Edges of Maldivian Sanity

Journalists Unite

2009-09-11T13:36:00.000+05:00

This last week, journalists from across South Asia met in Kathmandu, Nepal to discuss the plight of 62 journalists from Sri Lanka currently in exile. The meeting organized jointly by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) with the purpose of strengthening solidarity among South Asian journalists saw imminent journalists from the region gathered to discuss measures that can be taken to strengthen relations as well as handle crisis and security issues for working journalists.
While the outcome of the conference can only be measured in the coming weeks, one thing that struck my mind was how earlier this year, President Nasheed had called on Burmese journalists in exile that Maldives can be a safe haven for them. What I would like to know is whether this same invitation can be extended to our Sri Lankan colleagues, who had been forced from their homes with fear of persecution for being a journalist? After all, Sri Lankans have been long standing neighbors and fraternal brothers of the Maldivians. Our youth attend Sri Lankan schools, and almost everyone has visited the country at least once in their lives.
It is important that the plight of these journalists be brought to the attention of our Government who had so generously opened our doors to persecuted journalists across the region. It was not too long ago that our local journalists underwent similar treatment under the former government. Maybe, it was the same experience by President Nasheed that prompted him to make that announcement shortly after becoming President. And maybe it is time that he made good on that promise, and set some guidelines under which journalists seeking asylum in the Maldives can look for that protection.

To wear or not to wear

2009-06-24T09:11:00.002+05:00

Yesterday while walking down the road, my sister who wears the headscarf asked me a question that was innocent and funny at the same time.
"Why is it that girls who wear the buruga seems more oriyaan than people who don't?"
I had no answer to her and then azmyst twittered: I really appreciate the fact that most girls who wear buruqa compensate by wearing tight tops and tighter jeans. Who cares about the hair :)
And then we have the French considering to ban the buruka, and denying a Moroccon woman naturalization cause she wore the buruka.
Coincidence?
A colleague of mine once said: Me Aminath men buruga alhaafa laa hedhun thakah vuren decent vaane mi buruga naalha Inaya laa echehives. Aan, eyna ge top thakakun neyge viyya gaige vanaa thakehves, ekamaku mi aminathuge nei mashah neyge bandiyeh!
It is quite true that in Male' if you walk down the road, the amount of girls in circulation cutting skinny pants wearing buruga is considerably higher than the ones in ordinary pants and no buruga.
So is it really the buruga or is it what you wear? I fail to see the point.
While I don't agree with the French passing a law taking away the choice to wear the buruka, I think its equally important that Maldivian women truly respect that piece of cloth and wear it like its meant to be worn! Or not at all!

Happy Birthday to me

2009-05-31T20:07:00.001+05:00

My review for Happy Birthday

.... Considering the protagonist worked at a bank, lived a pretty normal and decent life, with a loving and adoring stay-at-home wife and an adorably chubby son, the fact that he kept a stylish and deadly looking knife on top of his kitchen cabinet would seem odd to many. And that he would use that knife rather than say your average kitchen knife would again seem disturbing to many. But maybe the director felt that the stylish and freakishly large knife would look more imposing in the movie poster than your average kitchen knife, and decided to go with it, with no explanation why the average guy in his story kept an illegal weapon at his house, and within the reach of his adolescent son....

read the rest on www.thevoice.mv/people

No place for women

2009-05-21T10:22:00.004+05:00

In a quite historic and ironic move, Dhiyana Saeed became the first Minister to be fired from President Nasheed's government. Is it just coincidence that she is also one of the two female ministers on his Cabinet?
As the friction between the quite vocal Dhiyana and President Nasheed accelerated one comment by the President at a press conference was literally quite below the belt. His comment that the AG was making a fuss about undue influence on the elections by the President and Government was cause her husband was a candidate was quite a low blow. It questioned her competency and her professionalism, but that aside, it was a quite sexist thing to say, cause how many would accuse a man of favouring his wife if the situation had been reversed?
On International Women's Day, the President announced that he would assist 10 female candidates contesting for the Parliamentary elections irrespective of their political affliation, and I don't think there is any women candidate who was given a helping hand during the campaign. Maybe he helped out his niece and some of the MDP candidates, but for DRP women candidates? Not quite sure! At one rally, one of the MDP members even verbally attacked DRP women candidates questioning their virtue, it was MDP Chairperson Mariya who stepped in and congratulated all women for standing for the Majlis position on equal footing as men.
Needless to say, it seems quite a fight for women if they are to make an impression on this Government.

Sour grapes

2009-05-15T21:06:00.004+05:00

Fathimath Shimla must have some of her marbles missing if she sincerely expect us to believe that MDP actually worked to get a minority in the Majlis.
Not taking into account all of Anni's public speeches from all the gazillion rallies where he so confidently stated that MDP would win over 50 seats (I think this number was 70 even at one point), I unfortunately sat across from him and had to listen to him explain how and why MDP will win the majority of the Majlis seats. For him it was not even a possibility that they might not get the majority, cause in his own words, "what we have are world class candidates, and there are no other people in this world who are more ready for an election that MDP candidates!"
I do understand that it is important to get a majority on party candidates rather than through an alliance or a coalition, and this would be the main reason that neither of MDP's "ally" parties sought to merge interests during this election, and instead opted to field their own candidates against each other. Healthy competition? Maybe! In the best interest of the country? No idea. But then ultimately, does it really matter?
Being under no impression that Minivan News is an independent news source, I was not surprised to find this article published there, however, I do find it surprising that such baseless writing has been given such prominence on their site. I expected better from their editor, but then they have always been a mouthpiece for MDP, so this is hardly out of character.
So what they say is true, sometimes journalism takes a backseat when it comes to pushing propaganda. Does MDP bigwigs really expect the public to forget their campaign to get the Majlis majority in order to fulfil their presidential promises? Or does that mean their manifesto can no longer be completed cause they don't have the majority?
In any case, Shimla's article made me think of the fox and the grape. In the end it was just sour grapes, right?

Voting Day this weekend

2009-05-06T19:23:00.002+05:00

With the parliamentary elections just around the corner, I have been going over and over again the idea whether I would even go vote.
First of all, I am not all impressed with the crop of politicians in our area. But there certainly is one person that I dont want to see in the Parliament. And if I had any doubts about his capabilities before, he totally made my points when I saw him on the TVM Bahus. If nothing else, just his appearance is a deterrant, and I want to go vote just so that he wont get elected to our seat. Honestly!
I think the first legislation he would propose is banning women from being on the streets without the dreaded black tent. Not to sound too melodramatic, but NEHIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
Then there's Muhamma Kalo, seriously, whats his legislation going to be? Legalizing sexual harassment? (Ok, he's standing for some other constituency, but still come on!)
Thankfully, there are two women vying for the position in our area, and the chances are really high that a certain Presidential relative is gonna win this hands down! Not sure whether I wanna vote her in coz seriously, haven't we been doing the same thing for the past 30 years? If its a change we voted for way back in October, shouldn't we be doing the same still, considering the change is still not complete? I don't think handing over MDP the majority is gonna be any different than Maumoon ruling this country for the past 30 years with a Parliamentary majority. Just a rubber stamp for all his shenanigans! No siree!!!
And that leaves us with two businessmen going head to head, and an unknown person (at least to me) and someone else who didnt have the guts to go and answer a pre-arranged questions that can hardly be called a debate! A debate is when there's rhetoric flying left and right, and the candidates have to show how quick they are on their feet... but nope, here we get a bunch of boring questions that has the same answers from over 300 candidates!
Only Ibra was able to deliver something interesting about the legislations he would propose if elected. Seriously, all you Machangolhi people, go vote this man in!
Now, Im gonna go sit in a corner and think about whom to vote for!

Taking over the media

2009-05-02T23:18:00.002+05:00

I don't know what it is but its always nerve-racking to give an interview and wait to see what the journalist got out of it, and what they would write about you.

And I'm not complaining right now, but could I have done better?

Minivan News

Blast this heat

2009-04-22T10:21:00.002+05:00

I blame the camel loving habees for this blasted heat..
Their prayers to turn this tropical paradise into a desert complete with land-based manta rays and capri pants for men seems to be working. At least where the frikking temperatures are concerned, and no matter what those people on TVM say, it is not just 33 degree celsius.. its got to be closer to 39 degrees or even 40! Have they even been outside??? Sitting in their air-conditioned rooms going, and saying the highest temperature for the day is 33 degrees!
O go boil your head in a vat of habee oil!

So the Coalition was a joke?

2009-04-12T12:50:00.002+05:00

I was just listening to the President's press conference following his visit to UK, the second official trip by the executive to the country since the new government came to power, and he said the darndest thing to one of the journalists there.
Granted he has a hate-hate relationship with all journalists, which in itself is hilarious considering he is so quick to call himself one at opportune moments, it is quite disturbing to see the President intimidating local journalists, while he fawns over foreign journalists, going so far as to enjoy a glass of Sula Shiraz during such an interview.
According to President Nasheed, his promise to hold mid-term elections was just a ruse to appease Dr. Hassan prior to the second round of elections. Now this got me thinking. All this time, there was this talk of a coalition, and "Wathan Edey Goih" and a whole barrel-load of crap about how all the Opposition was united to bring down the dictatorship.
Personally, it is not a lie when I say that I never voted for an MDP Government. I voted for a Government that was gonna work with the ideals that Ibra, Qasim and the said Dr. Hassan espoused during their campaigning. MDP and its candidates never appealed to me, neither did Maumoon and Mini-moon. So when the election came to a second round, it was literally a case of being stuck between a rock and a hard place. But I went with the winds of change that was blowing, only to have President Nasheed tell me six months later that it was a whole lotta crap!
Like they say, should have known better!
This election time, I am smarter. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me!

Dhivehi Bitun - Compliment or Abuse?

