The past two weeks have been a nervous one for me and some of my colleagues in cabinet. Media has been ripe with speculation of cabinet ministers who have 'resigned' or are 'about to resign'. A friend asked me to update my earlier post on 'three years in cabinet'.
Press reporters had often called to seek a confirmation if those speculations on resignations had any substance. Sometimes when I said I was not aware of any resignations, they just did not believe me. They expected me to know.
That put me in a very difficult circumstance. I remember one evening, a media organization, citing an anonymous source, had announced the resignation of two cabinet ministers, in addition to those three confirmed cabinet resignations.
Within minutes, I started receiving calls for inquiries or confirmation. There was nothing I could have said to deny or confirm. If I denied in circumstances where there was a resignation, I would have lost my credibility. If I responded by saying that I had no knowledge, the media reporters would have taken it as an attempt to dodge a request for confirmation. Either way, it was bad for me.
The truth of the matter is that there is no mechanism through which ministers are kept aware of any cabinet resignation. When we hear of resignations, we have to call the president's office for verification or the relevant minister for confirmation.
The nature of recent resignations has been such, I doubt even if the president knew before the media ran confirmed stories on some cabinet resignations.
This may be because the proper protocol of a minister informing his president of the resignation has not been followed in some of the recent cases. The media had run stories far ahead of the president receiving the message or the letter of resignation.
In previous times, a minister's resignation would be announced by the president's office. No media would carry a story confirmed or otherwise as to whether a cabinet minister had resigned. They would wait for that president's office announcement.
Perhaps, because of the paradigm shift the country is seeing these days, and because of an ever expanding private media, the rule on confirming cabinet resignations too should be re-written now.
There must be a mechanism at the president's office to alert the media or cabinet ministers if there had been any resignation. Or perhaps life could be made easier by the resigning minister if he or she could send text messages to all his or her friends in cabinet saying ciao.
What I have seen in recent days is, ministers calling each other to see who has resigned and why. Just like the speculation in the media, the ministers themselves ran a cycle of their own fact finding and reflection.
I know I received some of those calls, where colleagues wanted to verify if I had resigned, or if I had knowledge of any resignations or if anyone had shared any impending instance of resignation with me.
I also made several calls to ministers to check if they had actually resigned or not. It was exciting in a way to laugh it off when the information was found to be bogus. It was equally painful at other times when the query was answered in the positive.
Anyway, I hope the chain effect of resignations has lost its momentum for the time being. But then again, one cannot be sure. There are rumors of a fast approaching no-confidence motion on a minister.
Comments (9)
Nasheed, resignations or not, you are missing the point. It is not that there are no protocols; just that the protocols are outdated.
The recent seven resignations, whatever the reason; says out loud, much about the professional and personal relationships between and amongst the President and his cabinet colleagues.
I know that you would think it is not proper protocol for cabinet members to be called colleagues of the President. But then, if you cannot accept the times, you will find life lonely and hard to bear.
I think it is not the time for us to look at others and point fingers; but for each of us to look inwards and figure out how we are contributing to the fiasco.
Posted by Shihab | July 21, 2008 7:52 AM
Posted on July 21, 2008 07:52
Very timely to bring up this issue. Your concerns are well justified.
The reponsible thing for Ministers (or shall we say Ministers who take responsibility seriously) is not to provide media with advance speculative information. This is media manipulation, may be a way to express anger.
There is also a bigger issue of those Ministers who control or own news papers or media as a business. I belive those papers also play a role in the media frenzy.
Posted by MediaFrenzy | July 21, 2008 9:21 AM
Posted on July 21, 2008 09:21
Might that no-confidence-motion minister be you ?!
Just wondered...
Posted by pH | July 21, 2008 11:02 AM
Posted on July 21, 2008 11:02
Please do not follow your cabinet colleagues who left. I hope and pray that YOU will hold fort until at least this storm has passed.
Posted by Saeed Ahmed | July 21, 2008 1:56 PM
Posted on July 21, 2008 13:56
What we are going through is a Paradigm shift and there is little doubt not to agree on it. In addition to that, the recent "political judo" has consumed our inner strengths on positive beliefs.. I prefer to call it a Massive Neuro-Attack on our modesty to live in calm and peace.
