housing, providing health care and quality education, or even maintaining social and religious harmony. It was political expediency at best. Just like the dictatorships in the middle east, our government vigorously pursued the extravagant trappings of power while neglecting the poor.
Now our nation is preparing to elect the members of parliament under the new presidential system. It took an MDP coalition to bring down the DRP government. Before the month was up for the MDP led government, Gasim Ibrahim, the wealthy businessman and philanthropist broke ranks with MDP. Although Maldivians have begun to see how fickle-minded these politicians are, they have not fully realised the horse trading that political parties indulge to buy over elected members to increase their chances to govern the nation.
Regardless of which party they represent, most Maldivians do not trust their elected officials because of the past experience. Politicians who needed their vote would appear on their doorstep once in 5 years. The promises they make are routinely broken and the electorate has turned cynical.
Few political parties except the MDP and DRP have developed into national party systems capable of organising candidates for elections or mobilise support to sway public support for party policies.
When the DRP was in power, they challenged their opponents not against the merit of how they wanted to improve what was wrong but by unleashing vicious personal attacks. It appeared as though no one had any reputation to protect. Now the DRP is in opposition. Its main role has to be to question the government and hold them accountable to the public. DRP should be able to offer better alternatives to the MDP led government's decentralisation- the main policy of this government. Where there is wide public support for a government's policy, it is in the public interest for the opposition to support such policy. The MDP and DRP and other political parties will have to learn how work together for the public good.
Even in this adversarial system, the public wants these politicians to work for their good. The personal attacks and vitriol need not be part of that process.
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