2009-03-24T08:20:00.002+05:00

A colleague has already written about this Maldivian phenomenon, but it being so long ago, and with this new Islamic Ministry so concerned about the welfare of our minds and the state of our belief, I thought I would write it myself. Not that a lotta people read what I have to say, but just to get it off my chest.
Let's just say I am disgusted that two women are proudly listed as some of the administrators for this disgusting, borderline abusive Facebook group and they have willingly put up many pictures of other women on this site for the perverse pleasure of people. Now I don't know whether Khadheeja Naaz has put up any pictures of herself on this site to promote herself as a Dhivehi Biteh or whether Aishath Jeeza enjoys that unknown people oogle her amamzing photogenic self in the middle of night, but let's just say that there are some people who have become unwitting victims of these two, and the other three male companions who run this group.
Say you went with your husband on your anniversary to take a photo to commemorate that special day to one of the many photo studios around town. You lovingly take photos that are for private viewing and maybe to be shared with your loved ones. Little do you know that it has already been posted to Dhivehi Bitun minus your husband coz let's face it, having the guy with you in the picture means less comments from viewers asking for mail addresses and phone numbers. And it doesnt matter that you just happen to be wearing a wedding dress! Photo studios are the worst place coz the staff there deliberately leak these pictures to these sites!
Another scenario where your personal photos are stolen is when you post it to one of the social networking sites where you believe the contacts are all friends. Yup, your friend takes that photo coz honestly how fun is it put your photo on a Dhivehi Bitun group. I mean seriously, its hilarious! NOT!
Maybe there are some people out there who are tickled pink that their photos are on these sites, but let's just say for argument's sake that there are some individuals who prefer that their photos are for private viewing and for personal use only.
Now I know DJ Majeed says that taking photographs unless its of him are haram. And all the women whose photos are all over the internet without their approval are just reaping the seeds they have sown. And maybe thats the reason why these sites are not specifically requested to be blocked by TAM, and why we have to endure the many reincarnations of these sites in every form of social networking site there is on the internet.
It used to be forums, then it advanced to websites, now its on Facebook and blogs. Is it absolutely necessary that there be sites where people go to oogle stolen photos? How come they are not being blocked by TAM and the Islamic Ministry? Maybe coz it affects women mostly and their lives, and come on, women are really asking for it by not covering themselves in the portable tents promoted by DJ Majeed and the likes!

Another round of elections

2009-03-21T15:22:00.002+05:00

The Parliamentary elections has been interesting in the sense, every five years all the rich people in the country comes out of the woodwork, deliver some questionable heartfelt rhetoric on their contribution to the development of the nation, to the welfare of every single person and hand out some generous benefits, and gets elected to one of the most important positions in a democratic nation.
When I was a kid, I always thought a person had to be rich to be in the Majlis. I even remember telling my dad that when I grew up I would have enough money that they give me a seat in the Majlis. I honestly, thought being rich was a criteria for being a Member of Parliament. The thought that people actually voted to give that seat to the person never occurred to me.
So with the deadline for filing candidacy closing it is no wonder that the bulk of the candidates are hardcore business magnates, or someone related to or friends of or employee of or one way or the other related to the people who calls the shots financially.
Maybe I am being naive, but is it possible to have a candidate who truly has the wishes of the people in heart, and truly wants to work on legislations that would make a difference to this country?
How about a law on violence, or women's rights, or law on family and adoption, negligence and child protection? Aren't these the very foundation of what this society needs right now? Sure enough, establishing a taxing system that is beneficial to the business community is of importance to the businessmen in the Majlis right now, but would it really be shaped with the requirements and needs of the general public in mind? If so, why did the Labour Law forget to include tourist employees when it was first passed by the Majlis?
To date the Penal Code is collecting dust in some committee, and the Police and the Prosecutor General and the Judiciary are too busy pointing fingers at each other to do anything solid about the void left by the new Constitution and the lack of laws to supplement it.
The question that every single person needs to ask themselves is do we elect another group of ineffective members who fatten their wallets at the expense of the public, in the name of public service, or elect people who would really make a difference.
Let's just forget about the party lines and party colors. Looking back at the history of the sincerity of such members of Parliament, what guarantee do we have that they would even stick with that party for even an year, let alone five frikking years?
The elections remains crucial for the country. But its the people who are elected to the Majlis who will make a difference. So when you start supporting a candidate, its important to know what their personal policies are and the reasons why they are standing for the seat. All that crap about serving the nation and the people are just that, crap in CAPITAL LETTERS.
It is better to ask them what legislations they would be pushing through their term in the Majlis. What are the legislations that they feel are necessary for this country? And the laws that would benefit their constituency, and how would they hold the Executive accountable to their promises?
But hey, probably no one has thought so far ahead. And its just better to go with the person who has a pretty logo!

Fiftieth Post

2009-03-17T08:18:00.004+05:00

Not being very regular with my posts these days, and being unable to check on the local blogsphere, the news of Ministry of Islamic Affairs blocking local blogs has brought me out of my hibernation. Is this the beginning of what I fear the most?
That I condemn this subversion of freedom of expression goes without saying, but this act has hit me more close to home than I had ever thought possible, having been on the hitlist of Adaalath couple of years ago.
While not many would remember but I had the pleasure of being part of an English language women's magazine called Rasrani that was launched in November 2006. Shortly after the first issue, we became the punching bag for Adaalath as it tried its damndest to shut us down. Not surprisingly, intimidation through phone calls, death threats the works was targeted at the all-girl Editorial team of Rasrani, and local businessmen being the hypocrites they are pulled out their advertisements and with just the second issue we had to be shut down. Adaalath had won their first battle against freedom of expression!
I still remember their agents coming to our place and cursing us all to hell for what we were doing, and leaving booklets on wearing the niqab and the women's place being in the house. I remember the phone calls to my husband, asking him why he was letting his wife run around Male' naked, and other unsavoury things under the guise of the peaceful religion Islam. I remember all those men calling us at odd hours and swearing to kill us in the name of Islam. And the occasional call from women threatening to kill us for trying to displace their society in this Islamic nation!
The only consolation I had at that time was that the Government was behind us. Having met then Information Minister Nasheed, he assured us that the fact that we had rocked the boat on women's issues had brought these people out of the woodwork, and that we would not be shut down legally, as long as we didnt do anything contradictory to Islam.
The question that came to my mind immediately on hearing the news of Adaalath blocking websites was how would I have been treated had this Ministry of Islamic Affairs been functioning at that point in time?
Would I be dragged to the National Stadium during half-time and dug a hole and pelted to death as many threatened during the days of Rasrani? Or would they have been appeased just by revoking our publishing license?
It is something to think about, first the internet, next the books, next the people who kept the books, next ...?

National Day thoughts

2009-02-27T09:53:00.002+05:00

All through out yesterday, I kept waiting to be hit by this overwhelming feeling of patriotism and to be inspired by feelings of nationalism! Well its friday, and National Day is officially over, and I am still waiting.
One thing that did make me sad was seeing my seven year old nephew who has yet to see real fireworks start crying cause he was watching it on TV and not in actuality. If we had known about it earlier, we would have braved the crowds so that the lil ones could see the wonder and beauty of fireworks!
We had only heard rumors of fireworks and the whole day, the only thing TVM kept talking about was "varah ehenkahala shu'ooru thakeh ihusaaskurevni, qaumee duvas aeeima!" (barf!)
Curses, we were surrounded by tall buildings and even standing on our fourth floor terrace didnt give us a view of the fireworks! Blast it! blast it! blast it!

Absolute power corrupts

2009-02-01T13:27:00.002+05:00

Reading this news gave me the shivers!
Is this the change that we voted for?
I certainly didn't want another dictator, masquerading as the champion of citizen's rights, and promoting his own agenda under the guise of our welfare.
I think we had had enough of that for the past thirty years, and we had seen what happened when the President had a majority in the Parliament.
Enough about this being a different playground just coz there are people in different colored jerseys, it's still the same people, playing the same game, with the same referee.
And his downright disregard for the Constitution where it implictly states that the Executive be separate from the Legislature is shocking! A little too early in the game to be power crazy dont you think?
Are we heading for the Anni Dhivehi Raajje rather than the promised land?

I will not give up

2009-01-16T23:32:00.002+05:00

All the talk about religious extremism and Yaamyn's fight against the beardies made me think of the things I would not give up even if the Ministry of Islamic Affairs becomes even more powerful than they are right now. So without much ado, I will not give up;

doing yoga every week to relax and reduce stress, no matter what anyone says its not a religious practice
going jogging alone early morning, cause this gives me time to sort out what I have to the rest of the day
being able to go out alone or with my sisters, cause having to drag our only brother with us everywhere is just near to impossible
working in a place where I supervise men, cause I just happen to love my job
earning money and making a living
being able to read and watch movies that challenge me intellectually and make me question things
dressing in any manner I feel comfortable
going for a ride on my cycle
celebrating birthdays and anniversaries and any other day that I want in any way I want
Going out to dinner with my husband, and sit at the same table
Walking in public with my hubby hand in hand, side by side
being able to buy lingerie from stores that display them
telling my nieces they can do whatever they want, and whatever they dream is possible

This is what I have been able to come up with so far. Hopefully, I won't have to give any of these up, anytime soon.

Constitution Void

2009-01-07T22:12:00.003+05:00

Everytime I hear the word, I find myself with a mental image that looks quite like a Terry Pratchett book cover. The whole world on a flat surface carried by four elephants balancing on a giant tortoise.. and with Ibra, Shihab, Reeko and all the clowns from Majlis tumbling over into the black abyss beneath the tortoise, while Nasheed and a handful of DRP MPs run towards the Supreme Court with papers.. hilarious!

Listening to both sides battle it out, I am still on the fence about who is right and who is wrong. But what I do feel is that we need to have parliamentary elections and appoint a new Majlis, cause honest to God, I am quite fed up with the people who already occupy that space.

And contrary to what many people think, I don't think we need a MDP majority in the Parliament for the President to carry out his policies. The Parliament is not a rubber stamp in a Presidential system, and as long as the policies are for the benefit of the people, those in the Majlis should have the sense to approve it. And have the power to question it, if its not entirely beneficial for the people. And the constituents should play a bigger role in holding their MPs accountable to how they act in the Majlis.

Right now what we are seeing is a Majlis that is not in line with what the people want. Or maybe this is what the people want. Either way, we have a Majlis that is out of touch with the very people who had elected them. And we need to make sure next time around, the MPs that are elected are accountable and answerable to the people who elect them, and not the way around.

Hail the Police!

