Impose truth tests on our presidential candidates

Here is an excerpt from an article on NDTV.com .

"Forensic tools like polygraphs or lie-detection tests are not just for criminals and terror suspects. Many in the corporate world are opting for this technology for pre-recruitment screening and also post-employment, for integrity check and zeroing in on fraudsters.

These are no isolated cases. Several top corporates, including MNCs, are opting for this technology to keep out the bad eggs. "

India is the biggest democracy in the world and some of their top corporations will have financial strength greater than the entire reserves of our country Maldives.

There will be no harm done to us if we follow their steps of good governance.

After decades of dictatorship and political stagnation, now everyday is a new beginning that will decide the fate of Maldives and its people.

In order to weed out the evil characters before they capture the power on our national stage, the State must impose truth telling tests by the polygraph. Then we will know what kind of people our leaders are, where they stand on different issues and what matters to them most.

In the United States, where there are 47 million people without health insurance, read about a truth test in one state that wants to tackle their health care problems.

If leaders of corporations should be put to polygraph tests to determine their truthfulness, the same measure should be applied to national leaders of countries who carry greater responsibility. National leaders entrusted with the well being of people's lives should be held to a higher standard than corporate leaders.


In the case of Maldives, the two presidential run off candidates- DRP's leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and MDP's leader Mohamed Nasheed should be polygraphed to test their truthfulness.

Here are some pertinent questions on the issue of drugs- the biggest appalling problem in Maldives.

• Are there any Maldivian Government officials complicit in drug trafficking or in anyway involved in the drug supply chain?
• Do you have the political will of what it takes to stop drug trafficking in Maldives?
• Do you believe that during the last three decades abuse of drugs and drug addiction has reached epidemic levels among the young people in Maldives?
• Is it true that many people accuse the Government of failing to stop the inflow of drugs into Maldives?
• Do you agree that illegal drugs is the cause of so much of gang violence and increasing robbery in Maldives?
• Has drugs become a national security problem?
• As president would you keep the convicted drug traffickers incarcerated to serve out their full term without any early release?

President John F Kennedy warns of secret government in America

Hollywood's Drew Barrymore advocates it's time for change

Barrymore recently directed a documentary, “The Best Place To Start,” which advocates voter registration.

“Does anyone really want to hear from me?" she asks. "But I think people know I’m not just a party girl. I’m a producer, a director, an actor; I believe in philanthropy.”


Source: link

A remarkable transformation: Cat Stevens to Yusuf Islam

More on Yusuf Islam and his charitable works. http://www.yusufislam.com/

A father deals with meth-addiction. "My Addicted Son"

Nick now claims that he was searching for methamphetamine for his entire life, and when he tried it for the first time, as he says, ''That was that.'' It would have been no easier to see him strung out on heroin or cocaine, but as every parent of a methamphetamine addict comes to learn, this drug has a unique, horrific quality. In an interview, Stephan Jenkins, the singer in the band Third Eye Blind, said that methamphetamine makes you feel ''bright and shiny.'' It also makes you paranoid, incoherent and both destructive and pathetically and relentlessly self-destructive. Then you will do unconscionable things in order to feel bright and shiny again. Nick had always been a sensitive, sagacious, joyful and exceptionally bright child, but on meth he became unrecognizable.


So writes David Sheff in a gut-wrenching article posted on The New York Times.


Through Nick's drug addiction, I learned that parents can bear almost anything. Every time we reach a point where we feel as if we can't bear any more, we do. Things had descended in a way that I never could have imagined, and I shocked myself with my ability to rationalize and tolerate things that were once unthinkable. He's just experimenting. Going through a stage. It's only marijuana. He gets high only on weekends. At least he's not using heroin. He would never resort to needles. At least he's alive.

A fortnight later, Nick wrote an e-mail message to his mother and asked for help. After they talked, he agreed to meet with a friend of our family who took him to her home in upstate New York, where he could detox. He slept for 20 or more hours a day for a week and began to work with a therapist who specialized in drug addiction. After six or so weeks, he seemed stronger and somewhat less desolate. His mother helped him move into an apartment in Brooklyn, and he got a job. When he finally called, he told me that he would never again use methamphetamine, though he made no such vows about marijuana and alcohol. With this news, I braced myself for the next disaster. A new U.C.L.A. study confirms that I had reason to expect one: recovering meth addicts who stay off alcohol and marijuana are significantly less likely to relapse.

Two or so months later, the phone rang at 5 on a Sunday morning. Every parent of a drug-addicted child recoils at a ringing telephone at that hour. I was informed that Nick was in a hospital emergency room in Brooklyn after an overdose. He was in critical condition and on life support.

After two hours, the doctor called to tell me that his vital signs had leveled off. Still later, he called to say that Nick was no longer on the critical list. From his hospital bed, when he was coherent enough to talk, Nick sounded desperate. He asked to go into another program, said it was his only chance.

So without reluctance this time, Nick returned to rehab. After six or so months, he moved to Santa Monica near his mother. He lived in a sober-living home, attended meetings regularly and began working with a sponsor. He had several jobs, including one at a drug-and-alcohol rehabilitation program in Malibu. Last April, after celebrating his second year sober, he relapsed again, disappearing for two weeks. His sponsor, who had become a close friend of Nick's, assured me: ''Nick won't stay out long. He's not having any fun.'' Of course I hoped that he was right, but I was no less worried than I was other times he had disappeared -- worried that he could overdose or otherwise cause irreparable damage.

But he didn't. He returned and withdrew on his own, helped by his sponsor and other friends. He was ashamed -- mortified -- that he slipped. He redoubled his efforts. Ten months later, of course, I am relieved (once again) and hopeful (once again). Nick is working and writing a children's book and articles and movie reviews for an online magazine. He is biking and swimming. He seems emphatically committed to his sobriety, but I have learned to check my optimism.

Democracy is a tough business

In an interview with TV Maldives on the night of the first multi-party contested election for the presidency, the Deputy President of Maldives Human Rights Commission, (MHRC) Mohamed Zahid has said the people have shown a remarkable example of democracy and change in Wednesday's presidential election. He said the peaceful and smooth manner in which the election was held and results were received by the people is also an excellent example of the respect of the people to the ideals of democracy.

All these years we had a system that is rigged to bring to power people who are already in power. Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) a likely future president has been imprisoned by this autocratic Government for being a reform activist and advocate for democracy. Now he has the freedom to contest and unseat the incumbent president who has held power for thirty years.

It appears Maldives is following the Middle East path to democracy. For decades there have been less than democratic elections in the Middle East, where ruling parties control candidates’ and voters’ access to the ballot and also control the vote counting.

