MP Abdulla Riyaaz has said that residents in the outer lying atolls must received all the privileges as those in the capital city, and that their satisfaction must be a priority.

Riyaz said this in response to claims by the government to ‘move to the capital’ given the current administration’s ‘many ongoing developments’.

In a post on his official Twitter account, Riyaz said that incumbent President Abdulla Yameen had pledged to have an island developed to the standard of Hulhumalé, the capital city’s urban extension, in every atoll.

Riyaz further said in his post that the government has fallen short of this pledge and that its response now is to call on those in the outer lying islands to migrate to the capital, which is already one of the most densely populated places in the world.

The parliamentarian had also criticized the government’s shelter program, adding that it is discriminatory and poorly planned.