2009-01-04T19:19:00.003+05:00

Even with DJ Majeed doing the unthinkable, little did I think the Maldives Police would actually heed the beardies. And I don't care what they said on national television, they didn't just monitor to see if anything illegal was going on, they were out on the streets in full thug mode, brandishing their newfound powers granted by an ill-timed and unfortunate police bill that is still way ahead of its time for this country.

From eye-witness account, the Detention Centre, or the infamous Atholhu-vehi was crammed to its capacity, with many young people, cuffed and sitting in the outside verandah. Some were only put in cells sometime in the afternoon on the 1st of January, having sat on a hard chair with their hands cuffed behind them overnight. Not that the cells were any better!

The Police who in every reality should be professionals doing just their jobs, were having a field night, making fun and provoking these youngsters with comments like "So are you having a happy new year?" and "Kobaa, celebrate koh nimuneetha?" among other taunts.

Some of these people were picked off the streets on arrival from the resorts and various other places they went off to celebrate the end of the year, and a three day weekend. Others were minding their business when they were hauled off by over eager-SS wannabes.

As one youngster related, he had been standing near his house when three Policemen came up to him and asked him what he was doing loitering. Before he could answer, a Kinley bottle with some liquid still left in it was produced, and a quick fingerprint dusting later, he was put in the dreaded van and taken to Atholu-vehi. He was later released by a judge when his fingerprints didnt match those on the bottle.

Another had arrived in Male' after a dinner at Hulhule Island Hotel around 1.30 and was quickly questioned before being put on the van and whisked off. His crime, celebrating new year with foreigners! He too was released by a judge, cause there were no evidence he had done anything illegal!

These and many other similar events happened during the eve of New Year, and what I find the most surprising is how the media never questioned the Police on their actions. The Police who justified everything they did that night as their state-given right under the Police Bill. Why didn't any single journalist in this stupid country ask a youngster where they spent the night? How come no one questioned it when the Police said they didnt arrest anyone? Maybe they didnt arrest anyone, but a lot of them were detained. I am sure judges and lawyers who were called to Atholhu-vehi by some of the more aware detainees can vouch for half of those who were taken in.

When in heaven's name are these so-called journalists start being responsible and start doing stories on their own, instead of parroting whatever it is the powers that be say.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T12:04:00.001+05:00

Well, its the last day of 2008.
Let's recap this year!

Personally, it has been a great year for me. I got two new additions to my lovely family. A niece and a nephew, both only ten days apart! Although, I still haven't seen my new niece, I absolutely adore my nephew. He's such a delight, although he tends to sleep all day long, and is up all night, according to my sis! Must be an internal clock problem!
My mom and dad are happy and well, no medical complications, and at their age, its more than one can ask for. Insha Allah, they would continue to do well next year as well. Although, I only wish I can see them more!
All my sisters and my dear brother are without any problems or complications, so that's also good for me. Yay!
Me and my hubby celebrated our third marriage anniversary and our fourth anniversary together. Both days special and wonderful, and I look forward to our fifth year together. Honey, next year we take a trip to Europe!
Professionally, I think I did quite well this year. It started out with training and being with one of the most wonderful youngsters I had ever met. You all know who you are, and I cherish every single moment with you guys! Hopefully, may all your dreams and hopes come true in the coming year.
Back to me and my contributions to the nation, I was lucky enough to have played a role in the country's first multi-party elections. I did my part, and it was one of the most exciting and fun things I had done recently. Even though, I didnt like the speaking to public part, the planning and managing campaign part was quite a lotta fun!
I finally got a clean bill of health from those pesky doctors, and the best part was I managed to lose my steroid-induced weight gain in six months, and am absolutely over the moon about my spanking new self!
And last not least, I officially became debt-free and it was indeed worth celebrating!

Oh yeah, I turned 30.

Of course, this year was not all roses and ribbons. I did have some tough times.

The worst one is riding to the hospital in a stupid ambulance, scared outta my wits, praying that my hubby was going to be alright. Being strong for him was even worse. Of course, living through it and coming out at the other end was the greatest feeling in the world!
Being in a super busy job that I rarely got to spend time with him was even worse.

And now on this very last day of the year, I am content with my life. I have the best jobs in the world, in fact calling them jobs is making fun of the concept. Our lives look pretty good from where I am standing, and knock wood, 2009 is going to be the best year of our lives!

Maldivian Women Media Corp

2008-12-16T10:39:00.000+05:00

I am pleased to announce the launching of the Maldivian Women Media Corp, and I welcome everyone who has an interest in journalism, photography, film-making, blogging and all media related activities to join us.

Our inauguration meeting is to be held at Nalahiya Conference Room on 17th December 2008, at 2130hrs.

The main objective of forming a Maldivian Women Media Corp or MWMC is to work to protect the rights of all female reporters while providing networking opportunities for journalists and communications specialists to discuss professional issues and to affect the current democratic changes the country is undergoing in a positive manner.

So if you are in the media and communications field, drop by to participate in this historic event. Refreshments to be served.

That time of the year again

2008-12-13T17:06:00.000+05:00

It's that time of the year again.
Trying to get a ticket to fly to Trivandrum on Indian Airlines becomes the stuff of nightmares. Or even to come home after a stressful holiday becomes even harder, or near to impossible.
Makes one wonder why Indian Airlines doesnt arrange for an extra flight depending on the traffic.

Blame it on the rain

2008-12-02T10:59:00.001+05:00

When you are caught doing something that you are not supposed to be doing, the first excuse that comes to mind is always "I didn't do it, so and so made me!"

There are very few people in this world, who would suck it up and own up to anything, especially when there is an easy way out. Transfer blame to someone else. A scrapegoat, that's all you need.
For us Maldivians, for the past thirty years it has been Maumoon and his government....But we no longer have that luxury... cause we have a new government... and everything is so totally, so awesomely new that its like a frikking newborn baby!

For this Government and its supporters, everything is so iffing new that the only way that they can get away with all the blunders they are making is by finding a scapegoat. And what better scapegoats than the good doctors, the pilanthropist extraordinaire and his cronies?

It seems everything is their fault. Appointment of incapable people to cabinet and senior government positions as well as the Parliament is their fault. Deploying StarForce to One & Only is their fault! Submitting a bill to extend lease of resorts to 50 years is their fault (well, this very well could be their direct influence, but come on, suck it up and say no!) A crappy budget for the next year, definitely their fault! Every frikking thing is their fault! So at what point would this government take responsibility and hold themselves accountable?

I, as a citizen want answers from President Nasheed. I want to know why the StarForce was deployed to One and Only. I want to know why this 50 year lease is so important that it became the first bill submitted to the Parliament by this government. I want to know why President Nasheed is unable to hold his Ministers accountable for their actions, be it the Home Minister or the Advisor to the President?

I say get rid of this coalition government and fill the cabinet positions with MDP sympathizers. Forget that the people voted for change and the coalition! Coz what we need right now is an accountable government, not some government that would hide behind excuses and finger-pointing!

Is this the beginning?

2008-11-24T11:05:00.000+05:00

There are already so many women in the world! Why then...was I born a woman, to be scorned by men in words and deeds? - Isotta Nogarola (1418 - 1466)

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As luck would have it, I had to walk by Ibrahim Miskiiy on Friday night when Sheikh Fareed was talking about women ending up in hell. To an almost entirely male congregation, this guy was going on and on about his favourite topic, women and sin, without a single comment on her virtues. Talk about being misogynistic.

What is it about religious scholars of all religions, mind you, that centres on women being the core of all evil? Islam, Christianity, almost all religions thrives on women and how they tempt men into wrongdoings. What about the actions of men? Are all actions by men virtuous and pious in nature just for the sake of them being men?

I don't see this working

2008-11-20T17:51:00.000+05:00

For some reason, I don't think this new administration of President Anni is going to work out very well. Neither is this coalition government thing he has going on. For starters, one of the reason I didn't wanna vote for Qasim was cause he was a businessman with too much stake in this country's economy and for me, I didn't see anyway he could be impartial to his own stakes when it really mattered.

But now we have him as Home Minister and his stooge as the Tourism Minister. The very one thing I didn't wanna see has happened under Anni's administration.

Another thing, that bothered me a lot was Adaalath coming to wield any religious power over us. Hence, no vote for Buruma. And now they have a Ministry all for themselves, to do as they please and to fatwa our asses to the seven heavens or hells as they wish! I didn't trust them to be moderate before, and I don't expect it of them now. One thing for sure, I would definitely not go down without a fight! No way I am gonna hide under a tent!

And this Special Advisor to the President gig that Dr. Hassan has been granted. I don't really see why it is necessary. If the man didn't want any conditions attached to his endorsement of Anni in the second round, he should not have any position in the administration. But no, no, no, the rumor that is being circulated is that it was the New Maldives boys who had insisted on cabinet positions and all the bells and whistles that came with Anni being President.

Standing aside and observing this, what I see is a very shrewd politician at work. President Anni knew without a doubt that with DRP losing this election, they would cease to be an opposition force to reckon with. However, those who had endorsed him in the second round for change, they could become a problem in the long run. After all, during the first round itself, most of these candidates had quite a lot to say about how incapable he was for the top job.

Hence, in age old tradition of keeping your friends close, and your enemies closer, Anni in one big swoop has gathered all the voices that might be raised against him into one neat little parcel tied up with a big red ribbon of political favors!

Whatever happened to the Opposition?

2008-11-16T14:58:00.001+05:00

Here I am sitting and thinking of what is happening to this country of ours. We now have a democratically elected President, who ended a 30 year rule of yet another "democratically elected" president. We have a smaller cabinet, we have a vocal parliament, and we have a "free media!" But what we don't have is an active Opposition.

When DRP was the ruling party, MDP tried real hard to keep the pressure on them, but with MDP in power, we have yet to hear a peep from DRP. Whatever happened to them?

Where is Ali Waheed who used to hunch over the podium and sneer down at anyone who said boo to Maumoon? Where is Mundhu to scrunch his face and stare at us wide-eyed while he sputtered about whatnot? Where is Azima Shakoor to rally the crowd coz she don't step back, no sirree she does not! And where oh where is Azima's brother whathisface to mutter into the mike about this and that, while ignoring his job at some Government company? Am I forgetting Nihan and Mahloof, Hoarafushi Saleem, and the Hamaroalhi gang? But most importantly, where is our beloved Zaeem?