Egypt's long serving President Husni Mubarak and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad have tried ruthless tactics to keep them in power through the referendum on a single candidate that Maldives followed up to now. The general feeling among democracy advocates in the Middle East is that elections have increasingly become a tool used by authoritarian leaders to claim legitimacy. Thus, elections are being used as a technique to mislead the people. What is missing in these countries are the independent institutions and democratic values that underpin the democratic process and good governance.

The democracy experiment by the Americans in Iraq has shown mixed results. The Americans invaded Iraq captured a brutal dictator and hanged him. They held elections and put in a puppet regime yet the country's problems remain unsolved. In fact, violence has increased between sectarian groups and Iraq has become a haven for terrorists to conduct their operations.

From this we know that democracy is not the answer to a society's all the problems. A country does need good elected leaders dedicated to public good and committed to solve a country's problems.

This is just the beginning of democracy and freedom in Maldives. Hence now is not the time to celebrate anything. The old leaders have failed our people and a new set of leaders will have to come and make their mark in history. Only time will tell their performance and the electorate should always remain ready to petition or strike with work stoppages as done by the teachers and tourist resort workers recently claiming higher compensation and demanding their rights.

Democracy is a messy and unpleasant business when leaders are corrupt and insincere.

The Maldivian people have lived in a state of depression for so long that they have lost trust in their elected leaders who up to now appeared at their doorstep once in five years to buy their vote and forgot about their promises once they turned their back. The new political leaders will have to walk their talk to regain the lost trust.

Immoral Politicians

For the last three decades, the Egypt-trained politicians who came into power and wore Islam up their sleeves have turned Maldives into a country without morals. They are shrewd, narcissistic and hopelessly addicted to seeking vain glory. They thrived on empty pride. They violated the principle of justice and failed to deliver equitable distribution of wealth which they preached from the pulpits.

In this fledgling multi-party democracy, we have now entered the era of boastful challenges and provoking one another. The arrogance and incompetency of the present Government has created many difficult problems. By some estimates half of the country's young people are abusing drugs. Drug addiction has reached epidemic proportions in this tranquil country and yet the Gayoom Government claims it has not failed in its responsibility to stop the influx of drugs into Maldives. This Government lacks the leadership and sincerity to provide the necessary medical treatment and rehabilitation for the addicts. What is happening in Maldives on the explosive growth of the drug trade is a crime against humanity and those responsible must be held accountable as advocated by Umar Naseer in his presidential election manifesto. It is the Singapore theory. "If you addict my child, I will execute you."

At a time when there is a global financial crisis, difficult times lie ahead for us in the short term. The internal house cleaning process brought by the thirty-year autocratic regime has begun to take its bite.

In the first independent auditor general report, AG Ibrahim Naeem said the President’s Office is currently owed Rf 47.7 million (US $3.7 million) in outstanding loans to highly-placed government officials. Naeem also blamed Gayoom’s Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) for “misuse of state funds”, as party business was conducted on official trips.

It now appears even before the curtains close on the Gayoom regime, the finger pointing and the blame game has begun with the same ferocity and venom that the current administration started against former president Ibrahim Nasir after he resigned and handed over power peacefully.

The repressed feelings of the last three decades has brought us back full circle. The barbaric behavior this government unleashed against former president Ibrahim Nasir has turned on its head after thirty years.

Wen Jiabao's revealing interview

Wen Jiabao, the Premier of China is one of the most influential international figures of this generation. He is also on Facebook and gave an interview to Fareed Zakaria’s GPS - an hour long program that takes a comprehensive look at foreign affairs and policies shaping our world.

Wen Jiabao discussed several topics of extreme relevance to the global community, showing the man's intellectual prowess and sharp focus.

On a day when the US Congress is feverishly working to unfreeze the free market system on Wall Street by injecting $ 77billion into the market, the advise from the Socialist flag bearer was worth listening to. Asked about the prevailing economic philosophy for Wen Jiabao who did Jiabao quote? Who other than Adam Smith, suggesting that the free hand of capitalism should be balanced by Government regulations to keep things fair and orderly.

Adam Smith is, of course, known as the father of modern day economics, and regularly quoted for his words supporting the free-market and “the invisible hand”: lt is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their selflove, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.

A large part of Smith's book - The Theory of Moral Sentiments - deals with ethics, morality, and the role of government, regulation and application of “morality” to free markets - a historical point often lost in debates over free market virtues.

What’s Jiabao reading? Stoic Marcus Aurelius apparently is one of his favorite philosophers, a thoughtful Roman emperor who advocated social responsibility and internal progressive social reforms even as he persecuted wars and treated some dissenters ruthlessly.

Read the full transcript of interview from CNN.

From chaos to more chaos

Maldives has finally broken the grip of the single-candidate presidential elections that kept Ibrahim Nasir in power from 1968 to 1978 and Maumoon Abdul Qayoom from 1978 up to now.

When the Egypt-educated politicians took over the presidency thirty years ago, the people were looking forward to a period of spiritual enlightenment. The same folks are now being accused of being greedy for money and power. They have failed to deliver justice according to the Holy Quran they preached. How ironic it is that these people who blame the West on charges of trying to impose Christianity on us have to import their concept of a Human Rights Commission to be the watchdog for justice and human rights.

Now we enter the confusing and murky world of coalition politics. Even the most unlikely bedfellows could come together for political advantage or to seize power. We see such alliances being formed in Maldives between the different political parties, all jockeying to share power in the upcoming presidential elections. The muddling through has begun in earnest.

People are the backbone of any society and their right to assemble and protest which is a constitutional right in a democracy is beginning to work in Maldives. Recently teachers had protested over poor pay and now tourism workers are due to protest in early October. Our Government is run on a deficit budget and every effort is being made to cut down the expenditure. But the members of parliament have increased their own salary by a 500 percent to some rf 67,000 per month setting a benchmark for various members of newly formed independent institutions to be paid similar amounts.

For workers at the lower economic ladder like teachers and airport workers to get a suitable raise, they have to indulge in work stoppages and strikes. Theses are uncharted waters for us but it also reflects badly on the uncaring Government of our country.

In Maldives, we now see a clear trend of religion being replaced by materialism in the same manner as it is happening in other capitalistic countries. Every individual; man, woman and child is a consumer. Companies and corporations have realized that rich consumers are the most attractive targets for marketing their products. The upper class' tastes, lifestyles, and preferences, trickle down to become the standard which all consumers seek to emulate. A consumer can have the instant gratification of purchasing a high-ticket item that will help improve their social status.


