Abdul Raheem: Yameen is ‘lazy’; it was our efforts that got him elected

Former Maldivian president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom got elected to office not through his own efforts, but through the efforts of others, says Abdul Raheem Abdulla, the speaker of Parliament and chairperson of the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC).

In an interview to SanguTV on Tuesday evening, Abdul Raheem, who was once one of Yameen’s closest aides, criticized the former Maldivian leader.

Abdul Raheem said that Yameen got elected to office in 2013 through the efforts of others, and can claim no credit of his own.

He said that Yameen had been unpopular, and called him “lazy.”

“We got him a political platform through our efforts. It was our efforts that put him in office,” he said.

Abdul Raheem said that it had been individuals like he himself, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim and Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer who helped Yameen when he had trouble boosting the membership at his former party, People’s Alliance (PA), to 3,000 – the minimum membership requirement for political parties.

He said that Yameen had “wronged” all his former allies.

He alleged that Yameen was also struggling to meet the membership requirement at his new party, the People’s National Front (PNF) – a party he founded after leaving the top leadership position of the ruling coalition, shortly after it took office.

Abdul Raheem described Yameen as “power hungry” and the “most disgraced figure” in the country’s political arena.

“I realized that day that this country means nothing to President Yameen. That the party means nothing to him. That the people mean nothing to him. The only thing that matters to President Yameen is himself,” he said.

Abdul Raheem said that Yameen had wronged President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu back when he served as the housing minister in his cabinet. He alleged that Yameen attempted to have President Muizzu removed from his cabinet thrice, but gave up following opposition from those around him.

Abdul Raheem said that Yameen had “never liked President Muizzu.”

“I thought Yameen as very smart in the past. But now, I think about how ignorant he is. Yameen is completely politically ignorant,” he said.

Abdul Raheem had once been one of Yameen’s closest aides, serving as the now-ruling coalition’s interim leader when the former Maldivian leader was imprisoned during the last administration. However, relations between them grew strained after Abdul Raheem opposed Yameen’s instructions to boycott the 2023 presidential elections after he was disqualified as a candidate due to his conviction – which was overturned earlier this year. After his initial opposition, Yameen later endorsed President Muizzu’s candidacy, but later left the coalition claiming he was being deliberately sidelined.

Both Yameen and Abdul Raheem have been engaged in a war of words since.