A democracy will work only when there is an Opposition to the ruling party. Someone to show an alternative, and someone to keep the others in check.

A free media can do the same. But is our media really independent enough to take a stand against our current Government's policies, or are they too busy kissing ass and showering them with words of praise on defeating a 30 year old rule?

So how long till DRP finishes licking its wounds and come out fighting? I am waiting for this showdown!

Disappointed

2008-11-14T06:53:00.000+05:00

I am disappointed to see that our new President has included so very little women in his top level administration. I expected to see more, considering all those "hingaalun" for women's "haqqu" and all. This is just depressing.

Is a woman really necessary to handle the family ministry? Why can't a man oversee it? Does he not have a family that he would be taking care of in his personal life? Or is this specifically a women's domain? And why should this Ministry be called Health and Family anyways? Why can't it be Social Development or something similar to that? Gender sensitive, I think not! And of course Dhiyana becoming Attorney General had nothing to do with her being qualified and rather an appointment based on Jumhooree Party allotted seats. So, let's not even go there!
In the Deputy Ministers, again, the only woman Deputy Minister is the Education one. Again, only a woman can handle the education. Please keep them away from difficult ministries such as Trade and Finance. This is man's work, and a woman's brain cannot handle things like the E.C.O.N.O.M.Y!

So basically what President Nasheed is saying to Maldivian women is "take care of being nurses, mothers and teachers!" This is all you are good at, and see I have put women like yourselves in my cabinet to look after your needs, see how considerate I am of your rights? And to put salt on our collective wound, there is not a single woman appointed to the People's Majlis among the eight appointed members of the President. Women just not good enough to represent our President! Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Is this what I signed up for? I don't think so. I voted for change, and I ain't seeing any yet, and the change me see me no likey!

New President, New Government, New Job

2008-11-12T15:08:00.000+05:00

The country's fourth President was sworn in yesterday. He had proposed a new cabinet along with a completely revamped government structure. The cabinet is discussing whether the proposed cabinet ministers are worthy or competent. Some of the MPs have good points but others are just blabbering as usual. But that's old news by now!

The brand new news is that I have a job! I would be starting work on Sunday. Hopefully this would be challenging and fun work, and I am kinda looking forward to it.

Also, I have started writing a book. Yea, me writing a book. Can ya believe it? Anyways, the plan is I work on a chapter every day. I know it takes a lot of discipline to write a book, and this is just one way of making sure I stick to this idea. Hopefully, I would have some good news by the end of this year, which is the deadline I have set for myself.

Caught in action

2008-11-09T11:16:00.000+05:00

I was washing a plate at my kitchen sink when I caught Spiderman trying to sneak into the neighbouring house. Or this is where he sits after a wash?

Anyways, this made me laugh.

Silence and me

2008-11-08T19:07:00.000+05:00

After super busy days, I find myself at home, sitting or mostly lying down and doing nothing.

I have quit my job once again, it wasn't exactly working out, pun intended.. so I am unemployed, a situation I find myself in a lot. It's not that I don't like working, just that I find it pretty hard to keep working for idiots.

So its back to thumbing through newspapers looking for a job. And this time I am not sure whether I want a job. I wanna do something new, and I am not quite sure what that is.

Time will tell, I have couple of offers that I am not too certain is what I wanna be doing.

In the meantime, I enjoy waking up early, going to gym, with no rush to get home. I enjoy going jogging with the sun barely peeking through from the horizon. I enjoy puttering around the kitchen trying out different dishes that had been piling up in my recipe bookmarks for the past year. I enjoy watching my laundry basket overflow, knowing I can do my laundry anytime of the week. Literally on any day at any time. Such a pleasure! I can stay up as late as I want, or as as early as I want. I can take a siesta in the afternoon. I can not shower for a whole day (yea, I know its disgusting but its such a treat not having to dress up to go places) and I can look as rumpled as I want and there's no one to say boo!

Or I might just be losing my mind.

A new day, a new leader

2008-10-29T15:46:00.000+05:00

Today is truly great and historic for every Maldivian in every corner of this world.
I am humbled, and honestly I didn't think it will.
And yet it has, and my faith in this country is slowly being restored.
I just want this new leadership uphold every promise they had made to us.
We would be watching.

In the meantime, congratulations on successfully conducting our first multi-party presidential elections. And congratulations to Anni! Be true to our people!

All TVs except TVM kaput

2008-10-27T16:18:00.000+05:00

Classic Maumoon move.
All tv stations except Television Maumoon (TVM) has gone kaput, with only two hours left for electioneering.
This is the democracy you would be voting in if you vote Maumoon.
Haven't we had enough?

I am voting for change

2008-10-26T12:50:00.000+05:00

I have written, deleted and written this blog at least three times already. I was writing it yesterday, the day before, and I am writing it again today. But somehow what I am feeling in my heart and the words that are I write does not match.

Tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow once again, the decision is on us. We are to elect our President for the coming five years. Do we use our logic and brain or fall prey to all the insidous fears that have brainwashed us for the past thirty years? Do we for once think of our future and our children's future rather than think of benefits that we can garner through cronyism and nepotism?

The decision is quite simple. There is but one choice. And its for change. Something other than what we have right now. Something better than what we have now. Something that is for the future!

I still can't swallow the reason that we should vote for Maumoon cause "Aharen varah loabivey Maumoon deke!" That's all very wonderful and disturbing on some level, but that's not reason enough to vote for him to lead us through this coming economic crisis. He has through his hindsight lead us to the edge of this abyss, and it is time to let someone younger and at least with a better team to lead the way off this cliff.

Let this dying regime die already, and like azmyst said, who needs a President who might not be around in the next five years. Do we really need a President who will be making executive decisions from a sickbed in Singapore, while his younger brother runs the country in his name, with a puppet Vice President who on all accounts is just a dummy!

So let's do this. Let's put an end to this thirty year rule, and bring about some well deserved change to this country.

Thrity year old tricks

2008-10-22T21:43:00.000+05:00

Seems this Government needs to learn some new tricks!

It wasn't shocking to see Maumoon come first in the first round of the Presidential elections. After all, everything was in place to ensure he would manage at least that much. More than that, and the opposition would have cried foul. When have we ever managed to have a free and fair elections? Why did we even expect that much from this one?

Couple of days before the first round of voting, Yaameen gets a cushy seat on the Cabinet. Surprised? I'm not! It was only expected, and this is just the start of more things to come.. Just you wait to see the cabinet that would be formed following this elections!

It came as no shock to me when MIFCO's Managing Director got sacked overnight, immediately following his appearance at the Coalition Rally. Maybe it surprised some people in this country, no surprise to me. When has this government allowed anyone to openly stand against them and hold onto influential jobs? Anyone remember Hon. Mohamed Shihab and his post at the Post Office?

And the most amazingly thing of all is when people act somewhat shocked to learn surprising allegations about these individuals immediately following their resignations or dismissals. Well, I'm not! It's just how things work around here. As long as you stand under their umbrella, you can get away with anything. But the moment, you think for yourself and do something that sheds light on the things they want to hide, you become the Devil incarnate!

So, it wasn't the least bit of shock to me when DRP Parliamentarians passed a motion of no confidence against the Auditor General, following his reports on certain Government institutions that for the past 30 years had remained off limits to the Auditor General's Office. What they always look for in anyone who is appointed to these so-called independent institutions are undying loyalty and no bite!

Ultimately, it will come as no shock to me when DRP will win this election with a majority, based loosely on some arm-wringing, some intimidation and some good old rigging.

This government seriously needs to learn some new tricks to keep us entertained. We already know your every move.

Tyranny vs democracy

2008-10-20T10:48:00.000+05:00

“Tyrants can only rule by the consent of their people. They are people like any other. Like hounds at a feast, people gather around the table of tyranny, eager for tasty scraps tossed on the floor. Not everyone will wag their tail for a tyrant, but most will, if he first makes them salivate with hate and gives license to their covetous impluses by making them feel it is only their due. Many would rather take than earn. Tyrants make the envious comfortable with their greed.” – Kahlan Amnell, Soul of the Fire

I just finished reading Terry Goodkind's Soul of the Fire again. When I first read it, I didn't really like the book. For me the whole dialogue on democracy and how it related to the series was hogwash. But when I read it again, after the first round elections here, the book had a different meaning to it.

When Goodkind said that gang rape was democracy in action, I didn't really agree with him. But in light of what Maumoon and his cronies are doing, I have to agree. There is no inherent goodness in democracy, as it needs other values like justice to make it work. When those elements like the Supreme Court and the Parliament become puppets of the regime, democracy is just a farce. The same way it has been for the past 30 years.

If one is to listen to Maumoon explaining to the western media that this country has practiced democracy for the past thirty years you too will have to agree that he is in essence quite right. Only thing is he had subverted democracy to suit his needs at the time.

Another thing that hit me in the book was how easily people will believe anything that is told to them over and over again. Unfortunately the local mass media has been used most effectively here to make sure that people are unable to make the right decision based on their logic, and instead rely on their fear of the unknown.

The Haken people will be so terrified of losing what crumbs we grant them they will shrink from the loaf before them – if we simply make them believe the loaf is poison.

In the book, the Ander & Haken people are asked to take a vote on whether to join the D'Haran empire or Jagang's empire. One is fighting for peace and the other is tyranny. With the Anderith leaders manipulating the vote through fear of the unknown, the people choose tyranny unananimously.

The same thing is happening here. The fear of Anni and his christianity and whatnot are so immense for some people that even the thought of voting against Maumoon is not an option. For them, Maumoon is the only person who can maintain the status quo.

So let's take a look at the status quo. They say we are the richest country in South Asia. But how many of those in the islands can afford a meal even the likes of which we are used to here in Male'? How many send their children to be educated here in the capital? How many in the capital are sending their children abroad so that they can get a decent education? How many leave abroad for medical reasons? Why doesn't Maumoon use local medical services for his own illness, and why does the First family go to Singapore for every treatment? Why does every single family in the Maldives beg for assistance from the state, from rich businessmen for everything from education to medical assistance? Why isn't there means to provide this assistance without it being a handout of the state? How many families are living in little holes instead of enjoying a full life on the money that they earn? How many families are working two to three jobs just so that they can manage an existence here in the capital?

