The recent changes to the Public Finance Act (Maaliyyathaa behey qaanoon) sent my head reeling. That was the Grand Finale in the process of decimating the Executive, once and for all.
True, the Constitution says that the government may not dispose of any state property in any way except in accordance to law passed by the Majlis. But the fundamental fact remains that it is the government which will dispose of any state property, nevertheless. However, it appears that the Majlis has interpreted this provision in the Constitution to be that the Majlis will be the body that will decide on the disposal of all state property, almost on a case by case basis.
Yes, yes, I have vehemently argued for the supremacy of Parliament on many occasions, and I would still vehemently defend it. But the unwritten provision in the constitution says that the Parliament shall also be the Supreme body in terms of Wisdom as well. That the Parliament shall also be bound by the letter and spirit of the Constitution. That the Parliament is required by the constitution to recognize the Executive, its powers and responsibilities as specified in the Constitution. That the Parliament shall show due respect to the people of the country by allowing their elected President and his cabinet to govern the country.
That the passing of the Bill truly annihilates the duly elected government of the people is simply an academic point. What is of more interest is why did Parliament do it? On this more lively point, we can only surmise.
In this surmising, one should think of current events in relation to their precedent event : The Fall of the Qayyoom Regime.
With the change in government, there was trepidation among many that there may be a witch hunt to bring criminals within the former regime to justice. The relative security of the Majlis was sought by many, and some succeeded. After the initial scrambling for personal security, some were emboldened. The bid for real power came next. The old adage, if the Mountain won’t come to Mohamed, then Mohamed will have to go to the Mountain, when turned the other way around, seemed to give a perfect solution to their dilemma. It goes like this: Well, if we can’t get the Presidency, why don’t we bring the Presidency to where we are? Then we can:
1. Nominate and ratify all appointments to the independent commissions
2. Nominate and ratify all Judicial appointments
3. Dictate all government policies
4. Make day to day decisions of running the government
5. Keep all judges in fear of losing their jobs so that they dare not find any of us guilty, no matter what crime we have committed and will commit.
Hey, hey, hey… better still, even though the Constitution requires three quarters majority to amend it, let’s turn the Presidential System into a Parliamentary System without amending a letter in the Constitution. And you know what? We can probably get away with it, because everyone knows that the public in this country is so apathetic, they won’t know anything other than that Brazil lost over Argentina!
Maldives. Paradise on earth (especially for corrupt politicians).
very true indeed.. i still wonder, the people of maldives will ever understand whats really going on...
ReplyDeletethis is so true!! maldivians hav no idea and unfortunately people i found to be supporting DRP agenda follows it blindly...our nation n its people will suffer!!
ReplyDeleteyou are so right ibra! but i believe it is possible for you to change this by making the points in a simple way in dhivehi so that at least some of those blind people will understand what is going on, and if at the end of the day they still want to follow drp blindly, then it would not have been because you didn't give it your best shot! please do this for the sake of our future!
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha Ibra,
ReplyDeleteYou're someone who sometimes unknowingly "help" the so called oposition DRP to whip-out the current MDP government which adds up to the whole political difficulties and eventually spoils the whole senario of the nation. If one goes through some of the rallies you initiated and also read some of the things you've written in this blog one with a rational thinkng would agree with me.
People know you're smart; but smart people also have to be very careful in expressing their freedom based perspectives and ideas in a nation where much lacks the so called rational thinking and good education. Especially, when corrupt to the bone bussinessmen and people of ex-dictators regime are lurking around with their plots to grab back their lost 'power'.
My advice to you and others like you, is not to go pulic with sensitive issues which might possibly add up to the plots of the 'bloodhuonds' who've looted the country and still wants power. Just simply approach the relevant people whom your issues are concerned with. I know this is difficult; but that's the only way for the survival of this country. And sometimes you might have to just keep quiet if that fails. That's who things are sometimes. Nobody can help it. But just don't let the very people who ruined our country for 30 years get any ideas or facts or anything from a sincere concern.
