Maafushi: From fish warehouse to prison island to a successful tourist destination

Translated and adapted by Dr. Abdullah Waheed

In addition to kurumba, there were also savories on the table.  While a Bangladeshi staff was cutting kurumba, Mr. Ibrahim Rasheed, the house owner was leaning on the doorway, waiting for the tourists sun tanning on the white sand. Some of them will buy his wares. Mr. Rasheed’s house which is located on the western beach was where Maafushi’s journey began to become the most successful guesthouse island in the Maldives. This small house was where the island’s most famous guest house ‘White Shell’ was located.

But today it is no longer a guesthouse, rather a boutique where Rasheed sells his wares to tourists. However, when all the beds on the island are occupied, he does take in guests.

“This is a huge development for the island,” Rasheed said, pointing at the tourists sunbathing in the beach and the sea.

“I’ll say that even if one sits with 100 coconuts, one can make enough money to feed a family of two kids,” he said. “We have that much opportunity here.”

Now the question is, how did Maafushi suddenly transform into a popular tourist destination?  The most apt person to answer that question is Ahmed Naseer, the economist who managed White Shell guest house.  According to Naseer, a native of the island, the reason is the large number of islanders who wanted to join the business, their financial capacity and the cooperation they got from the natives.

Naseer got the idea of tourism in a trip to Maafushi in November 2009. After seeing Rasheed’s house nearing completion near the beach, he developed an interest in making a guest house there.  By then the People’s Majlis had passed a law allowing guesthouse tourism. “Since the Majlis had passed legislation, I believed it was possible. So, using my savings and help from a close friend, I converted Rasheed’s house into a guesthouse,” Naseer who was Minister of State for Finance in MDP government said.

When on January 1, 2010, permission was granted to open the White Shell, the very first guesthouse on an inhabited island, Maafushi embarked on its journey to become the guesthouse island.  Five years later, the island has 40 guesthouses with 700 beds.  During the season about a million dollars (Translators note: This figure is questionable.) enter Maafushi every day. This means that the island is the biggest business center in the Maldives outside the capital.

Even Naseer didn’t believe Maafushi could become a tourist destination within such a short time. Even friends laughed when he began to build the guesthouse.  “Friends started laughing, but I decided to take a risk and do it,” Naseer said.

Just one year later, Naseer had made a new guesthouse at his father’s premises.  He managed four guesthouses before leasing out his properties.  “Honestly I must admit I never believed this could be developed so soon,” Naseer said.

Of the forty guesthouses in Maafushi, 38 belong to natives. This shows that they are enthusiastic about the business.

“I am very happy that I could come to an island like this,” said a Singaporean woman who was leaving to experience a resort after spending 3 days in Maafushi with her two kids. “This is a good community. I came here to spend a part of my holidays in an inhabited island.”

“The people of this island are very nice. Very kind,” her elder daughter interjected.

Maafushi now has its own place in the world tourism map.  It is a deviation from the Maldives’ one island one resort concept. The example of Maafushi shows that medium class tourism is viable in an inhabited island.  The name Maafushi is common in famous travel websites and some visitors to the island know of the Maldives in combination with Maafushi.

Maafushi first became famous as the home of fish ware houses. That was during the 1980s and early 1990s.  Later when the central jail was built there the island became famous as Maafushi jail.  But today it is a normal inhabited island in addition to being a “resort.”

“I tried a lot to include Maafushi as a separate city in booking.com,” Naseer said. “I have written to them to do it. Today Maafushi is listed as a separate destination.  I am very satisfied with that.”

While new guesthouses are burgeoning and Maafushi looks forward to reach the target of 1000 beds, the island can be described as a tourist village, with the natives engaged in their normal life and the tourists enjoying the quiet and beautiful environs of the Maldives.

The assistance and cooperation of the islanders was great in transforming Maafushi into a successful tourist destination. The north-west beach and lagoon of the island are now reserved for tourists. It is the most pleasant part of the island.

It is now unlikely that Maafushi will look backwards.  Considering the new guesthouses under construction and the new projects being launched by businessmen, Maafushi tourism is still in the expansion phase.

“From next month onwards, the island will start becoming full,” a guesthouse official said. “I don’t think any room will be available by December.”

