Island Chic’s Babble

The cabinet of President Elect of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) was announced on Sunday. Mr. Nasheed is to be sworn in as the fourth President of Maldives on 11 November.

The new cabinet includes 14 cabinet posts, which has been downsized from the previous total of 21. Some of the previous Ministries like the Ministry of Planning & National Development, Ministry of Atolls Development, Ministry of Construction and Public Infrastructure, Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water, Ministry of Higher Education, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Gender and Family and Ministry of Information, Arts and Culture has been either completely dissolved or their responsibilities combined into other Ministries in the new Cabinet.

1. Minister of Finance and Treasury – Ali Hashim (MDP)
2. Minister of Health and Family – Dr. Aminath Jameel (MDP)
3. Minister of Defence and National Security – Amin Faisal (MDP)
4. Minister of Housing Transport and Environment – Mohamed Aslam (MDP)
5. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries – Dr. Ibrahim Didi (MDP)
6. Minister of Home Affairs – Gasim Ibrahim (Jumhoory Party)
7. Minister of Tourism – Ahmed Ali Sawaad (Jumhoory Party)
8. Attorney General – Fathmath Dhiyana Saeed (Jumhoory Party)
9. Minister of Education – Dr. Musthafa Luthufee (National Alliance)
10. Minister of Economic Development – Mohamed Rasheed (National Alliance)
11. Minister of Foreign Affairs – Dr. Ahmed Shaheed (New Maldives Movement)
12. Minister of Civil Aviation and Communication – Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed (New Maldives Movement)
13. Minister of Human Resources, Youth and Sports – Uz. Hassan Latheef (Social Liberal Party)
14. Minister of Islamic Affairs – Dr. Abdul Majeed Abdul Baaree (Adhaalath Party)

Under the new constitution, the positions require endorsement by the Parliament (People’s Majlis).This will be a justification process to ensure the relevancy and capability of the chosen members for the Cabinet, considering that there has been numerous criticisms over some of the choices.

During the Press Conference to announce the Cabinet, President Elect Mohamed Nasheed’s Spokesperson, Mr. Ibrahim Hussein Zaki brushed off questions about the relevant experience of some of the new post-holders by saying that these choices are purely political. According to Mr. Zaki, “The highest position in the civil service is permanent secretary. In this constitution political positions will be filled by politicians. They need not be experts in their respective fields.”

However, one cannot fail to notice the fact that Many Doctorates in the Cabinet have been trained and education in fields completely irrelevant to their assigned portfolios with a significant example of a practicing Dentist who will be the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. With all due respect to the capability and qualifications of the proposed Ministers, I’d have to say that the best way for these capable few members of the society can contribute to the development and progress of our beloved country, is for them to be able to formulate policies relevant to what they understand best and what they are best at. Political or otherwise, it is an important factor for the new Government to consider while making decisions, the consequences of which may affect the whole country’s populace.

Moreover, the move to fewer Ministries by downsizing the current Cabinet is a smart move is many aspects, especially in terms of economic efficiency. However, downsizing for the sake of cutting down numbers will not do us any good, if there is no smooth transition of responsibilities and division of tasks within the Ministries and proper channels of information to the public as to what changes have occurred and where they must expect which to get done. Also, the elimination or dissolution of the Ministry merely gets rid of the physical institution, while the responsibilities are far from elimination.

All in all, I am proud of the genuine efforts by our new Government to bring positive change to a country which is in serious need of such efforts. I only hope it gets better from here.

Congratulations to the proposed members of the new Cabinet!

Just like the Hindi movie Chak De India I posted about recently, Amir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par was not the mainstream Bollywood movie that leaves you just with the warm fuzzy feeling after the movie. It gives you more! I watched Taare Zameen Par last night and cried myself to dehydration! It was by far one of the most sensitive, enlightening and silently powerful movies I’ve ever seen. My tears weren’t caused by just what I saw in the movie. It was also the sentiments the movie brought with it. Having seen the sufferings of children in many parts of the world especially during my travels in India, this movie really struck a chord deep within. It reminded me of how ignorant we are of the way our actions may compromise the destiny of innocent beings, who may have no control whatsoever over the things that define them.

