To forgive and to forget, but about the accountability?

When President Ibrahim Nasir resigned in 1978 for health reasons, he had modernized the isolated islands of Maldives and opened the country to the rest of the world. He started the tourism industry. He is the hero of our independence. Despite the fact that this was a smooth transfer of power, everything that could go wrong went wrong.

Nasir was demonised, caricatures were drawn and the national hero was disgraced and humiliated in a festival of parades shouting abuse on loud speakers. Nasir's ministers like Abdul Hannan Haleem and Moomina Haleem were abused when ever they stepped out of their home. Even their children were not spared the indignity of this barbaric behaviour. This was the biginning of the 30 years of the Gayoom presidency that included Azhar scholars in top positions of our government.

President Nasheed says that in order for us to progress and move forward, we must forgive and forget. These are noble objectives that we can agree to. But what about the case for accountability?

By the time the Gayoom presidency ended, one-third of our youth were addicted to illegal drugs.

Of of all the social problems that our country has, the abuse of illegal drugs by our youth is the most severe problem.

Drug addiction is an illness. The addiction affects the brain. Although initial drug use might be voluntary, once addiction develops, the brain changes interfere with an individual’s ability to make voluntary decisions, leading to compulsive drug craving, seeking and use.

The impact of addiction can be far reaching. Among the deadly diseases, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and lung disease can all be affected by drug abuse. Some of these effects occur when drugs are used at high doses or after prolonged use, however, some may occur after just one use. Heroin, one of the most highly addictive and destructive drugs in the world is the most frequently abused drug in the Maldives, and there are increasing reports of injection drug use.

Maldivian government has criminalised this addiction and the drug addicts are locked up without giving them the necessary treatment. This addiction needs to be addressed as a health issue. Urgent action is needed to provide rehabilitation to the addicts. The Maldivian government has failed to prosecute those who violate the drug laws of the country. According to a report in Haveeru yesterday, a court in Male' ordered to release six individuals who were involved in trafficking drugs because the State has not prosecuted them while they were locked up for six months. This kind of lax attitude will never stop the import of drugs into our country.

This painful addiction would never have reached this stage, if our government had the wherewithal to take serious action to stop the trafficking. It is time for the Maldivian Government to wake up to the reality and help to save our youth.

Islamic Finance: a safer bet?

The global economic crisis has handed the proponents of Islamic finance a “golden opportunity” to show that it is a better alternative to Western-style capitalism. That, at least, was what Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told participants at an Islamic economic conference in Kuala Lumpur last month.

Islamic finance, argued Datuk Seri Najib, could become a model for change because it prohibits many of the risky activities that triggered the current crisis. He may have a point.(link)

Maldivian government has been in talks with the biggest Islamic Bank in Bahrain to set up an islamic bank in Maldives.

What happened to this project?

If this project goes through, Maldivians can obtain finance to build their homes without the fear of being thrown out of their homes when the unpaid compounded interest runs higher than the principal loan taken. We need the Nasheed government and sharia scholars specialized in islamic banking to make islamic banking a reality in Maldives.

Capitalism is taking a battering in the West because of the greed of top level executives who have caused some of the biggest banks in America and Britain to go into insolvency, forcing the governments to step in and bail them out.

At a time when many of the industrialised countries are going through the worst recession since the Great Depression, it is worth looking at new perspectives for financing development of small countries like Maldives. Layoffs and unemployment are devastating for small communities like us with limited opportunity for alternative employment.

Changing Lifestyle

Maldives vice president Mohamed Waheed Hassan Maniku has said the new working hours, 8am to 4pm introduced recently will bring a lifestyle change.

This is not the first time our government has changed the working hours. President Ibrahim Nasir changed it, president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom changed it and now president Mohamed Nasheed has changed the working hours. When Nasir left the presidency, we had a disciplined workforce who made it possible to fly the Maldivian flag on Maldivian ships that plied all around the world. When Gayoom was ousted from power after 30 years in office in the first multi-party elections, we have become a highly self-centred society with a third of our youth addicted to illegal drugs. Now it is Nasheed's turn to change our lifestyle and let history judge his stewardship.

