Once there lived a King who was extremely scared of Rats. His Palace was infested with the vermin and every time he ventured into the garden he saw these Rats running around and he had to run indoors. Try as he might, he could not rid the Palace of these Rats. Finally, one of his Ministers advised him to employ a Cat to keep the Rats away from him.
He employed a Cat to go wherever he went, and the Cat would snarl at any Rat in sight, and the frightened Rats would runaway. The King was mightily pleased with his new employee and the Cat was given preferential treatment throughout the Palace.
Years went by, and the Cat was growing old. He decided it was time for him to retire, so he went to the King and said the to the King that he wished to retire as he was getting old. The King was a bit upset as he knew that with the Cat out of sight, the Rats would be back to plague him. The Cat then said to the King that he need not worry, as he had a son who was young and energetic and would serve the King well if he employed the Cat’s son. The King agreed, and retired the Old Cat and employed the Young Cat.
The Young Cat started off well, and very soon, he wanted to please his Master even more. He came up with a brilliant idea. Why not chase all the Rats even when the King was not around, and kill all the Rats? That way he would have more time to enjoy his position in the Palace, and the King would be pleased with his vigour and ingenuity. So he went about his task and before long, not a Rat was to be seen in the Palace grounds. The King was very pleased with the Young Cat and praised him and rewarded him.
After some time, the King decided to terminate the Young Cat from his employment because he had no job to attend to as there were no more Rats. The Young Cat was heart broken and went whimpering to his Father and complained about how ungrateful the King was. The Old Cat sighed and said, “Son, don’t you think that I could have killed all the Rats just as easily as you have? Let this be a lesson for you.”
I am puzzled. How does this relate to the current situation of Maldives. Are you going made. Or have you started telling bad time stories......
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteI am not going mad (I hope). Bedtime stories....maybe...depends on how one looks at it.
This is my personal blog. Everything that I write on this is not necessarily related to "the current situation of the Maldives".
Maybe I am looking at alternative professions....trying my hand at writing short stories...at least I have got one person puzzled. A good start, don't you think?
Yeah you got that one right Ibra. I am regular addict of your blog. And I know you will give a wise message in each of your article to the readers. But I am puzzled what this one is telling. But maybe you dont want to express it. Maybe this has some relation to gang fights or the political situation of Maldives. Any way I will try my best to make sense out of what you have written. Man you really have got me puzzled. But please dont choose story telling or writing as a profession.
ReplyDeleteI think he's making un of kutti Nasheed. hehe
ReplyDeleteAnonymous :
ReplyDeleteI will tell you this much. This is not just filling blogosphere with words. Think about what has happened, what is happening, and then extrapolate the observations to what is likely to happen. Standard procedure in Mathematics and Science. (Yes, I was a Mathematician in another life).
Hey Ibra,
ReplyDeleteA very philosophical story, thanks for it. I really enjoyed reading every bit.
Anonymous 8.34pm. You are supposed to apply it yourself. At least that's what I do.
So does this mean some on new is gonna keep the rats around as well huh Ibra.
ReplyDeleteDamn
Good advice to people who be starting their new jobs ;)
ReplyDeleteDear Ibra,
ReplyDeleteMaybe you getting too old now. You talking like old grand father now. Even my grand ma used to tell better stories than this. At least those stories have a better ending. This one looks like will continue for infinity.
Anyway keep practising. You will get better on what ever you are doing now.
i got elected. he needed the cats (coalition) to catch the rats (votes or maumoon). The job is done. Its time to get rid of the cats. Haha. no surprise. well done anni. poor cats.
ReplyDeleteI know this means Anni is gonna keep the Rats
ReplyDeleteking = people; old cat = Maumoon; New cat = Wathan Edhey Ihthihad; rats = Problems in the society
ReplyDeleteThe old cat made the king see that temporary solution (chasing the rats) is the way to go. But in fact the old cat is self-interested to be in the job for his life.
The new cat brought in the ultimate solution. But when it is brought, the king, no longer see the importance of the new cat.
The people brought in Maumoon in 1978 to solve the problems in the society. But he kept bringing a temporary solution, so he can be in power. Now the people took MDP Ihthihad as their leader to solve the problems. Hopefully, the problems will be solved. But once it is brought, the people would realize that Ihthihad are no longer needed.