Other islands near Male have not shown the success seen in Maafushi.  Even though they too have guesthouses, tourists don’t go there as much as they visit Maafushi. In fact, Hulhumale tourism still lags behind that of Maafushi.

Owning two fishing launches and selling food items to tourists, Rasheed exemplifies the success of Maafushi tourism.  He makes about 100,000 rufiyaa per month, taking tourists fishing, catering to the diving center staff and engaging in other tourism related work.

Maafushi tourism began from ‘Dhonveli Ge’ the small house where Rasheed was leaning against the doorway.  Only five years later prosperity has spread to the whole island.

Translated and adapted from:

Moosa Latheef, ‘mas gudhanun, bodu jalun, mihaaru tourism ge emme kaamiyaabu manzilakah’,  Haveeru Daily, 2015, http://www.haveeru.com.mv/dhivehi/report/177173 , retrieved on 20 September 2015.

Results of Round 2 of Presidential Election 2013

Round One of Presidential Elections was held on 7th September 2013. However, that election was annulled by the Supreme Court of Maldives.  Later, the First Round was held on 9th November 2013. No candidate secured the necessary 50% plus in this round. A run off was held on 16th November between the two front runners, Mohammed Nasheed and Abdullah Yamin. This blog post gives the details of the votes won by the two candidates, box by box.

The results show a narrow victory for Abdulla Yamin. (51.39% of valid votes cast.) 

This data is being provided for academic purposes only. While all care was taken to ensure accuracy, the author takes no responsibility for any errors. The source of data is the Elections Commission of Maldives. Click here for the detailed results.

Preventing Anti Social Behavior

Attorney General Husnu Suood has taken a decisive step towards preventing anti social behavior by presenting to the Majlis a bill on the subject for the first time ever in the Maldives. The bill along with another related bill on gang violence will lay a comprehensive legal framework to address the twin issues.

Suood’s initiative brings to the top of the national agenda a grossly neglected area of social development –a neglect that has cost the nation heavily in terms of skyrocketing juvenile delinquency and uncontrollable crime rates. The magnitude of the social cost can easily be estimated by comparing Maldives crime rates with those of Singapore where a comprehensive program to shape the behavior of its citizens has been in place ever since its independence in 1965.

Police statistics show that the number of arrests in Maldives among ‘children’ below 18 years rose from 209 in 2001 to 564 in 2007. This increase is fuelled by drugs for which 164 people under 18 were arrested. For the related crimes of theft and violence 158 and 160 people were arrested respectively.

Study after study has shown that the usual route to crime is: School dropout --> hanging around street corners --> smoking --> drugs --> Gang formation --> serious crimes.

Many experts believe that children’s habits of staying awake till late at night and going out without parental supervision contribute to anti social behavior. The bill presented to the Majlis will address this and other similar issues.

Drugs: The Doomsday Scenario

Within the next two to three years, two out of every three students in grades 8 – 10 will use some form of illicit drug, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has predicted, based on the findings of recent surveys –findings that reveal drug addiction among children as young as 9 years.

He made this statement at a function in Dharubaarugé Sunday night to mark the 119th anniversary of Maldives Customs Service, where he called on the Customs Service to continue to play their role in controlling drug trafficking into the country, stressing that no other institution has a bigger role in this endeavor. He assured customs officers that the government would provide its full support and cooperation.

Dr. Waheed said that inspection of the vast open areas surrounding the country would not be an easy task. He understood the difficulties they face in controlling the checkpoints and appreciated their diligent work, he said.

The Policy of Indiscriminate Privatization* is a Grave Danger to Independence

By Rifat Afeef**

The current policy of the government to handover basic national infrastructure (health services, sea and air transport etc.) on 'commercial basis' to foreign companies is a grave threat to the future security of the country. I am not saying that 'commercial basis' per se is wrong. After all, the progress (in tourism and fisheries) we see today is the result of private enterprise on commercial basis. All I am saying is that if we hand over our basic infrastructure to foreign companies in the name of privatization we are likely to face its bitter consequences in the not too distant future. These consequences will escalate over the years, finally resulting in the loss of our independence.

Externalities~:

In analyzing why this will happen and why we will lose our independence, we must realize that in organizing and implementing any project there are two types of results. The first type includes result(s) one expects and plans for in the project. The second includes the unintended results of the project. This second type of result is called an 'externality' in economics. With few exceptions externalities are harmful. Thus 'externality' generality means the unintended harm from a project or an economic activity –something not accounted for in the project costing.

