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Fans:
Good leader
Maldives' best era
Man of peace
Protection from religious extremism
Real achievements
'Gayyoom has been a damned good leader. This country has achieved so much transformation under his tutelage. He has not committed any crimes. He has not done an impeachable offence anywhere in the world....
He is perhaps the one leader in this country has ever had with a genuine respect for educated people....
Any leader will have critics.... But criticism is not the same thing as lying and distortion.'
Dhivehi Forum posting, 28 Oct 2000 top
'The loudest argument that Dhivehi Forum [internet discussion site] has been making is this:
Gayyoom's been destroying the country for the past twenty years. All that the Maldives has known in the past twenty two years is destruction and economic malaise and social regress. The country is young and therefore a young leader should be elected.
Such arguments fly in the face of reality. They are based on naked lies and stupid logic. The country has never seen a better era of economic progress, social development, political modernisation and international reputation ... Then they say that Gayyoom must go because the country needs a young leader because the country is full of young people.
The argument is good on first appearance, but doesn't stand up to analysis. The biggest group in the population is under 15 years of age - nearly 50% of the population is under 15 years. I think if someone follows their logic, we must elect someone under 15 as president. Nearly 75% of the country's population is under 25. So we should elect someone under 25 for the presidency. We need to reduce the age of presidential qualification in the present constitution from 35 to 24......
Ever wonder why Gayyoom has not deleted the whole Forum from the Maldives? The technology is possible. It takes a liberal to tolerate this litany of abuse and lies coming out of a minority of writers on the Forum (and breaking enforceable laws: the law does not say the one can slander, libel and spread subversive literature on the internet).'
Dhivehi Forum posting, 7 Oct 2000 top
I support your idea of on the legacy of Gayyoom.. some people who write in this forum are selfish and are narrow-minded. They don't have anything better to do than brainwash young people who come into the forum for some information.
Almost everybody wants Maldives as a peaceful country...... but some ignorant know how (as they think they are) people does't want it that way. They want political parties, communists, fundamentalists and so on...... which they think can only be found on democratic soils of the world.
Do these people who are narrow-minded know what will happen if Maldives is to have political parties of different thoughts. We all can see how countries are when we look at our closest neighbours.
Let us think ways to think positively, we have to work together to build a nation. :)Dhivehi Forum posting, 30 Sept 2000
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'Religious extremism is the biggest threat now facing the Maldives, overshadowing all others.
Following Khomeini’s successful takeover of Iran, many disgruntled groups hoping to emulate him have mushroomed all over the Islamic world, confident in their conviction that in religion they have the ultimate political weapon, a weapon that governments would be ill-equipped to counter without appearing kafir.
What is ominous for the Maldives in this is their propensity to attack Western tourists. Such mindless acts have already harmed Egyptian tourism irretrievably. Unlike some other countries, the Maldives does not have oil wealth, or even illegal opium, to fall back on.
In this scenario, it is not surprising that the Maldivian intelligentsia would rather have Gayoom for a 100 presidential terms, than an extremist for a single term. Because they know that the single term would last a long, long bleak time. Also because they know that Gayoom, who has been courageously waging almost a single-handed battle against extremism, is their best bet for a bright future free of such threats.Dhivehi Forum posting, 5 April 2001 top
'I would say that the major achievement of my administration has been the creation of a sound foundation for further social, economic and political development of the country.
When I took over in 1978, the per capita income was about $270.00. Now it is $860.00. So it has increased tremendously over the past 20 years, and we may now have the highest GDP per capita in the whole region.
Our infant mortality at that time was 120 per thousand live births. It is now 27, which has gone down considerably.
Life expectancy was about 47 years and it is now over 70.
And adult literacy rate is 99 percent. I think it’s the best In the region, and maybe one of the best in the world.
These indicators show what we have achieved.'Gayyoom in Washington Times, 8 Dec 1999 top
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Critics:
Increased corruption
Extravagance
Amnesty International report, 1995
Preaching gobbledegook
Hen-pecked
No political parties
Politics, Law and Censorship
No Dhivehi translation of Quran
'Kuda Abdulla' ('Little Abdulla') Joke
In power too long
'Most of his new appointments since 1993 have increased corruption rather than otherwise. Most of these so-called educated new appointments were self-motivated. They ignored public interest in the face of their wealth creation and self-fulfilling prophecy. This resulted in disputes among his cabinet as well as at home.
This growing pressure in his cabinet and at home has forced him to hide himself from the public, which led to growing public dissatisfaction.
He no longer replies to letters addressed to him as he promised in his first term in office.
