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Member of Parliament for Laamu Gan Constituency Mr. Fayyaz Ismail . Photo by: Majlis Website
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Following is an exclusive interview given to Adam
Mohamed of Adamington Online by the Member of Parliament for Laamu Gan
Constituency Mr. Fayyaz Ismail, via an email after a Direct Message (DM) session of Twitter. This is the second exclusive interview given to
Adamington Online via a sitting member from the 18th
parliament of Maldives.
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Adam Mohamed: What did you
hope to achieve getting elected to the Parliament of Maldives and why are you
in politics?
Mr. Fayyaz Ismail: I have always been interested in politics and governance. I believe
that in order to achieve or influence the society towards a community and
morals that I believe in, you have to actively engage in politics. This is
especially acute given that we did not have a democratic system until recently
and is now again in decline and in all reality worse then what it was 8 years
ago. I have always prided myself on being a very fair minded person and believe
that striving for a just society is a god given right for each and every human
being.
In running for office, although I have always had the interest I
was prodded to do so with the advent of the coup of 7th February
2012 and the resultant attack on basic democratic principles and the rolling
back of fundamentals and human rights explicitly granted and enshrined in our
constitution. In addition I perceived that this would continue to reach
alarming levels whereby all the hard won democratic mechanism by Maldivians
would be dismantled and would ultimately lead to civil strife. Reason being
after experiencing the freedoms under the new constitution, Maldivians would be
reluctant to give it up. The unrelenting forces of dictatorship would
ultimately clash with freedom seekers and would lead to inevitable clashes. I
had hoped that by entering the parliament I could make a difference to regain
the rights enshrined in the constitution and avoid a failed state. Unfortunately
we have yet been unable to stop the decline inside parliament, but the platform
does allow me to have a wider audience.
Adam Mohamed: Do you think
any special attention should be paid to the opinion of religious leaders over
the political matters of a nation? If so, why do you believe so and under what circumstances?
Mr. Fayyaz Ismail: As a believer in Islam, I believe that it is essential that we take
heed of the principles enshrined in the Quran. I personally believe that most
of the fundamental rights that are universally accepted today are protected in
Islam. However I have grave reservations in entrusting in an institutional
manner the opinion of so called religious leaders. In my opinion the religious
leaders have failed to have an unbiased opinion and over time for personal
interest compromised their integrity. At least this perception is rampant
whether true or false. It is imperative that they address this issue and regain
trust and are seen to uphold Islamic values in their sermons and not political
sermons favoring the government.
Adam Mohamed: Which
economic sectors do you see as most important for the future of this country
and do you believe the economic policy of the current government is for the
betterment of this nation?
Mr. Fayyaz Ismail: In order to
have a robust vibrant economy, I believe that the micro, small and medium
enterprises are essential for the well being of an economy and society. For the
foreseeable future I see tourism playing a significantly disproportionate role
in our economy. An area that needs to be considered is the local tourism sector
which will create jobs and inflow of money into local communities and SMEs.
However I believe we need to diversify the economy. One important and
achievable sector is agriculture. We can reduce our imports drastically and
retain much needed foreign currency at the same time improving the lot of local
populations. In addition agriculture surprisingly holds much potential for
exports for niche markets. What we need is a well thought out forward looking
visionary plan with actual intentions and strongly backed by the government.
Unfortunately I
don’t see any significant policy of the government in practical terms in terms
of economic policy. If you believe that increasing infrastructure capacity is
economic policy, then the governments announcements seems to point towards some
reasonable achievements in terms of numbers of infrastructure capacity. However
from the little information available, I believe that the cost of these
projects are mind-boggling and unjustifiable and suggesting corruption and
ultimately negative for the future generations with huge debt repayments. For
example even if you take the 140m USD and 145 million USD cost for two 25 story
buildings in Male for the Finance Ministry building and IGMH, it is completely and utterly unjustifiable in terms
of the price. The same could be done for a fraction of the stated costs. The
architectural fees alone for one of these projects are stated to be USD 27 million. I
can with great confidence tell you that this can go into the Guinness world
record book. In terms of opportunity cost too it is not justifiable. Rather
than spend 140 m to upgrade IGMH (building only not medical facilities) we
could build 4 fully equipped regional level hospitals in four areas in
Maldives. This would at the very least if not commercially feasible provide
access to much needed health care facilities of a reasonable standard to the
citizens. The same applies in terms of the Hulhumale bridge, although such a
connection would I believe be beneficial in the long term, this is currently
not a priority. If we had the means to spend on this without compromising on
much needed regional development then by all means it is fine. But this
unfortunately is not the case. This money could be used to develop much needed
housing and educational facilities in the atolls. This bridge if at all should
be less of a priority and the country should not be laden with huge debt for
this.
