Dr. Mariyam Zulfa, former President of the Local Government Authority (LGA) and State Minister of Foreign Affairs, has stated that there is a safe environment for all opposition parties to criticize government policies.
In a post on X, Zulfa said that the safe environment for criticizing government policies for all opposition parties is evident from the rally held by PNF.
“The PNF gathering showed that democracy has truly matured in the Maldives,” Zulfa said.
Zulfa stated that there is a safe environment for all opposition parties to express opinions and criticize government policies and programs, and that no obstacles or tear gas were used at the rally. She also thanked President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu for fostering this democratic spirit.
At the PNF rally, former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom criticized the current government. He also claimed that the money from the ventilator corruption scandal during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s government is in an account opened in Sri Lanka under the name of a child of a senior official.
At the PNF rally held at Artificial Beach, President Yameen said he heard about theft through ventilators or breathing tubes. He also said that the project work was assigned to “some Raju” in Dubai, and that Raju took 15% and then disappeared.
“That $810,000 is in a Bank of Ceylon account in Ceylon, under the name of some official’s child, some senior official’s child. I won’t lie to the people. If it were me, I did all the theft. I don’t keep the money I steal and the money I have in my wife’s and children’s names because I’m not brave enough to face it. That’s such cowardice. That’s not a masculine trait,” Yameen said.
According to Yameen, the ventilators were assigned to a paper company without due diligence “intentionally to steal”. He also said that while the Dubai company received 15% of the embezzlement, the rest went to those who committed the theft.
