New realities for Maldives

These are exciting times for our nation and our people are living on the edge. Frantic work has been done to convince our people that there is a political system that will solve their problems.

In other words, we are made to believe that it is the system that caused the problems. Therefore, the system needed changing.

The verdict by the majority of those who voted is that they want a presidential system of government.

This is a defining moment for the history of Maldives. We shall see another hybrid system taking shape to replace the existing hybrid. To me, this exercise is a sheer waste of time.

We are now at a turning point in our history. It may turn out for good or it may turn out for worse. Merely expressing good intentions will not guarantee good results. Our sense of reality will be reflected in the world events that will affect our lives in one way or the other.

If our model of economic development is based on making impulse-based decisions as we have largely been doing up to now, some of the problems of our past actions are bound to continue with serious consequences.

Let's take one example: Housing.

In the 1970s when Male' became full and more land was needed to house a growing population, first we dug up the dead and put up the living in their place.

Next, we reclaimed the shallow breakwater taking the shoreline of Male' close to the reef edge. When the seasonal tidal waves started affecting the nearby homes, we sought help from Japan and barricaded the vulnerable areas of our island with huge tripod stones. Now we have lost the white sandy beach around Male.'

After that, we took over Viligili, a former tourist resort for our housing and later undertook massive reclamation to make Hulumale against huge foreign borrowing while we still have large uninhabited islands that can be used for housing, industrial development, infrastructure and ports.

We may soon run out of space to bury the dead in Male' as the multi-tier burial grounds are fast filling up and our housing problems are still not over. Soon we may be given fatwas for speedier recycling of graves.

We still can't provide affordable housing to the poor. In spite of impressive economic growth that continues to make our rich even richer, many of our citizens are unable to afford their own homes.

The pride of man makes him love what he owns, one of the most prized asset being one's own home. Therefore, for Maldivians to move away from becoming a species of tenancy, paying rent eternally to the superior landlords, the government has to come up with plans for affordable housing directed at the lower tier of society.

In a country where land is considered as a means of subsistence, it is essential to provide the security of a land estate to every individual. This way the citizens of our country can genuinely claim ownership to the land they call home.

Regardless of our hybrid system of political governance that gets evolved, the peoples dream for a better life requires forward thinking and determined action.

Now our political landscape has entered an era of pork barrel politics where politicians will need to satisfy their constituents who elected them by fulfilling their promises. This will become a reality for Maldives because the basic essential services and development are not provided on an even basis to all the islands.

At every future election, the increased aspirations of the people will be the agenda that will be carried by the contesting members of the parliament.

In the absence of clearly defined national goals and policies of development and a dedicated civil service team to deliver the results, the newly emerging trend will bear a heavy burden on an incompetent government.

Our government should stop playing 'divide and rule' - a tactic that was used by past colonial masters to suppress and control the natives of the lands that they captured in the quest to build up their empires.

Our political parties should induct capable young talent into politics creating a self-renewal process, so that the political leadership remains vibrant and the most dedicated and the best in our society can become top politicians to lead the country for the good of everyone.

Right now, we see just the opposite of this happening. Even foul-mouthed loons who have no respect for humanity are lurking around disturbing our peaceful communities. Political parties are only interested in buying votes either by lavish spending or by making promises with no intention to fulfil them.

The result is the election of many self-serving politicians who are squandering opportunities to bring about the much needed social and political reforms.

We desperately need our brightest creative minds to step forward to serve our community. We need to bring back discipline and excellence into every aspect of our work and our life.

We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity and we can leapfrog on the path of prosperity if our leaders exercise good judgement. But good judgement is not only an intellectual attribute, it has to match the political reality as well.

John W. Gardner, the president of the Carnegie Corporation, in an address said this:

"The most important moral of all is that excellence is where you find it. I would extend this generalization to cover not just higher education but all education from vocational high school to graduate school.

We must learn to honor excellence, indeed to demand it in every socially accepted human activity, however humble that activity, and to scorn shoddiness, however exalted the activity.

An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an incompetent philosopher. The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because philosophy is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."