Maldives does not have an income tax or corporate tax system. Therefore while the rich continue to get rich, the poor are left behind to fend for themselves often struggling to live a decent life.

Once the campaign for the presidency is over and the first multi-party contested president is elected this year, it will be time to act on the promises that are flying all around us. We will soon learn whether the import of drugs into Maldives will be stopped by taking firm action and treatment provided to all the addicts or will it be more of the same old bluff of greedy and dumb politicians who only seek power for the sake of it.

Worrying extremes of the free market

The US Federal Reserve announced that it will lend AIG (American Insurance Group) up to $85bn in emergency funds in return for a government stake of 79.9 per cent and effective control of the company - an extraordinary step in the bastion of the free market capitalism, meant to stave off a collapse of the giant insurer that plays a crucial role in the global financial system.

Of AIG's 116,000 staff in 130 countries, almost half are reportedly in Asia, where wholly-owned subsidiary American International Assurance Company Limited (AIA) manages most of the operations in Southeast Asia, China and Australia.

Even after the US Federal Reserve rescued AIG, hundreds of worried and nervous customers converged on the company's Singapore subsidiary on Wednesday, many looking to end their contracts -- some having flown in from abroad.

Singapore's de facto central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said AIA has enough assets to meet liabilities to policyholders, who should "not act hastily to terminate their insurance policies".


The AIG crisis unleashed another day of turmoil on global markets on Tuesday sparked by the weekend failure of Lehman Brothers, a leading US investment bank and the rushed takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America.

In March, the Fed helped JPMorgan Chase buy Bear Stearns, one of the world's largest investment banks by providing a $29bn credit line. Earlier This month, the Treasury seized control of troubled US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

These are unprecedented steps but we are also living in unprecedented times.

In a global world, what happens in the USA quickly affects other markets all round the world as we have witnessed in the stock markets losses this week. We have also seen that no country is practising unrestrained capitalism- i.e, the economic system governed by free market than by state regulation. The US Regulatory Authority, the Fed decided to bail out AIG, Bear Stearns, and Mortgage Houses Fannie Mae an Fredie Mac because they involved huge public investments and their collapse would result in untold global financial losses and loss of public confidence.

Like most other countries, Maldives follows the capitalistic model of economy with oversight by the state regulatory authority, the Maldives Monetary Authority(MMA). The important question for Maldives in the ever changing global capitalistic system is; " Is Maldives ready and prepared to react timely to give the warning signals to its investors about the financial health of publicly traded companies like the Bank of Maldives Plc (BML), State Trading Organization Plc (STO) or the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) to avoid financial hardship and chaos in a small community?"

The bumpy road of reform for Maldives

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.

Pampered footballers or modern day slaves

The illustrious FIFA's President Sepp Blatter has caused a furious debate in the football world when he said the Cristiano Ronaldo contracted to Manchester United of England should be free to transfer to Real Marid FC of Spain.

Blatter's claim is that that clubs are guilty of modern-day slavery by claiming players are treated like 'pieces of meat'.

Manchester United old bot Roy Keane, now manager of Sunderland, added fuel to the furore caused by Blatter.

'People question players' loyalty. I question clubs' loyalty,' said the 36-year-old Keane , who was dumped by United in 2005 after more than 12 years at Old Trafford.

'When a club are finished with you, they get rid of you. You can be out of the door in 10 minutes, and I'm speaking from experience lamented Keane recalls his bitter exit from United.

Ronaldo who has a five-year, £120,000-a-week deal with United is not a poor kid and it appears in this case Blattter is off his mark and it would be better for him to shut his mouth and leave two of the world's richest clubs to pursue their interests.

There may be plenty of slaves for Sepp Blatter and others like him could talk about but Cristiano Ronaldo is not one of them.

A rewarding and inspirational weight loss

Mazliwati Md Shah, 32, who weighed 208kg last year, now tips the scale at just 88kg.

More on this story.

The World Bank on increasing food prices?

Global increases of food prices are worrying politicians all across the world. Here are some comments from the World Bank.

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Click here to read about BBC's are you worried about rising food prices?

Rehashing failed policies

The Maldivian government launched its ever first drug control masterplan on Thursday, aiming to tackle all dimensions of the narcotics problem, in coordination with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The situation of drug addiction and lack of adequate treatment for addicts is what it is in Maldives because the Maldivian Government has failed to take appropriate action to deal with these issues. The UNODC cannot be ignorant of this problem and its root causes if they wish to help Maldives. Every one in Maldives knows what the problems are and so we don't need four years for another window dressing by the UNODC and the Maldivian Government.

All the facets of this problem begin with the influx of these drugs into Maldives and the greed of those who sell drugs to our youth. . The UNODC should demand the Maldivian Government to stop this influx by vigorous checking at all entry points and enforce the death penalty on traffickers who bring in and sell drugs that kill our youth.

Medical treatment should be provided to members of our community who need help to get over the drug addiction without stigmatizing them.

Roman Abramovich spends £17million on a big fat naked lady

He is better known for investing in footballers than paintings, but Roman Abramovich is believed to have become a new art collector.

Multi-billionaire Abramovich is believed to be the mystery collector who bought two paintings last week for figures which smashed previous world records, and set him back £61.4million during 48 hours



Link: thisisland.co.uk

Lifestyle changes need to start at the top

Mr. Ahmed Abdullah, Environment Minister who is a former health minister has said there is growing concern about the high cost of unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles incurred on the health of Maldivian people.

He referred to irregular and late meals irregular sleep and lack of exercises as prime factors for the worsening health of people and rapid increase of lifestyle diseases or non communicable diseases.

In Maldives, many government offices including the President's Office work into late night and this attitude is followed by the private sector. Public sector and private sector bosses will have to set the standards to allow staff and workers to have more family time and cultivate the type of positive habits that the minister alluded to. Unfortunately in Maldives, the negative traits in society are moving much faster than the positive traits. If we are to believe the Gender Ministry, the age old profession- prostitution is thriving well in our 100 per cent Muslim Maldives. This is in addition to rampant child abuse, gang violence in Male' and the relentless drug addiction in Maldives.

The minister and the government need to do more than just give lip service to turn this situation around.

World bank's singing praise is misleading

According to World bank's country assistance strategy for 2008 for Maldives, "Overshadowing the strong economic performance is the substantial weakening of fiscal policy over the past three years, which is the main policy lever for affecting outcomes in the Maldives. This is the key source of risk facing the Maldives in the short-term.


