Maldives Attorney General Husnu Sood is introducing a bill to the parliament intended to penalise and prevent antisocial behaviour.
When such a bill is passed and enacted into law, it will give the necessary powers to the police and the courts to deal with antisocial behaviour targeted in the bill. Such an Act would become an important tool to combat increasing gang-related violence, theft and disorderly conduct that disrupts public peace and harmony.
The Nasheed government and his Attorney General should be lauded for taking this initiative to prevent antisocial behaviour for the first time in our history.
It is also worth noting that much of the serious crimes, violence and theft also has a direct link to drug trafficking and addiction to it mainly among the youth in Maldives. For thirty years, the previous government took a lax attitude against drug traffickers and failed to provide proper rehabilitation and treatment to addicts. The Nasheed government has to demonstrate that it has the political will to lock up the traffickers and petty peddlers to serve out their full sentence. In the past such convicted criminals managed to come back to the streets without serving out their full sentence either because the jails were full or for other reasons.
Even if our government can deal with the serious crimes of the gangster groups and the drug barons, that would be good a beginning towards a society that maintains social harmony. It was only recently that President Nasheed participated in an event organised by the Municipality in collaboration with the Maldives Defence Force to clean up the litter dumped by public littering in all the wards of Male'. Clearly, we still have a long way to go to become a civil society which has determined its acceptable social norms and standards. Parents and teachers of schools will have to play a vital role to instill such civic norms in our young children so that our society can become a better and safer place for everyone eventually.
Our country is at the crossroad to install democratic reforms from a prolonged totalitarian form of political governance. The benefits of such reform can only be realised if members of our society can coexist peaceably. This is a change even the rich and powerful will happily welcome.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Stars honour Mandela on 91st birthday
Hordes of stars including Hollywood heavyweight actors Forest Whitaker, Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Freemon, Susan Sarandon and Matt Damon gathered at the Radio City Music Hall concert in New York late on Saturday to pay tribute to legendary anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela on his 91st birthday.
Among the mega celebrities who sang at the concert was the former model and French president's wife Carla Bruni, who is performing for the first time after marrying President Sarkozy in January 2008.
All proceeds from the major charity concert will go to Mandela's 46664 campaign, 46664 being Mandela's prison number during the 27 years he spent in the African jail.
This year's birthday marks the inaugural Mandela Day, initiated by his charitable Mandela foundation in honour of the much-loved icon.
Mr. Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served only one term did not attend the celebration in New York due to his frail health. The Nobel Peace Laureate celebrated his 91st birthday at home in Johannesburg with a visit from President Jacob Zuma and the whole executive of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress.
Mr. Mandela has become a powerful global brand that symbolises forgiveness, inclusiveness and reconciliation. He still campaigns extensively for children and AIDS awareness and is seen as one of the world's most respected elder statesmen, despite having officially retired from public duty in 2004.
Listen to this New York Post where some stars have given their views about the popular leader.
Among the mega celebrities who sang at the concert was the former model and French president's wife Carla Bruni, who is performing for the first time after marrying President Sarkozy in January 2008.
All proceeds from the major charity concert will go to Mandela's 46664 campaign, 46664 being Mandela's prison number during the 27 years he spent in the African jail.
This year's birthday marks the inaugural Mandela Day, initiated by his charitable Mandela foundation in honour of the much-loved icon.
Mr. Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served only one term did not attend the celebration in New York due to his frail health. The Nobel Peace Laureate celebrated his 91st birthday at home in Johannesburg with a visit from President Jacob Zuma and the whole executive of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress.
Mr. Mandela has become a powerful global brand that symbolises forgiveness, inclusiveness and reconciliation. He still campaigns extensively for children and AIDS awareness and is seen as one of the world's most respected elder statesmen, despite having officially retired from public duty in 2004.
Listen to this New York Post where some stars have given their views about the popular leader.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Bringing focus on the dangers of unbridled capitalism
Pope Benedict XVI has brought focus on the "grave deviations and failures" of capitalism exposed by the financial crisis and issued a strong call this week for a "true world political authority" to oversee a return to ethics in the global economy. The Pope's call came just before the Summit in Italy of the G8 heads of Government, attended by 39 heads of government and international institutions. The Pope's concerns to find new "forms of Redistribution of Wealth" is likely to fuel debate on the failure of rich nations, notably Italy and France, to honour past aid commitments to poor nations.
The Pontiff's call was also to find a sustainable business development model in the broadest sense, and doing business with a social responsibility. It is capitalism in a globalised world where the market forces are regulated by a strong oversight authority. Enterprises are needed to seek a new way of understanding business that would respect the dignity of workers and foster the "common good by prioritising ethics and social responsibility over dividend returns" said the Pope.
