• Buy a new oven/ cooker/ cake mixer
• Buy a new refrigerator
• Buy new pots/ pans/ plates
• Buy new recipe books
• Set aside money for daily watermelon and other unique and expensive foods
• Businesses import new and more luxurious goods
• Buy a new television to watch the interesting programs aired especially in Ramazan
• Television channels produce video songs, dramas and game shows to be aired only during Ramazan
• Plan entertaining ways to spend the day such as new video games and board games
• Download movies to watch
• Plan fun ways to spend the nights such as fishing trips or arrange to break the fast at a party on a safari boat miles away from any mosques

How about instead we:

• Buy new clothes to wear during prayer, new Namaadhu dholhi or Thaakiha
• Download religious programs to notify of prayer times, islamic lectures to listen to and videos to watch
• Buy a new hathim
• Make plans to go to all the prayers and to read Quran between the two evening prayers
• Learn new duas and supplications to make after praying
• Plan to watch only religious programs on TV channels and keep the TV off at all other times when they show dancing and other worldly entertainment
• Plan to do all the rakats of the tharaveeh prayer
• Learn to do the night prayer and do it every night

What else?

• Despite millions spent in the reclamation and development of Hulhumaale with the ruse that it will be a solution to the housing problem in Male’ the rent in Male’ keeps going up
• Due to printing of large amounts of currency by the Government, inflation in the country is on the rise
• Due to limitation of dollar sales by the banks, businesses are forced to buy dollars in the black market leading to rising prices of all imported goods
• The country and the world is still reeling under a global economic crisis

The Solution:

• Cut the salaries of all government employees without compensation or provision for reduction of apartment rents in Male’. And don’t even give a few months notice before hand so that the majority of middle class families living in the capital who pay over 50-80%% of their income to rent can plan for it by finding alternate sources of income. No, just nonchalantly announce that salaries will be reduces next month.

Haveeru News article on the announcement of reduction of salaries of civil servents

Infact now he’s out making posters on how disappointed he is with President Nasheed‘s so called ‘New Maldives’. I guess he should have listened to the 60% of the Maldivian population who did not want Nasheed in Office in the first place.

So now he finds that

The government is heavier at the top than before, basic rights of people are being denied, the Civil Service Commission is doing whatever it wants, and the president is too busy campaigning to win a majority at the Majlis, which is highly suspicious.

It is surprising that the current government is discouraging demonstrations and even allowing the Civil Service Commission and the Human Rights Commission to threaten those who protest. I hope that fear and demoralization of the public will not be the policy of this government.

Therefore in order to manage a house with these green energies we would have to change our lifestyles to consume less energy. We will have to learn to live without these luxuries that we have gotten used to. No more air conditionars for sure. No using the computer while someone else is watching TV. Want to use the waching machine or the microwave? Then swith off all the fans and lights in the house. 

Are we seriously to believe that Maldives as a country is prepared to make these sacrifices? Did the President even ask around if such a move will be generally accepted and adopted? Or are these sacrifices to be made just by people in the distant atolls and the capital Male’ going to be an exception as usual? Just like how he made big plans of making Maldivian schools teach in one session and then found out it’s not actually feasible so decided to do it in the other atolls and make Male’ an exception. When is Nasheed going to start thinking things through and doing some feasibility studies before opening his mouth.

Why is it that it’s the smaller or poorer countries that have to adopt these expensive and inefficient technologies to save the world while the bigger and richer countries who are actually doing the polluting can continue to use the old technologies? Shouldn’t it be them setting an example to us rather than the other way around?

Speaking of expense, I wonder if Nasheed has actually tried to balance the budget while spending an estimated $110 million a year on making this transition. And keep in mind that even while building the new infrastructure Maldives will still have to be powered using the current systems. I suppose he’s imagening that western countries are going to pour aid money into the project since it’s going to ‘save the world’. But in todays economic crisis when Maldives is having to cut down salaries of doctors to balance the budget, I wonder if we will get that aid. And if Nasheed isn’t even sure where he’s going to get the money, doesn’t this amount to making empty promises to win the upcoming parliamentary elections? Gasp! Isn’t that the same thing Maumoon used to do? Gasp! So what the hell is different in this New Maldives? It’s the same shit. Just different people.