According to an IMF report, IMF notes the fiscal expenditures in Maldives have increased sharply in the years following the 2004 tsunami, and, correspondingly, the fiscal deficit has deteriorated from 1.9 percent of GDP in 2004 to 11 and 7 percent of GDP in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

In December 2007 Finance Minister Gasim Ibrahim proposed a $940 million budget, equal to eighty percent of the Maldives’ expected GDP [Gross Domestic Product or total income] for 2007.

For the first time domestic expenditure is expected to account for over half of the country’s income.Thus, the 2007 budget carries risks of a significant deficit as the large spending program is based on optimistic revenue assumptions

IMF has warned that the budget, “is mostly unrelated to post-tsunami rehabilitation.”

The IMF annual report also warns of “a large fiscal deficit” and “rising external debt.” And the IMF has urged the government to bring expenditure “in line with available resources.”

The Maldive government has done nothing to strengthen the fiscal policy and reverse the fiscal deficit. But a group of World Bank directors who recently visited Maldives are reported to be praising Maldives for its rapid development.

Since the World Bank is an institution that supports poverty reduction and improving economic and social development, these directors should point out the alarming growth of social problems in Maldives. Maldives has rampant child abuse, appalling drug addiction among the youth, and unrelenting gang violence and killing on the streets of Male. It is true that in per capita terms, Maldives is the wealthiest country in southern Asia, but its income distribution is also among the most inequitable in the region. That explains the reason why the poor continue to suffer without proper healthcare and equal opportunities while the foreign tourists and the rich elites enjoy in these paradise islands. The directors of the world bank are not mouth pieces of the Maldive government and if they wish to help the poor and improve social conditions they must pressure the government to do so even while they enjoy the five-star luxury available only to foreign tourists and the rich elites in Maldives.

The Maldivian government needs funding from World Bank and other lending institutions to pursue their grandiose projects and for that reason they will have to listen to these institutions. The directors of the World Bank need to step up to the play and do what is right in order to carry out their stated objectives of helping to reduce poverty and improve not only economic development but also social development which is alarming in Maldives.

Does anyone really have the best interest of public in mind?

Commenting on the dismissal of 28 DRP parliamentarians from the civil service as per the civil service act, Aneesa Ahmed, head of the DRP parliamentary group, said the CSC did not have “the best interests of the public in mind” when announcing its intention to enforce the Act, as it had had a six month “leeway to settle the civil service staff.”

Civil Service Commission (CSC) is enforcing the act of parliament passed in 2007. DRP and the MDP, the opposition party in the parliament knew what the act was and so is it right to blame the CSC for not keeping the best interest of the public in mind? Maldives is a country where no politician keeps the public interest in mind. They only know how to look after their own interest.

Compulsory retirement shows conflicting values

The Civil Service Act came into effect on May 1, with 27,089 civil servants transferred from the President's Office to the new, independent Civil Service Commission (CSC).

While much of the world celebrated the May Day or the International Workers Day, the Maldives with a 100 percent Muslim population compelled 1,714 civil servants aged 65 and above to take mandatory retirement. Maldives does not have a labour movement nor labour unions to protect workers rights and so the compensation for the retirees was determined by the Civil Service Commission with no representation by the affected people.

According to the CSC calculations, the 1,714 retirees will be awarded a lump sum and a monthly allowance, based on their salary and length of service.

262 of the retirees will receive Rf 500 (US $39) monthly, 169 retirees will be paid their full salary for 40 or more years of service, and 1,282 retirees will be receive a sum between Rf 500 and their full salary till death.

The sun has now set for the public servants aged 65 and above, many of whom had believed that they had a lifelong job in serving the Maldivian government who preached the virtues of an Islamic society. Now the Maldivian government has deftly manipulated the public trust and kicked out the pillars of the public service without giving them any opportunity or training for alternative employment.

Maldives faces an onion crisis

According to Miadhu, "Maldivian traders says that the price of onions may go up in the market as a result of the heavy rains occurring over India which has rendered flooding of the onion fields in certain areas. Maldives imports large amounts of onion from India.

Trade Ministry informed that due to heavy rains experiencing over parts of India rendering flooding of onion fields the prices of onions is expected to go up. Ministry further said price of onion even in India has gone risen in the past few days."

In June/July 1989 India faced shortages of onions and price of onions went through the roof. Indian food security experts who analysed the situation revealed that increase in onion price was caused by market manipulation rather than real shortages.
``The unexplained spiral in prices of vegetables in June/July and the prevailing skyrocketing onion prices are the result of deft manipulation by market forces,'' said Devinder Sharma, food expert and president of the Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security.

In order to overcome the Indian onion crisis, Indian government allowed the import of onions from Dubai and other countries.

Maldives too will need to look for alternative supply sources such as from Dubai and other onion exporting countries in order to maintain stable supply at reasonable prices, when Indian suppliers are faced with shortages due to heavy rains.

What is democracy?

The Maldivian government and the newly emerged political parties are promising to bring democracy to Maldives.

There are many countries in the world that abuse the concept of democracy and if Maldivians are to benefit from democracy, the voting public should know their rights and be able to demand them from scheming politicians. Maldives has seen its share of corrupt politicians who misused their power and denied the public their rights.


In the dictionary definition, democracy "is government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system." In the phrase of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Freedom and democracy are often used interchangeably, but the two are not synonymous. Democracy is indeed a set of ideas and principles about freedom, but it also consists of a set of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long, often tortuous history. In short, democracy is the institutionalization of freedom. For this reason, it is possible to identify the time-tested fundamentals of constitutional government, human rights, and equality before the law that any society must possess to be properly called democratic.

Social development lagging behind technology

The development of tourism in Maldives which accounts for 30 percent of the GDP has increased the per capita GDP to $3,000. This is an impressive achievement, the highest in the region.

The Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004 hit the Maldives very badly and killed 82 and caused substantial damage to tourism, housing, and fishing infrastructure in the islands. It proved once again the gross unequal development between the residents in Male' and those living in the outer islands.

The World Bank has approved a $7.7 million to improve the mobile banking service in Maldives. According to Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), this mobile phone banking service will bring a revolution to the financial sector. Work is underway to introduce the service early next year.

While we should applaud the growth and development in the financial sector, it is important to press on and improve the social sector. It is vital to eradicate poverty, provide a national health care to all and create opportunities that can empower the people in the islands.

The present method of development is creating an an elitist class of people in Male' while neglecting the social development of the citizens living in the other islands. This trend has to be reversed to avoid social tension.

