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President Gayyoom and the Limit$ of Vi$ion Maldives Culture editors 8 June 2002
The by-election for Nasheed's Majlis seat was a severe embarrassment for the administration. A historically low voter turnout, despite vigorous efforts on the part of the government to get people to the polls (Huvaas magazine even exhorted people not let the government's expenses for election printing go to waste), shows a high level of disenchantment with the election process, and leaves the President isolated and lacking legitimacy. Eighteen months ago the stage seemed set for a move into real democratic changes. Reformers in the Majlis, largely led by Nasheed and with widespread public affirmation, were pressing for some form of party democracy and ministerial accountability that would have taken the country forward from autocracy and obeisance. Like Singapore's semi-retired Lee Kwan Yu, President Gayyoom could have guided his country through peaceful changes. His considerable diplomatic and organisational skills would have been welcomed during the transition. As head of state over a functioning parliament, Gayyoom could have exercised wisdom and influence, without being responsible for the rough and tumble of day-to-day politics. But the challenge was beyond him, and the country is the poorer for that.  The outer atolls Like the U.S. administration scaring its people with warnings of 'terrorists', 'evil' and 'unknown unknowns', Gayyoom has been suggesting nebulous plots by 'Christians', 'foreigners', and other phantom troublemakers, while he takes expensive entourages on tours of foreign capitals soliciting loans and aid. His recent speeches have also been exhorting his people to stay united and work hard. Now the tourist boom has subsided, the years of neglect and timid investment in the outer atolls, where most Maldivians live, has exposed the limits of the Gayyoom vision. The Maldivian fishing industry dominates the atolls' economies, but the country's fishermen have shared little in the steady rise of world tuna prices. They work hard, rising hours before dawn to collect baitfish from the reefs and then heading into the ocean to stand all day on the open decks of their fishing boats in the intense tropical sun, catching tuna using poles and lines. But for the government they are little more than serfs. Fishermen organizations are banned. They have virtually no influence on government policy or decision-making. Most of the wealth from their labour goes to the middlemen and their Malé masters who control the processing and marketing of the catch. No real long-term effort is made to educate fishermen about their industry or to encourage new initiatives. All ideas must come from the top, and the cynicism of the fishermen has become legendary. Viligili re$ort and Addu vote$ For over twenty years, Gayyoom has been promising Addu atoll (also known as Seenu) that there will be a large resort development on the vacant island of Vilingili, a beautiful place just to the east of the airport at Gan. According to informed sources the group of investors behind the proposed resort are 'Bis' Maniku - 60%, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki (a minister) - 5%, Dr Munavvaru (attorney-general)- 5%, Sato (close to Ilyas) and Sappé (the project architect) - 10%, and the Maldivian government (with the involvement of Presidential aide Abdullah Shahid) - 20%. There has been a case before the Criminal Court concerning a buyout of Sato's shares. In the late 1990s Zaki, 'Bis' Maniku and Munavvaru secured the island for development but they were unable to obtain funding until the government stepped in. Sources claim that a Thai bank funding the HuluMalé project, next to Malé, is agreeing to loan millions of dollars for Vilingili. The resort project is important if the government is to regain credibility with the Adduans who have 20,000 votes in the Presidential election due next year. Interestingly, during the President's recent official visit, he refused to shake hands with any residents of the atoll's most populated island, Hithadhoo. One possible explantion for this extraordinary behaviour is that he is upset by the content of a popular website maldivesroyalfamily.com. The site, produced in New Zealand by Majid Abdul-Wahhab (formerly from Malé), has been featuring a lot of Addu historical photos and writings. In particular Majid writes with respect about the now deceased ex-President of Suvadive. Suvadive was a breakaway state formed in the southern atolls. It existed with British backing for 3 years in the mid-twentieth century, and was ruled by Afeef Didi, a native of Hithadhoo. Rent$ Malé land values and rents are astronomical. Maldivians cram themselves into the capital in search of work and education, but much of their income goes in rent and other living expenses. The untaxed and unregulated profits of the island's land boom encourages wasteful speculation and often subsidises Malé families who have moved overseas to escape the intense over-crowding. On several occasions during 1990s Gayyoom promised to rectify this inequitable situation, but so far he has failed to act. The overseas Malé islanders are a powerful and often underrated force in Maldivian politics. |
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Maldives Culture is an independent internet magazine of Maldivian cultural issues.
Editors and translators: Michael O'Shea and Fareesha Abdulla, Australia
We invite contributions from Maldivians and others interested in Maldives.
Contributions and comments - mc_editors@hotmail.com