In fact this pillar is so important that the administration had sidelined all the other pillars of a happy and successful family by making the women stay in office two to three hours more instead of being able to go home and spend time with their family. And anyone who says that a women can go home and make lunch and have it with her family in a one hour lunch break obviously has never actually had to make lunch in their lives. 

There is so much about this administration that’s fucked up that it’s hard to stay focused on one issue at a time. But let me get to the point I set out to make in the beginning. So to mark the Women’s Day these politicians came on TV and said their shit about how suportive they are of working women in the country. But when the hundeds of nurses at IGMH went to them begging for equal and fair treatment in their salary scheme, they were told to fuck off and quit and they were assured that if they quit, the administration can get better nurses. This is the actual level of importance this administration gives to working women in this country.

I think by definition an employee strike would involve some kind of public demand and an official acknowledgement that they are going on strike inoder to put pressure for their demands to be met. This has not been done in this case. And of course the whole thing has been turned into a real circus by the government and the doctors themselves, but more on that later.

Taking a look at the reactions on MVBlogs, Alidi who claims to have “unbiased thoughts” fails to realise that government has been anything but unbiased and fair to the doctors and nurses at IGMH. Here is my comment on that post:

“doctors are doing humanitarian work. Even not getting a penny, will get people and God love if assist with patients.” Can you show me one shop owner who will give these doctors a half kilo of rice for free every day as a token of appreciation for their so called Humanitarian work? Or do you think doctors are super humans who do not have to eat or pay rent or send their children to school?

Think about the nation first? Despite the whole world economy going into a recession the government is going around raising everyone’s salaries except doctors who actually got a pay cut. I am sure you would call that fair. Isn’t it our elected leaders who should first have the sense to run this country properly and practice fairness?

Everyone else gets pay rises but it’s just the doctors who have to get happiness by having no desire for happiness.

The only way to stop the Maldives budget from deteriorating is to cut the pay from doctors even while everyone else gets pay rises is it?

The doctors are not complaining about not getting a pay rise. They are complaining about them being treated unfairly. As we can see how much you can understand that concept from your one sided shallow appreciation of the situation.

If you can’t look at the reality or at least be fair and truthful in your analysis of things that are apparently beyond you, at least keep your thoughts to yourself.

The maldiveseconomist says that one doctor at least will be going home with a pay cut of Rf 3000. In fact some of the doctors will be deprived of upto Rf 6000 or more. I wish you would realise that the doctors and nurses are unhappy not because they want to get a pay rise but becuase they have been treated unfairly. And here we were all fooled into thinking that the new government is going to be more competent and fair to the people. It’s funny that on the TVM newscast they said that it’s the normal people who go to IGMH (aka patients) who have to suffer from this unfair action by the doctors. Aren’t doctors people too? What makes them abnormal or supernormal? Is it because they spent a decade of their lives studying while everyone else did not or is it because they have dedicated their professional lives to helping make other people’s lives healthier? Is this the gratitude we have to show to them; that they should get the same salary as someone who dropped out of grade 9?

In that case why should the ministers get a higher salary than the local garbageman? They both seem to have the same depth of knowledge and common sense from the shit that happens in the Parliament.

aliflaamgaaf thinks that the government should start telling the truth to the people. Hmm.. I do remember some bull shit rhetoric from MDP about their planned government having accountability and transparency. I guess in the 100 days of the news management we have taken a ferry back from the New Maldives to the Old Maldives cos we are getting fucked the same way as we were before.

If you’re still reading this I am glad there are still some people left on MVBlogs who have got the patience to read through a post that’s more than 50 words long. Just to finish off I have to touch on a recurring theme of mine; the stupid ass journalists. If the civil service officials are going to hold a news conference to talk about the doctors strike, why can’t one of you get some hard facts and ask some tough questions? Why can’t you go prepared with the facts and make the officials accountabel instead of being pussy pushovers and letting them turn the event into a sarcasmfest? If you take just two values:

1- The pay rise of a typical deputy director
2- The change in pay of a typical specialist doctor

And ask them to explain why the former got a rise of thousands and the latter got a pay cut of thousands, and ask them to explain the difference in treatment, maybe you can get some answers and do your part in this “supposed modern democracy” with a “supposed free press”. But as usual you were all drowsy after your heavy lunches.

