Dear President Nasheed,
I pen this letter to you with a heavy heart. A heart that is weary of seeing the same things repeated in our society, things which are tearing this nation apart.
Our Party, the Liberal Party, joined your Administration at your request, to support you in your pledge to the people of this country to better the country. To contribute to and to take part in a process which would pave the way for good governance; and to work towards eradicating various social ills abounding this nation. However, the lack of a proper consultation process within the “Alliance” has prevented us from taking part in your Administration in a meaningful way.
In this situation, I have tried to reach out to you in numerous ways to put forward my tuppence worth of suggestions to you. I do understand that the President of the country will have mighty little time to spare to listen to the ramblings of a “has been” politician who was able to muster only 1382 votes.
Mr. President. I may not be worth listening to. But listen to the voices of the people of this country. Try to gauge their concerns by listening to them. While a few more Rufiyaas in their pockets will be appreciated by them, there may be even graver concerns. Don’t delude yourself into believing that the last election was concluded on a platform of “5 promises”. The overwhelming emotion of the public was their desperation at the lack of Justice in all its senses.
Mr. President. Are you aware that the root of all problems in this nation is the lack of the rule of law? Do you realize that Qayyoom symbolized the anti-thesis of the whole concept of the rule of law? That he became the object of the loathing of many, including you, because of it? So then, Mr. President what have you done, what are you doing, to establish the rule of law in the country? Do you sincerely believe that putting a few Rufiyaas in people’s pockets is going to bring in order to a chaotic situation? If you do, you have already started to plug holes in a brand new ship just after weighing anchor on its maiden voyage. That was exactly what Qayyoom was doing from his 10th year in office.
The systematic undermining of the rule of law by the previous regime has disgorged the entire social fabric of the country. I need not outline in detail, the woes faced by us. The lawlessness which prevails, the utter disdain for rules and laws, the loss of faith in the justice system which has people believing that they should take the law into their hands and get justice mob-style, the sheer disregard for the human person evident in the mushrooming of pedophiles, rapists and murderers, the increasingly young age of offenders all point to a systems break of the largest magnitude.
Mr. President. The problems, and their extent spells an extreme situation, and extreme situations call for extreme measures. The problems cannot be tackled by the government alone. They can’t be solved by State Officials by themselves. The entire nation has to be mobilized if we are to get out of this hell hole. You can see the reaction of the Mob in relation to efforts by the police to establish the authority of the law. They will come after the Police, the Cabinet, the MPs and any other who will stand in their way. Only the unifying of the Public, across political divisions can combat this evil.
That brings me to the point of this letter, Mr.President. It is only you who can unify the nation on this one. It is your Constitutional duty to do that. The Constitution spells out in black and white that it is your Constitutional duty and obligation to promote unity among the people. You can’t do that by ignoring the majority of the people in this country and just acknowledging people of a certain political membership. You will be deepening the divisions even further.
Mr. President. You are the PRESIDENT of this country, elected by UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE. You are not the PRIME MINISTER appointed by a majority party in the Majlis. The Maldivian Constitution does not provide for a Prime Minister yet, Mr. President. I remind you, lest you forget.
Sincerely yours in nationhood,
Ibrahim Ismail,
MP for Male’
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
State of the Nation
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members of the Majlis. It is my pleasure and privilege to address you today to outline in broad terms the state of our nation as I see it, and some important steps that I believe should be taken to steer our nation towards achieving greater prosperity, happiness and greater equality among our people.
This nation of ours has been raped and pillaged since time immemorial by opportunists and those who have betrayed the trust placed in them by the people. A carefully planned strategy of reinforcing feudal structures and controlling the small populations on each island has left our people disempowered. On the back of this structure have ridden the immoral opportunists to gain riches unimaginable, while the subjugation of our people by the authorities guaranteed a “harmonious” environment for the propagation of ever growing inequities and atrocities among and against the people.
