Talking Point

At 2.36 in the afternoon of Saturday, 29th September 2007 an improvised explosive device went off at Sultan Park injuring twelve foreign nationals. Amongst the most seriously injured were two British holiday makers. Others who sustained minor burns and various injuries from flying shrapnel were eight Chinese and two Japanese nationals also on holiday in the country.

Q1: What's your opinion about having an electoral commission instead of having an elections commissioner? What would you favor when debating the drafted constitution?

A: The relevant chapter in the draft constitution was written based on an independent electoral commission. At the very last stage, a member pointed out that one of the principal features of the constitution as decided by the Special Majlis was to have an independent Commissioner of Elections and not an electoral commission per se. Hence the chapter was revised to align with that observation.

Imad Latheef of Haveeru had given an interesting perspective on establishing the “right to property” in the media sector as regards various productions of national relevance or national significance. The column written in the aftermath of the debacle between Voice of Maldives and DhiFM and appearing on Haveeru Daily of 23rd September 2007 contains some very insightful arguments. The issues raised by him become increasingly relevant at a time the media landscape is opened up for private broadcasters.

Please accept good wishes and sincere greetings on the occasion of Fitr Eid. May God bless us all with health happiness and prosperity. May God bless our nation.

I understand that Mr Husnu al-Suood has said on Minivan News website that it was due to public pressure that DRP supported his amendment to the first article of the proposed constitution. I do not agree at all. Of course there is public pressure to complete the constitution by 30 November 2007. But that pressure is not only specific to DRP. It applies to all members of the Special Majlis.

After a year and a fortnight since its formation, overcoming months of frustration and indifference, setting aside personal preferences and power play, the Maldives Media Association has finally taken off. Learning lessons from two previous attempts to launch the fraternity, the Maldives Media Association finally elected its first ever board of office bearers in a general meeting held on 18 October 2007. In its first year of existence both the attempts to hold that election to decide its office bearers were wrought with suspicions, disagreements, petitions, protests, walkouts and negative coverage.

I have often been asked how religious I am. Some have said that I am not religious at all. Some say I do not show my religiousness. Some have criticized my policies for lacking religious ethos. Some have said that my policies are inclined towards supporting a traditional Islamic worldview. How do I see myself in all this? I consider myself a religious moderate, or perhaps, a religious liberal, if there is any such term to go by.

Al Jazeera International has a program called “101 East” that examines and investigates issues facing the Asia Pacific countries. Award winning journalist Teymoor Nabili presents this program which looks at sharing the “big stories of the Asia Pacific region” with the rest of the world.

The deadline to complete the passage of a new and full constitution for the Maldives is 30 November 2007. With a month away from that deadline, every member in the chamber is under intense pressure. At times the process has been subject to outright confusion, tedious monotony, or hard hitting politics.