Maldives parliament decries "misuse" of own data to brand MPs "lazy and inactive"

"When we go deeper into these stats, we can see that the supermajority of the parliament is lazy and inactive, with 91.3 percent of MPs having less than five works since their term began," Jubraan Shareef posted last week with a pie chart depicting 262 ongoing or completed works, which averages to 2.82 total works per lawmaker (excluding the speaker) in the 93-member People's Majlis.

Amid the ensuing social media backlash, the parliament secretariat defended MPs and appealed against "misleading" the public as the website statistics only show submitted bills and resolutions, issues raised, and questions posed to ministers. 

"However, this is not the only work members do in the Majlis," reads the statement. The number of bills sponsored is not an accurate barometer because much of the work is done through committees, the secretariat suggested. 

Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla echoed the defence during last Monday's sitting, strongly objecting to labelling MPs as having done zero work, which he argued was unfair since most legislation was sent by the government. 

"I believe these things are being done with the aim of defaming the members of the People's Majlis, without looking into the work done in attending Majlis sitting, the parliament floor and committees," he alleged.

As the current parliament was only convened about a year ago, all 93 members not having submitted bills is "not a reason for discussion among the public that members are not doing any work in Majlis."

The idea of collecting and presenting the data came to Jubraan Shareef while reading about pro-Israel lobbying at the US Congress. He did not expect the reaction from the parliament secretariat and was baffled by the claim of "misusing" the data.

"In the same breath they mentioned that the values on their website are accurate and informative," he told the Maldives Independent.

To counter the secretariat's argument about MPs doing work that wasn't represented in the statistics, Jubraan compared Neil Duncan-Jordan, a UK Labour Party MP for Poole, with the output of the entire Maldivian parliament.

Jubraan also broke down the data by political party. The 75-member supermajority of the ruling People's National Congress completed a total of 143 works whilst the 12 MPs of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party completed 112 works.

Only four MPs completed more than 10 works, three of whom were MDP MPs: Galolhu North MP Mohamed Ibrahim 'Kudu' (53 works), Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir (19 works), and Galolhu South MP Meekail Naseem (12 works). PNC MP Hussein Shareef completed 18 works. But his number was revised downwards following complaints from fellow MPs about Shareef being unfairly credited.

When MDP supporters on social media seized on the statistics, Jubraan and others disagreed that the performance of opposition MPs was worthy of celebration. One British MP chosen at random outperformed both the ruling party and the main opposition party combined.

"It's shameful. It's deceitful. Most Maldivians are not aware of things like this. Politicians capitalise on that," he told the Maldives Independent.

Jubraan also compiled the number of questions MDP MPs asked ministers. He acknowledged that the website data does not include pending questions, of which there were about 50. However, the number still falls far short of what should be expected from a dozen opposition MPs, he argued, dismissing the "dysfunction" of parliament as an acceptable excuse for their low work rate.  

"I say to this, Neil Duncan's values do not include 'follow up questions' and are only written questions submitted to ministers or government agencies," Jubraan said.

Meekail Naseem from the MDP conceded that the opposition parliamentary group could do better. 

"Looking at the capacity we have, I don't think we are working to the extent of our full potential," he told the Maldives Independent.

But PNC MP Abdulla Rifau lauded the efforts of the opposition MPs. 

"They submit emergency motions, submit resolutions and question ministers on their work. This is how you hold the government accountable. In that regard I do not believe the MDP is not performing adequately," he said.

Meekail argued that standardised Key Performance Indicators would be required for a clearer picture rather than the statistics available on the Majlis site.

"I think it's important to consider what we are counting and how. There are different types of work requiring different timeframes like letters, bills, motions, sittings or committee work," he explained.

"For example, while a 100 letters can be written in a day, a bill would require more time for research, consultation and discussions within the party. We can only submit a bill once after these stages."

Rifau also suggested that some of the criticism was unfair. 

"We are moving forward with everything that is being sent to the Majlis. The only incomplete work that is passed on to the following term are larger amendments that require more time," the MP for Maafannu South told the Maldives Independent.

Some of the MPs labelled as low performers participate meaningfully in debates on the parliament floor, he said.

