Waheed: Master or Puppet?
As some people [say], the Maldives does not have a leader now. Lots of leaders are here, and all are of the same level. And so then everybody runs the state as they please…And the senior leader should not say anything. ~ Dr Waheed
The Maldives does not have a leader and is currently under the control of an unidentified shadowy ‘group of leaders’, according to…the President. It is an astonishing statement for any leader to make.
There is much to suggest Waheed is as helpless as implied by his public whingeing. He does not, for instance, seem to have any authority to keep his own house in order. There are several examples.
Very early on in his presidency Waheed’s Special Advisor Hassan Saeed was secretly recorded describing Waheed as “politically the weakest person in the Maldives.”
In the United States, decorated Army General Stanely McChrystal had to resign after his aides were reported mocking Vice President Joe Biden. In the Maldives, Saeed, with his Jekyll and Hyde personality, remains in position.
Same with Abbas Adil Riza, the President’s Spokesperson. Riza’s ‘emotional outburst’ against the Indian High Commissioner left Waheed with diplomatic egg on his face. Yet, Riza remains authorised to speak for the President.
Would Waheed get rid of them if he had a choice? Judging from how quickly he fired his Transport Minister and Human Rights Minister, the answer is ‘yes.’ Abbas and Saeed made Waheed look an even bigger fool than did Shamheed and Dhiyana.