Insulting the Pope

American comedian Bill Maher insulted Pope Benedict XVI before his official visit to the United States, calling Catholicism a "cult" that promotes "organized pedophilia." The comments were made on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" on Friday, Apr. 11. Maher went into a long monologue on his program comparing the Catholic church to a polygamous cult -- the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- which was raided on Apr. 3 and whose founder, Warren Jeffs, was convicted last year for being an accessory to the rape of a teenage girl.

Many American catholics are enraged at Bill Maher's comments and religious organisations have urged HBO to deal with Maher. Apparently under some pressure, Bill Maher has agreed to apologise for the hurtful comments directed at the pope which are also factually wrong.

Bill Maher used freedom of expression to hurt the feelings of catholics who have applied commercial pressure on HBO. Since Bill Maher's HBO program ratings may drop due to boycott by catholics, Maher has quickly agreed to apologise to avoid any further damage.

Grow more food

This article on Haveeru writes about the need to grow more food items that can be grown in Maldives.

In our quest for development, Maldives has forgotten about the development of agriculture and only depended on the dollars brought in by the tourist industry. The world is now facing a food crisis and some of the economists in Maldives are telling us to grow more sustainable food. Unfortunately these voices of reason are drowned out by the organised political chaos that is currently prevailing in the name of introducing democratic reform.

Increasing food prices in the world— some of which have more than doubled in two years — have sparked riots in numerous countries recently. Governments are scrambling to contain a fast looming crisis before it spins out of control.

The soaring price of rice has triggered a supply and demand crunch that is hurting some of Asia's neediest nations, forcing governments from India to Philippines to Indonesia to monitor the distribution and avoid social disturbances.

For rice exporting countries like Thailand and Vietnam, the world's two biggest exporters of the grain, the rising demand is a money-spinner with rice now selling at more than US$500 a tonne in Bangkok and nearly as much in Hanoi.
(link Tapei Times)

Singapore to open up its first farm resort

Since Maldives has many uninhabited islands, here's some news that could give us some idea of what we could do in Maldives- beyond just catering to the sunseeking foreign tourists.

Singapore government's Land Transport Authority is offering an agri-tainment farm resort where visitors could have a more unconventional experience when it opens its doors in August 2008.

Visitors will be able to find out how crops like corn and coffee are grown and may even get the chance to harvest their own vegetables.

In addition, the five-hectare site, which is equal to the size of six football fields, will have 21 villas and a nearby spa. And the villas will be going for up to S$200 a night.

(Link Channel NewsAsia)

A heart warming gesture

Some parents and the faculty of Kalaafaanu School got together and donated Rf200,000 and four Bangkok return tickets to a student of the school who is suffering from cancer. The student is suffering from bone cancer to his left leg and doctors had said that it was spreading fast, affecting his lungs even and could become life-threatening if the leg was not amputated. (link)

This is a very noble effort by parents and Kalaafaanu school to help a cancer stricken 10-year-old student.

A grateful father said that he had been forced to beg for aid from the Government, wealthy local businessmen, and parents of the Kalaafaanu School children and that the donation from the School was by far the most generous amount he had received.

To avoid such desperate plight, Maldivians should call on all political parties and demand that the Government introduce a national health care programme to provide medical treatment for all citizens; the cost of which can be paid by a publicly funded tax. No Maldivian parent should have to beg anyone to treat his/her child.

What went wrong with the maths genius?

The Sufiah Yusof story has made sensational headlines–around the world- a good Muslim girl gone wrong, prodigy turned hooker,

She was the Malaysian child maths genius who won a place at Oxford University aged just 13—but now news coming out from her adopted nation Britain has shocked those who loved and adored her.

How did this gifted girl with the winning smile who had the world at her feet ten years ago and who should be a rich woman by now end up prostituting her body for a living?

Sufiah's father Farooq is a Pakistani and mother Halimathon, a Malaysian.

Sufiah’s current choice of career was revealed by an undercover reporter whom she entertained in her flat.

According to a British tabloid, she apparently advertised her services on a hookers’ website calling herself Shilpa Lee available for booking every day from 11am to 8pm.

Sufiah gained notoriety for the first time when she rebelled against her strict parents and ran away from Oxford at 15. She wrote an email to sister complaining - “I’ve finally had enough of 15 years of physical and emotional abuse. You know what I am talking about.”

Sufiyah's controversial father Farooq, 50, is now in jail serving 18 months for sexually assaulting two 15 year-old girls he was private tutoring in maths. Prior to this, in 1992, Farooq was jailed three years in relations to a £1.5m mortgage swindle. At 19, Farooq was already a juvenile delinquent - he was sent to borstal (a youth prison in the UK) pertaining to a conspiracy involving £100,000.


From The Star Online.

Sufiah Yusof’s ex-husband Jonathan Marshall has expressed sadness and complete shock over the one-time child prodigy selling herself for £130 per hour.

Britain's Daily Telegraph quoted him as saying: “I am completely shocked. It’s very sad, actually. It’s very shocking that someone can use himself or herself in such a way.”

“I can’t fathom why she would do it – especially someone in her situation. Despite the problems with her family she had many advantages, which other people don’t have,” he said

The two fell in love and married in 2004. Marshall, a law student, had already converted to Islam. He was 24 and she was 19. The marriage lasted less than two years.

“The reason we split was that I became more observant and Sufiah became less so,” The Daily Telegraph quoted Marshall as saying.

“That took her in the wrong direction, away from the direction in which I wanted to go. The teachings of Islam are fundamental to your everyday life, so when paths diverge in that respect it is a major issue.”

Hospital workers go on strike

Photo: SAM BAKER/Manawatu Standard
PAY UP: Hospital worker Bruce Claire was one of 25 Spotless workers waving placards and picketing outside Palmerston North Hospital


In New Zealand, up to 800 cleaners and food workers in public hospitals walked off the job for 24 hours this morning in protest at employer Spotless Services' failure to honour a pay deal agreed with them last year.

The increase would bring their minimum pay rate to $14.25 an hour.

Service and Food Workers Union site representative Ken Archer said the pay increase hold up was unfair.

"The Government has given them [Spotless) the [extra] money for the lower paid workers, and they still haven't paid us. So we have to strike to get what we are owed. . .it's really disappointing it will cost us a day's pay to get what is ours, but what can you expect from an Australian- owned company?"


Read more here.

Health care for citizens before medical tourism

The Minister of Tourism Dr. Mahmoud Shaugy wants to introduce medical tourism in Maldives for foreign tourists.

