:: Dhivehi Observer :: Peoples Press ::

Maldives Need to Change — the Sooner the Better

By. S. Ibrahim - 17 June 2004

I was watching President Gayyoom say, “We are the best democracy and the most peaceful country in the region.”

Messages, advice and suggestions from every Ahmed, Mohamed and Hussain are now pouring on the people with a call for reforms from Thuraakunu to Gan island.

The Opposition followed. Saadiq, who is among the liberal hawks in the Maldives opposition, spoke about the “transformation of the Maldives” at seminars in the United States attended by several key congressmen from both parties. His Development Program, which Gayyoom kept for a decade shows his determination to change the country, well before many of us thought of the hardship, which we are enduring today.

Then of course there is Latheef and Anni, the outspoken critics of the administration, who dishes out lessons on transformation, reforms and change. Their message echoes the theme “resign now”. In essence, if the Maldives does not change it will soon find itself doomed to Least least developed country (LLDC) status and might even fall behind sub-Saharan Africa.

Pretty soon MDP and MNC will also offer their own reform packages — MDP because it is struggling to pin down the growing support of MLD in the country, and MNC because it wants to be part of this new opposition.

However, while many may sit and wishfully think that these are hollow words from the MLD led opposition and pretty much everywhere else, my sincere advice as someone who loves his country is to take careful notice.

Let us not be fooled by the soothing words from our leader. Lets not paid PR companies decide our fate. We have to be aware that whoever is in charge of the Maldives, whether Gayyoom or Yameen, the regime will always be blinded by its desire to keep their power to serve its paramount political, personal gains and maintain their family’s grip over the people and the country.

What Maldivians unfortunately do not know is that there are no permanent friends in international relations. There are only permanent interests. And if UK interests warrant a total and drastic change in the Maldives then that is what the UK will try to achieve.

What, then, are we to do?

Do we sit there and wallow in self-pity? No, by God we should not. Everyone must know that it is not their destiny to sit on the sidelines when the country’s future is at stake.

We should change. I remember the advice of Mr. Ismail Saadiq, the President of Maldives League for Democracy who, when asked what advice he would give the people of Maldives, replied: “Change!” One word.

The Maldives urgently need to reform, not as a reaction to Saadiq, Gasim or Anni, Sappe, Latheef, or Nazeer Jamaal but because reform in the Maldives is both overdue and indispensable. And as Saadiq pointed out, what all of us — people in Male' and the Islands — should realize is that our inability to bring about political and social reforms will always keep us in subordination, and that is why these voices of reform are getting louder.

We will never be treated as equal citizens, Saadiq says, because of our own failures to establish ourselves as equals. That is why the opposition and the people must redefine the status quo so we can deal with this regime on an equal footing.

Maldives has highly competent women and men who can play a vital and positive role in reforms. There is no shortage of people who care about the progress, stability and security of our country. We pray for that day and night. But in addition to prayers there must be action, and therefore reforms in the Maldives is imperative.

To be indifferent or careless about them or delay them under whatever excuses is an open invitation to Gayyoom and his cronies to step in and impose the future it has planned for the Maldives.

“Verily never will God change the condition of a people until they change it themselves.” (Qur’an 13:11)