As it did to Ameen Didi, and Ibrahim Nasir [former presidents] the ignorant, selfish, and close-minded group has surrounded Mr Gayyoom.'
Dhivehi Forum posting, 8 Jan 2001 top
President's Palace
Malé |
'He is enjoying 25% national wealth for his posh lifestyle and if the budget is in deficit he will ask Customs to increase import duty on the most imported items to meet his expenses. After the President's Office, the next project is the expansion of his palace and the refurbishing of Aarah [Presidential resort] and so on?
The man has full control of the ministers and executives. No one have a say. All acting like slaves. Therefore such a superman must be able to look after everything that goes on in this small town of 250,000 people. Don't compare Maldives as a nation. How many people are there to feed. The Australian flour shipment is enough to feed the Maldivians if it was not sold by the State Trading Organisation (STO). Oh boy! It's real dirt.'
Dhivehi Forum posting, 24 Dec 2000 top
Amnesty International report 1995
Two Writers detained; fears for their health
Amnesty International reports on the arrests of Ahamed Shafeeq, a civil servant and writer, and Ali Moosa Didi, a writer and politician in the Maldives. There are serious concerns about their health.
On 21 April 1995, about a dozen police officers raided Ahamad Shafeeq's home and arrested both him and Ali Moosa Didi. Also seized were Shafeeq's personal diaries and other papers leading to speculation that the arrests are in connection with his writings.
On 30 April, Ali Moosa Didi and Ahamed Shafeeq, aged 67, were given permission to leave the Maldives under police custody to receive treatment in a hospital in Madras, India. However Shafeeq was returned to the Maldives capital, Mal, on 10 May. In India, Shafeeq had been diagnosed as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and advised that he not be placed in situations of anxiety. He also suffers from asthma and is said to have a lung infection. Although he is said to have been allowed further treatment for breathing difficulties since his return, he has been denied visits from his family.
Ahamad Shafeeq is the editor of the historical journal "Vanavaru" and is the author of a number of books on history, ornithology and fiction. He had also contributed to "Sangu", a magazine banned in June 1990 following the arrests of a number of its editors. It is thought that the seizure of Shafeeq's diaries is linked to comments made in them criticizing the cost of constructing a new Presidential palace.
Ali Moosa Didi was an opposition candidate during the December 1994 parliamentary elections but failed to be elected. His open criticism of government officials may be a reason for his arrest. He is said to remain held under Maldive police custody in the hospital in Madras.Amnesty International report, 1995 top
'I have no doubts about our corrupt President's ability to preach gobbledegook. He does that very well slotting in a canto from the Quran. But we all know what a load of rubbish he blabs most of the time. Remember what he said about his brother-in-law? Gayyoom labelled Ilyas as a bandit and also sentenced him saying that he premeditated to kill Gayyoom. Gayyoom's own family has qualms about him. He is such a liar, that we find it hard to believe him anymore. He should go.'
Dhivehi Forum posting, 25 Oct 2000 top
The next leader shouldn't be a hen-pecked husband...
the best way for Maumoon and his co to escape from a big embarrassment is to surrender to a court of law and reveal all their ill-gotten assets and have them confiscated.'
Dhivehi Forum posting, 9 Jan 2001 top
The problem with a no-party system is that it makes the man in power all-powerful.
He has the country's resources, money, media, behind him. Without a party to back, nobody else will have any chance to break his stranglehold.Dhivehi Forum posting, 15 March 2001 top
Maldivians cannot change their government democratically. President Gayoom heads a small hereditary elite that holds power.
Political parties are not expressly banned, but the government discourages their formation and none exist.
The government restricts political gatherings during campaigns to small meetings on private premises.
On September 25, the day the majlis declared Gayoom to be the sole candidate for the October presidential election, Amnesty International reported that "election preparations are taking place in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation." The organization noted that authorities have kept Ismail Saadiq, a businessman and political dissident, in detention or under house arrest since July 1996 in a possible attempt to prevent him from participating in the presidential elections.
In February, authorities transferred him from house arrest to a detention center for allegedly having talked to a foreign journalist, and they canceled his officially accepted nomination to stand in a parliamentary by-election. Gayoom heavily influences the majlis, although in recent years, it has rejected some government legislation and has become a forum for critical debate.
The president influences the judiciary, which is not independent. He appoints and can remove judges, although this latter power is rarely used, and he can review High Court decisions. The legal system is based on both Shari'a (Islamic law) and civil law.
