It’s extremely easy for us human beings to criticize what other people do, point out what they are doing wrong and blame them for the things that go wrong. Maldives’ past presidency has been something of an example for what I just said.

Even though we didn’t have complete freedom of speech in the beginning, recent few years have seen pretty much a free media (though not institutionalized), especially the internet. We have seen an array of criticism at almost any policy that President Gayoom has implemented or tried to implement.

I agree that there is justification for this to some extent, as the Maldives do have scores of problems, without serious remedial action those could lead the country to a never ending state of doom. We have transport problems, housing problems, education problems, health problems, human resource problems, drug problems, environmental problems and so on.

We also have a lot of good things going for us. We have an exemplary tourism industry, we have a relatively good primary education system, we have an excellent communication network, we have created brilliant students in many fields of education especially in IT related fields, for a long period we have had a remarkable level of peace and harmony among our people. Anyway, I’d rather not gloat in the so-called positive achievements in our past. I’m more interested in drawing attention to what needs to be improved.

Like I said, it’s always easier to blame someone than suggest ways for them to improve things. So the only way that the accusations and blaming by the critiques of the former government can be justified, is to see the current government do it better this time. For them to genuinely implement sound policies to solve the major political, economic and social issues embedded in our system which has been hindering our growth for years. This means that the new government shouldn’t let history repeat itself.

If they thought the former was a dictatorship, they must introduce more democratic principles of governance. If they thought the former was corrupt, they should eliminate sources of corruption and take action against the culprits who are corrupt. If they think that our justice system does not work, they must create a system that works, if they think the president was given too many powers, they must give up those powers. They must look for a better housing solution, put in place a comprehensive health scheme, strengthen the role of civil service, cut down government expenses, develop our private sector, create a cross-island transportation system, improve our fisheries sector, reduce and rehabilitate drug users successfully, engage the idle youth in productive economic activities and bring about social cohesion within our cross- island community.

Mind you, it is no easy task to do all this with the limited financial and human resources that Maldives has. BUT if you can tell someone that you are doing it wrong and blame them for doing it wrong, you must be able to fix it or at least do it better.

The Maldivian populace has voted for change, for improvement, for better and healthier lives for us and the generations to come. Our hopes are with the new government and we are counting on you…

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