"Bills not being sent to the parliament does not mean that MPs do not work. We have 75 members but if 75 bills have not been submitted all 75 members will not get the opportunity to sponsor a bill," he stressed.

MPs earn MVR 85,000 (US$ 5,500) a month, inclusive of salary and allowances. The national minimum wage for the public sector amounts to MVR 7,000 a month for a minimum of 30 hours per week.

According to Rifau, committee meetings could stretch well beyond the usual one and a half hours. 

"For example, if it's the public accounts committee, sometimes they have to meet during the day and also hold a meeting that night. Whereas if it's a committee like the petition committee, if we have not received any petitions there is no work to do," he said.

Rifau argued that the current salary was too low. The monthly accommodation allowance of MVR 20,000 was insufficient to cover the higher rents in the capital, he said.

In the Maldivian context, MPs are seen as the "father of the constituency" who must constantly attend to the concerns of individual constituents and often bear a financial burden, Rifau explained, calling it a 24-hour job as he receives about five requests a day for meetings and often finishes work well past midnight.

On average, MPs work 10 to 12 hours a day and most do not have other sources of income, he said.

"If they are working properly and more involved in their work they will not have time for their own company either. I would say only 10 percent of MPs have their own companies. Some of them are high-end businesses with a number of staff that do not require increased involvement," he said.

"I am sure citizens are receiving the value for money. Our constituents will know based on the requests we receive that our work does not end at the parliament floor."

Meekail concurred that working hours would vary depending on the committee and that attending to constituents takes up most of his time. Beyond mediating disputes, other work done on behalf of constituents include helping write letters to service providers like the National Social Protection Agency, often working around the clock depending on the urgency of the matter.

But he disagreed that it could affect official duties.

"I don't accept that attending to individual constituent concerns is an acceptable reason not to attend Majlis sittings or an adequate excuse for not fulfilling an MPs' duty," he said.

"I also acknowledge that because of the local culture, attending to individual constituent concerns is not something we can separate ourselves from. However, I do not believe it will take so much time that a member may not have time for official parliament work."

Meekail disagreed with Rifau about value for money. He doubted whether MPs' pay was "halal at this point," he said.

While the 20th Majlis welcomed a lot of novices, Rifau said the role of an MP should be clear to all members now. Before the current batch assumed office in late May 2024, the PNC conducted thorough orientations in addition to information sessions from ministries and state-owned companies about how their work connects to parliament, he said.

"So they have received training but some lack skills like public speaking and may refrain from speaking on the floor as much," he noted.

Meekail suggested that the lack of awareness was noticeable. Some MPs would say there was no need for a lengthy debate after the government had taken a specific stance, he said.

"This means that either they do not understand the role or are completely disregarding our mandate," he observed.

Rifau cited the lack of resources as a key challenge. Other Asian countries like India and Indonesia have annual constituency budgets for development initiatives and financial assistance, he noted. 

In the Maldives, MPs who represent distant atolls might have to cover travel expenses of up to MVR 10,000 when they visit their constituencies, which are made up of several islands in most cases.  

"This is an opportunity MPs should get at least once a year. Most MPs manage this from their salary. We should at least have transportation costs of meeting constituents covered or it will be difficult," he said.

Compared to his term in the 18th Majlis, Rifau said the current parliament has a "very comfortable working environment" following the opening of the new office building. Each MP has dedicated partitioned work stations. Committees chairs have their own cabins with facilities such as printers. He praised the staff at Majlis committee and legal sections as excellent. MPs could also hire additional staff but would have to pay remuneration out of pocket, he noted, whereas some countries provide a secretary and a translator for overseas trips. 

"I also acknowledge the reason we are unable to apply such concepts in Maldives is due to resource challenges (as a smaller country)," he said.

Jubraan suggested that parties should allocate more of their state funding towards increasing the efficiency of MPs by supporting them with staff and legal expertise in drafting laws.

A lack of awareness about their legislative roles was evident from conversation with MPs from both parties, Jubraan said. But the MPs themselves were not entirely to blame, he said. 

"MPs ultimately represent the ordinary citizen," he said. "We should start with educating the masses and building a politically literate society. Everything else will follow suit."