Aha! Pretty impressive story about cats and rats! I interpret the young Cat as Anni and the rats as those going to be ministers whom the public does not approve very much. The secret behind the story I assume is, that Anni would need few “bad rats” around so that he can still prove to people that he would make them accountable, if necessary sack them in due time. It is also a chance for the bad rats to transform themselves to a loveable rat. Let’s see!
ReplyDeleteIbra you have said that SLP will be a opposition party when MDP coalition comes into power. But now we hear stories that SLP will accept a cabinet portfolio of MDP coalition. How can SLP be a opposition party when SLP manages 1 cabinet portfolio of the government.
ReplyDeleteThis is first time you have back track what you have said. Is this the begining......
Old cat is people like: Abdullah Hameed, Fathuhullah Jameel. New cat is people like Abdullah Yaamin , Khuhtti Nasheed. The kind is Maumoon. Rats are the Opposition Political Leaders.
ReplyDeleteNow you imagine what has happened if I am right.
Dear Ibra,
ReplyDeleteWhy have Karnel Nasheed left Leberal Party. Is Liberal Party dissolving when you retire from active politics.
It is sad that Liberal Party could not deliver what we have expect from a very capable young enthusisatic proactive group.
A sad political observer
Mohamed Shareef
My very personal conclusion is:
ReplyDeletenon of them had any moral value not the king, not the father cat, not the son cat.
Huss amilla faidhaa yah. Ibra are these some new rule sets u are following.
hmmm
ReplyDeleteWhat has happened? Maumoon got ousted and Anni won.
What is happening? Anni is forming a new cabinet...
What is likely to happen? Now that the common goal of the alliance is achieved, each of the parties will be fightitng for a piece of the cake.
but who's the King? the Old Cat? the Rats? and the Young Cat...Only the owner of the story knows.
But this story is giving me bad vibes if its about the political situation we have.
@anonymous : November 5, 2008 2:04:00 PM MVT
ReplyDeleteNo backtracking, pardner. No backtracking. I am a member of the legislature. I will hold even my own party portfolio to account. That's what you pay me for.
@Mohamed Shareef :
Karnal Nasheed left Liberal Party to graze on "greener pastures". That is the nature of politics. No hard feelings, but practicalities. The rest of the Liberal Party is fully intact, and will go on. Ours is a longer term vision which has sacrificed short term gains. We will be around, don't worry. BUT WE NEED PEOPLE LIKE YOU GUYS TO COME AND JOIN US. The fight is not over yet. It has just begun.
@thakuru:
Don't read too much into the story. My rules have not changed. Principles first. These are just musings based on experience.
remainds me of animal farm , 1984of george owell and countless other such stories, naibuthuthu dhioyoga raivaru, and the whole lot.
ReplyDeletei suggest you write a full story on it in english or dhivehi and publish it so that the actual history of rats and cats are saved.
litrature gets richer with these stories.
i'll be the first one to buy it.
the story and the message, philosophy of it excellant.
i'll stop from here, the possiblity of what we can do with real-reel life such stories are enourmous, teddry ru reading
Dear Ibra how can that be. How can you hold your own party SLP into account, as an legislatur member, when you will be a member of SLP. Wont there be conflict of interest when you try to hold your own party's cabinet portfolio into account. Such a scenario will be like DRP show in the majlish that we use to watch late night in TVM.
ReplyDeleteI fear there wont be any genuine opposition when MDP coalition rules. I dont see DRP & IDP as potential parties to hold any government into account. Or will it be Dr. Hassan Saeed's Dhivehi Gaumee Party (DGP). I guess only time will tell us this.
Although a freelancer i once thought of getting employed for a break. My job was in the field of IT and am quiet good at it.
ReplyDeleteI asked a friend of mine what advice would he give me before i went off for work on the first day.
He told me not to finish my work early. Make everything look difficult.
I accomplished all my tasks well but always but my input was not 100% in relevance to time.
It worked well. I've always noticed that when i finish my work as early as possible it often went unappreciated.
On the comment by hudhukaalhu:
ReplyDeleteking = people; old cat = Maumoon; New cat = Wathan Edhey Ihthihad; rats = Problems in the society
I don't agree with that. Rats as a problem with society can't be eradicated completely as we as individuals will always face challenges. The individual goal will always be to happiness and "happiness is a warm gun".