Before our government ventures out to provide medical tourism to foreign tourists, they should introduce health care to all citizens. We should consider health care models like the health care in Canada that is funded and delivered through a publicly funded health care system or a Universal health care program in which health care costs are met by the population via compulsory health insurance or taxation, or a combination of both.

An interesting article on Healthcare Economist gives an analysis of Singapore's Health Care System. Read it here.

Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus one of the pioneers of the microcredit industry and the founder of the Grameen Bank, gave his comments on health care at the World Health Care Congress Europe 2007.

When Dr. Yunus was questioned as to whether or not poor individuals in Bangladesh should have to pay for health care, he replied: “I think it’s very important to have the patients, the people who are asking for health services, to pay. How that payment will be made…it can be in a variety of ways. But the important thing is they must pay. They must feel that this is a service they are buying so that they feel equal, so they don’t feel small.”

Dr. Yunus later states that payment for medical services can be made in a variety of ways. Of course, there are cash payments, but individuals also can pay by taking out a loan or making incremental payments, or purchasing health insurance in anticipation of the possibility of sickness or individuals could even pay in kind if they have little cash.

The Maldivian Government must learn from economists like Dr. Mohammad Yunus and introduce a health care program for all citizens.

Everyone is entitled to a good standard of living

Maldives has come a long way from being a number of sleepy islands depending of subsistence fishing for their livelihood. Thanks to foreign tourism, Maldives is today ranked the highest in per capita income in the region.

But the higher standard of living enjoyed by the elites in Male' is drawing sharp contrast to the majority of the population who struggle at the bottom of the economic ladder.

This year, we are facing the first multi-party contest for the nation's presidency and there is no shortage of criticism on the Government and its failed policies that has led to such lop sided development for the people in the islands while the elites in the capital Male' flourish with increasing opportunities.

A glaring example of wasteful expenditure is the over 100 million Rufiyaa allegedly spent on STELCO building in Male'. Is it really necessary to provide one of the most expensive public buildings in Male' to house the staff of the government utility company whose job is to provide electricity to the public at the lowest rates? These incidents should be raised in public debates with presidential contenders to seek their views on how they would spend government revenue raised through tourism taxes ,various duties, etc. Will they concentrate only on developing Male' or do they have the political will to impose income tax and corporate tax and reduce the growing income gap between the rich and poor?

Election campaigns are the only time that presidential contenders will have to to run after the public promising everything in order to get their votes.

While there are no quick fixes that can solve our problems, providing meaningful and easily accessible information to the public can help to create solutions to improve the quality of public service. Hence we must urge the presidential contenders and policymakers for greater transparency and timely information. A free press can play an important role to educate the public who can ultimately hold the government accountable.


"Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction. "- Erich Fromm

"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." Thomas Jefferson

The Philosophy of Liberty

Politicial parties should offer their policies

Maldives has world-class tourist resorts to cater to rich foreign tourists and drive the GDP higher leaving a huge gap between the elites and the majority who can barely meet ends. The presidential contenders vying for the top post are promising to unlock the people from an unjust system and bring the necessary changes to create a just and humane society.

The politicians have turned Maldives into a banana republic through their ineptitude and hypocrisy. Legislators and public officials are conveniently serving their own self interest without any conscience. The public loathe the top politicians many of whom have turned into scoundrels who have abandoned reason and have no regard to public interest.

Soon every one will realise that just by changing a constitution and electing a new presidential form of government, nothing changes. Our political parties are playing the same old politics. They quibble with words and are deceitful in their stated intentions. An understandably sceptical public believes that their only real goal is to stay in power or to grab power.

Every one knows what the nation's problems are. 1 in 3 is a drug addict, we don't have health care for our citizens, crime is rampant, there is gang violence in the streets of Male', the majority of the youth remain unemployed and the general public has turned sceptical because of failed promises of reform and change.

If the past has taught us anything, it is time that we realise that we must stand up and declare that our narcissistic politicians are not interested to seek answers to solve our social problems. We should demand what we want from those seeking public office.

In this election year we need to ask the presidential contenders some important questions.

1)A responsible government must protect the interest of every one and not just the elites in Male'. Candidates should declare their position on this and advise how they will protect the interest of the common man?

2)Affordable high quality education must be provided to all students.

3)The government must provide proper health care and equal opportunity to all.

4) There should justice for all, not just only for the rich and powerful as has been happening up to now.

During their campaigns, presidential contenders should offer their policies and discuss in detail how they wish to look after public interest, provide high standards of education, provide equal opportunities and justice for all. Campaigns should not be about empty promises to deceive the public or to buy their votes without any intention for real change.

The power of simplicity

A Google employee rides a bicycle by a sign at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Google has improved its green credentials by offering all of its employees a free bike to ride to work. Photograph: Gareth Davies/Getty Images.

Google, the company that was co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were students at Stanford University valued at US$23 billion based on its initial public offering which took place on place on August 19, 2004 is turning to the power of simplicity to enhance its competetive advantage.

Marissa Mayer, a US computer scientist and Google manager understands the power of that simplicity and is on the forefront introducing features to make their products simple and easy to use.

Read more here.

A US recession will affect Maldives

Many economists at Harvard, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch believe that the United States is headed for an official recession, usually defined as two straight quarters of declining output.

In an election year, most Americans are worried about the economy, and inflation tops their list of concerns. The Federal Reserve bank, the US central bank is moving swiftly to contain a deepening credit crisis and is acting on its role as the lender of last resort to restore confidence for Wall Street investment houses that can begin securing short-term emergency loans.

The Fed acted just after JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to buy rival Bear Stearns Cos. for $236.2 million in a deal that represents a stunning collapse for one of the world's largest and most venerable investment houses. Just on Friday the Fed had raced to provide emergency financing to cash-strapped Bear Stearns through JPMorgan.

JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay a mere $2 a share to buy all of Bear — which a little over a year ago was trading for as high as $170 a share. This shows how swiftly and dramatically events can turn around in the stock market.

US is the world's largest economy and the expected negative impact on the US economy will have adverse effect on the global economy as well. The adverse impact on global economies will affect Maldives as well.

Maldives is also going through an election year and as the our economy is heavily dependent on tourism which accounts for 30 per cent of our GDP, and we need to follow the recessionary pressures that will impact global markets.

The rising sea levels has a lasting impact on our future, but the increasing oil prices has an immediate impact on us as our economy is vulnerable to rising oil prices much more than any other in the Asia Pacific region, according to a UN report.