There are two main types of externalities. The first type includes physical effects that one could feel. The other includes intangible effects such as socio-political changes. Because socio-political externalities are difficult to perceive, we don't even realize their existence. It is this type of imperceptible externality, I am saying, would inevitably result from handing over basic national infrastructure to foreign companies in the name of privatization, affecting the nation's future. Today we can only speculate on things that could –over the years –have negative consequences. In my opinion, the easiest way to undertake such speculation is to take a look at the history of countries, which had experienced such pitfalls, either on their own or under external pressure. So let me take some examples of both types.

The case of Palestine:

Even though many people don't know it, the Palestine issue, which plagues the Muslim world today, is a consequence of mistakes made by Palestinians themselves. Lack of foresight on the part of Palestinians allowed Jews to displace them from their own land, though I must admit that the Jews also had laid a treacherous trap. But Palestinians fell into this trap on their own, voluntarily. Had the Palestinians themselves not sold their land for greed allowing Jews to settle there, there would have been no chance for western support for a Jewish state (in the form of Balfour Declaration) and no chance for Jews to take up arms and expel the natives. (It's wise to realize that citizens themselves bear a large part of the responsibility in destroying any nation.)

The Case of Hawaii:

The history of the fiftieth state of the United States in the nineteenth century is also a tragic saga of reaping the results of own mistakes. Kamehameha who united Hawaii allowed United States companies to acquire land for pineapple and sugarcane farming. The companies increased their influence and finally during the time of Queen Liliuokalani, the third ruler after Kamehameha, American forces entered the Hawaiian capital, house arrested the Queen and annexed Hawaii in 1887. It became the 50th state of the US in 1959. (Since history is written by the victors the details of this may not be found in western references.) Today native Hawaiians make up less than 1% of the population. More than 99% are the descendents of Chinese, Japanese and Pilipino immigrants brought by American companies to work in their farms (just like Africans brought to the southern states of the US) and Caucasians who colonized the islands. The native Hawaiians (a very small minority) are at the bottom rung of the socio- economic ladder in terms of income as well as imprisonment rates, for reasons related to the security of the state. (It must be admitted here that when Maldives was under British rule, it suffered less external threats than earlier.)

Attempts at Advocacy:

It has been ten years since I have been trying to bring to the attention of the elected rulers of Maldives the fallacies of some government policies. I made several attempts between 1999 and 2007 to bring to the attention of former President Maumoon some aspects related to development that may not be commonly realized. But the result was no better than drawing lines on the sea. When Uz. Maumoon ignored my pleas, in April 2005 I brought to the attention of individual members of the People's Majlis the dangers of some of the government policies and their possible consequences on national independence. But the result was zero. In 2007, approximately one and half years before the presidential election, I presented to MDP leader Mohammed Nasheed some of my writings on development policy. When I met him accidentally two weeks later he even said they were good. However since his election as president my attempts to get an appointment with him have been in vain.

Consequently the purpose of this article is to bring directly to the attention of the people, my 10-year long plea on the dangers facing the nation, a plea which has been ignored by elected leaders and representatives. I am doing it now because I feel that if the government goes ahead with its plans to hand over basic infrastructure to foreign companies in the name of privatization, it would jeopardize our independence. I want to convey to the people the consequences of what has happened till now and what is planned ahead, because things would go from bad to worse, leaving the nation in a bottomless pit.

The theme of this article is that development policy is broad and interrelated. This article gives only a very brief glimpse of this. More details are given elsewhere in my writings, the most comprehensive of which is a letter I wrote to members of the People's Majlis on 1st April 2005. These writings may be obtained by visiting my website: www.rifatafeef.com.

Notes:

*Original Dhivehi article uses the term 'viyafaari usoolu' here.

**Translated from original article by Rifat Afeef, well-known development consultant.

~Side headings inserted by translator.

Civil Service to Axe Five Permanent Secretaries

Maldives Civil Service has given an entirely new meaning to the word 'permanent' by deciding to sack five permanent secretaries barely a year after they were appointed. Five is not a small number considering that they represent about 25% of all permanent secretaries.