If the new cat "Wathan Edhey Ihthihad" completely eradicated whatever difficulties we face as a society which is also something that is not possible. But if - and if that happens all the better. Individuals will always find problems and challenges and those things can never be solved by a government.
super! coooool! everyone has missed the boat.
ReplyDeleteGood fr you!
And the rest of the cats looking forward for employement with the king quickly transformed themselves into rats until such time the king will need the cats
ReplyDeleteMohamed Hammad Hassan
ReplyDeleteRead through it without yawning.( Which is how i rate stories myself)Meaning you are a fine storyteller.
Hmmmm, I wonder now, whats the best sollution? Kill the rats at a moderate pace? while working in a backyard lab to bread new geneticaly engineered rats? With 2 heads perhaps??
Thankyou Ibra,
I read the article twice but i couldn't make any sense out of it. I guess it's one of the bedtime stories that Ibra's Dad told when he was a kid. I tried to link the article to the present political situation of Maldives, but I found no relations at all!
ReplyDeleteOn a different topic, Ibra, what is your take on the bill proposed by Ms. Aneesa Ahmed regarding the remuneration and perks for ex-presidents? I mean, what do you see as the thought process behind the outrageous (in my view) requirements in the bill?
ReplyDeleteOn a somewhat different topic, Ibra, what is your take on the bill proposed by Ms. Aneesa Ahmed on the remuneration and perks for ex-presidents? I mean, what do you see as the thought process behind the ridiculously expansive list of requirements?
ReplyDeleteInteresting,...
ReplyDeleteAnyone can make anything out of it. The King could only be one person of course. But there are many cats around, mice who want to be cats, cats who pretend to be rats, and rats that are cats, rats that want to be cats, rats that kill rats,...
So I think being specific will only make it confusing. Because its a cat eat rat world. hehehehe. I will follow your blog Ibra, cuz I think you are not a very confusing person, perhaps maybe on this occasion you choose to appear so. Or if its just a private joke of yours,.well.. you did say its your personal blog,..
Ibra,
ReplyDeleteDuring the campaign, you said it would be impossible to hold these election within the given time frame. However we saw that the first round was peacefully, and as the words of the independent monitors, fairly and transparently held successfully. Yes there were some voter registration issues. It was minor and would not have changed the election results. would you admit you were wrong?
to anonymous,
ReplyDeleteibra was not wrong to say that an free and fair election could not be held given the time frame. as a person who was avidly following the work of observers (both international and local), HRCM, Elections Commission and other stakeholders, i found that the 1st round was a farce.
it was such a farce that the elections commission wanted to call off elections mid way through the first round. however, since the biggest two parties made it to the 2nd round (which also happened to be the two parties that pushed the impossible deadlines through parliament)the political status quo wasn't upset.
what I'm saying is that because of the tight timeframe, the EC had to break laws to give voters the right to vote, there were every imaginable flaws in the voter registry, the election officials were not provided ample training, the the complaints mechanism was dysfunctional and failed on the day of elections, and most importantly, the electorate was forced to make uninformed decisions.
all of this happened because of the impossible timeframe. the only reason that the nations security was not threatened was because we were lucky. in the first round, the difference between the 2nd and 3rd positions were pretty big. imagine what would happen if Hassan Saeed got 2nd and Anni got 3rd in the first round, with a margin of just 0.5%
you get my drift?
things were a lot more organized in the 2nd round. this is because the EC had 20 days to sort out the mistakes from the 1st round.
the success of the presidential election is the transparency and the inclusiveness of the election process, the professionality of the security forces, the involvement of civil society NGOs such as Transparency Maldives, Go Vote etc..
the presidential elections was good this time around. but given more time, the EC could have made it a remarkable election.
an observer
Anonymouses (on free and fair election)
ReplyDeleteYes, I still maintain this election was not a fair nor a free election. That the second round was better than the first round is insignificant in this respect. The second round is a direct consequence of the first round.
The international observers are asserting a RELATIVE position vis-a-vis previous elections.
If you want to make an assessment yourself, take a look at the link below, and put what happened in this election against those broad standards and draw your conclusions.
http://www.commonborders.org/free_and_fair.htm
Anonymouses (on free and fair election)
ReplyDeleteYes, I still maintain this election was not a fair nor a free election. That the second round was better than the first round is insignificant in this respect. The second round is a direct consequence of the first round.
The international observers are asserting a RELATIVE position vis-a-vis previous elections.