Trials fall far short of international standards. The strict 1990 Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) permits authorities to detain suspects indefinitely without trial. According to Amnesty International, in recent years, authorities have held dozens of dissidents under house arrest or in detention centers for prolonged periods without trial. Prison conditions are dismal.
Freedom of expression is restricted. The broadly drawn Penal Code prohibits speech or actions that could "arouse people against the government," although a 1990 amendment decriminalized factual newspaper reports about government errors. A 1968 law prohibits speech considered inimical to Islam, a threat to national security, or libelous. In 1994, a court sentenced a Maldivian under this law to six months in prison for making allegedly false statements about the government.
Authorities used the PTA to imprison several journalists in 1990, the last of whom was released in 1993. Journalist Mohamed Nasheed spent nearly nine months in prison and house arrest in 1996-97 on defamation charges over a 1994 article criticizing election procedures.
The government can shut newspapers and sanction journalists for articles allegedly containing unfounded criticism. Two outspoken publications, which had their licenses revoked in 1990, remain closed. Regulations make editors responsible for the content of published material. Journalists practice self-censorship, although the mainly private press carries some criticism of the government. The state-run Voice of the Maldives radio and a small state-run television service carry some pluralistic views.
Nongovernmental organizations are legal, although there are no human rights groups and civil society is underdeveloped. Traditional norms generally relegate women to subservient roles, although many women find government employment.
Unlike many Islamic countries, women have the same divorce rights as men, although inheritance laws favor men. Islam is the state religion, and all citizens must be Muslim.
The government is concerned that the puritanical Wahhabi sect of Islam is gaining adherents on the outer atolls. Practice of other religions is prohibited, although private worship by non-Muslims is tolerated.
There are no legal rights to form trade unions, stage strikes, and bargain collectively, and in practice, there is no organized labor activity. The country's high-end tourism industry is the main foreign exchange earner. top
'Maumoon the learned has not issued a translated version of the Quran because then we will know...
We won't need him anymore to translate.
That is why there are no translations around..Dhivehi Forum posting, 3 April 2001 top
'President Gayyoom (popularly know as Kuda Abdulla) on his recent visit to the mid-southern atolls was visiting one of the schools on an island in Meemu Atoll.
In a Grade 5 classroom they were in the middle of the discussion related to words in English and their meanings.
The teacher asked Kuda Abdulla if he would like to lead the classroom, since he once was a teacher at Aminiyaa School in Male. Kuda Abdulla took the floor in leading the discussion of the word 'tragedy'.
So, our illustrious leader asks the classroom for an example of the word 'tragedy'. One boy stood up and offers, 'If my best friend, who lives next door, walks along and a coconut fell on him and gets fatally knocked out, it would be a tragedy.'
'No', says Kuda Abdulla, 'that would be an ACCIDENT.'
A girl raises her hand and says, 'If our entire class is taken on an excursion to a nearby island, a storm strikes us by taking all 24 lives then that would be a tragedy.'
'I’m afraid not,' says Kuda Abdulla, 'that’s what I would call a GREAT LOSS.'
The classroom went silent. No other children volunteered. Kuda Abdulla searches the room.
'Isn’t there someone who can give me an example of a tragedy?'
Finally, way back in the classroom, Hakeem raises his hand. In a quiet voice he says, 'If Arumaazu (the presidential yacht) carrying Kuda Abdulla and Madam Nattu, were struck by lightning and blown to smithereens, that would be a tragedy.'
'FANTASTIC!' exclaims Kuda Abdulla, 'That’s right and can you tell me WHY that would be a tragedy, Hakeem?'
'Well,' says Hakeem, 'because it wouldn’t be an accident and it certainly would be no great loss.' Dhivehi Forum joke, 21 Mar 2001 top
'Why only Island Katheebs who use few bags of cement is charged by the corruption board...
We were in a duty free zone of Maldives when Nasir was in Power. He doesnt have Benz car, Audi, Palace...
Gayyoom doesn't like to be the president for more than two terms and he said it should not be, but then Nasir was ruling then.
Now when he became to power its okay even for 4 terms ( 25 years) and above.
Do you know when Nasir tendered his resignation, Abdullah Hameed and Ibrahim Shihab fainted. They protested and demanded Nasir to stay in Power because they fear the religion Islam may be wiped out in the Maldives if any other person comes to power...
This is a family game and we dont support a corrupt family rule for ever. yes we want a change of this Government sooner rather than later. We will support even Gasim if no other candidate better than him...
Ilyas must be 100% loyal to Gayyoom or Ilyas will know very well what Gayyoom can do to him again.' Dhivehi Forum posting, 5 Jan 2001 top
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