Current crude oil prices which have crossed $110 a barrel are nearly 10 times the levels less than a decade ago. Presently Maldives is subsidising oil to fisherman, an unsustainable trend if our economy suffers a downturn due to global events. While oil-rich nations can enjoy historic gains and opportunities, major oil importers — including China and India, home to a third of the world’s population — are faced with rising economic and social costs. Maldives heavily dependent on oil imports needs to get back on fiscal discipline and run a balanced economy.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Maldives against money printing and dangers of a currency collapse when the country went for a record budget deficit in 2007. The Maldivian $940 million budget for 2008, equal to eighty percent of the Maldives’ expected GDP carries risks of a significant deficit based on “optimistic revenue assumptions, which may fail to materialise given any decline in global markets.

Our government needs to shift the focus from political bickering and get down to the business of managing the economy on realistic expectations in these turbulent times.

Arrange safety awareness to protect Maldivians as well

A training program to provide safety awareness for tour guides is going on in Maldives conducted jointly by the Police Academy and Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviations. The one week awareness program has 26 participants with Police personnel and experts from other Government offices giving expert advice.

This is a good effort needed to provide information to tour guides about protecting the rights of tourists visiting Maldives. Since 30 per cent of our GDP comes from the tourists who visit our sunny side, we must do all we can to keep them happy so that they will spread the word of our excellent service and make return trips too.

The same enthusiasm needs to be provided to protect the rights of Maldivians in different fields. More public safety safety programs should be conducted to protect Maldivians so that that we don't have incidents such as the five young men who died in a Municipality fish market well due to inhaling toxic gas . The presence of such deadly gas was alerted by the Food and Drug Authority to Municipality who repudiate that claim. In another incident last week, in a crime of passion a former boyfriend killed a 17-year old girl in what appears to be a love feud. The 24-year old boy who knifed the girl to death is reported to have tried to commit suicide earlier without success. The young man in question clearly has some mental problem and it is worrying that in a small island of 600 people, those who are responsible to look after the community are unable to provide the kind of care needed.

It is also worrisome that when such tragedies happen, there is no public outrage to at least bring some comfort and justice to the victims families. What kind of a society are we turning out to be?

Singapore's pioneer civil servant J.Y.Pillay speaks

J.Y. Pillay (b. 30 March 1934, Klang, Malaya) is one of the pioneers who helped build the Singapore economy after its separation from Malaysia in 1965. His single most significant contribution is in building Singapore Airlines (SIA) into a leading world-class carrier. One of the few highest-ranked Civil Service officers (Staff Grade III), he is also known as a visionary and a brilliant bureaucrat.

Pillay had his early education at St John's Institution in Kuala Lumpur. He completed his tertiary education at the University of London's Imperial College of Science and Technology, where he obtained a first class honours in Engineering in 1956. After working in the United Kingdom and Malaya for a few years, he came to Singapore to work in the Ministry of Finance in 1961.

Despite its small size and lacking any natural resources, the success story of this island nation of 4 million people is a remarkable one.

In a series of talks organised by The Straits Times and the EDB Society, Singapore's economic and policy pioneers are talking about their experience. The first two speakers were Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Tamasek Holdings chairman S. Dhanabalan.

Mr. Pillay took centre stage at the Pioneer talks Series dialogue on Monday in the old parliament house.

In the wide-ranging discussion, the private man who rarely gives interviews, touched on his time in the civil service and his move into the private sector.

The former Chairman of SIA also shared candidly his views on how the present generation of Singaporeans could learn from their predecessors in confronting new frontiers.

He said: "You must have guts, a little bit of guts. To me, it hasn't changed from the time of Adam. The environment has changed. So, each generation has to figure out its salvation as it goes along."

Unlike his generation, today's young have not experienced the shock of the Japanese Occupation and other shocks in subsequent decades, said Mr Pillay, who turns 74 on March 30.

'These are the people who should read all these books that are being written on Singapore's history, the past 50 years. Unfortunately, they don't. That's the way with youngsters. They are looking too much to the future - which is good - not so much backward,' he said in response to Straits Times reader Jonathan Chee at the EDB Society-Straits Times Pioneers seminar yesterday.

Public safety should be taken more seriously

The well in the fish market above has claimed the lives of five young Maldivians between the ages of 20 and 24. The Maldives Food and Drug Authority (FDA) says it has warned the Malé Municipality of health and safety risks associated with the well due to excess levels of ammonium gas.

Clearly the well was a death trap. Male Municipality reiterates that they were not informed of the toxic levels of ammonium.

Most Maldivians do not take safety measures very seriously and it is alarming that the government authorities responsible for public safety are taking a callous attitude in discharging their duty as evident in the FDA and Male Municipality response to this tragedy.

Call girl could get 1 million from her infamy

The 22-year-old Ashley Alexandra Dupre who is the call girl hired by the disgraced New York governor Eliot Spitzer for $1,000-an-hour is reportedly on her way to make tons of money while criminal charges against the former governor are just beginning.

Ashley Dupre a college drop out was an aspiring singer whose turbulent and difficult life led her to prostitution where she found the promise of the good life. Now her songs have become the most popular downloads on a music-sharing Web site. Her songs "What We Want" and "Move Ya Body" are ranked as the two best-selling songs on the AimeStreet.com. A spokesman for Aime Street, which uses a demand-price model where users pay more for popular songs, would not confirm how many times Dupre's songs had been downloaded. But he said "Move ya Body," which was uploaded to the site around 2 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Thursday, rose to the highest download price (98 cents) faster than any other song in the site's history.

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt told the Access Hollywood television program on Friday that he plans to offer Dupre $1 million to pose nude in his magazine.

Earlier in the week, the lawyer for Dupre lashed out at the media for thrusting the young woman into the “public glare” without her consent and publishing revealing photos on the basis of the fair use argument. Her attorney, Don D. Buchwald, said she did not consent to the use of her photos in revealing manner, and the usage may be a violation of federal copyright laws. He said the photos have appeared on commercial Web sites without her consent. Buchwald stopped short of saying Dupre would sue media outlets, but he contended that she is not a public figure and said he would take “all steps that we deem necessary or appropriate to protect Dupre from any unwarranted exploitation of her name, picture, voice or likeness for purposes of profit.”

Dupre's 15 minutes of infamy has risen her to a top star. Hollywood would soon be after her to make a film.

Exposing double standards

New York claims to be the financial capital of the world and its powerful chief executive Governor Eliot Spitzer, 48, whose rise to political power as a fierce enforcer of ethics in public life was undone by revelations of his own involvement with prostitutes, resigned on Wednesday, becoming the first New York governor to leave office amid scandal in nearly a century.