@Anon (Jul 2, 7:42) :
ReplyDeleteLet the truth be said. Not enough of that is done.
for someone who did not garner even enough votes as the spoilt ones, you sure still seem unable to get your head around the fact that people do not care about you
ReplyDelete@Anon (Jul 2, 7:42) speaks just like an arrogant MDP member. The president brought this upon himself. MDP welcomed every crook to there cause with open arms. Anyone who aligned themselves with them when in opposition or even in government was OK. See how it has back fired now. When is the president of this nation going to come out and say I am from the people for the people not just MDP national council. Ibra you have your way of always speaking the truth and your words have always come to haunt Anni. You writing this post shows your true self in always speaking for the people.MDP always trust the lions, and they have taken it apart limb by limb.
ReplyDeleteFunny how MDP was saying Yameen is a great economist and he does not want government to fail. Few weeks and the whole thing is in your face. Mohamed Nasheed was elected by the people to rule and govern by law. Not to rule by the law of MDP national council and leave the people who did not vote for him on the curb.
@Anon (Jul 3, 2010; 3:12 am):
ReplyDeleteYou are probably right, the people does not care about me. How can they, when they don't even care about their own loved ones? But I still do care about my country.
Ibra,
ReplyDeleteI wrote a couple of comments on Minivannews back when the Majlis passed a budget for 2010, with additional expenditure that would result in the deficit exceeding key percentages of GDP that had been proposed by the government. At the time there was a lot of opposition to Maldives taking on an IMF program. Today we see positive benefits from the program, and many other nations taking measures similar to those Maldives embarked upon last year. What led me to write those comments (http://minivannews.com/politics/mid-term-budget-for-2010-passed-1661) was the fact that I had been asked whether it was true that the Maldives had never borrowed from the IMF, apparently because a key person in opposition had said so, and indicated that such borrowing was a 'very bad' thing. To me the blatant lies being spread among an unaware public and unaware MPs were unacceptable because people in the previous government would have known the history, the existing economic situation, as well as the ramifications of various actions. They would have known why we got to the desperate economic conditions we were in, and they would also have known how crucial it was that macroeconomic stability, including public finances be restored to some semblance of order urgently.
Lately I see similar scaremongering about other policies. The recent changes to the Public Finance Act sent my head reeling too. Given that the revenue legislation is still pending, I am hard pressed to understand how this can be an act of good faith towards the people, even under an attempt to keep an 'uncompromising' government in check. If MPs had time to work through the Public Finance Act and institute changes that would increase their workload manifold and effectively cripple any government, while there is not much progress seen on the crucial revenue legislation that would enable this country to move forward, one seems to have no option but wonder what MPs motives are. My understanding is that government policies are in effect approved at a macro level when a budget is passed by the Majlis. Also my cursory look at the June monthly statistics published by the MMA showed that the increase in public and publicly guaranteed external debt during 2009 was about US$ 62mn. Given that there seems to have been an average increase of US$ 50-60mn in each of the preceding three years as well, I could see no reason for the Majlis to suddenly get so worried about the government borrowing excessively. Especially since the IMF program that the country has embarked on would in itself have limitations on all such areas.
I am not advocating wholesale buying of any political party’s rhetoric. And I can also see areas where the government can and should definitely improve on processes and governance aspects. In my view, yes, there probably would have been differences in how the current government and the current opposition (whatever the composition of that opposition and that government now is) had they been in power, would have done some things. Good differences, bad differences, we will never know for certain, we can only surmise. But that does not mean that there should be a wholesale blockade on any government, or that the whole system has to be turned on its head, or that the nation should continue to be dragged on its knees to pander to the desires of selfish politicians. Maldives voted for change, and I sincerely hope that the positive change we wanted will be delivered by our politicians on all sides as well as those in responsible positions elsewhere. Any government should be held accountable, but in a constructive way, without crippling them. There are institutions other than the Majlis that provide checks and balances too, and in my view these systems should be utilised effectively. Unless the independent institutions, judiciary, regulatory bodies, corporate boards, media, religious clerics and civil society act in good faith in a timely manner, this nation will forever be in the grip of politicians. In my view, that is not a good thing for any nation.
Hi Ibra
ReplyDeleteThe public is tired of being lied to by BOTH political parties. Therefore we are waiting to see them self destruct. Good bid on the presidency, I'll still vote for you if you run.