If you want to make an assessment yourself, take a look at the link below, and put what happened in this election against those broad standards and draw your conclusions.
http://www.commonborders.org/free_and_fair.htm
Dear Ibra,
ReplyDeleteI write this as a concern citizen & a father of 2 children (1 girl & 1 boy).
Isnt it disturbing that Maldives court system is releasing convicts of serious crimes. Murderers or lets say murder suspects, Rapists, Group Rapists and Child Molesters are released by courts untill they are senteced by courts when the investigation is over. The process of these suspects being sentenced may take years or a decade. The situation is more disturbing when these things happen in small closed communities.
As, an MP what could you do to address this issue and what do you think this is happening. Is this a contitutional weakness or court system weakness or still our Justice system not making Just decisions.
I think people in this community is hiding these real issues or problems for too long. When we think about these problems we should imagine what would be my feelings if my son is murdered and suspects roaming arround, or if my little girl is molested and suspect is roaming arround the country or if my baby girl is raped by a group and the group is going about their daily business. Imagine the situation in a small Island community.
These feelings keep on coming every night when I sleep. It is depressing when we cant do any thing to help these poor families.
You should read this. http://www.minivannews.com/news_detail.php?id=5407.
I just cant believe people keep on reading these things and keep on ignoring these issues.
A very concerned Father of 2 children
Mohamed Imad
Mohamed Imad :
ReplyDeleteA real concern indeed. I couldn't agree with you more. In fact my whole motivation for engaging in the Reform Process were these kinds of issues, particularly issues of Justice.
No, it is not a weakness of the Constitution. It is a weakness of the Courts and the whole Criminal Justice System.
We in the Majlis have prescribed a Criminal Justice Code which the Police, Prosecutr General and the Courts are expected to follow. If they follow the Code, this wouldn't happen.
I understand that this Code has been "shelved" by the Criminal Court because "they are not ready enough to follow it", which they can't do. I am working on it. I have initiated some actions, and am waiting until the new government takes office and reconstitutes the Judicial Service Commission to initiate the the next steps.
Ibra,
ReplyDeleteWhat are your views on the issue of the 8 presidential members at the parliament? Can the new president appoint new members? What does the constitution say about this?
I am surprised that most readers did not grasp the moral of the story.
ReplyDeleteMe thinks its about senior figures in MDP (not Anni, who is the king), who do not change the status quo. They don't want to kill the rats and reform the party.
Seniors in MDP risk being marginalized if the party is cleaned with good people.
Ibra must have good understanding of this.
Ibra,
ReplyDeletewhat will you do to make Maldives a safe place for kids. What can u do to help get rid of pedophiles and give justice to these kids.
Isn't this a concern for u? Shouldn't this be your highest priority now.
I think good area for u to fight for.
@anonymous (on pedophiles):
ReplyDeleteWe will have to wait and see what the new government's policy is on child protection.
@ Ahmed :
The constitution is silent on the issue in that it doesn't address the issue directly. One has to delve into other related concepts in the constitution and intent of those who wrote the constitution.
This promises to be an interesting case (academically and politically, I mean). I think that ultimately this will boil down to a question of jurisdiction : is the locus on the President, The Legislature or the Judiciary? For me, this will test how much separation of powers exist in practice. Will Theory rule over hegemonic practice? Let us wait and see!
Hello Ibra,
ReplyDeleteInteresting story, and I think I get your drift. And you're quite right.
I echo anonymous's concern about criminals being set free on the streets, and the latest concern about gang rapists on the loose in an island.
I doubt you'll public air your honest opinion about the new cabinet, considering the fact that you have a stake in it.
But I, for one, am not really happy with it. I sort of wanted more efficient GO-GETTERS and progressive thinkers and decision makers in there.
But the cabinet is currently a mix of a few good candidates, old-school failures, and the untested and untried.
Keeping my fingers crossed!
@Yaamyn
ReplyDeleteI will not air any opinion about Members of the Cabinet publicly just yet. You are quite right about that. But not because I have a "stake" in it. Rather, I believe they all have to be given a chance to DO something or they have to FAIL TO DO something before I start commenting on their performance.
You can bet your bottom dollar that as long as I am in the Majlis, I will go after ANY member of the cabinet or the President if I have to.
This is a Presidential System. The Executive and the Legislature are seperated. Parties can't be the instruments which muddle up the delineation. Once you take a post in the Executive, you cease to represent parties in general. Party politics go on in the Legislature. The President and the Cabinet can't meddle with Party politics or the Legislature. These two are by nature aversarial to a large degree.
