IT officer suspended over ‘suspicious’ Broadcom server glitch

Maldives Broadcasting Commission (Broadcom)’s IT officer Ahmed Fazeel has been suspended over questions surrounding unexpected issued with the commission’s server that arose Wednesday.

The commission had sought the assistance of police in resolving the issue.

A police spokesperson confirmed that digital data technicians from the police had gone to the commission’s office in Male’ on Wednesday to provide support in resolving the issue on Wednesday. But the police stressed it wasn’t part of a criminal investigation.

However, Sun has been informed the police examination uncovered suspicious activities. The commission decided to place Fazeel under seven-day administrative suspension effective Thursday.

The serve glitch comes amid internal turmoil within the Broadcom, with over a dozen staff members accusing the commission’s president Safa Shafeeq and several other commissioners of being emotionally abusive towards the commission’s staff members and preventing them from executing their duties.

North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu) submitted a petition over the issue to the Parliament on Sunday, signed by 18 of the commission’s staffers.

On Tuesday, the commission suspended secretary-general Mariyam Zeeniya, citing derelict of duties mandated under Broadcom Act and in the administration of the commission, and failure to respect the commission’s decisions or cooperate in implementing the decisions.

Several staff members staged a walkout on Wednesday, in protest of the decision.

When questioned about the situation, Safa told Sun that she and other commissioners had been working closely with the staffers, and were always attentive to their concerns.

She also said that staffers had not raised the concerns cited in the petition with the commissioners themselves.