Is this really the status quo that we want to maintain?

So it has come down to this in reality. How effectively Maumoon can hide the loopholes in his manifesto, that doesn't really make any promises to improve your life, but rather make grandiose promises of continuing his rule over you. And whether you will be so scared of this unknown fear of "Anni" much like Rannamaari who took away virgins from these shores thousands of years ago. Is Anni really Adhiri Andhiri reincarnate? Or will he the first person to be elected by the people to rule over them, accountable only to them, and with their blessings only?

God knows, I am no fan of Anni. But right now what choice do we have? Do we maintain the status quo? And watch while the elements of democracy that are already on shaky ground be demolished with Maumoon swearing in on 11th November? The constitution, the supreme court, the parliament will all end up being farces come November 11, if Maumoon swears in.

Do we sit back and watch this happen? Do we tell our children ten years from now, that we had the chance to change this government but we were too scared so we let Maumoon do as his wishes. Can we apologize to our children that their future was ruined cause we thought Anni would convert us to Christianiy, rather than provide them with a secure future that gave them housing, education and health opportunities the likes of which haven't seen to date? Is this the future that we want for our children?

Is this the future that we are promising our children? Maumoon and his future or our children's future. You decide on 28th October. I already have chosen the lesser evil for this country's future!

Father of religion

2008-10-18T23:00:00.000+05:00

It is pretty hard to ignore all the songs praising Maumoon these days. Especially since its everywhere. On the road, in the shops, on TV, on radio.. its everywhere, and I am slowly going crazy!

I mean seriously, this guy can turn into the father of (whatever fancies him at that particular point of time) at the drop of a hat! And these days he's the protector of Islam on this earth. Forget the Prophet, he can't possibly hold a candle to the piety of Maumoon. So what if we shouldn't assign any equal to Allah, Maumoon sure comes close! Especially since he is the only individual in this whole world, yes that includes the Arab world, who cares about Islam and the eternal souls of all Maldivians in the hereafter. Which is why he is pushing everyone to vote for him in the upcoming runoff elections.

Vote Maumoon and vote for Islam.... SERIOUSLY?

This thinking just amazes me. Is our faith so loosely based on who is our President? Does the fact that we are Muslim stem from Maumoon being President? Well, I don't know about the rest of this stupid country, but my faith has nothing to do with Maumoon being President of this country. For all I care, he can dance himself silly among the smiling Buddhas in Landaa Giraavaru where Philip Green had his birthday bash last year. And I would still wake up a Muslim. And I am pretty sure I would be Muslim even if Maumoon is no longer President.

Come on people! DRP + VOTE does not necessary equal MUSLIM State. That has already been decided and agreed upon by that stupid constitution. And what is up with that whole 100% Muslim state? Are we really? Don't we already do whatever we want, believe what we want, and follow who we want?

A spectacle of election

2008-10-13T22:51:00.000+05:00

What else is there to say?

It's like waiting for a ticking bomb to go off..

Deadline - 28th October..

Still shocking to see 40% of this country wants that old man as our leader.. why why why??????

Is there any reason to keep him as our President???

Especially young people??? why?? oh why????

Give me one good enough reason and I just might change my mind..

Reaching new low

2008-10-06T12:21:00.000+05:00

Last night was one of the most depressing things I have ever seen on TV. I share Simon's sentiments of disgust and amazement that anyone would support Maumoon after last night's display of depravity.

To even think of giving this dirty old man another five to wreck havoc on lives would be the single most terrible things we can do as a nation. To even think he is the man to lead us is just sick. Words fail me! Disgusting!

I would like to see the day when Information Minister Nasheed quits the government as he had written in his blog this November, or god forbid I would still be around to see the day when he backtracks on what he has said and swears in to Maumoon's cabinet another time around this November. Which is more likely one would wonder after last night's spectacle!

Sincerity was raised an issue in DRP's last rally last night. But how sincere is the man sitting in the front row clapping and laughing as if everything in this country is going fine when things are falling apart even as I write this. What is so sincere about that?

Anyways, one thing became really sure for me. I would never vote for Maumoon, not over my dead body considering the voting list still has some names of people who are not among the living!

What a nation!

What's your vote worth?

2008-10-03T19:23:00.000+05:00

The other day I met an old lady on the street and we got to talking. She told me all about how she had been evicted from her home by the Government about 15 years ago. She had been living in Male' since she was just six years old, and how she considered this island her home. But she was now homeless and forced to rent since her home has been taken for government purposes. She had been fighting the system ever since. Her story was quite similar to many of the stories that one hears on this country's campaign trail.

There are many who flock to the candidates asking them to do something for them personally. One would want medical treatment abroad, another a scholarship, most want justice for the injustices that has been done to them. But one thing is common to all of them. They want preferential treatment from the candidates, a quick solution to all their problems.

This is one of the reasons why it is so easy for candidates to buy their vote. A wad of cash and these people go home easy, having their immediate needs fulfilled.

But just how many actually think of the future and the effect their vote would have on their children's futures?

The candidates who are traveling to the islands and promising the people the sun, the moon are not messiahs, and most of them won't even give the people a single moment of thought once the election is over. So it is time to stop treating these candidates as your saviour and instead look to them as a person who you are electing to represent your needs.

In short, the candidate is your servant assigned to do things you are unable to do on your own. In other words, you are the boss of this nation!

So don't look for a quick solution to your problems, cause most probably even if they had been elected they won't be able to get back the land that had been taken away from you, or give you a scholarship that had been snatched from you. But they just might be able to set in place a system of transparency and justice that would ensure that things like that never happens again. And that's all one can ask for!

Haha.. so funny!

2008-09-30T13:44:00.000+05:00

The irony just hit me.. President Maumoon saying Dr. Shaheed doesn't speak proper Dhivehi is just hilarious cause this guy used to work for Maumoon as a speech-writer from even from his days at the Foreign Ministry... and then he was even appointed the Chief Government Spokesman... for someone who doesn't speak proper Dhivehi that's quite an achievement.. kekekeee
This just cracks me up!

Three Months & A Birthday

2008-09-28T14:20:00.000+05:00

It's been three months since my last post. Much has happened, and I am turning 30 pretty soon. Maybe its the looming 30s that has spurred my fingers to start blogging again.. Or maybe its the fever of the elections and all things political that's got me typing. Well whatever the reason, I hope to once again, maintain a sense of regular blogging, at least till the end of this elections.
Elections being as crazy as it is, I have picked out my candidate and hopefully would be seeing him swearing in on 11 November 2008. Hehehee!!!
It wasn't that difficult a decision to make and once I made it, it has been quite easy to defend him against all the allegations that people have been writing about and sending my way. One thing's for sure, we don't need an activist or a businessman to run this country. We need a visionary and a leader!
It would be a wonderful birthday present to see someone other than Gayoom getting a majority in this upcoming elections!
Wouldn't it be great to see someone else as President on my 30 birthday?

RAAJJE TEAM WON! YAY!

2008-06-15T10:55:00.000+05:00

I had never seen so many Maldivian flags being raised by ordinary people as I did last night. For at least one night, we became one! And the feeling was jubilant! Last night, the country was united in their celebration, thanks to the efforts of our team!

It was a good game, and the end result even better! Let's hope we can keep this winning streak!

Happy Father's Day, too to all the proud daddies!

And then there was no one responsible

2008-06-11T10:29:00.000+05:00

So typical!
When shit hits the fan, there's no one to take responsibility for it. But they sure talk big even when facts don't exactly match! Things I understood from this whole drama:

Azima needs to check her facts, cause Dr. Saeed was not the AG when gang warfare accelerated. She was and she still is! So the only person who has so far been unable to take action against them is her!
Kamaluddeen has told the people that he is unable to do anything about the gang warfare and that it can only stop once the gangs stop! Is he really that helpless, when his ministry handles the Police?
The Maldives Police which is a civil unit handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs is still incompetent and unprofessional. (She used to be the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, what does this say?) They are never able to completely investigate and compile cases fully when they send it to the AG Office, and hence the hardworking AG has to constantly send their cases back to Police for further investigations! Imagine the paperwork and the time spent on these! tsk, tsk, tsk!
When gangsters identify themselves and come out into public and say they are there for peace, they are no longer "hardcore" criminals (according to DRP Spokesman) and cannot be arrested.
Wasn't there some Red Notice on the Interpol for some of these people? Wouldn't the spokespeople for these gangs know about the whereabouts of these ppl?? Or have they all been arrested?
The President is so cool! He would rather meet with heads of the gangs when they throw an olive branch, but he doesn't have the time to meet the hundreds of people who petition him for assistance every day!

But then again this is Maldives, where the Government is always unaware and not really responsible for anything that happens.. people have to tell them what is going wrong and then its someone else's fault ALWAYS!!!!!

Ah! to be back again

2008-06-09T14:36:00.000+05:00

Instead of being apologetic about not writing for the past couple of months, I thought I would just jump right in...but where to start...
But have nothing to really say... hehe...
Isn't that typical... guess that's why I haven't been writing!
Writer's Block - HOW I CURSE YOU!

Lost in translation

2008-02-18T16:11:00.000+05:00

So the story goes somewhat like this...

Couple of centuries ago, a man received God's word and decided to show all his fellow people the true Word of God.

He was illiterate yet quite a good trader, he handled the business of a wealthy woman whom he later got married. She was his muse, his companion, his equal in many ways, despite being couple of years older than him. It was only after his death he took up other wives. You could almost say he loved her the most!

Anyways, through his teachings he lifted the status of women, gave them rights(?) and advised his people to further their learning and to give importance to education. In many ways, he was a visionary, quite ahead of his times.

Fast forward to present time!

We have a bunch of people who argue about the pettiest things in the world. We had forgotten the importance of learning and educating oneself. We find importance in following the exact wordings and meaning in things that is quite honestly useless in this day and age! Yet, when it suits some person's whims and fancies out comes a hadith and a justification is given.

What has happened to us?