I like the following comment from you:
ReplyDeleteThis is a Presidential System. The Executive and the Legislature are seperated. Parties can't be the instruments which muddle up the delineation. Once you take a post in the Executive, you cease to represent parties in general. Party politics go on in the Legislature. The President and the Cabinet can't meddle with Party politics or the Legislature. These two are by nature aversarial to a large degree.
I am wondering if there is way to educate more Maldivians of these aspects in a presidential system of democracy...or perhaps if they don't like too much they should have a referendum and get a parliamentary democracy !!
@anonymous (November 12, 2008 9:51:00 AM MVT):
ReplyDeleteOops...that should be adversarial not aversarial...
Anyway, yes, awareness and education is critical. It has to be done by civil society, state media, concerned citizens (like you?).
excellent analogy of the situation in maldives as well as across the globe... i think the rat is gayyoom n cat was anni. anni needed gayyoom in the presidential race for his own survival. it also applies to Bin Laden and Bush (if not the entire US foreign policy)... it applies to War and Capitalism... modern free-market economies, no demand, no products to supply... therefore you create the demand... examples are everywhere... King always being the people... noon tha?
ReplyDeletei thought this was a beautiful, thought-provoking article.
Ibra,
ReplyDeleteWhat are you views on the state ministers appointed? Isnt 14 too much? Is this new government going to be any smaller than Gayooms?
Ibra,
ReplyDeleteI believe, your proposal to authorise the government ministries to fuction only for a period of 30 days is unconstitutional. The role of the legislator, in this care, is simply to vote a YES or NO. The constitution asks whether you AGREE with it or not. Giving dealines, or passing them with conditions are not allowed. This simply means the legislator is crossing into the boundaries of the executive. I do not believe this is what we call separation of powers. The legislator does not, and should not have such authority in a presidential democracy.
There are lots of independent commissions and also a number of steps for the parliament to look into wrong doings by the government, however what went on the parliament during the last sitting was crossing its boundaries into the executive branch.
In the future, I believe this may become a serious issue in our democracy. The legislator is becoming too powerful. Is this a problem with the new constitution?
Do you agree? What do you say? I would appreciate your views on this.
I think the moral of the story is let the citizen of the Maldives live in false hope so the new elected rule longer... are you saying that anni is the same shit that we had been going through but only difference is the time (another day)
ReplyDelete@Hussain:
ReplyDeleteThe proposal did not authorize for a fixed time period of 30 days. It simply authorized as was proposed by the president, but at the same time issued a directive to the president to submit for review after 30 days.
The legislature has the power to accept, reject, modify anything with relation to mandates of ministries as per article 116 of the constitution. You have to read this article in conjunction with the general powers of the majlis as described in the Majlis Chapter. In fact, the Majlis does not even have to wait for the president to resubmit for review. The Majlis can, at any time, out of its own volition, dissolve a ministry or amend and modify the mandate of a ministry.
In all democracies, Ministries are statutory bodies. Ideally, the proposals by the president should have come in the form of statutes. However, given the circumstances in that this is the first time this particular clause is being put into action, and we needed ministries overnight in order to continue public service, the majlis accorded a special privilege to the president so that government machinery would not fail. This situation will not arise again because even if there is a change of government in the next election, there would be legally established ministries and the new presdent could take his/her time in formulating any changes to government structure and there would be no interruption to public service. President Nasheed was in a unique situation in that he did not inherit legally established ministries when he came into office.
I do not think this is an excessive power residing in the Majlis. This is how it should be.
Contrary to popular belief, in a Presidential System, the President's role is mainly setting policy and EXECUTING legislation. The powers to decide on government structure and making legislation, including legislation of policy, lies with the Legislature. A good analogy would be that the Legislature is the Board of Directors in a company, and the President is the CEO. The CEO cannot implement anything unless approved by the board. The shareholders of, course, are the public.
hekeke.. i am still laughing i mean.. old cat is pretty clever..but what really cracked me up was the fact that all the ppl who commented.. jumping through hoops..trying to make sense of the story...the story makes sense as it is.. sometimes we don't need to read between the lines .. but i'm guessing ppl alwas expect you to say something profound.. thats the downside of being looked up to.. =(^.^)=
ReplyDelete