The prevailing economic paradigm in most of the countries of the world including Maldives is capitalism.
Eight months after President Nasheed took office, our government is still pre-occupied with the old issues including investigating the corrupt practices of the Gayoom government that remained in power for thirty years. For the legislative agenda of the Nasheed government to become effective, the government needs to pass several bills to fulfil their election pledges, including the decentralisation of power to the provinces. These bills that are necessary to bring structural, social and economic reforms are getting hindered by the opposition party holding the majority in the parliament . They have placed their own party politics over the national interest and the future direction of the country.
Moving away from the crony capitalism of the previous government, the Nasheed government is embarking on initiatives to privatise state-controlled industries and empower the private sector to do business. But such private sector empowerment allowing for a more business-friendly environment and the government pulling out of doing business is not a panacea to root out corruption or solve all of our problems.
If we are to learn anything from the 2008/9 financial meltdown of the United States, the bastion of free market capitalism, we now know that unless adequate oversight regulations are enforced timely the same financial market that makes people rich can also ruin livelihoods with millions of people losing their jobs, bankrupt companies and even countries. The financial collapse that began in the Wall Street due to greed, reckless risk-taking, and dangerous speculation of investors, traders and bankers, quickly spread all across the globe bringing the worst recession since The Great Depression of the 1930s. The US federal oversight authorities failed to act for far too long until the economic roof fell on their head.
The Nasheed government needs to maintain strong oversight institutions in Maldives entrusted with the authority and responsibility to monitor our stock market with proper disclosure and good governance. Such oversight authorities should hold financial market players like the banks and financial brokers accountable, thus reducing the room for market manipulation. A well educated citizen who understands the financial markets is the best tool to avoid huge losses and financial havoc.
Maldives can only achieve the ideals of a strong democracy by building a strong economy that values innovation and provides opportunity to its citizens.
The present government needs to lay down a firm foundation of the institutional framework for good governance and create a system that provides a more equitable distribution of wealth. Unless the citizens reap the benefits from such reform process, it is likely that our country could slip back into crony capitalism and the "business as usual" system with another change of government. If that happens we will be back to the old system that promoted widespread corruption and allowed open borders for illegal drug traffickers who made tons of money while addicting and killing our youth.
The Pontiff's call was also to find a sustainable business development model in the broadest sense, and doing business with a social responsibility. It is capitalism in a globalised world where the market forces are regulated by a strong oversight authority. Enterprises are needed to seek a new way of understanding business that would respect the dignity of workers and foster the "common good by prioritising ethics and social responsibility over dividend returns" said the Pope.
The prevailing economic paradigm in most of the countries of the world including Maldives is capitalism.
Eight months after President Nasheed took office, our government is still pre-occupied with the old issues including investigating the corrupt practices of the Gayoom government that remained in power for thirty years. For the legislative agenda of the Nasheed government to become effective, the government needs to pass several bills to fulfil their election pledges, including the decentralisation of power to the provinces. These bills that are necessary to bring structural, social and economic reforms are getting hindered by the opposition party holding the majority in the parliament . They have placed their own party politics over the national interest and the future direction of the country.
Moving away from the crony capitalism of the previous government, the Nasheed government is embarking on initiatives to privatise state-controlled industries and empower the private sector to do business. But such private sector empowerment allowing for a more business-friendly environment and the government pulling out of doing business is not a panacea to root out corruption or solve all of our problems.
If we are to learn anything from the 2008/9 financial meltdown of the United States, the bastion of free market capitalism, we now know that unless adequate oversight regulations are enforced timely the same financial market that makes people rich can also ruin livelihoods with millions of people losing their jobs, bankrupt companies and even countries. The financial collapse that began in the Wall Street due to greed, reckless risk-taking, and dangerous speculation of investors, traders and bankers, quickly spread all across the globe bringing the worst recession since The Great Depression of the 1930s. The US federal oversight authorities failed to act for far too long until the economic roof fell on their head.
The Nasheed government needs to maintain strong oversight institutions in Maldives entrusted with the authority and responsibility to monitor our stock market with proper disclosure and good governance. Such oversight authorities should hold financial market players like the banks and financial brokers accountable, thus reducing the room for market manipulation. A well educated citizen who understands the financial markets is the best tool to avoid huge losses and financial havoc.
Maldives can only achieve the ideals of a strong democracy by building a strong economy that values innovation and provides opportunity to its citizens.
