Talking Point

I condemn the assault on Dr Afrasheem this Friday. It has been quite some time now that momentum has been built for such a confrontation. The attack on the person of Dr Afrasheem following Friday prayers today was an act of desperation by those cowardly elements hell bent on talibanisation of the Maldives.

On the 3rd of this February, I shared with the media the Legislative Agenda for the year 2008. The agenda comprises of 87 bills on which we would work this year. It received a skeptical welcome. It was seen as ambitious. It was seen as massive. Yes, it is a highly ambitious program. It is a gigantic project. But we ought to complete the bulk of it. There is no choice if we are to build institutions, laws, processes and systems needed for installing a modern democracy in the Maldives.

Improving VOM and TVM has been my biggest challenge. While I battle to shift cultures and mindsets, bring about policy changes, and improve standards, I get blamed by both sides of the political divide, government and opposition alike, for things that go wrong at the state broadcasters. The opposition accuses me of running government propaganda. Elements within government accuse me of turning TVM and VOM into "nests" of MDP. Religious extremists accuse me of corrupting religion. There are good reasons why people blame me. There are good reasons why I should take responsibility. With no end in sight for the blame game to end, I have quietly focused on getting my vision accomplished.

I appreciate the concerns expressed in the media and on this blog regarding the Legislative Agenda. Like I said before, I know there is real skepticism about any success of this Agenda. There are good reasons for the awkward comments I have seen expressed. I fully appreciate the sentiments.

With three different sets of elections to be held shortly after the revised constitution comes into being, pressure is building on a decision to address the media factor - especially the state broadcast media.

Ms Mel Gunasekara is a seasoned Sri Lankan journalist working with AFP. She covers the Maldives and knows it well. She is known to the movers and shakers of the country. I think she must have talked to everyone and anyone important in the Maldives politics or government or economy.

There seems to be a bit of confusion over the exact status of the Broadcast Bill sent to parliament in October 2006. Some seem to subscribe to the view that the bill has been rejected by the parliament. Others have the impression that the bill has been withdrawn by the Government. Some think that I would resubmit the bill come March 2008.

There was a question recently as to why the legislative agenda for 2008 does not suggest a fiscal responsibility bill.

Often people ask me what I do during my spare time. I say I read books. I say I surf the internet. I say I watch movies. But there is an aspect to my free time that I have seldom discussed. That is, I breed birds. I keep a lot of birds. I breed them in various colors. I bring out various mutations. I hand rear them. I keep them as pets. I have an aviary built on the terrace of my rented accommodation.

Last Tuesday, I met Mr Patrice Coeur-Bizot. He is the Resident Coordinator for the UN System in the Maldives. We discussed three main areas: status of constitutional review; planned visit of the UN scoping mission; and the legislative agenda.

"There is only one leader in this country. It is our President. You must always remember that." said a highly decorated civil servant with a meritorious record of service which spanned many decades. His words were words of wise counsel to a man in his mid twenties armed with a six month old law degree and five months of experience in government. When those words were spoken to me, I had just been transferred to the Maldives Parliament after an uneasy stint at the Attorney General's Office.

On 14 November 2007, Freedom of Information Bill was thrown out of the floor of the Parliament. When a vote was taken on its acceptance, the bill received twenty five votes and was short of just one vote to meet the requirement of twenty six votes to be accepted.

The Revised Freedom of Information Bill is largely based upon the model legislation on the subject sponsored by Article 19. Specific differences between the text of the previous draft and the current revised draft are many. Here are some highlights.

Today, I launch my second blog in my own language, Dhivehi. This happens as a response to many requests of visitors and friends. Although I have no idea if I could keep pace with these two blogs, I am hopeful to have a wider local readership with the launch of the Dhivehi blog.

The Special Majlis last Thursday was a sad session. The effort to help sail through a compromise draft on clause 18 (a) went down the drain. Members of my own party could not believe that I had supported a reasonable compromise. My cabinet colleagues could not support that effort either.

The President has asked me to move a bill to amend the Maldives Civil Service Act when Parliament begins its first session 2 March 2007. The most primary and immediate reason for the amendment is already announced in a press release issued by his office. That is crafting a two year grace into the current legislation before civil servants who are 65 and above are asked to go home.

Last July, when state broadcasters Voice of Maldives and Television Maldives began nightly broadcast of Parliament and Special Majlis sessions, I made an announcement that I would work towards creating a dedicated parliamentary channel this year. Establishing that channel was important to sustain parliamentary broadcasts long term; ease the current stress on audio and audiovisual channels of state broadcasters; and facilitate broadcast of parliament sessions during day time as opposed to current midnight broadcasts.