Taare Zameen Par was not merely entertaining but also enlightening. It was a sensitive story brought live to the audience brilliantly. After it has won several awards in India, Taare Zameen Par has now been selected as India’s entry for the Oscar 2009 in the best foreign film category.

Taare Zameen Par is produced and directed by Amir Khan and he also acts in the movie though the main focus of the story is on an eight year old dyslexic kid. Here’s a short version of the story as recited in Taare Zameen Par’s official website.

“Ishaan Awasthi [Darsheel Safary] is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class.

When he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, he is packed off to a boarding school to ‘be disciplined’. Things are no different at his new school and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family.

One day a new art teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh [Aamir Khan], who infects the students with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of ‘how things are done’ by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan.

Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is very unhappy and he sets out to discover why. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.”

Taare Zameen Par forces us to understand a child’s mind and gives us a strong message not to compromise the unique and untapped talent of each child in our pursuit of academic excellence and what we think is better for the child.

It is definitely a must watch which will make you re-think the way you look at life and what it expects of you… and well done Amir Khan for the enlightenment you brought to many!

Recently, at a dinner a friend asked me “so is Maldives really sinking? What will happen to you guys if it really is sinking?”

I answered saying that we might all have to be relocated or we will be forced to build walls around us and so on. Another friend at the same table answered saying that if it really is sinking then we’ll start building more underwater restaurants and our tourism will boom!

I guess I really am a pessimist! I have always wondered and never could decide which is better, going about life looking at the silver lining and breaking down if the unexpected happens or trusting Murphy’s Law and spoiling all the fun but be prepared for the worst moments by expecting it? I truly don’t know.

Like I said, there are two types of people. The so-called happy people who look at the positive side of everything in life but never expect that things could ever go wrong. These are the ones who break down and never get out of depression when they lose something. These are the ones who are unprepared for the harsh reality of life. These are the ones who can never get over the husband who cheated because they never expected it, find themselves bankrupt because they never saved a single cent assuming they’ll never be jobless or go bankrupt on business because they made the investment assuming that nothing will go wrong.

The other type is the worry warts. They go through with life expecting an earthquake every day, thinking their husband is always cheating or never enjoying an expensive meal because they are worry about economic downturns. They never enjoy the journey of life because they are too busy preparing themselves for what disasters Murphy might have planned for them. BUT they are the ones with a back-up plan. They will have enough savings, will not break down and fall apart if the husband leaves and will have a safe basement for earthquakes!

To be honest, none of it works. Being completely positive in life and never expecting anything negative cannot prepare you or make you strong enough to face any hardships you might face. It will only break you down if the unexpected happens. Also, being completely negative as to expect the worst out of every situation will just make you an unhappy person who can never experience the little joys of life, regardless of the fact that you are prepared for the bigger blows.

So you decide who you are or who you want to be, a pessimist an optimist or a reasonable balance between the two?

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…

Maldives has turned a stepping stone in the country’s aviation industry by allowing Asian Academy of Aeronautics (AAA) to establish a Pilot Training School in the South Island of Gan.

The Company partly owned by another company registered in the British Virgin Islands jointly with an Indian residing in Sri Lanka, has its facilities in Europe and Sri Lanka.

According to the Maldives’ Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, AAA was given the license after careful research into the matter and on certain conditions. Conditions include that 3% of the company’s total income or a huge amount from 15% of the company’s profit should be paid to the Maldivian government as royalty and 25% of admissions to the classes must be Maldivian.

The School which is expected to commence with full capacity after administrative and technical arrangements are completed, is a promising aspect for the Maldives’ Aviation industry. It will provide pilot training to Maldivian students at about 35% less cost and guarantee a particular number of seats every year. This will reduce the number of foreign pilots in the Maldives and increase our capacity to be more self sufficient.