Last night Gayoom said its not haram to listen to music. Adaalath Party says it is haram. Dr. Afrasheem says its not haram. Ali Rameez says its haram.
Reading through the comments left on some of the news site by people, I was so scared by the thinking (?) of some people. Maybe its a stretch to call it thinking cause no sane person would think along those lines.

Who cares whether its haram or halaal to listen to music. One of these people had commented that since the instruments used in the Prophet's time was different, that's why it was allowed. That thinking blew me away!

So basically what that person has understood is that if you use primitive musical instruments and banged away, its not haraam. But if you use say an electric guitar, you are committing a sin? Where is the logic in that? If that's how it is, I don't think we should be using piped water to wash our nether regions after taking a crap and should just resort to wiping it off on a piece of rock or grass. But wait, did they even use water to clean themselves in the deserts during the time of the prophet?

And of course there were those people who kept talking about Gayoom putting his wife in buruga if he's a true believer. What I have to say is, hey he was educated in Egypt, that's an Arab country, and if he finds reasons why its not necessary, its good enough for me! So the rest of you should just back off and think about their own problems... and not about what constitutes a woman's hijab cause its private!

Greener grass?

2008-02-14T11:57:00.000+05:00

I have come across some new local blogs recently. It a good that more and more people are taking time out of their schedules to jot their thoughts in the blogsphere. Yet, it is quite disheartening when most of these new chaps regurgitate or should I say cut and paste whole documents from the internet and try to pass it off as their own work.
I understand they are trying to make a statement in some cases, such as this guy who was trying to say that celebrating Valentine's Day is not allowed in our religion. But did he really have to cut and paste every single article written on the subject by internet mullahs in his post? Couldn't he have come to that conclusion on his own, based on his own judgment and thinking?
It is one thing to be religious and another thing to be totally anti-religious! I think I understand what both sides are trying to put across. But I think it's important that we be tolerant and understanding of our differences. It's not about who is right and who is wrong!
In my blog surfing I come across many blogs that push for a more conservative form of Islam and berate fellow Maldivians for not being Muslim enough, or not following the word of the God to the letter. Granted, it is quite hard to do especially when there are a hundred million different versions (or translations) of the word!
This almost Utopian version of Islam that is being propagated by these bloggers made me think whether life really is better for those living the dream. The dream of living in a country that practices the Islam that so many of the locals wish we had in Maldives.
Quick look-see on the Internet for Saudi Arabian bloggers, and the picture is quite horrifying. Or maybe I am just biased in what I saw.
But it is quite interesting to see, maybe the grass just ain't greener on the other side....

Rockstorm = Chick Fest?

2008-02-04T11:57:00.000+05:00

It goes without saying that I didn't go to Rockstorm.
Firstly not a fan of death metal, neither a fan of CQ. Which I think is one of the worst magazines in Male', and that's saying a lot.
It is quite interesting that when Rasrani was launched couple of years ago, local blogger extraordinaire Simon was one of the first people comment about how stupid and idiotic the magazine was. And I have yet to see any comments about the poor excuse for a magazine that CQ is, which is full of grammatical mistakes and sexist advertising, that borders on lewd photos of local girls and seems like a collection of someone's perverted dreams that should remain in his head!
Unfortunately for me, I caught a video of the show on YouTube talking about the hot chicks! Yes, that is all they had to say about the performance.
To say I was shocked would be an understatement!!!!
Gyrating girls in skimpy clothes, appearing and disappearing in the smoke, it was surreal to say the least! And this too in Male'! Not in Rio de Janeiro or New Orleans!
The question that kept popping in my head, what would their parents think????? Don't these girls have brothers or sisters or at least a well-wisher to have advised them against this degrading behavior?
If Rasrani or as Simon dubbed it "faux-feminist magazine" hurt the cause of feminists, Rockstorm and CQ had taken them back to the prehistoric era, where cavemen bopped women over their heads and dragged them to their caves!
And yet, we don't see any outrage from the very enlightened blogsphere. And who is to blame? Maybe that's what they want to see, and are expecting from women?
Maybe CQ had rightfully put women or more appropriately Maldivian girls in their place by putting them up on that stage that night, in those clothes, acting the way they did infront of all those men.
Maybe that's where they belong! As sex objects and not as people with more to them than boobs, a perfect body and endless sexual appetite!
Tsk, tsk!

Threat to National Security

2008-01-03T12:50:00.000+05:00

“I am still awaiting instructions” the cop spoke calmly into his radio. “How should I proceed in this matter?”

He continued walking round and round the suspect, speaking in officials tones into the radio. Occasionally static is replaced with another male voice asking more questions. The cop fires away with his answers, now glaring at the suspect, who is starting to sweat even more profusely now, despite the brisk morning breeze.

“It’s not that big a deal. I am telling you I can fix it even now!” he starts to plead.

The cop raises a hand, shutting him off. After all, the suspect has no say in this matter, especially when it came to matters of national security.

Now he has walked away, and only the static of his radio can be heard. He is still deep in discussion with base regarding the suspect. After all in this day and age of terrorism, even the streets of Male’ isn’t safe!

After about fifteen minutes he comes back to his cycle, the one he expertly skid in front of the suspect to bring him to halt. He searches for his notebook and walks to the suspect.

“Your license?” he asks.

The suspect starts his pleading more earnestly now.

“Please, I am going to be late for work. I am promising you I will fix it this morning, right after I sign in, please!”

But the cop wasn’t talking any crap for this threat to national security. The suspect hands over his license, and waits. He is given a slip and asked to come and get his license from the Villi Police Station later that day. The cop gets on his cycle and rides away feeling quite self-important.

The suspect who had just been treated like a criminal mastermind gets on his cycle and rides away. He hadn’t been speeding to begin with, despite being late for work. He had paid his annual fees; he had all the necessary accessories and stickers and whatnots on his cycle. He hadn’t been speaking on the phone while riding. Heck, he was still recuperating from an accident couple of months ago caused when an unknown reckless driver had slammed into him from the opposite direction in a one way street.

However, today he had relinquished his license to the cops because today his problem was his number plate on the cycle had been fixed on sideways, since 2004.

Resolutions for a New Year

2008-01-02T14:31:00.000+05:00

So usually, I always end up paying whatever amount is written on a bill. Rarely do I take the time to see whether these people who send me bills are really charging me the amount that I deserve. I know, imagine the amount of money I might have wasted.
Anyways, today it stops!
This year, 2008, I am making a stand against all unfair corporate practices, and it starts with Dhiraagu.
Here's a letter I sent to them when I received my monthly bills this month.

Dear Powers That Be,

I am writing to your Eminent Company regarding my Account Statement that was delivered right on time on the 2nd of January 2008.
However, upon close scrutiny, I was unfortunate enough to notice some discrepancies in your billing statements.
I know the likelihood of such an occurrence is quite limited considering everything is in the "system", so please regard this email as a query or a clarification.
Firstly, I would like to draw to your attention this bill that I keep receiving for an account IN0**** with a -161.29 in the total amount due row.
I am unsure as to how to pay a negative amount to your company, and have asked the lovely assistants at the counters to subtract the amount from one of my bills that are due.
However, I was told quite pleasantly that it cannot be done, due to the fact, that it cannot be done in the "system". So I keep receiving this bill with the negative 161.29 in the total due row, and I keep collecting it for the eventuality when I will have to pay that amount in the near future.
The other problem with the bill that I have received is for my telephone line 3******.
Around 14 or 15 November ( I am unsure about the dates) my internet package was suspended by your company since I didn't pay the bill. It was a tough month, and internet payment was just not a priority.
Anyways, on 17th November I went down to your office and discontinued the ADSL package.
Please note that at this point, the service was already suspended by your company. So technically, I was just cutting off a service that I was not receiving.
And today I receive a bill charging me for that same service that was already suspended and one I had discontinued.
One of your lovely assistants at the Office Counter quite pleasantly told me that since its in the "system" I would have to pay for the month, even if I didn't receive the service.
So in my ignorance, I would like to know why your company can charge me for a service I didn't receive and had canceled.
However, since your answer would already be "its just how the billing cycle is", I would like to say that I would not be paying that Mrf 199.00 for internet charges as I was not using Dhiraagu Internet from November till now.
These are my grievances, and hopefully we can come to a resolution that is satisfactory to me, however a small individual I am.
Thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedules to read what I had to write.

Regards,

Traveling in the company of Maldivians

2007-07-21T22:23:00.000+05:00

We all know the Sardar jokes and other Indian jokes, and even though slightly guilty of being prejudiced against these poeple, we laugh it off saying its just for fun.
Now stop me if you have heard this one... the embarrassing stories of traveling in the company of Maldivians. We smirk when we see expatriates working in Male' leave with DVD players and other assorted electronics wrapped in that synthetic cloth, or trying to take burlap bags as carry-on luggage. But have we really thought about the embarrassing antics of our fellow country people?
I had the misfortune and the very enlightening experience when I traveled abroad last week.
Going abroad was easy, almost everyone behaved and it was quite a normal flight. But coming back, and getting to spend some extra time at the airport opened doors to a world I never knew existed.
I consider myself quite a seasoned traveler, but I was not ready for this.
As my DH and I were queuing up for checking in, we heard this loud crash right behind us. We turned around to see a Maldivian family struggling with more luggage than the four of them. The husband was obviously in charge and the woman was desperately trying to hang onto the four-year old who was having a banging time, banging on his mom's head rhythmically. Their trolley was over-flowing and instead of helping the poor woman steer the trolley or help with the older son who was running around the airport by now, the man walked off and started chatting with another Maldivian.
"He's trying to check in his luggage with someone who doesn't have that many stuff to take," whispered DH. "Ignore him please, I don't want to help that rude person!"
"I am not volunteering in case you didn't notice!", I hissed back and turned our attention to the check in queue.
Sure enough, within few minutes, DH felt a tap on his shoulder. The man tried to establish some relation with us, asking about our parents and where we worked among other details, and we ended up checking in a small bag of his along with our bag. Is it my fault, I didn't shop for my kitchen sink abroad?

For the rest of the stories, read Haveeru.
Hehe.. sorry I thought this made a better article so am changing it around a bit!

