‘A failed state’: Jameel slams lack of integrity in Maldives’ leadership

Former Vice President Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed says the Maldives is showing more and more signs of a “failed state”, adding that the blame for this lies in the lack of people with integrity in the upper echelons of the state.

In an episode of Sun’s ‘Editaruge Suvaalu’, which aired on Friday, Jameel said that while people in top state positions may be educated, they lack integrity.

He accused them of putting personal agendas before public interest – which he named as the biggest obstacle to enforcing laws, regulations and policies.

“[Judiciary] is a field I had high hopes for and a field I did expensive work in. Never did I expect things to reach this level… What we are seeing when we take a look at the many similar occurrences that have been happening is the signs of a failed state,” he said.

Less than two years into the administration, multiple top state officials have been hit with serious allegations of corruption and influence. This includes in the recent case of a 21-year-old woman who was found seriously injured on the rooftop of a warehouse in Male’ on April 18. The persons of interest in the case have family connections to influential figures, including a cabinet minister and a diplomat.

Following mounting public outrage over allegations of a police coverup in the case, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said on Thursday that there will be no discrimination based on status, lineage, position, wealth, family, friendship or politics in upholding the rule of law.

But Jameel believes this to be mere lip-service. He said that he has yet to see President Muizzu actually practice this.

Jameel said that the policies that President Muizzu has been enforcing is the root cause of many of the present challenges the country faces.

He called President Muizzu’s administration as one that has been the most openly engaged in wrongdoing in Maldivian history.

 “For example, he tells the people what he hires only the most capable, suitable and educated people for positions. But his intention is different. The fact of the matter is he is appointing people who will help in looting the state in an organized manner. All this is not happening without his knowledge,” he said.

The case of the young woman who fell from a Male’ building and spent nearly three hours on the rooftop of a neighboring warehouse before she was rescued has sparked serial protests in Male’. The protestors, a vast majority of them young men and women, have been demanding justice for the woman, and the resignation of top government and police officials over the alleged coverup.

The administration has also been hit with allegations of judicial interference, including from the United Nations and the Human Rights Watch, over the suspension of three sitting Supreme Court justices who had been hearing a case challenging the controversial move by the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) – who hold a supermajority in the Parliament - to write anti-defection clauses into the Maldivian constitution.