The revising of the Constitution has given hope to our people. They have acted in showing an unprecedented disdain towards a 30 year old regime and asserting their right to change their government. In doing so, the people have given a huge mandate for public office holders to turn around the nation a 180 degrees, and to start working towards righting a million wrongs, and more importantly devising state machinery and a legal framework which will never allow a few to dominate the many in this country ever again.
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members. I believe it is our duty to strive to attempt to realize the aspirations of the people. To design for them state machinery through a sound legislative framework and policy initiatives, which will enable them to live their lives in peace and prosperity.
Honourable Speaker. Even as I stand here, a number of Maldivian youth are injecting heroin into their bodies. Others are partaking of brown sugar, crystal meth and the like. Some perverted individuals are literally raping and molesting our children. Child pornography and child prostitution is running rampant in our nation.
Justice is being denied to our citizens either through the delaying of delivery of justice or through the incompetence of the courts or through that detestable vice, corruption. The lack of proper laws are denying our citizens the opportunity to advance their aspirations and to engage in productive public life.
The living conditions in Male’, and increasingly in other islands are seriously hampering the development and maintenance of community ties and family lives. Children are suffering as a result of this. A nation of only 300,000 is well on its way to live like rats do. Deep rooted human instincts of survival are eroding values, ethics, morals and the semblance of civilization. Survival of the fittest, in any which way it could, is quickly becoming the order of the day.
The downturn in the world economy is starting to affect us, and projections tell us that the latter part of this year or early next year is when we may be hit the hardest. We must act quickly to ready ourselves for the coming onslaught and devise strategies to weather ourselves out of this difficult period. Preserving whatever wealth and assets we have, and engaging in nationwide austerity is, I believe imperative.
The jockeying for power has opened doors in our society for various extremist elements to take root: religious, opportunistic, political and the like. Maldivians have always been moderate people, ill-disposed towards extremist positions in anything. It might serve us well to cultivate that trait in our society to keep the nation on an even keel.
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members. In order to address the multitude of issues facing our nation, it is imperative that the economy is made more vibrant. The time for national sacrifice is here, and we have to lead the people in leaving aside personal aspirations and working towards the common good. Work harder, save and economize. This needs to be the order of the day. A restructuring of the economy is called for, and certain distribution of wealth and distribution of the means of production is essential. A carefully controlled, yet deliberate transfer of services from the public to the private sector is necessary, with the proper safety nets and consumer protection measure put in place.
To address the various social ills that run rampant in our society, rule of law has to be strengthened, and the commitment to enforce laws without fear or favour is essential.
These, Honourable Speaker, are what are required from all public office holders. The recent upheaval in the political sphere of this country has left many deep and lasting wounds in our society. We all need to let go of personal idiosyncrasies, animosities, jealousies and hurts. We all need to unite to make the changes we have brought to last. Let us all work towards setting up an equitable framework for all before we engage in bi-partisan politics. That the public united behind the Alliance, and alliance which was as diverse as could be imagined, is proof enough that the public wants us to unite and work towards those goals that they hold so dear. It is imperative, for the future of our nation, that we forget, even if we do not forgive, the past and start a healing process which will allow us to build the nation.
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members. When the public voted for a change of government last year, they finally and unequivocally endorsed the reforms that we had been proposing. We now need to act without dragging our feet. I hope that the Honourable Members of the Majlis will give serious consideration to these issues when they are setting the legislative agenda of the Majlis for this year.
In conclusion, Honourable Speaker, I would like to declare that the nation has to come first, and that I affirm my non-partisanship in this endeavour. Thank You.
As I sat in the Majlis on the second of March, I was looking forward to hear something along the vein of the above. But this isn’t the first, nor will it be the last time I was or will be disappointed.
This nation of ours has been raped and pillaged since time immemorial by opportunists and those who have betrayed the trust placed in them by the people. A carefully planned strategy of reinforcing feudal structures and controlling the small populations on each island has left our people disempowered. On the back of this structure have ridden the immoral opportunists to gain riches unimaginable, while the subjugation of our people by the authorities guaranteed a “harmonious” environment for the propagation of ever growing inequities and atrocities among and against the people.