Looking at Male' through the Internet

2007-07-10T21:34:00.000+05:00

Despite being away from Male', I try my best to keep abreast with local news and happenings.
It's not hard when you have the Internet, but once you get swept up in holiday mood, the last thing you want to know is bad news or things that can bring you down...
My husband doesn't like knowing about what Male' is up to the moment he steps out of the country, but I find myself reading Haveeru and every other "news" website trying to catch up on the local gossip!
One website that I make a special effort to read every day is Bakhabaru, which unfortunately doesn't get updated very often... but once it does, it's a great source of "news" and funnies both rolled up in one! Wish I can write like that! But I guess not everyone is as talented as Ali & Aishath Antennae and Headset!
When I want to read the news in hair-raising "truth" I go to Minivan News and Dhivehi Observer
Another favourite stop now is the blogging Minister. His talking point blog is entertaining to say the least.. and sometimes, the urge to leave more comments which might not be beneficial for me is so tempting.. but I have stayed my hands on many occasions!
Anyways, sometimes the contradictory news that I read is quite fascinating and I just have to read between the lines to get the real story!
If only more people approach the news with such a healthy dose of cynicism, it would be beneficial for us all!

Me, Myself & Aharen

2007-07-05T07:25:00.000+05:00

It's not everyday that we get to watch a Dhivehi Art film, and I was more than glad to go watch it. As it was advertised as pretty different from any previous Dhivehi film, and I had missed the opportunity to catch Heylaa, last year's critically acclaimed film, I was pushing my hubby dear to get tickets for the very first show.
Unfortunately it was only last night that I was able to catch the film. And it wasn't that difficult to get tickets either, cause except for a handful of people, Olympus was empty! Surprising? Not really!
Firstly, the film was terrible! The story was ripped off from the Diary of a Mad Black Woman and it did nothing to empower women, even if it billed to be supported by UNFPA Maldives. If I was in UNFPA, I would pay NCA to get the organisation's name off the credit list!
Secondly, what was with all the crying??? I mean the film had almost thirty crying scenes, and let me tell you, no one looks good crying especially those who can't act! And unfortunately, Naakko is one of them!
The film was so dark, at times I had no idea who was on screen and where anything was. Seriously, is this how they make a dark film locally??
Let's just say, I am not happy with the film. It could have been so much, and it failed on so many levels!

Hiring freelance writers

2007-06-27T21:31:00.000+05:00

I was surfing for some obscure information today, when I came across this website, and it piqued my curiosity. The site is Suite 101 and they cover articles on almost everything under the sun.
For anyone interested to join, they pay for freelance writers to send in articles. I am seriously thinking about it, but then the question remains would I have the time and the resources to write for them...
Anyways, Evening Weekly is no more and now I have the option of writing for Haveeru. I just don't know if Haveeru can feature my brand of writing. Judging from past comments, it's not for the masses for sure!
But I'm gonna see. My first one in Haveeru should be coming out this Saturday!

Waiting to entertain my tastebuds at Trends

2007-06-23T13:41:00.000+05:00

After a relaxing morning walk with my sister and niece, we decided to stop at Trends for some breakfast. Usually if I am not mistaken, Trends and Salsa Cafe are the only places that serve breakfast on Fridays. So without much choice, in the matter, and against my better judgement, we went to Trends for breakfast. Or we tried to get breakfast at Trends!
As it was quite early in the morning, there were few people there. We got ourselves a table under one of the huts, chatting among ourselves. After sometime, my niece questions why no waiter has stopped at our table, and I realised that we had sat there for like 30 minutes without any service. We didn't want to try the buffet and were waiting to order the set menu.
My sister recommends that we move into the air-conditioned area of Trends, where they charge an extra Mrf 4 per person. Her reasoning being, for that extra bucks they would pay us some extra attention! Boy, were we wrong!
The only extra person we saw in the Trends Crest was the chef's hat moving around behind a glass window! Couple of waiters walked by us without paying any attention. We yoo-hooed and waved to get their attention, but it seemed they were too busy to come over and see why we were sitting there.
So after waiting for like 45 minutes, instead of being fed, quite fed up, we left! By then the garden area of Trends was quite busy, with lots of men coming in for their morning fix! The waiters were swarming around them, oblivious to the three girls leaving Trends without any food!
We stopped at a shop, bought a bread, some eggs and sausages and made ourselves quite a nice continental breakfast back home, for half the price and in less than 30 minutes. The company was nice and the service excellent!
Now, I know Nasandhura is going to be closed down for renovation and all, but while they are still serving and open for business, it is their responsibility that those who do visit them are given service. I am not a regular coffee person, and I rarely go to Trends, but my husband is a fixture there. If I had gone with him we get service in a snap. Maybe we were ignored cause we were three girls, which is worrisome in itself, since all the waiters there were men, but for the life of me, I can't understand why we were treated so badly. And trust me, this is not the first time either! I would definitely think twice about going to Trends now, not that it was in my to-visit places in the first instance.
I am more of a Symphony girl, where they know me and treat me nicely! Now if only they would open on Friday mornings, and our relationship can be taken to a different level!

The eX-Files

2007-06-20T21:41:00.000+05:00

Come on, like we don't all have our very own eX-files!
Sure mine doesn't have Agent Mulder or David Duchovny anywhere near it, but it's as scary or weird as any episode of one of my most-loved TV series ever!
Quite unlike other people who get off on bad-mouthing their exes, I personally have never said "bad stuff" about my ex! Note how I say ex and its not exes. Yes, I am one of those freaks of nature who only had one boyfriend and ended up getting married to the most wonderful man on earth! Yes, girls, eat your hearts out! Prince Charming is off the market, and he's sleeping with me! Nyah hah haha haahaaa!!!
Ok, honey, I'm gonna stop blowing my own horn!
Sorry! So back to my blog!
Anyways, so here I am in my wedded bliss, totally unaware of the person who could have had all my loving but for reasons best known to him and his mom, decided to leave yours truly quite broken-hearted and bitter for a very long, when out of nowhere, bham! I come across a blog where the good name of Inaya has been trashed like yesterday's over-cooked masbai with fuh-elhi rihaakuru!
To say I was shocked was the understatement of the MILLENNIUM that we welcomed a couple of years ago! But even when I think about it, the only reason why he must have done that was cause he's
a) Insecure (Quite possible since he still lives with his mum)
b) still in love with me (Gawd, I hope NOT!)
or the most important reason of all CAUSE he's still the jerk he was, that yours truly was unable to see when she was dating this jerkozoid from Planet Freak!
So why I am giving him more importance than necessary by writing about him in my blog? Well, the reasons are quite simple. I am not the only woman in Male' who has been harassed like this by past beaus. Thankfully none of my pics have ever ended up on the so called Maldivian forums. But many others have been victims, and there hasn't been any solid work done by any authority to protect their rights!
Is it cause it's a women's problem? Or cause it's not as important as the rights of the prisoners? Or the taxi-drivers?
Now the question remains, should I sue this person for using my name in such derogatory terms? For the emotional trauma caused by his comments in a public place????
Whatever the law says I can do, it's gonna be a long fight, and do I really have the time and energy for this?
I mean, I am in a better place with a better person. So he can go bad-mouth me as much he wants, I know better!

If I was...

2007-06-10T17:28:00.000+05:00

I was watching one of those Dhivehi soapies last night, and this occurred to me.
If I was a character in one of those soapies, I would do the following:

Spend all my time plotting against everyone else
Have a secret that I dare not tell anyone, yet someone else will know and use it against me
Wear a full face of make-up even in the middle of the night
Have my own theme music, where my name is whispered to the accompanying sounds of cats and other wild animals
Have a crush on my brother-in-law who was my lover couple of months ago
Wouldn't get along with my sister-in-law who also happens to have her very own theme music
Even my time spent in a office would be to do more mischief and mayhem
Meet people in the middle of the day, in the burning sun and squint while I scheme
The Artificial Beach and other local spots would be my usual haunts
Never really get over someone, especially if that person had broken up with me. Although this rule applies even if that person was not in a relationship with me
Talk back to my parents, who sometimes turn out to wear more make-up than me
Never take responsibility for my actions, nor am I held accountable for my actions
A little tears and a "Maafu kurey" always solves the problem
A natural disaster could happen anytime, any day and to anyone
I could lose my husband one week only to have him appear magically four weeks later

I could go on, but I think all these story lines have already been worked on in the gazillion soapies already existing, like the Bold and the Beautiful, Kasuati and whatnot!
Why can't we come up with something more original? And what is wrong with portraying real people, who don't scheme the downfall of others for a living???

Of bicycles and man

2007-06-08T11:25:00.000+05:00

You know how once you get a seedling of an idea that you feel is good, it is quite difficult to let it go. Well I have been nursing one such idea for a long time now. But I don't feel like writing about it just yet! Give it sometime to nurture in the warmths of my mind and grow in the fertile lands of my imagination!
In the meantime, wasn't Sunday and Monday the best days of your life? Well I thought it couldn't have been possible. But for two blissful days, I savoured Male' without the perils of the dreaded TAXI!
I get motion-sickness, so very rarely unless someone practically holds me at knife-point (what, we don't have guns!) would I get into one! So to enjoy the roads of Male' without the blastering honking was godsend!
I loved it!

What's the worst you can do?

2007-06-02T18:00:00.000+05:00

It's the beginning of the sixth month of the year. Already my new year resolutions long forgotten, it's a good time to take stock of what has happened the past six months.
For starters, I never got around to join a gym, never ate healthy food or go on a diet and didn't keep in constant contact with my parents, it seems I was doomed like I was last year. But then what was so wrong about the past year that I had decided to make changes. After all, I had survived it, and I have a strong feeling I would survive this one!
This time in 2007, I have friends leaving jobs, more friends changing relationships, and let's hope no one would change sexes on me! A group of us got around to talking about changes, and the discussion naturally came to jobs and where they would like to work!
For me, there are some companies and organizations that I would never join. For starters, I would not work in Dhiraagu even if they paid me 20,000 a month or more! Bank of Maldives, MIFCO, Stelco and MWSC takes the rest of the spots. I would also never work in a travel agency, namely the likes of Sun Travels. And lately after following the stories of Wataniya blog, I don't think I would be working there either. So where would I work?
It seems the question is pretty hard to answer especially since there are very few good paying jobs, and jobs where people appreciate your work. My friends listed The President's Office, many Government Ministries as places they would never work in, what's yours?