The genesis of the problem dates back to last November, when the new MDP government took over and decided to reduce the number of ministries. This left some permanent secretaries in the lurch as their ministries were either dissolved or merged with other ministries. To 'solve' this issue Civil Service Commission (CSC) took the controversial step of assigning two or more permanent secretaries to some ministries, which according to most legal experts contravenes Civil Service Law.

Perhaps it is this ill advised step that led to the current fiasco. Had the Commission assigned the extra permanent secretaries as additional secretaries or joint secretaries at that point in time, it could have been acceptable all round. But in its infinite wisdom CSC refused to countenance this obvious solution all these months. It stuck to its guns so stubbornly as to vitiate the whole atmosphere. So in the end when CSC finally did accept the 'joint-secretary' solution under duress, there were no takers for it.

The way Maldives Civil Service is headed, it does not appear as if it is achieving its purpose. The raison d'être of a civil service is to maintain continuity in policy when governments change. Here we have a situation where 25% of permanent secretaries are sacked in one year. In the coming 4 years if President Nasheed decides to reorganize ministries a couple of times more, the remaining 75% could very well lose their jobs too.

It's not as if we are inventing civil service for the first time in the history of civilization. Why can't we learn how others approach similar problems? One thing we know for sure is that senior civil servants all over the world continue in their jobs (at least in rank and salary) till retirement age. That's why they are called permanent.

Banning Airtel Dish

Some powerful forces in the Maldives are lobbying for a ban on Airtel dish antennas. We would like to believe that such forces are motivated by purely altruistic reasons such as protecting our culture and religion. However there are reasons to believe that it goes a bit beyond this.

The Airtel package is an India-based service that offers a large number of channels for the price of $100 per year, which works out to about Rf 100 per month. The cable packages hitherto available in the Maldives are priced at between Rf 300 and Rf 500. With this price difference Airtel dishes are appearing on Male rooftops at a rapid rate.

A few years back, the then Information Minister Nasheed had made an attempt to negotiate with local cable operators to bring down the prices. This attempt was blocked by the same lobbies, which today are gunning for Airtel.

To what extent our culture (or the lack there of) and religion (including our blatant disregard of its tenets) will be affected by the Airtel package is open to debate. But one thing is certain. Religious programs and pornographic material have been widely available in the Maldives for quite some time through imported CDs, video cassettes and radio, even before the appearance of dish antennas and the internet. If we are to close all these avenues we might as well get a time machine and transport us back to Stone Age.

Rethinking the National Anthem

Many Maldivians, particularly of the younger generation, appear to be having second thoughts on our current National Anthem. They believe the song is out of tune with the new generation and fails to inspire them.

Historically the words of the National Anthem were composed in 1948 by Mohamed Jameel Didi, and were sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, a traditional Scottish folk song written by Robert Burns. The tune was replaced by the current (composed by Sri Lankan maestro Amaradeva) in 1972, in preparation for the visit to the Maldives of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain (including Scotland).

Some people find the words of the National Anthem ‘silly,’ particularly the tendency to greet each and everything one sees. It is also argued that parts of the song are factually inaccurate. For example, the song states that the three colors green, red and white symbolize victory, luck and success. However, the three colors as used in the national flag have different meanings.

These issues however may not be good enough reasons to replace a song which has been in use for over 60 years. If one scrutinizes familiar National Anthems around the world, such as God Save the Queen, Star Spangled Banner, Jana Gana and Hatikvah, there are similar issues, which make them less than perfect.

Further, the existing song is truly Maldivian in its content. If a new song is composed today, it is likely to have much more foreign influences, be it Western or Arabic.

The melody of the song is a different matter altogether. In 1948 and 1972, we did not have experienced musicians to compose a national anthem. But today we do. So, should we still continue a tune composed by a foreigner?

Arresting Drug Barons and Controlling Drug Trade

Whether the number of drug barons in the Maldives is six, or ten, or fifty or even hundred depends solely on how one defines a drug baron. For example if one defined a drug baron as someone who had more than $1,000,000 in assets believed to be the proceeds from illicit drug trafficking, then the alleged second drug baron, who was recently arrested by the police, won't qualify as one. But if the defining limit was set at $500,000 he could be one. And if one set the limit at $50,000, there could be more than 100 barons.

