Arif and Histo criticise President Waheed

Some MPs of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have heavily criticised President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik at today’s sitting of the parliament.

Speaking on the bill on amendments to the law on imposing Airport Service Charge (ADC) on passengers traveling through Maldivian airports, Vaikaradhoo MP Ali Arif said that President Waheed, while acting as the President of the Maldives, was using State funds to travel to the islands as part of his campaign for the upcoming Presidential Election.

“All the current government does is ridicule the parliament, carry out personal campaigns, and work towards obtaining the funds necessary to carry out those campaigns. We have received information that corrupt methods are sometimes employed to obtain those funds,” he said.

Continuing in this regard, Ali Arif said that the government was proceeding with the project involving Nexbis despite a court order to halt the project, and that President Waheed’s supporters are behind this operation.

He said that during the visits to the islands, President Waheed was making promises regarding construction of harbours in several islands, but those projects had not been included in the budget passed by the parliament.

“We MPs represent different constituencies, but we advocate protecting the rights of Maldivians. We are asking the government to address the needs of schools, the health sector, to improve the transport system, and do everything that’s not been done. Only after that can you make promises. The people’s basic needs must be addressed, regardless of who is in power. If the leader can’t do that, he should step down,” he said.

He said that President Waheed does not respect the parliament or the parties included in his coalition, and called on President Waheed to bear in mind that his party is not represented in the parliament.

Speaking at today’s parliament sitting, Shifag ‘Histo’ Mufeed said that the purpose of President Waheed’s government of submitting the bill on imposition of ADC, is to make money in whatever way possible.

He said that the new Constitution states that political parties should compete with one another to gain power, and that the Maldives currently has two lines of thought – the ideology of former President Gayoom’s PPM and the ideology of former President Nasheed’s MDP. He said that groups such as the Civil Society Coalition do not stand a chance in the current political scene in the Maldives.

He went on to say that PPM’s Presidential Candidate Abdullah Yameen will not fall into step beside President Waheed; and that given the current political situation, no one can come to power by forming coalitions as per the advice of Dr Hassan Saeed.

Shifag said that President Waheed has to obey the decisions of the parliament, and called on President Waheed’s supporters to stop mocking and challenging the parliament. He said that President Waheed must accept that the Maldives has only two lines of thought, which is a fact that cannot be changed.