Rasmalé 99-year land deal unconstitutional, must be halted immediately: MP Mauroof

Member of Parliament for Kendhoo constituency Mauroof Zakir has said that giving land to foreign parties for 99 years under the Rasmalé project is an act contrary to the Constitution, and called for the project's immediate suspension. Speaking in a special coverage programme titled "Dhivehi land for Dhivehis" aired by RaajjeTV on Friday, Mauroof said that after assuming the leadership of the country, the biggest effort President Dr Mohamed Muizzu began is controlling the media, but that it is not something that can be done. He said the media is the most important means of conveying work done on the rights of the people to the public, but that this government is weakening the power of the media and working to control it. Efforts are also being made to conceal the truth from the people through government-controlled media, including the truth of the Rasmalé project, he said. Mauroof said the biggest demand of the opposition parties is to stop the project immediately. He said the call for the public to go to a visible or invisible vote on the matter is because the influence of very senior government officials and President Muizzu on the issue is extreme. Noting that Maldivian land is the property of the Maldivian people, Mauroof said giving land to foreign parties for 99 years, for a long period, is not something that can be done outside the limits of the Constitution. He said the matter should not go to a vote even when viewed from an economic and social perspective, and that the project must be stopped immediately. "In my view, if the MDP also truly acts as a good opposition party today, going together with the other opposition parties present, this matter can be decided without necessarily going to a visible or invisible vote," Mauroof said. He said that if the opposition political parties work together strongly, results can be produced to stop such unlawful matters even without having to go to a public vote, and called for the Maldivian people to give support in this effort.