Maldives has embraced the presidential form of government that is practised in the United States of America. The old Constitution has been amended to separate out the powers; the executive, the parliament and the judiciary - and structure the society as a representative democracy with individual rights protected by law. Thus, for the first time in our history, we begin the arduous task of carrying out multi-party elections to choose our next president who should be sworn in on November 11th of this year according to the revised constitution.
The constitution requires that every Maldivian should be a Muslim and so Maldives is a 100 percent Muslim country. The Maldivian Government and its leaders have always used Islam as a political tool to control and manipulate the 350, 000 citizens living on 200 of the 1192 islands of this country that looks like a dotted chain scattered in the Indian Ocean.
Maldives needs the financial aid and grants from the West and the flow of their tourists to bring in the foreign currency. Therefore, it is not surprising that pressure was made to bear on the Maldivian Government who have been forced to liberalise and bring in the political and social reforms. Thus an autocratic regime is being unravelled with the introduction of the necessary independent institutions designed to create a just society with the appropriate checks and balances of power.
Over the last three decades the GDP of the country has increased from $ 300 to $3,000 per capita. This shows remarkable progress but equally revealing is another more starling aspect. The political and business elites who are resident in the capital Male' and control all businesses and tourism have largely continued to enjoy the benefits of the economic growth and become astronomically rich while the hard working people in the outer lying islands have remained relatively poor. The poor and the needy have become victims of a grossly unfair system and they rely on the benevolence of the rich and powerful in Male' to provide them adequate medical treatment.
Politicians in Male' are not out to serve the nation and its people. They take up a job only to make money and they thrive on the job because of their love for money and power. The Government in Male' is broken and needs to be fixed. It can only be done by a demanding citizenry who knows their rights and will settle for nothing short of what they are due.
As our country faces the first multi-party presidential elections, it is worth remembering that the "majority rule" is often described as a characteristic feature of democracy, but without responsible government it is possible for the rights of a minority to be abused by the "tyranny of the majority".
The presidential contenders contesting for this year's election should know that they must fulfil their promises should they win the election. An inapt Government has taken the citizens for granted for far too long and now their patience has run out. If the politicians cannot inspire the people to unify around common causes to build up a just society and a system for equitable distribution of wealth, then the road ahead will most certainly be a bumpy one for Maldives.
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6 comments:
Hi,
I just want to drop a note to say that I enjoy your writing and that they are insightful and written with passion. Do continue to write more.
I certainly wish that the coming elections in Maldives brings about the change that the bulk of the population is looking forward to.
Best wishes,
Aditya.
Slowly but surely things seem to be changing. Changing for the good? I have my reservations with that! Perhaps only time will tell, as the intentions of the new leaders are whats gonna define our country's fate. We need a new leader who is content on creating a prosperous future for our youth and the poor. A nation with opportunities for every one, governed by a clean leader so that it is not only the rich who understands the true meaning of "the sunny side of life".
Sharfraz, I couldn’t agree more with you on that - Maldivians need leaders who can inspire and open new opportunities for every one, … so that it is not only the rich who understands the true meaning of "the sunny side of life.” Looking around there are too many power crazies disguising themselves behind so-called reform! Too many who submissively give up or ready to give up their freedom of expression, intellectual conscience and succumb in the unethical agendas when they are given or are promised of flagged cars with green passports so that they are assured that the corrupt regime will take care of their bank accounts which may never show a negative balance!
mhilmy yes, as mentioned in your article while in a democracy it is about majority rule there need to be political parties serving in the best interest of the minority groups. Making sure that the elected government also takes into consideration the needs of the less economically well off groups. And it is this purpose that certain minority parties serve through out the world. While in New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Iran, Pakistan and elsewhere there are the green parties raising their voices in favour of minorities! Apart from encouraging pro-environmental policies they also strongly stand up for a just society ensuring that the policies and laws made are not solely to benefit the power elites, the corporations and the cooperates who owns them. They also often call for the ban of corporate funding on election campaigns – so that not the person with the biggest pocket ends up being heard and therefore elected – but also the rest are heard and therefore the public gets the opportunity to decide whose intentions are the most genuine!
As you have mentioned in your article “The poor and the needy have become victims of a grossly unfair system and they rely on the benevolence of the rich and powerful in Male' to provide them adequate medical treatment,” I agree this is reality for a huge number of people in the Maldives and its existence can be tracked down throughout history for a long time! I wonder if there is any political party genuinely intending to serve this neglected sector of the Maldivian citizens! Or is this election another repetition of politicians once again running for power for their self-centered intentions – this time around disguising themselves behind a party system!
aditya
Hi. thank you for the comment
shafraz
Here is where the difficulty lies. the old guard leaders who are blinded by greed and arrogance do not even see the damage they have done to our small society. They need to move out and give way to the younger generation to begin clean up the mess. We can then look forward to a society free of drugs and with equal opportunity for every one.
oops
Hi. You are right, there are too many power crazies disguising as reformists. This makes it much harder for an informed citizenry to demand their rights from politicians who are prepared to sell their soul for money.
Over the last three decades we have lost our work ethic- i.e, the value of thrift and hard work- and every one is out make a quick buck by hook or crook. This is the example set from the top and it is pervasive.
Political parties have just begun in Maldives and there is not a single party that has an an idelogical difference such as the green parties you mentioned. All political parties are primarily interested in power, reform and service to the nation are secondary. The hope for the future lies with the younger generation who unfortunately must carry the burden to do the house cleaning as well as develop the institutions of checks and balances to avoid falling into the same old corrupt path.
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