And if only the doctors would give this hard information to the journalists so that maybe, hopefully they will raise this issue with a bit more force.

We as Maldivians and Muslims are collectively sympathizing with the people of Palestine in this time of crisis. We are collectively deploring the actions of Israel and looking on helplessly and in sorrow at all the lives lost. We are actively and aggressively forwarding links to news items on the net and emailing pictures of dead and wounded children to express our outrage.

Is there more we can do about this than merely cursing and raving against the Israeli? Is there more we can do than clicking a few times on the Forward button from the comforts of our air conditioned Offices and rooms?

Perhaps if we could suffer for a day without cigarettes and coffee breaks, we could send the money saved as a small donation towards the relief efforts being undertaken by the Red Cross organizations or the United Nations in Gaza.

And No, not having a Credit Card is no longer an excuse. The VISA Debit Card of the Bank Of Maldives would be enough. And if you don’t have the VISA Debit Card, and if you really want to take some action to help those suffering in this crisis, it’s not too late to get off your ass and go get it so that you can make the donation as soon as possible.

We push our parents to buy us toys and gadgets and luxury foods like Pizzas and burgers. Why not push them to make a small donation to Palestine? Why not get each one of your friends with a VISA Debit Card to make a small donation? Why not open a pool in the office and collect money?

When a country is in as a dire state as Palestine, even the smallest individual donation can make a huge difference. And if 5,000 of us sent just $10 per person, think of all the food and medical supplies that can be supplied to the people of Palestine.

You can donate directly to the Palestine Red Crescent Society; go here and follow instructions:
http://www.palestinercs.org/Donate_online.aspx

Make donations to the direct efforts of the United Nations in Gaza here:
http://www.un.org/unrwa/emergency/donation/emergency_activities.html

You can make donations to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement here:
http://donate.ifrc.org/

You can make donations to the American Red Cross here:
http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_subsrc=RCO_RedTab&s_src=DRF

Don’t forget to share and forward this to your friends so they can do their part in helping our brothers and sisters in Islam in Palestine.

May God shower his mercy and blessings on us all.

One such expression of support for the Presidential candidates was made though the SMSs that were curculated across the country. Perhaps it would be a good idea to document them for posterity.

• Ma. Kinbigasdhoshuge. K. Male
  Alhugaduge lobuvethi firimeehaa almarhoom maumoon abdul gayyoom vanee aausmin thakah aran ulhenikoh kahsaalaigen vehti aneh dhivehi raajje ah dhathuru kohfa eve.
  Veemaa eynaa ge mahchah dharanyeh nuvatha vasihyatheh vaanama 11 november 2008 dhuvahuge kurin spreem cortah mahsala husha elhuhvun edhemeve.
  Aailaage faraathun NASREENA IBRAHIM. M. Endherimaage

Unfortunately that is the only one I have right now. If you have any others please leave it as comment and I will add it to the post with a link to your blog.

Cheers.

But putting aside the social buildup of the Maldivian culture, and the dangers to children’s health of taking them to hospitals, there is another aspect of this habit. Another point of view. The patient’s perspective.

Let’s imagine a women who had just given birth or had a caesarean to have a baby. She’s lying there exhausted after a 12 hour labour. She’s got pain in her abdomen. She’s bleeding. She just wants to rest and recover. And in comes the hordes of relatives to congratulate her. They’re all smiling, laughing, cracking jokes. Of course the hospital tries to limit the number of people in the room by giving just 2 passes to the ward. But it’s no big secret how the system is cheated. Before long there are no less than 15 people in the room. With no space to sit some of them decide to sit on the patient’s bed. And since these people are there because they supposedly care, the patient is again culturally obliged to greet them, talk to them, and play her part in this act.

