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.

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.

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