Statistically speaking one should set the defining limit at such a level that the drug barons so identified would collectively be responsible for most of the drug trade, say more than 75%. If one ignores this precaution, one could end up in an embarrassing situation where all the barons are arrested and the drug trade continues 'business as usual'.

In the run up to the parliamentary elections, President's Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News that arresting the six drug barons would effectively stop the supply of narcotics into the Maldives. We hope he is right.

Will Flats Exacerbate the Crime Rate?

Studies focusing on communities with public housing units have consistently found that these communities have higher rates of violence and victimization as compared to similar areas without public housing.* Further, public housing estates in Britain, the United States, and Australia are frequently plagued by crime problems.** Experience in the Maldives in relation to tsunami temporary housing and Sinamale also corroborates this, though no formal research has been done. This raises questions about the advisability of going for public housing such as flats, especially in a country already plagued by rising crime rates.

In nearly all islands with mass tsunami housing, be it Hulhudhuffaaru, Ungoofaaru or Bruruni, rifts developed between the immigrants and the local communities because of high crime rates among immigrant youth. And yet, the same youth were innocent young men before they moved into public housing and got involved in drugs.

Sinamale in the capital is a hotbed of crime, where drug deals are made openly. Under-age kids who work in regular shift duties to peddle drugs have become so rich that many of them drive battery cycles (too young to get license).

Considering these facts, how advisable is it to build more flats in Male and other crowded islands? This is an issue policy makers need to ponder.

References:

* http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/2/6/3/0/p126300_index.html

** http://cad.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/45/2/256

Fatal Attraction to Strange Pets

Owning strange pets is a craze that's fast catching up in the Maldives. Apart from the usual cats and love birds, it's quite common these days to find cockatoos, iguanas, guinea pigs, monkeys and even tarantulas in Maldivian homes.

Many people who own pets actually think of themselves as animal lovers. But their love often becomes a type of fatal attraction that lands the animals in cruel conditions and sometimes death.

As a typical example, let me cite the case of the four parrots recently smuggled into the Maldives. Customs officers discovered them wrapped in plastic bags with adhesive tape and hidden under the boiler suits of the two smugglers. [See above photo from Jazeera]

Smugglers get away with this sort of cruelty because misguided 'animal lovers' who buy the creatures tacitly condone such actions. Further there is no comprehensive wild life protection law in the Maldives.

Of course, strange pet ownership is not restricted to the Maldives. Two-thirds of Australian households have at least one pet, according to Petnet. Loving pets is not new, but the way we treat them is.

Pets are becoming more humanized with Doggles (dog sunglasses), gourmet foods, portraits, funeral and cremation services. And it's a big money spinner.

Dogs and cats are the most popular pets in America, but some people prefer more unusual creatures for companions. Visit a pet store, and you may see snakes, hermit crabs, tarantulas, hedgehogs and even Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Some people even have alligators in their bath tubs.

Population Consolidation is Dead

As a national development strategy, population consolidation is as dead as a dodo. After a quarter-century long attempt to implement the strategy in various forms and names, the time has finally come to put it in its rightful place: the dustbin of history.

The strategy originated in the mid 1980s as the 'Selected Islands Development Project,' though the word 'population consolidation' was not coined till the mid 1990s. The purpose of the project was to counter in-migration towards Male by providing 'pull factors' such as health care, education and housing in selected islands.

The strategy was a washout. When it was launched, Male population was less than a quarter of the national population. Today it is more than a third and increasing. Statistics indicate that the declining trend of island population has crossed the point of no return. Between 2000 and 2006 an estimated 22,452 people migrated from the islands to Male. This rate will accelerate further as services in the islands continue to deteriorate, ironically as a result of declining population, which has entered a vicious cycle.

When island populations decrease below a certain critical level, there would be a mass exodus from the atolls. Past experience shows that the critical level could be about 250 inhabitants, at which point basic services become near impossible even with subsidization. Cases in point are Maavaidhoo and Faridhoo in Haa Dhaalu Atoll and Dhiyadhoo in Gaafu Alifu Atoll. Inhabitants of these islands have been desperately petitioning the government for relocation.