There is a reason that passes to the ward is limited to two or three. And although most people will find it hard to believe, it is in the best interest of the patient. Yes, IGMH doctors, nurses and administration do care about the welbeing of the patients. Hard to believe eh? I’m sure you don’t.

Next time you visit a new born baby think of all the germs you must be bringing into the room. Are you sure the child you are so joyfully taking to the hospital isn’t about to have a cold? Maybe the child is yet not symptomatic, but the germ can be transferred to the baby or patient. Are you sure old grandmother sufferring from a chest infection won’t suddenly cough onto your child’s face?

Won’t it be better both for yourself, the children that you expose and the patients themselves simply to give a call and convey your wishes or condolences? Won’t it be better to make your children draw up some greeting cards and send them to the new mother? Won’t that be special enough?

Think about it.

So why, they ask, didn’t the Maldivian government take the same route as Singapore? Surely then we would also be as economically and aesthetically developed as Singapore. What they fail to realize is that Singapore didn’t reach their current status simply because it is lying in a good geographical location. A lot of policies and hard work has gone into that. Will Maldivians be equally receptive to such policies? They also fail to see that Maldives is made of hundreds of small communities separated by sea and Singapore is just one island. They fail to see the challenge that brings to the governance of this country.

Well, a prime example will be the commonly narrated story of how Maldivians stoned to death our first president Mr. Amin Didi because he tried to stop people from Smoking. Of course there is also the issue of him trying to empower women. The bastard! Well frankly, I don’t know which one of these is actually true or contributed more to his murder. But if it weren’t that the Maldivian Defense Force has more guns now then at that time, we would not have tolerated the current Government for as long as we have now. Maldivians are not receptive of suppression even if it is for their own good.

There is a lot of talk of how the present Maldivian government rules with an iron fist. If these people think that Maldives is ruled with an iron fist, I wonder what metal the S’pore government rules with. These ignorant doubters fail to see past the clean streets, beautiful tourist attractions, good health care and apparently prosperous economy of S’pore. They fail to see how the Singapore government keeps a firm grip on such political and social bullshit commonplace in Maldives right now.

When the Singapore Government thought that their population was rising at a higher rate than is acceptable, they told the public to stop at one child. And they made policies that deprived the second child to easy means of education and health care. So that parents will be encouraged to stop at one child. Sure, the Government didn’t go around doing vasectomies on all people with one child. But can anything similar be tried in Maldives? The public will start a riot demanding equal rights for all citizens and what not. The human rights commission will probably be set on fire.

For over a decade the Society for Health Education and other health agencies have been educating the public on Thalassemia. They went as far as to make blood testing for carrier type mandatory before marriage. Testing can be done for free. But has it brought an end to Thalassemia major children being born in Maldives? No. Despite so much awareness and counseling on the risks to the child and the sad state they would have to live in. Despite the economic burden it will be on the family. Despite all advice to the contrary, carriers still keep marrying. Can the Maldivian government take a drastic action such as the Singaporeans? Will Maldivians accept it? Not a chance.

People talk about the clean streets of Singapore. Did you know that there is a road tax that people have to pay every time they ride on Singapore streets? It is this tax that pays for the maintenance of those roads. Will Maldivians agree to pay every time they ride on the street?

Did you know that there is a $500 fine for littering? And it’s not just for show. They actually do it. And did you know that Singapore practices the death sentence? They had the highest per-capita execution rate in the world between 1994 and 1999.1 Did you know that any beggar found on a Singapore street can be jailed?

Today’s political Parties are talking about introducing a tax on consumer good or some bullshit. It’s called Value Added Tax in India. All businesses have to pay this VAT to the government for all the goods that they sell. So what do the businesses do? Do they pay that tax from their pockets? No. They put that Tax onto the customer’s bill. So the public end up paying even more.

People think that Maumoon has ruled with an iron fist and has failed because Maldives isn’t like Singapore. I bet if Maumoon ruled with a fist like that of Singapore’s government, Maldives would be like Singapore. But Maumoon chose to give us our freedom. And we have used that freedom to fail as a nation.