The scion of a wealthy New York real estate baron, Mr. Spitzer graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School before rising to fame as an avenging state attorney general, hunting down Wall Street criminals with an uncompromising fervor. Now the same rules that he imposed on other people are haunting him in his link to a high class prostitution ring with the potential for criminal charges to be levied against him by US attorneys.

Now the media pundits and pop psychologists are searching for an answer why a man who demonstrated an unnerving steeliness for taking on the misconduct of the top Wall Street barons and who had everything going for him, had secretly led such a reckless life, possibly breaking federal laws.

At his Midtown Manhattan office, the governor — with his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, at his side — offered an apology to his family and to the public and said he would devote himself to serving “the common good.”

“From those to whom much is given, much is expected,” Mr. Spitzer said. “I have been given much: the love of my family, the faith and trust of the people of New York and the chance to lead this state. I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me.”

“Over the course of my public life, I have insisted — I believe correctly — that people regardless of their position or power take responsibility for their conduct,” he said. “I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor.”

High-end sex market is a growing industry in most global cities, and men from the financial sector are an important part of the clientele. Eliot Spitzer was a former attorney general before he became governor in New York and he knows the rules that have got him into trouble.

What do we celebrate in our National Day?

Maldives celebrates the first day of the Islamic lunar month of Rabee-al-Awwal as its National Day. This was the day, according to our history, Mohamed Thakurufan of Uteem assassinated Andhiri Andhirin and seized control of Malé.

Who was this Adhiri Adhirin?

In 1558 after the sultan was killed, the Portuguese established a small trading outpost in Maldives, which they administered from their main colony in Goa. It is said that they tried to impose Christianity on the locals. The Portuguese rule only lasted for fifteen years when Mohamed Thakurufan defeated the Portugese regent Adherin Adherin.

In celebrating our National Day, what values are we really celebrating?

We certainly honour the dead heroes who fought for our freedom after years of being enslaved by Andhiri Andhirin. The same value of freedom and justice must be the values that we celebrate if history (even if the story is a myth) is to have any meaning in our daily lives.

In celebrating the National Day, there are few events, either official or unofficial that strike a cord with the younger generation demonstrating the significance of this day. It is turning out to be just another holiday when we escape to the islands or resorts to recharge ourselves from the drudgery of our warped life.

Healthy Chocolate

Check out the healthy chocolate here.

What has driven Maldivian students to Taleban?

As reported on Miadhu, the president of Supreme Council Sheikh Mohamed Rasheed has revealed that there are Maldivians trained in warfare tactics who are fighting alongside Mullah Umar and others with Taliban.

“We have received information that they have studied with the followers of Usama Bin Laden and Mulla Umar and that some are actually working with them. There are many young Maldivians there now” said Sheikh Rasheed.

At what point have Maldivian students in Pakistan turned to Taleban to take up suicide killing and become martyrs? How did this start?

Are Maldivian parents aware that such radicalisation is happening to their children sent to study religion? If this is happening with their consent then we have a huge mountain to climb to defeat radicalism and Sheik Rasheed does not have the capacity to do it. This is a frightening situation.

Criminals devour 2 million daily selling drugs

National Narcotics Control Bureau (NNCB) reports that drug users in Maldives pay RS 2million or more to pursue the deadly habit which is killing one-third of our younger generation while enriching the despicable criminals who indulge in this trade.

The only way to save our younger generation from the scourge of drugs is to enforce death penalty for drug traffickers. Our Government should conduct intense inspections at all entry points into Maldives so that we can stop the inflow of drugs.

Will our Government ever get tough to deal with the criminals trafficking and selling drugs or are we as a nation destined to witness the slow, degrading and painful death of our youngsters?

This is an unbelievable scenario. Maldives is now richer than an LDC country (least developed country as defined by UN) and we are going to allow foreigners to invest in mega projects in this country that will further increase the income gap while the majority of our population are still struggling to meet their daily needs. The illegal drug trade is enriching the criminals and killing those who fall into their trap. Most of the drug users and addicts would not have the kind of money to continue their deadly habit and so it leads to robbery and crime. This has become an epidemic and the whole society is suffering and yet the Government has still not decided to take firm action to put away the traffickers for good, while continuing to provide proper treatment for rehabilitation.

Tragic deaths reflect a bigger problem

Five people between the ages of 20 to 24 from one family in Thaa Diyamigili have died while carrying out some work in the junction at the fish market in Male'.

While every newspaper has carried this tragic news, there are no details of who assigned work to them, under what conditions and what are the safety precautions that should have been taken if such measures are at all followed in Maldives. What the journalists reported is the drama that unfolded following this accident and as in many cases in Maldives the truth will never come out and we will not learn anything from this incident.

I wonder weather this incident will be raised in our parliament.

In their youthful zest and ignorance, some Maldivians risk their lives without taking the basic precautions such as checking the air quality of the junction well or wearing protective goggles before going down the well. As we see in this case, the consequences are fatal. While so much work is going on in Maldives, our Government has not mandated safety for workers and they do not run safety awareness programmes to educate the public.

We have lost our work ethic and our interest is only to make money. Our Government has to show urgency to protect our society and we do not have to wait to lose lives before regulations of safety are enforced.

Open economies always do better

Here are some excerpts taken from an article on New Zealand Herald written by Mike Moore, a former prime minister and Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.


'Why is it that countries that should be wealthy, that have resources, have continued to underperform? Poverty is a man-made thing so we can fix it, but how and what works and what fails? What's the common denominator in success and failure?

Open economies always do better. Trade and competition drive up results and help to combat corruption, as well as allocate resources more efficiently. Private ownership, spread through society, works.

The tragedy of large-scale privatisation in countries such as Russia was the brutal insider wealth grabs. A free market without solid, trusted institutions, property rights, independent courts, a professional public service and democracy is not a free market but a black market.

Firm, predictable civil institutions create a vital factor to promote success. Trust. Trust in the courts, in contracts, is a serious issue. Good governance is fundamental.'

The full article.

How much is pop culture affecting us?

The American party girl, model,actress and singer Lindsay Lohan, 21 has been in the news in the last few years more for news of her escapades from drug rehabilitaion centres.

Now she is in the news for posing nude recreating America's most famous Star Marilyn Monroe whose life was cut short when she died of a drug overdose in 1962. Many may find Lindsay's photos tasteless, but these type of gimmicks sells magazines as New York fashion magazine found out.

The pictures have been so popular that the magazine's Web site crashed, receiving around 20 million daily page views on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The New York Times has joined a raging debate on the merit of this photo shoot calling the images of Lohan-as-Monroe "macabre".

Here's Lindsay singing one of her songs.