Atoll sale plans are with a Saudi entity if not the government, insists MUO

Former Minister Mohamed Aslam, has on Friday reasoned that the government may have plans to sell Faafu atoll to a Saudi entity if not the goverment, in light of a statement from the kingdom stating that it had no intentions towards a land grab in the Maldives.

Aslam, who had served multiple ministerial positions under former President Mohamed Nasheed, said at a Maldives United Opposition (MUO) press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, that the move is extremely consequential, and would result in natives being ‘sidelined’.

MDP government's former Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem and Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal who served as sports minister in the President's Yameen's cabinet had also spoken at the conference.

“Somebody is lying here, maybe its not the Saudi government that is investing in Maldives" Aslam, now the Director at the Land and Marine Environmental Resource Group (LaMer) said “The long term effect of this will be, the natives will be sidelined, we have seen this happen elsewhere”.

He expressed concern about the lack of transparency over the government’s reported ‘massive project’ and its refusal to divulge any information, despite pressure from citizens, civil society, and the media.

“We know there is a USD 10 billion project coming from Saudi Arabia and we do know that negotiations had taken place” Former Minister Jamal added.

President Abdulla Yameen gave a speech in January at Magoodhoo island of Faafu atoll, where he revealed plans for a ‘massive project’ in the atoll adding that the Saudi government had ‘expressed interest’ in it.

Statements from a Faafu atoll councilor confirming that the government had approached him with Saudi interests back in 2014, and Home Minister Mohamed Muizzu’s own mention of the project had fueled speculations that Saudi King Salman was about to purchase the atoll in its entirety.

Faafu atoll is one of the least populous in the nation. Out of the 20 islands in the administrative division, just six are inhabited and one has been developed as an island resort. The rest are uninhabited.