Minister Shareef has publicly apologized for his use of the phrase 'punch [them] on the chins' with regard to members of parliament. He clarified that in using this phrase, he did not intend to condone any acts of violence.
Minister of Cities, Local Government and Public Works Adam Shareef Umar has publicly apologized for his use of the phrase 'punch [them] on the chins' with regard to members of parliament. He clarified that in using this phrase, he did not intend to condone any acts of violence.
Speaking at a gathering to meet with residents of Meemu atoll Dhiggaru on Wednesday, Shareef said that although the parliament consists of individuals who worked closely with him in the past four years, their current actions of what he described as deliberately obstructing the government make him 'unsure if he can refrain from punching [them] on their chins'.
This statement gave rise to widespread criticism from both the opposition and the general public, levying accusations that the Minister was encouraging acts of violence.
Shareef responded to the criticisms yesterday via his X account, posting that he had made reference to 'chin' in spirits of 'humour' and as a metaphor, as it is a word often used in reference to him. He apologized to anyone who may have inferred a different meaning from his words.
The reason why he has said that 'chin' is used in reference to him, however, also stems from a similar statement made by him earlier.
While he was serving as Minister of Defence during former President Abdulla Yameen's administration, he said that were he a military officer, he would have punched an opposition member on the chin.
Although this was said in a closed meeting within MNDF, the audio was leaked, leading to much controversy and discontent.
With Shareef having repeated similar sentiments once again last week, Parliament Speaker Mohamed Aslam, too, expressed concerns when speaking to several local media outlets.
Aslam alleged that such phrasing coming from a member of the cabinet displayed the government's tendency to resort to violence and their encouragement of violence and assault against members of parliament.
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