Ahmed Naseem, minister of state for foreign affairs, the Maldives, tells KS Manjunath how democracy is taking new roots in his country.
How is the democratic process in the Maldives progressing?
A process of decentralisation and giving more powers to the islands has begun. The islands, or atolls, have been divided into seven regions based on their population, geography and development needs. Soon, local elections will be held in each of these regions.
Isn’t uneven development across the islands a problem?
There’s no development in any of the islands as Male has been the focus all along. As a result, Male has become a slum since there’s a large floating population migrating from other islands due to lack of job availability there. The mainstay of the Maldives’ economy are fisheries and tourism. Both these sectors have taken a beating of late, thus making matters worse.
Tell us more about the decentralisation process...
Decentralisation has become the main focus of the government. The centre of power has to shift from from Male to the islands. President Mohamed Nasheed will appoint political appointees, or governors, to these islands. The seven regions will have a fair amount of say in their day-to-day affairs such as rules and regulations, corp cultivation, commerce, etc.
The idea is to devolve power to each region so that they have access to the same services that are available in Male. Apart from improving services and commerce between the islands, this will also reduce the floating population number — between 20,000 and 25,000 — in Male, which is already densely populated.
The housing problem is so acute that people sleep in shifts in one-room tenements. This also leads to social problems like child abuse, health problems, drug abuse, etc. The fabric of regular family life has been destroyed due to acute shortage of housing. This has resulted in 30 per cent youths using drugs. The Maldives is seeking India’s help for rehabilitation of drug users and addicts. Health ministry officials have visited Bangalore and Chennai in this regard. The issue of rising drug use was raised in the 1980s by the then health minister Mustafa Hussein. But successive health ministers did not pay adequate attention to the problem.
What is being done on transport and basic infrastructure fronts?
Transport companies have been formed in each of the newly-formed regions. A complete network has been worked out and the government is seeking partners – both local and overseas — to strengthen it. The Confederation of Indian Industries and many Indian entrepreneurs have evinced an interest in being a part of it.
Now, there’s a plan to provide transport services as early as April-May 2009.
The Maldives is the only country in the world that doesn’t have a public transport system. For example, transport rates are so high that to get to a regional hospital from an island costs Rs 2,000. Now, the government is getting the islanders involved in self-governance. An efficient local transport system will facilitate sale of perishable goods produced on the islands. Therefore, the economy will improve with a well-networked transport system. The pace at which things move has changed so fast since President Mohamed Nasheed took over.
How do you see the democratic transfer of power from Gayoom to Nasheed?
The Maldives is proud of the recent transfer of power. Gayoom will be given the respect he deserves, considering that he ruled for 30 years. Also, Gayoom is not creating trouble for the president now. In his defence, the Maldives did relatively well under Gayoom’s rule. This is because he did not interfere with the business class. However, the nepotism during his rule benefited a few people — less than 5 per cent of the population accumulated wealth. They could not be taxed and the poor suffered as they did not get even basic services.
When migration became a major issue, Gayoom could not address the housing problem and provide services in the islands.
Now that the Maldives has a democratic structure in place, checks and balances in the system will ensure that the citizens’ issues are addressed on a war-footing. Also, democratic set-up allows for greater civil society participation. Earlier, NGOs were not allowed to function. Schools didn’t have civics classes, and hence, leaders could not be groomed. This is not the case now.
How serious is the issue of Islamic fundamentalism for the goverment?
The Maldives, like the rest of the world, also faces this threat. The best solution is education and democracy. In this regard, India is a role model.
India must institute educational scholarships so that Maldivian children can visit India and imbibe its democratic principles. The Maldives could embrace democracy because some of its citizens were educated abroad and brought back the best ideas and practices of democracy worldwide.
There are 54 madrasas in the country but their character is unlike what it has been generally come to be associated with. But funding to these institutions must be kept under check.
What is worrying though is that the Mumbai attackers used the sea route. President Nasheed has already highlighted this issue on every occasion.
The Maldives has a large fishing fleet. There are around 15,000 Maldivian vessels on sea at any given moment and they are a huge asset. They can also double up as patrol boats. These boats need technological inputs like satellite communication and equipment. Maybe intelligence inputs by neighbouring countries can be used to monitor the sea routes.
Since India has advanced communication technology, the region as a whole, maybe through Saarc, can look into the issue of sharing information and help each other address the issue. Sri Lanka will be open to such an initiative. Their government has indicated this.
Does the Maldives have a problem with Sri Lanka over fishing in each other’s maritime boundaries?
Yes, it’s a huge problem. It’s a good idea to monitor two to three points along the sea route that are frequently used by fishing trawlers. A call-in system for fishermen to register themselves while they are in the area is an option that can be considered. Soon, there’ll be a discussion with Sri Lanka on this matter.