Changing directions

2007-05-28T20:45:00.000+05:00

Today I had a very interesting conversation with one of my long time friends.
Over a coffee she told me about her decision to leave the Government. I was quite shocked and asked why she would do such a thing, considering she had a secure and stable job that paid relatively well. Sure, she had to work at odd hours and was on call almost 24hrs, but it was something she loved to do, or so I thought.
"It's not all that. I mean people think that just cause you get a salary at the end of the month, I am happy. Let me tell you its not everything that it's cut out to be. For starters, do you know how boring it is? There is nothing to do there. We just sit there, waiting for some work. Sure, once in a while we would initiate something. But it would never get far, cause there are the old croners who wouldn't let it. And its back to sitting at the table, staring at the computer till 2.30. Sure, I can surf the internet, but there's only so much internet you can take in one day!"
I could tell she was pretty upset with the current situation. She didn't have any other options but she was just fed up. She was a graduate, and like many of us had high hopes when she joined the Government. Her dreams of public service unrealized, she was leaving it cause she was bored at work.
As we left for home, she smiled and said something that got me thinking,
"It's not like I am going to get a call from Dr. Shaheed, asking me to be their Assistant Director General or Deputy Minister."
That happened to only a handful, and only if you had been pro-government for so long that you call out "Maumoon Zindabad" in your sleep!
So she would quit, and stay home. Or within months become employed in the private sector, or start her own freelance thing.
Me, I am happy observing and commenting. After all, its better to be spectator than a participant!

PR - who's doing their jobs?

2007-05-27T21:07:00.000+05:00

I wrote this before the President made his visit to the affected islands. But still it was too little too late!

Any public relations practitioner worth his salt would note the importance of having the head of a company or organization talk to the public during a crisis. It is considered a must, especially in light of improving the image of the organization as well as striking up points among the general public.

When this is the case, it was quite surprising to see that the President wasn’t informed of this important aspect of PR by his people during last week’s tidal surges.

At a time when the certain parts of the country was under-water with many of its citizens having to leave the comforts of their homes for a strangers due to the force of mother nature, the President or any other government organization was curiously missing in action.

In a surprising display of professionalism, the Television Maldives and Voice of Maldives notched up their broadcasts to cover the breaking story and managed to provide the people with the latest updates. Sure the presenters needed some polishing up, many of them mistaking the term “Avas Khabaru” to literally mean that they speak fast, sometimes at breakneck speed, but they managed to bring the news of those suffering to the nation as it was happening. Noteworthy was the reporter from Addu Atoll who managed to speak from location as the tidal surge happened, definitely a first in the country’s broadcast history!

During Hurricane Katrina, the US President George W. Bush was criticized for continuing his holiday in Arizona even when his staff notified him of the devastation the storm would wreck on New Orleans. The entire White House staff was on holiday! It was only two days later, in the wake of the worst disaster to face Unite d States that Bush saw the devastation Katrina had wrought on New Orleans.

Unfortunately or fortunately for our President, he would have been at work when the news broke about the tidal surges. The first news to hit the air came around ten thirty, by afternoon it was apparent to even those of us, who didn’t know anything about the effects of tidal surges firsthand that those in the islands affected were in for a rough time.

At a time when most of those in the islands are still carrying various degrees of scars from the tsunami that near obliterated the way of life in those islands, this new natural disaster held the echoes of that fateful day. Even though it was not the same, the effects were similar. Flooding and destruction of household goods and the ensuing arrival of mosquitoes with their water-borne diseases.

It was only the next day that news of the President contacting the island chiefs of the affected islands was broadcast. Sure, he called them on phone. But this was after one hellish night for those affected.

During times of crisis, even if those in power are as helpless as the victims, the appearance and the condolences of the President is soothing and calming. If he had just made an appearance on the media, asking the people to calm down and that help is on the way, it would have had some consolation on those in the middle of this crisis.

Another PR practitioner’s nightmare came true when the Chief Government Spokesman, the only person who was readily speaking to the media during this crisis, gave the wrong information to Reuters. Naming that only 48 islands were affected and that tidal surges were a norm during this period, the government managed to trivialize the pain and suffering of those affected.

When the government is supposed to be paying a hefty sum for its public relations by hiring Hill & Knowlton, it seems that they don’t often do their job! Any student in the first year of public relations 101 would have been able to advise the government during this natural disaster, which turned out to be more than just natural!

Being Presidential

2007-05-26T21:41:00.000+05:00

Being a President or being presidential does not come naturally; case in point being the current American President. However, over the course of history, there have been many individuals who had stepped up to lead their country to prosperity and do right by their people.

Some of these individuals leave behind their legacies after a decade of rule, relinquishing power to those who follow and are once again selected by the majority of the people.

Being a child of the nineties, the first President that left an impression on me is President William Jefferson Clinton of United States of America. Presidents and leaders before President Clinton are just names that we were forced to learn for Current Affairs and other history lessons. It is safe to say that never had I been more fascinated by this good looking American who looked so sincere, and was obviously one of the best orators the country had seen in recent history.

I distinctly remember the first speech that I listened to by any President. Since kids we had been exposed to the droning, paternal lecture of our own beloved President that can go on and on for hours. In fact I remember my parents using the President’s speech as a lullaby to put me and my siblings to sleep. It was very good background music!

So imagine my surprise, when I found myself dumbstruck, listening to a President giving a speech on CNN, no less! To say that it was a life changing moment would be an understatement! To my sixteen year old mind, the eloquence, the sincerity and the right to the point nature of President Clinton’s speech was a novelty! The words coming out of this President actually meant something and it was not fluff!

I remember talking about his speech with my friends who all gave me a weird look. After all, who listens to the Presidents? What they failed to understand was just how much President Clinton had changed my life!

With some background information, I found out that most Presidents or leaders do not write their own speeches. Imagine that? It was at that moment that I decided on my future career. I wanted to be a speech writer for the President. Only problem remained, which President?

By Clinton’s second term, I was already studying for my bachelors in communications. So any hope of being Clinton’s speech writer was out of the question. Clinton served two terms of office and left the White House. George W. Bush moved in, and let’s just say he had failed to stir any emotions from me to date. Not even his 9/11 speech did justice to the magnitude of the tragedy!

Which brings us to the speeches by our beloved President. In one of the first TV appearances following the tsunami of December 2004, the President tried to educate the masses on the big waves that had just engulfed them.

“These big waves are called tsunamis!” he explains to the TVM reporter, while standing in a little puddle of water in the local market.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Maybe his comments were for the benefit of the islanders who didn’t have the same education and facilities as those of us in Male’. But then when the tsunami hit them, they weren’t left with TV or radio to hear him!

Whatever the reason, the President’s speeches have yet to change its tone or some cases its wordings even.

Following his speech at the Youth Day activities for 2007, where he called for united action against the scourge of drugs by the youth, parents, educators and for youth to be productive, I did a quick search on the President’s Office website on past youth day speeches.

Since 2001, the President has been calling on the Maldivian youth to be “good Muslims, patriotic and productive”, to be “gainfully employed and productive citizens”, for “unemployed youth to become productive members of the community” and for “all youth to be productively engaged in development”. And these are just the headlines for all the archived press releases! God knows how many times this same message has been put out there by our President in the past 28 years!

This year’s Presidential Address has come under much fire by the Opposition. According to many there was nothing different about the President’s address. Not much creativity had gone into the speech, neither has any substance. Over an hour long, the President could have just asked the Majlis to go through past addresses to get the summarized version of this year’s address!

One of the most amusing things is when even in this update to the Parliament on Government policies for the coming year, the President “calls on all relevant authorities, schools, parents and guardians” to “produce young people imbibed with high moral standards and self-discipline”.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the President supposed to outline what his Government will do to ensure that the youth become productive, or imbibed with high morals and disciplines?

Another staple in almost all his speeches is the issue of drug abuse in the country. At a policy level nothing has been revealed although the President promises “further measures” to tackle the problem. But what exactly?

As the objective of this opinion is not to dissect the Presidential address or the President’s past speeches, divulging research is not important.

In all honesty, it is only the Dhivehi speeches which treat all Maldivians like school children and the President as their all knowing loving grandfather dispersing pearls of wisdom. Whenever the President speaks abroad he comes off as a statesman, who knows a thing or two about the subject, most recently at the Satyagraha meeting in India.

So like the many cabinet shuffles that happen every now and then, it is time for the President to shuffle his Dhivehi speech-writers. Or at least inform them to stop plagiarizing from past speeches!

Most of us understand that in 28 years of rule, there could possibly be no new area to speak about, however, that doesn’t call for trying to pass off old material as new! A little bit of creativity, and using the President’s huge resource as an elderly statesman with real life examples in key issues would be more interesting than listening to vague statements that sound impressive but when broken down mean little or nothing at all.

Take a leaf out of President Clinton’s speeches. Speaking to students at Drew University in April 2005, he looked back on his term as the President to prove a point.

“When I became President, there were only 50 sites on the Internet. When I left, there were 50,000,000 on something called the Worldwide Web. And when I became President, the average cell phone weighed five pounds. [LAUGHS] Today, I’m just hoping that I can figure out a way to hit the keys on the phone. They’re so small…

... We established the World Trade Organization and America went in, when I was President, and they made a couple of decisions that I thought were nutty, that I didn't like and didn't think were fair to America. But I joined for the same reason you join and stay in any larger group. I thought it was better for us to be in than out. I thought we got more benefits than burdens. If you think about any voluntary unions, starting with the smallest one, a marriage, a business, a civic club. Any organization, which you join and stay in, that you could leave, you stay in, not because you agree with every decision that’s made, but because you think it’s better to stay in than to leave. Your life is enriched. You’re better off. That’s why you do it. Not because you agree with all the decisions.”

This is just an excerpt; yet, it is engaging and not at all patronizing! President Clinton comes off as charming, educated and quite eloquent individual who anyone would listen! It is known that he rarely uses notes and relies on conversational tone peppered with anecdotes from his time as the President and statistics that are surprisingly up-to-date! It is no wonder people pay £300 for a ticket to hear him speak!

Now that’s an inspiration! Maybe there’s still hope to be in his team for me after all!