The revising of the Constitution has given hope to our people. They have acted in showing an unprecedented disdain towards a 30 year old regime and asserting their right to change their government. In doing so, the people have given a huge mandate for public office holders to turn around the nation a 180 degrees, and to start working towards righting a million wrongs, and more importantly devising state machinery and a legal framework which will never allow a few to dominate the many in this country ever again.
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members. I believe it is our duty to strive to attempt to realize the aspirations of the people. To design for them state machinery through a sound legislative framework and policy initiatives, which will enable them to live their lives in peace and prosperity.
Honourable Speaker. Even as I stand here, a number of Maldivian youth are injecting heroin into their bodies. Others are partaking of brown sugar, crystal meth and the like. Some perverted individuals are literally raping and molesting our children. Child pornography and child prostitution is running rampant in our nation.
Justice is being denied to our citizens either through the delaying of delivery of justice or through the incompetence of the courts or through that detestable vice, corruption. The lack of proper laws are denying our citizens the opportunity to advance their aspirations and to engage in productive public life.
The living conditions in Male’, and increasingly in other islands are seriously hampering the development and maintenance of community ties and family lives. Children are suffering as a result of this. A nation of only 300,000 is well on its way to live like rats do. Deep rooted human instincts of survival are eroding values, ethics, morals and the semblance of civilization. Survival of the fittest, in any which way it could, is quickly becoming the order of the day.
The downturn in the world economy is starting to affect us, and projections tell us that the latter part of this year or early next year is when we may be hit the hardest. We must act quickly to ready ourselves for the coming onslaught and devise strategies to weather ourselves out of this difficult period. Preserving whatever wealth and assets we have, and engaging in nationwide austerity is, I believe imperative.
The jockeying for power has opened doors in our society for various extremist elements to take root: religious, opportunistic, political and the like. Maldivians have always been moderate people, ill-disposed towards extremist positions in anything. It might serve us well to cultivate that trait in our society to keep the nation on an even keel.
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members. In order to address the multitude of issues facing our nation, it is imperative that the economy is made more vibrant. The time for national sacrifice is here, and we have to lead the people in leaving aside personal aspirations and working towards the common good. Work harder, save and economize. This needs to be the order of the day. A restructuring of the economy is called for, and certain distribution of wealth and distribution of the means of production is essential. A carefully controlled, yet deliberate transfer of services from the public to the private sector is necessary, with the proper safety nets and consumer protection measure put in place.
To address the various social ills that run rampant in our society, rule of law has to be strengthened, and the commitment to enforce laws without fear or favour is essential.
These, Honourable Speaker, are what are required from all public office holders. The recent upheaval in the political sphere of this country has left many deep and lasting wounds in our society. We all need to let go of personal idiosyncrasies, animosities, jealousies and hurts. We all need to unite to make the changes we have brought to last. Let us all work towards setting up an equitable framework for all before we engage in bi-partisan politics. That the public united behind the Alliance, and alliance which was as diverse as could be imagined, is proof enough that the public wants us to unite and work towards those goals that they hold so dear. It is imperative, for the future of our nation, that we forget, even if we do not forgive, the past and start a healing process which will allow us to build the nation.
Honourable Speaker, Honourable Members. When the public voted for a change of government last year, they finally and unequivocally endorsed the reforms that we had been proposing. We now need to act without dragging our feet. I hope that the Honourable Members of the Majlis will give serious consideration to these issues when they are setting the legislative agenda of the Majlis for this year.
In conclusion, Honourable Speaker, I would like to declare that the nation has to come first, and that I affirm my non-partisanship in this endeavour. Thank You.
As I sat in the Majlis on the second of March, I was looking forward to hear something along the vein of the above. But this isn’t the first, nor will it be the last time I was or will be disappointed.
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