DRP admits that its MPs are corrupt

Baaaa! Baaaa! Baaaa!

The fiasco relating to the election of the new Speaker to the Majlis is Über-fascinating. First the fact that Sun Travel Siyam was deemed ineligible to vote because he had not sent in his resignation from his position in the MTDC; and following from that the decision to re-take the vote. While the results of the voting are captivating, what is even more stupendous is how the self-proclaimed ruling-party the DRP reacted to the news.

The maths is easy even for a primary school kid. When Mohamed Shihab was elected the Speaker of the Majlis, he got 25 votes as opposed to Seena Zahir’s 22. Since the DRP has 28 members in the Majlis and assuming the two absentees would have voted for Seena Zahir, he is still missing FOUR DRP votes. And if we go with the hypothesis that the DRP is right about claming that the Republican Party bribed the MPs, then that means the DRP admits that its own members are corrupt and are willing to solicit bribes. Bloody Hell. That’s a first!

Indeed, this certainly is a turning point in the ‘transparency’ of politics in the Maldives – the so-called ruling party willing to accept that its ranks are rife with corrupt politicians. Hehe. Nothing new that the rest of the Maldives did not know. This has been the modus operandi of our beloved leader for 30 years. Moreover, we always knew that if someone is willing to indulge in bribes from one side in the form of lucrative tourism deals and a ministership or the likes of a top-level government job, then they would be equally willing change side if a better deal is offered. When our Beloved God and President for Life bribed those parliamentarians who joined the DRP with lucrative offers, he should have realised that when our forefathers talked about the “goat who jumped over one fence will jump over the other” (eh fulhah mathin funmaali bakari aneh fulhah mathin ves funmaa laaney), it was not without substance. But then maybe our beloved President for Life did not believe it because it is not an Arab saying from the corridors of Egypt and is just an ordinary Dhivehi saying from the fisher-folk of the Maldives.

The question is what really happened? IF the DRP parliamentarians voted for Shihab against their party whip because they truly believed that he is the better man for the job than an unelected MP, then well done to them. But IF the DRP is right in their claim, this does not bode well for democracy because it means that our parliamentarians are soliciting bribes, whether to support their networks of patronage or just to reward themselves. What is even worse is that our potential leaders of tomorrow (Republican Party or whoever did it) are willing to bribe to get their way to get what they want (in effect, the same policy as Our Beloved Leader for Life, Golhaabo.) So despite a revised constitution, we have not moved foreword an inch.

It maybe "Veritas nunquam perit" (truth never dies) but it may never be known. But for the sake of democracy and for the sake of a better future for my (future) kids, I hope it’s the case of the honest parliamentarian than a corrupt one.

And meanwhile, the DRP goat bleats on…Baaa! Baaa! Baaa!

Cras credemus, hodie nihil!

Golhabo prevents Hassan Saeed from running for President

I heard that our beloved God and leader for Life, Golhabo is going to propose an excellent amendment to our constitution that would in effect put an end to Dr. Hassan Saeed’s Presidential bid. He is going to ensure that no one with a foreign wife can become the President of the Maldives. The excuse that his cronies give is that someone with a Jewish or Christian wife might become the President of Maldives. But I am flabbergasted as to why they did not propose exactly that? I mean surely if that is the case, why not just say so instead of using the word “Foreign”?

No, this is nothing but the most outrageous, vile and despicable act to block Dr. Hassan Saeed from ever running for office. Our beloved gutless leader for life was too chicken to even face Hassan Saeed at an election, even though Golhabo has all the state’s vote rigging machinery at his disposal. Not only that, they are also putting an age bar on it so that anyone below forty would not be able to run for office too - incase Dr. Hassan S might decide to divorce his wife.

All this reminds me of an Aesop’s Fable I used to read as a child.

The Wolf and the Lamb

WOLF, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf's right to eat him. He thus addressed him: "Sirrah, last year you grossly insulted me." "Indeed," bleated the Lamb in a mournful tone of voice, "I was not then born." Then said the Wolf, "You feed in my pasture." "No, good sir," replied the Lamb, "I have not yet tasted grass." Again said the Wolf, "You drink of my well." "No," exclaimed the Lamb, "I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother's milk is both food and drink to me." Upon which the Wolf seized him and ate him up, saying, "Well! I won't remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations."

The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.

Our beloved God and Leader for Life, His Foreverness Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

Poli what? err? aye? Politics? what the hell is that?

My grandad's friend Adambe told my dad today that he doesn't understand politics.

When my dad prompted him to explain what he meant, Adambe said, "Katheeb told me that having political parties would be a bad thing for the Maldives. And I believed him. Then he told me later, it is a good thing. So I believed him again. Then he told me a few months back, It is a good thing as long as I join DRP. Now I am confused."

Join the Club.

From a particular point of view, politics is confusing. What do we achieve by trying to convert Maldives into a multi-party democracy? Do we really think we are going to be better off? Better-off for who? For those who are desperately trying to join the political rat-race in the hope that they would eventually end up in the higher echelons of power? Or for those average Maldivian trying to improve his life? Fine, we have a multi-party system now. Every Tom, Dick and Harry is now trying to register a party (even if some claim that they have no desire to run for office but just to highlight the social ills of life. In that respect, I would assume that registering an NGO would have a better impact but then....)

But where does all this lead to? Don't get me wrong. I am all for a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Only I doubt there exists a single one in this world. Doesn't mean we can't be the pioneers in the Maldives!

For most of us (and here I am taking the liberty of speaking for the most of us) politicking have now reached a stage where we are not sure what it has achieved so far and where it is taking us. The MDP has done their shouting on the road. They have had their activists arrested. They have been able to draw cartoons of the President and print them in magazines. The international media has taken an interest even if lukewarm about the Maldives. The President has formed "the ruling party". Instead of asking people whether they supported Victory or New Radiant, people now ask whether they belong to MDP or DRP. The word "Golhaabo" has become a new part of our everyday vocabulary. People log into the net to check DO before they even have breakfast. People we never thought and heard of have suddenly become a big part of the "Sarukaaru".

WHAT ELSE?

For the Maldivian worried about how he is going to buy the school books for his kids, how he is going to pay for the medical treatment of his ailing mother, how he is going to find the money to rebuild his house so that his daughter will have a room when she gets married, worried whether his son would become the next drug addict, whether it would be his house that would get broken into next...I doubt whether he could see the light at the end of this political tunnel.

So if this is all what politics is about it is hardly suprising that Adambe is confused.

I am off for some coffee and some de-confusing time...

maybe do some "Golhaabo Faibaa" therapy on the way......