Fehendhoo, South Maalhosmadulu Atoll, is the latest island to join the migration queue. At the time of the latest Census in 2006, Fehendhoo had 114 people living on the island. The number has now declined to 64 in just three years. (This figure must not be confused with the registered population of 206, most of who live in Male). The 43 households in the island have requested for relocation to Gan, Haddhunmathi Atoll. The reasons put forward for relocation are the usual: lack of development opportunities, lack of education. Last year the island school closed because there were no students.

In Census 2000, there were only 17 islands with population below 250. But by 2006 there were 30 such islands, indicating the rapid decline in island population. These 30 will soon be on the queue for relocation. Even large islands are not immune from population decline. In 2000 there were 17 islands with population over 4000. However by 2006 the number of such high-population islands had declined to just 9.

The writing on the wall is clear. There are few islands with any potential to develop. The island population is declining so fast that soon there will be no population to consolidate. And finally there is no money to implement such mega projects. Population consolidation failed in the past; it will fail in the future.

Privatizing Schools

Ministry of Education and Invest Maldives have announced opportunities for private investors in Maldivian schools. They told a group of 19 potential investors that four schools are up for grabs including Ameeru Ahmed and Ghiyaasuddin in Male, Afeefuddin in Kulhudhuffushi and Muhibbudin in Hithadhoo.

These four could evolve into elitist private schools like Eton or Doon Valley School, as Education Ministry hopes. But they could also flop like EPS, MES, Ameeru Ahmed and Nooraanee School, which were doing extremely well some years back. Do we know what went wrong with them and how to prevent such mishaps in the future ventures? The following are some issues worth pondering:

Affordability: Many parents pay as much as Rf 1500 rufiyaa per month per subject for private tuition. So they could afford higher school fees. That is the good news. The bad news is when it comes to paying school fees many parents consider even Rf 200 very high.

Quality: One has to pay good salaries to get good teachers. This can only happen if adequate fees are charged.

Government interference: Many private schools failed in the past because of government interference. Can the government resist the temptation to meddle in the new private schools, particularly when they would be operating in government buildings?

Discipline: This is the main problem with government schools. Can the private schools enforce discipline especially when many of their pupils will be the spoilt kids of rich parents?

On the Brink of a Budget Crisis

Maldives national budget is on a collision course with a cash crisis, as warned by International Monetary Fund (IMF). Actually IMF need not have bothered: All the signs of an impending crisis are painfully obvious to all of us.

All major sources of government revenue are ebbing. While a global economic crisis has decimated tourist arrivals, Mother Nature has also not been kind to us in the fisheries sector. Fisheries earnings have come down 54% from $46.1 million to $18.6 million in the first quarter of this year. Tourist arrivals have come down 10% from 266,877 to 239,355.

As a consequence of this, Government revenue has gone down 34% in the first 3 months of this year compared to the corresponding period last year. However the expenditure has been uncontrollably escalating during this period. As a result, the gap between revenue (Rf 1.6 billion) and expenditure (Rf 2.28 billion) has widened to Rf 937 billion.

The crisis is largely due to a series of ill-advised and unrealistic pay hikes. In the search for a solution to this the government is stuck between a rock and hard place. One solution is an across-the-board salary cut of about 30%. The other is a devaluation of the Rufiyaa by the same percent. Politically speaking, both are equally unpalatable.

How did we land in this impasse? Here is the timeline for the genesis of the crisis:

• January 2008: Government employees' salary increased by 16 to 60%.
  
• February to April 2008: A reckless spree of double and triple promotions to senior government employees adds to the salary burden.
  
• April 2008: Majlis passes Employment Law, which introduced unaffordable overtime payments.
  
• May 2008: Salaries of magistrates and judges increased.
  
• June 2008: Majlis Members decide to hike their own salary, triggering a series of strikes by different sectors for further salary increases.
  
• September 2008: Majlis endorses a salary hike for independent commissions.
  
• February 2009: New salary structure implemented, which cost the exchequer an additional one billion rufiyaa for the year.
  
• March to May 2009: Civil Service introduces a wide range of allowances, adding to the burden of unpaid wages.

Handicraftsmen versus Tourist Shops

The lucrative tourist souvenir business in the Maldives has always been controlled by a handful of shrewd businessmen, many of who have gone up in life to become rich resort owners. The artisans who create handicrafts and curios, on the other hand, have little choice but to sell their products to shops at a tiny fraction of the market price. But then this is how things should be in a free market economy. The rich will get richer and the poor could only hope to get a few crumbs thrown down at them –the so called treacle down effect.