According to AAA’s consultant in the Maldives, the company has been having some problems in Sri Lanka and moving to the Maldives will be a beneficial move for its future considering that there is a relatively high demand for pilot training schools in the region. Currently Maldives has 50 students abroad being trained to be pilots in flying schools abroad and there are about 700 students interested in doing the course from India every year.

The best way to organise, edit, create & share your photos and videos! Picasa 3.0 Beta is now no longer a beta version.

Download Picasa 3.0 here!

It is the the best application to:

• Manage your photos in one place, and find photos you forgot you had edit
• Eliminate scratches & blemishes, fix red-eye, crop and more create
• Turn photos into movies, collages, slideshows and moreshare
• Upload seamlessly to Picasa Web Albums to share with friends, family & the world

Now that Maldives has voted for change and we are all going to have a flavor of ‘difference’ in the way the country is governed, we must all brace ourselves for what will hit us in the near future.

From what we have all heard since the elections, it seems that the new government will be based on principles of modern governance where the role of government is minimized – i.e. the new government will shrink its present size. Hence serious downsizing activities starting from island offices to regulating bodies to government ministries and Maldivian missions abroad is expected.

Now, my worry isn’t the act of downsizing in itself. In fact I agree completely with a small government and more privatization. This will definitely help reduce government expenditures and hence allow for a more developed private sector, which in turn may increase the general prosperity levels of our people. But….nothing is guaranteed unless the process is carried out with much thought and wise decision making.

As favorable as downsizing seem, the rehabilitation and addressing the needs of the people who may suddenly face unexpected changes in their lives which has been the same way for the last two or so decades will be much necessary. Unless this is addressed downsizing the government will not only fail to bring about favorable results, it will end up increasing the expenses of the government. Let me explain how.

Relative to the working population of Maldives, it has an unusually big government and government control is excessive. Private sector is heavily regulated and our bureaucracy is pretty much inefficient, save for a few processes. The new government’s decision to cut down on government expenditure and inject that money into other areas of development seems like a great idea. BUT… more importantly the new government must look for a way to rehabilitate the ones who will suddenly find themselves jobless. There has to be a way to train them, teach them life skills, facilitate private sector jobs for them etc. Otherwise, whichever plan that they come up with in order to help the people who leave will only eat into our social security budget.

Another possibility is that the government just downsize without any consideration for the people who are going to leave. This will not only aggravate anti-governmental sentiments, but also create much bigger social problems than we’d have assumed.

Either way, I hope that the new government will seriously consider both sides of the decision, before blindly following a particular style of governance just because it is a good idea in principle. Maldives is unique not only because of its size, but also because of our way of life. So all benefits and costs of downsizing the government, how fast it should be done, to what extent and which institutions etc must be decided only after careful consideration. Otherwise it just might do the opposite of what it’s supposed to do.

Maldivian opposition leader Mr. Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) has won a run-off election held yesterday to become the new president of the Maldives, after beating Asia’s longest serving leader, Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

In the Maldives’ first democratic presidential elections, President Gayoom won the first round earlier this month, but failed to secure the minimum majority of 50% needed to become president.

According to official preliminary results announced by the Elections Commission, Mr Nasheed has won 97222 votes (54.21% of valid votes) and Mr. Gayoom has won 82121 votes (45.79% of valid votes) from 85.68% of the total voting population in the Maldives.

President Gayoom, 71, has ruled the Maldives uncontested since 1978, elected back into office six times by referendums.

Maldives has come a long way towards true democracy today, to reach multi-party elections, a new constitution and more public participation in decision making. The election yesterday was the pinnacle of numerous reforms that followed street pro-democracy protests, some amount of violence and international pressure.

It is good to see that the Maldivian people have voted for ‘change’. However what is more important now is to see if the change we voted for is indeed positive. We are bracing ourselves for the ‘Other Maldives’ to bring its people progress, peace and prosperity! Congratulations our new president!