Posted by Mohamed Saeed | July 21, 2008 2:53 PM
Posted on July 21, 2008 14:53
Hey Spin doctor,
You seem to take the new animal you have created -- media -- in your stride. But high ups around you, don't appear to be comfortable with it.
Posted by m | July 21, 2008 3:49 PM
Posted on July 21, 2008 15:49
One ex-minister also resigned last year when a no-confidence motion was imminent. (or so they say) I hope that the current minister who is about to face similar fate will not repeat history. Politicians need BALLS. Going home shaking, peeing in pants, like a timid !@#$ is not going to impress the opposition. Let that loose tongue do its job. The press will be there to bring us the drama, after all pen is mightier than the sword.
-Desperate for Presidency.
Posted by President Hopeful | July 21, 2008 4:30 PM
Posted on July 21, 2008 16:30
we still hear and see sign of more resignation. and reasons too... with the immediate cabinet, the co-ordination link is missing, and when coordination is less, most of the things work out of path... its with in 24 hrs of the notice from PResidents office (indicating a cabinet decission to stop independent events,) Home ministry made its decission that the event will go....
If such minr things are not co-ordinated, imagine the affect on major events.
Posted by ibu | July 21, 2008 5:17 PM
Posted on July 21, 2008 17:17
Well isn't this a repetition of the 'New Maldives' resignations in 2007, led by Hassan Saaed. Obviously Gasim has resigned not because of anything other than that he has not obtained a clear public endorsement from the President that he will be the president's running mate! Would he have obtained it if he stayed on is debatable, but the fact is that he was (like Hassan Saeed & Co.) too timid to wait and take a gamble on it. So instead it was "endorse me as your 'No. 2' now, or I jump over the fence to the other side (where I came from initially and constantly have kept my one foot in all this time)..!". This is the reality of most politicians and leaders nowadays, and which (political) side they are on has less to do with ideals and more or all to do with what they personally want (and their ultimate failure to get it). Examples are many: Munawwar, Zaki, Hassan Saeed, Shaheed, Jameel, and now Gasim, Shaugee and Jaleel. All of them ex-Ministers (some long-serving), and all of them enlightened 'reformists' now (after they were fired, or resigned). So are we that stupid and naive to beleive and accept that all of them are now "democratic", "liberal", and "reformist" etc when they suddently changed their colours before I could utter these words...? Are we really to believe that the Government that they worked for, defended', and promoted just yesterday is all bad, no good, bla bla bla, just like that..? Give us a break. Most people are far smarter than what these shallow politicians think, and hence the reason why still, as an obvious example, 'New Maldives' is composed of only '2 and a half' persons, and no more etc. And Ibra's fall from grace from the 'divine' MDP saw him struggle to get a political party registered for more than 2 years because he failed to get the required numbers etc. Munawar n Reeko (dog) Moosa dismally failed in their own MDP primaries recently (and lo and behold, accused Anni, the bastion of 'democracy' in Maldives, of election fraud..!!! What ???)... hehe. Who are these people really kidding..?? Themselves is the answer, and a small loose band of militant supporters..!
Anyway, change is a good thing, and the recent change in cabinet is rather good than bad: young new blood has again come up through the ranks, and easily replaced people who have thought of themselves (quite foolishly) as 'demi-gods'. We just wonder when these self-styled 'democrats' will realise how big jokers they really are or have become. All of us are entitled to our own 'opinions', but are not entitled to our own 'facts', as a US statesman said. And the facts speak for themselves. Look at what the Government is doing and has done for the past 3 years, and look at what the 'sorry excuse for an' opposition has done during the same time. This is the reason why still the majority supports the Government, with whatever its problems, failings and mistakes have been (which any Government anywhere will always have). At the end of the day, the difference (between the Government and the Opposition) is like chalk and cheese!
Posted by DRP Rules! | July 23, 2008 5:22 PM
Posted on July 23, 2008 17:22