President decides to issue special passport, ID card, to National Award of Honour recipients

Speaking at the ceremony, Waheed said that although the government has not to date provided any special privileges to the winners of the award in past years, it was highly important to start doing so as these persons had contributed significant services to the nation.

He detailed that plans were now being made to introduce a special identity card, local media reports. These card holders will be be given priority over the general public when obtaining services from any government office. They would also be issued special passports upon request.

This year, the National Award of Honour was received by three persons: Sheikh Usman Abdulla Umree for his services in the area of religious education, Adam Ali for his services in the area of traditional medicine and Abdulla Mohamed for his services in the areas of architecture and construction.

Thirteen individuals were recognised for achieving the highest academic qualification in the Maldives National Qualifications Framework.

These included members of Waheed’s cabinet: Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed for Doctorate of Philosophy in Criminal Justice System from the University of London in 2008, Education Minister Dr Asim Ahmed for Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Policy from Victoria University of Wellington in 2011, as well as Supreme Court Judge Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi for Doctorate in Political Sharia from Al Azhar University, Misr, in 2008.