The present government needs to lay down a firm foundation of the institutional framework for good governance and create a system that provides a more equitable distribution of wealth. Unless the citizens reap the benefits from such reform process, it is likely that our country could slip back into crony capitalism and the "business as usual" system with another change of government. If that happens we will be back to the old system that promoted widespread corruption and allowed open borders for illegal drug traffickers who made tons of money while addicting and killing our youth.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Grim forecast with El Nino set to return
The dreaded news of warming patterns of the El Nino weather conditions comes in the midst of the worst global recession since the Great Depression of the 1920s. The last severe El Nino was in 1998, when the Asian financial crisis was at its peak.
Reports say the 1998 El Nino killed over 2,000 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and Asia.
According to a report from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology on Wednesday, an El Nino weather pattern this year appears almost certain, raising the prospect of drought in Australia and a weaker monsoon in India.
As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), rainfall so far has been well below normal and the onset of monsoon in large rain-dependent agricultural states of central India has been delayed, forcing water levels to fall sharply and hampering irrigation in many parts. The monsoon rains are the lifeblood for farmers in India. Its faltering sugar crop is a prime reason why sugar prices are at their highest levels in three years.
El Nino is driven by an abnormal warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The severe drought caused by the deadly cycle of El Nino across the Asia-Pacific region will destroy crops and increase the price of commodities like wheat. Australia is one of the world's biggest wheat producers and has barely recovered from the worst drought in 100 years which hit a few years ago.
The mainstay of Maldivian economy is tourism. The beauty of tranquil Maldives includes the lagoons of crystal clear water surrounding the islands with coral reefs and brightly colored schools of fish. The El Nino of 1998 wreaked havoc on the hard corals of Maldives due to the extensive bleaching. However, these reefs have subsequently recovered showing their resilience to bring back the spectacular colours of marine growth and the bright-coloured fish.
For the global economy still in recession, the El Nino of 2009 could not have come at a worse time.
Reports say the 1998 El Nino killed over 2,000 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and Asia.
According to a report from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology on Wednesday, an El Nino weather pattern this year appears almost certain, raising the prospect of drought in Australia and a weaker monsoon in India.
As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), rainfall so far has been well below normal and the onset of monsoon in large rain-dependent agricultural states of central India has been delayed, forcing water levels to fall sharply and hampering irrigation in many parts. The monsoon rains are the lifeblood for farmers in India. Its faltering sugar crop is a prime reason why sugar prices are at their highest levels in three years.
El Nino is driven by an abnormal warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The severe drought caused by the deadly cycle of El Nino across the Asia-Pacific region will destroy crops and increase the price of commodities like wheat. Australia is one of the world's biggest wheat producers and has barely recovered from the worst drought in 100 years which hit a few years ago.
The mainstay of Maldivian economy is tourism. The beauty of tranquil Maldives includes the lagoons of crystal clear water surrounding the islands with coral reefs and brightly colored schools of fish. The El Nino of 1998 wreaked havoc on the hard corals of Maldives due to the extensive bleaching. However, these reefs have subsequently recovered showing their resilience to bring back the spectacular colours of marine growth and the bright-coloured fish.
For the global economy still in recession, the El Nino of 2009 could not have come at a worse time.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
IMF projects weak ecocomic recovery
Releasing an update of its April World Economic Outlook on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund has projected a slightly improved economic forecast for the global economy, thanks to the macroeconomic and financial policies said the IMF.
According to the IMF's latest forecast, the world's economic growth during the 2009–2010 period is now projected to be 0.5 percentage points higher than that projected in the April 2009 World Economic Outlook, reaching 2.5 percent in 2010. Although the global economy is beginning to pull out of the worst recession of the post war period, the IMF also warns that the recovery will be uneven and sluggish.
Link to the IMF article.
According to the IMF's latest forecast, the world's economic growth during the 2009–2010 period is now projected to be 0.5 percentage points higher than that projected in the April 2009 World Economic Outlook, reaching 2.5 percent in 2010. Although the global economy is beginning to pull out of the worst recession of the post war period, the IMF also warns that the recovery will be uneven and sluggish.
Link to the IMF article.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
A Historical Lesson on how Nasir Stopped Corruption
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 the same government who failed to provide proper treatment and rehabilitation for the addicts. They promoted Maldives as the idyllic paradise with "a sunny side of life" to woo wealthy foreign tourists who make the rich even richer, thus creating an ever increasing income gap between the rich and poor while the country continues to make further economic progress.
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.
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 the same government who failed to provide proper treatment and rehabilitation for the addicts. They promoted Maldives as the idyllic paradise with "a sunny side of life" to woo wealthy foreign tourists who make the rich even richer, thus creating an ever increasing income gap between the rich and poor while the country continues to make further economic progress.
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.
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