MP for Maamigili constituency Qasim Ibrahim has stated that he is against reducing the salaries and allowances of lawmakers.
He said this during the debate on the resolution submitted by MP for Baarah constituency Ibrahim Shujau, who is also the senior deputy leader of the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC)’s Parliamentary Group, seeking to acknowledge the opinions of the 20th People’s Majlis term regarding the increase in the number of members of parliament every five years.
In his remarks, Qasim, who is also a prominent business tycoon, stressed that the practice of capping the number of terms individuals can serve as a lawmaker at two, was not observed anywhere else across the globe.
He further pushed his stance against the reduction of salaries and allowances entitled to parliamentarians, and expressed his belief that the number of MPs should be reduced.
“We know very well that those who relocate here from different parts of the nation cannot make ends meet with MVR 20,000 as a living allowance, it is not enough. Therefore, it is in the best and complete system that a unitary state should have to decide the salaries and allowances MPs should get”Qasim Ibrahim, Maamigili MP.
The lawmaker stated that the Constitution of Maldives emphasizes that the People’s Majlis and the rule of the state are a unitary state.
He added that despite some lawmakers expressing “loudly” about the principles in a federal system and that whether they take examples from countries like India or the U.S., these are states with federal systems and that it is completely different in the Maldives.
Shedding light on the differences between these states and the Maldives, Qasim stated that lawmakers do not have any other source of valid income apart from their jobs, unlike senior officials and others employed at government offices and state institutions.
This said, Qasim stated that it was important for the lawmakers to debate, discuss and seek a solution for this issue.