Adam Mohamed: Do you believe
democracy and civil rights as a universal value? If you do, why do you believe
so?
Mr. Fayyaz Ismail: I do. Democracy
although is not a perfect system, it is the best possible system where people
do have a say in their affairs at the same time being guaranteed certain basic
rights. There is no other which guarantees these rights and redress is
available. As stated earlier, I believe is a god given right for every person
to be justly and fairly dealt with. In a democracy although there will be
abuse, the possibilities of redress is more assured than not. At the very least
people will be able to freely voice out grievances and injustice.
Adam Mohamed: Do you support
police to stop and search innocent people without having a reasonable cause?
What is your opinion on this matter as a law maker?
Mr. Fayyaz Ismail: No. I believe
that the state must not be intrusive. However at the same time a balance has to
be created where police or security services have a means to attend to imminent
danger to individuals and society. The problem is the high chances of abuse of
such allowances even in democracies. I believe that on an international scale
the powers and awe conferred on security forces needs to be re-evaluated for
the continued evolution of human society towards a more equal and just society.
Thus this is more acute in an undemocratic nation such as the Maldives where
all separation of powers and checks and balances has been compromised
completely and utterly.
Adam Mohamed: In
your opinion, under the current regime are the institutions of governance of
this country effectively guaranteeing the right to health, adequate housing,
sufficient food, quality education, fair justice and personal security?
Mr. Fayyaz Ismail: A very clear
No. Although my opinion may be biased, I don’t see any significant improvements
in the right to health and education. Of course there are improvements in the
health sector such as a cardiac unit and treatments of certain cancers at IGMH.
Isn’t it pathetic and sad when a government has to celebrate the establishment
of a cardiac unit in this day and age? Is this what the people aspire there
governments to do? My argument is this is nowhere near what the people deserve
and that we can improve our health and education sector to reach regional
levels within the resources that we do have. The misuse and rampant deep rooted
institutionalized corruption in the Government and the State effectively
ensures that the people are deprived of such essential services.
When you speak
of Aasandha, there is no equality in the provision of its services. Although
many people do benefit, it is incomplete and much of its service is politicized
and perception is that only ruling party members or sympathizers are able to
access it. This is very sad and should not be politicized.
On the matter
of food, I believe that the people currently do have access to reasonable food
sources. Fortunately we have never had the kind of abject poverty that exists
in the region. However the rapid increase in the gap between the poor and the
rich is cause for serious concern.
The quality of
education is currently dismal and rapidly declining. Unless we urgently take
measures our future generations will be gravely affected and the gap between
the poor and the rich will widen immensely.
Affordable
housing has always been acute. However since 2008 when the MDP government brought
this issue out as a major concern, this issue is being addressed by all the
governments but significantly more needs to be done and that is what I am
saying in terms of priority, bridge with huge national debt is not what we need
at the moment, but Housing, Education and Heath even with significant debt if
so required.
I don’t really
have anything more to add to the matter of fair justice in the Maldives. There
is virtually no justice in the Maldives. The President is fond of speaking
about Singapore as a model. What he doesn’t know or doesn’t care about is that
Singapore has a vibrant, evolving justice system where majority of the people
and investors have great confidence in the dispensation of justice. Although
there are concerns in cases involving politics, Singaporeans do not seem to
have major issues with the justice system when it comes to personal affairs,
business affairs and protection of their wealth from the state. That is
unfortunately not the case in the Maldives. There is no guarantee at all what a
judge may do even in commercial disputes or personal disputes based on facts.
If a case is against the state it is virtually guaranteed that a judge will not
rule against the state.
The
current democratic deficit and rapid rolling back of democracy is a direct and
continuing result of the Judiciary’s and specifically the Supreme Court’s deliberate
misinterpretation of the Constitution allowing for a sort of triumvirate rule
by the President, Supreme Court and the ruling party via their majority in Parliament.
Unfortunately
I foresee turbulent times with an unrelenting state inching closer to complete
dictatorship at a rapid pace. This is compounded with the fact that the current
regime in addition to being undemocratic has institutionalized corruption at a
state level and its policies are incoherent, unintelligent and unfeasible.
There does not seem to be any genuine intention to address the lack of the rule
of law and democratic principles and thus will ultimately lead to continued
clashes between a highly aware progressive forward looking citizenry and a
dictatorial state.
Note: Mr. Fayyaz Ismail holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Middlesex
University, London (UK). He is a member
of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) who is currently the sitting Member of
the 18th Parliament for Laamu Gan Constituency
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