Not satisfied with the overwhelming advantages they already enjoy, some shop owners have also been using unfair (? illegal) trade practices. They import cheap products from neighboring countries and palm them off to unsuspecting tourists as Maldivian products. This deprives local artisans of their already meager earnings. According to Miadhu Daily, Maizan Adam Manik, recipient of the 2008 UNESCO Award of Excellence for Handicraft, has recently said that products of foreign origin are being sold in Maldives under ‘Made in Maldives’ label. He said shop owners often use misleading information in their sales pitch, sometimes with pictures of impoverished elderly people, to raise sympathy and sell foreign products.

Minister of State for Economic Development Adil Saleem has identified the urgent need for an authentication system for Maldivian products, Miadhu Daily reports. Considerable work has been done to produce an authentication logo, Director at the Economic Development Ministry Mohamed Luaiz has revealed. However the work has been delayed for various reasons.

This is not surprising since the long arms of businessmen reach the corridors of power in Male to ensure that no policy or regulation detrimental to their monopolistic practices is implemented. But again this is how things should be in a free market economy.

California Schools to Phase out Textbooks

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has unveiled a plan to save money by phasing out school textbooks in favor of internet aids, BBC reports. He says converting to online study will help keep pupils more up-to-date.

Gov Schwarzenegger believes internet activities such as Facebook, Twitter and downloading to iPods show that young people are the first to adopt new online technologies, and so the internet is also the best way to learn in classrooms. But it is believed the real reason Gov Schwarzenegger wants the change is money. Last year California spent $350m on textbooks and can no longer afford it.

The Maldives also spends millions of rufiyaa each year to provide school textbooks, many of which are actually not used in classrooms according to parents. Perhaps we could also think of going for I-textbooks in the future. But it is currently not feasible as most students don't have easy access to computers either at school or home.

[To read more on the California initiative click here.]

Beauty Health Body Light Parlor Busted

The Police have arrested 5 women working in 'Beauty Health Body Light' massage parlor and charged them with prostitution yesterday. The five women, all Thai nationals, were aged between 33 and 41.

According to police sources, the five have confessed to providing 'indecent' favors in exchange for monetary incentives. The police also found in their possession a large quantity of cash and money transfer slips, which they believe to be the proceeds from prostitution.

Massage parlors had been legal in the Maldives since Ms. A**** F*** was licensed by Ministry of Health in 1998 to operate an aroma therapy and masseur training center on the recommendation of a VVIP politician. Ms. A had been a colleague of the politician when he was working as a teacher in Aminiya School in the 1970s before entering politics.

Massage parlors were de-licensed two years back following sustained pressure from Umar Naseer and his Islamic Democratic Party. However, they continue to operate under various guises.

Need for Managing the Expatriate Labor Force

Going by media reports, it appears as if most Maldivians believe that the 80,839 expatriate workers in the Maldives are an ‘issue’ or a ‘problem’ that needs to be solved, perhaps by repatriating them. However, as Human Rights Commission of the Maldives has said in its statement issued on 10th March, expatriate workers make a valuable contribution without which the Maldivian economy will be severely crippled. Thus, what is needed is not repatriation but solving the administrative, regulatory and law enforcement issues related to the expatriate labor force, some of which are:
Administrative issues:
At the end of 2008 there were 80,839 expatriates, up 10,075 from the70,764 at the beginning of the year. In addition, there were approximately 20,000 illegal immigrants according to the Human Resources Ministry. Recently on June 1st, the Ministry has started a registration program for them.
Law and order issues:
In some cases expatriates have been the victims of law and order issues, while in other cases they have been the perpetrators. Here are a few examples from this year:
-Eight persons were arrested on 19 February 2009 on charges of prostitution.
-Two expatriate waiters in a restaurant were arrested on 21 Feb on charges of credit card fraud worth Rf. 700,000.
-A Bangladeshi worker was found strangulated in Thilafushi on 16 April
-Two expatriates were arrested on 21 April with several cases of illegal Vodka.
-Four expatriate workers were arrested in Hulhudhoo, Addu Atoll, on 23 May for group violence.
-A Bangladeshi migrant was found badly battered and murdered on Hulhumale Beach on 1st June. Another Bangladeshi was arrested as a suspect in the case.
Exploitation and human rights violation:
- An expatriate worker fell to death from a demolition site on 11 February.
-A large number of expatriates organized a strike on 15 February saying their salaries were not paid.
-Employees of a prominent construction company organized a protest on 13 April saying their salaries were not paid.