The VP has urged bosses of government offices to keep a fridge and micro oven inside the office. Assume this is to prepare a hot snack or meal. Male' is less than 1 square mile and no one has any difficulty reaching home at any point in Male'. We need to bring more change than this to change our lifestyle. Though we have 40 per cent of our population living below the 1 US dollar poverty line, our country is rich. Palatial buildings and luxury yachts are available for our politicians. Changing the mindset of politicians is the first step of the change that is required.

President Nasheed who has suffered numerous imprisonment and torture himself for speaking and writing against the government has to now show how a government serves the people in the interest of the public. The Gayoom government never understood this concept. To them political power was the opportunity to spend the state's resources to live a lavish lifestyle and increase the personal wealth for themselves. As a result they neglected the poor and corruption has become a hallmark of our society.

Therefore, a change of lifestyle is definitely needed. The president and ministers must be held accountable for the power entrusted to them. We also need to find a way to rein in our members of the parliament. Nowadays parliamentary proceedings are turning out to be quite a spectacle for public amusement. When MPs are paid MRF 63,000 a month, it is not enough for members to yell at each other to settle old scores. It is not enough for Mohamed Shihab to abuse his position as the speaker. These highly paid MPs should devote their time to legislate and improve the lives of the people. Parliamentary privilege doesn't mean they should be allowed to abuse their authority.

President Nasheed and Vice President Waheed. Now it is your turn to change our lifestyle and set the mark of your presidency.

What Went Wrong?

Here is what president Mohamed Nasheed said to a journalist from the UK. (link)

"Every evil you think a society could have has found a home here in the Maldives,” Nasheed says. “We have inherited beautiful buildings from the previous regime, but almost empty coffers. There is an acute shortage of housing, sanitation, water, health, education, transport and basic infrastructures for a decent life.”

In addition, 30% of the country’s youth (and 75% of the population is below 35 years old) are now heroin addicts.

What has gone so horribly wrong to bring our country to this situation?

After 30 years of high GDP growth that has made the rich very happy, how did 40 per cent of our population manage to stay below the poverty line of less than 1 USD a day? How did this laid back society living in relative peace find explosive growth of illegal drugs?

Is this the same country that former foreign minister Abdulla Shahid is talking about, praising its development and human rights at every opportunity?

If it is a bad government that has brought our population to such a national nightmare that should never be repeated, president Nasheed owes it to our nation to explain to us who is responsible for such behaviour and how it can be avoided for our future generations.

Keep the Focus on the Real Issues

The Maldivian politicians have always used a scare tactic making the citizens believe that the infidels will come and convert them to kafirs. DRP used this tactic when they were in government. In opposition they now say that they are the only people who can preserve Islam. DRP says that the country is on the wrong track and they need 60 seats in the new parliament to save the country. What is wrong with the track that we are on now? We have heard this type of rhetoric before. These narcissists could not find it in Islam to run a just government for our small nation 300,000 Muslims. It was the threat from the European Union and the western concept of a Human Rights Commission that gave our rights to us.

How then can DRP provide justice, better health and education, maintain equitable distribution of wealth and stop the illegal drugs if they are following the same old failed policies that got them thrown out of power after thirty years?

As the biggest opposition party, DRP has to cut out the political nonsense to deceive the people. Where they have made mistakes, they must accept responsibility for the specific issues publicly. Where they disagree with the MDP coalition, they should offer alternative policies so that the public can make informed decisions when choosing MPs.

Debate about the real issues. Stop the fear mongering about religion. The rich have become richer while the poor remained poor. Political parties should offer their policies on how to reduce poverty, stop illegal drugs and treat addicts, provide better opportunities and create diverse employment without only depending on tourism. Just talking about them doesn't solve the problem. Concrete action has to be taken. Our people are cynical because politicians are self-centred and have failed the people time and time again.

Even the parliament, the peoples representatives have failed to look after the peoples' interest. Mohamed Shihab, the current speaker thinks that he can operate above the law.

What is important is for the government and the opposition parties to address the country's problems. Opposition parties should criticise the government's policies on its method of decentralisation to its policy on employment. Anybody who is anybody of MDP is getting employed these days. While some criticisms may be unfounded, the government must still welcome the ability of the people to offer such criticisms. That is the spirit of the freedom of the press guaranteed in the constitution. Journalists need to ask probing questions on the politics and policy of the government. The public has to be informed and educated about how the public officials function. This task may not be easy since we are on a learning curve and the decentralisation process is picking up pace across atolls and islands. If the Nasheed government is committed to transparency, then we are on the right track.