Shahid elected Speaker

In an avoidably chaotic first meeting of the new People's Majlis, Keyodhoo member Abdullah Shahid has been elected Speaker. Ahmed Nazim was elected Deputy Speaker.

When the Majlis convened at 11 am today, it went into an avoidable debate allowed by the interim speaker Mohamed Hussein, following a point of order taken by Mariyaa Ahmed Didi saying that if the speaker uses his casting vote following a secret ballot, his vote will no longer be secret. Instead of going on with the agenda, which is to elect a Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Mohamed Hussein decided to ask for members' opinion on the hypothetical situation: what to do if there is a tie in the secret ballot? One clause of the Constitution says the speaker must not take part in a ballot. Another clause says the speaker must use his casting vote in case of a tie.

Interim Speaker Mohammed Hussein thought there was a contradiction between the two clauses. However, many members felt there was no such contradiction. This difference of opinion led to a volley of 'points of order,' which wasted more than one and half hours of the Majlis's valuable time. In the end it was decided to go ahead with the vote first and to deal with the issue later if it arose.

When the floor was opened for proposing names for the post of speaker, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali proposed the name of Abdullah Shahid and Abdullah Yaameen seconded it. Mariyaa Ahmed Didi proposed the name of Ibrahim Mohammed Solih and Reeko Moosa Manik seconded it. When the names were put to vote Abdullah Shahid won the election 42 to 33.

When the floor was opened for proposing names for the post of Deputy Speaker Mariyaa Ahmed Didi proposed the name of Ahmed Hamza and Moosa Manik seconded it. Ahmed Thasmeen proposed the name of Ahmed Nazim and Abdullah Yaameen seconded it. Gasim Ibrahim proposed the name of Mohamed Nasheed and Ahmed Shyam Mohamed seconded it. But Mohamed Nasheed withdrew his name. When the names were put to vote Ahmed Nazim won the election 41 to 33.

The way the vote went is a strong indication of the strength of the two major parties. It does not augur very well for the ruling MDP.

How about Consensus for Speaker and Deputy Speaker Posts?

In a flagrant display of belligerent posturing, the DRP-PA Coalition has announced its own candidates for the posts of both the speaker and the deputy speaker of the newly elected People's Majlis. Such posturing followed by a contentious election would only politicize the esteemed post and hamper the speaker's ability to function effectively. In order to avoid such dilemma, efforts are made in parliamentary democracies to reach consensus and avoid voting.

For example, after the Indian General Elections in 1998, the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had the numbers in the 12th Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament) to get its own candidates through. But it negotiated with the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to share the posts. Ultimately C.M. Balayogi of NDA was elected speaker and PM Sayeed (a native of Minicoy) of UPA was elected deputy speaker unanimously. Later when Balayogi died he was replaced by Manohar Joshi of NDA, again without opposition. This arrangement continued through the 13th Lok Sabha. In the 14th Lok Sabha, which ended last week, Somnath Chatterjee supported by UPA was elected speaker and Charanjit Atwal of NDA was elected deputy speaker by consensus.

As of now it does not appear as if the Maldives Majlis is heading for a consensus. On Wednesday, the main opposition Dhivehi Rahyithunge Party (DRP), which won highest number of seats in the recently held parliamentary election, decided to submit the names of Abdulla Shahid (Felidhoo) and Ahmed Nazim, (Dhiggaru) for Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively. Though not officially announced so far it is rumored that MDP will propose Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (Hinnavaru) as its candidate for speaker.

In the recently concluded parliamentary elections, DRP/PA coalition won 35 seats. The ruling party, MDP won 26 seats and 13 seats went to independent candidates. A total of 39 seats are required to secure a majority in the parliament.

Mohamed Hussein (Kanditheemu) the senior most parliamentarian in the Majlis will chair the first sitting of the Majlis to be held on 28 May, secretariat of the People's Majlis has revealed. The election of the speaker and deputy will be held during the meeting. For the sake of democracy, one hopes the two leading parties will find a consensus avoid a fractious election.