PPM defends Maldives pres' speech, claims it was "misinterpreted"

The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) on Tuesday alleged that the media “misinterpreted” President Abdulla Yameen’s speech and is recapping it in a “misleading” manner.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of his campaign hub for the upcoming Presidential Elections 2018, President Yameen had said that the funds obtained by his jailed former deputy Ahmed Adheeb were not clean and that “the money that entered [my] house was not lawful” in accordance with Islamic Sharia.

The ruling party was quick to defend the president and released a statement saying that President Yameen, in his speech, was making a reference to Al Jazeera’s “Stealing Paradise” when he spoke about the “unlawful cash” that entered his house.

PPM alleged that the president was simply raising questions about the “unlawful cash”; the party’s statement said that the president was asking whether the cash that went to the parliamentarians were also “unlawful”.

The party added that if the media paid attention to the context in a wholesome manner, they would not have misinterpreted the speech.

The president, however, late on Monday declared, “that money did not enter box by box into [my house] alone. Ahmed Adheeb was the one who expended for the people we wanted to elect, by any means, for the parliament. Thus, the money that entered my house was not lawful without a doubt. If the parliament members I mentioned can believe this, I urge them to resign from their posts.”

The president went on to say that “our party [PPM] was not frugal in spending for the parliament election campaigns. The bulk of it was expended by Ahmed Adheeb, Hence, if the funds Ahmed Adheeb had had from day one were unlawful and illicit – we must think deeply about this.”

Before ending his speech on Monday, President Yameen had vowed that he will have the stolen funds returned to the state treasury. He also reiterated that his convicted former deputy will be released from jail once he repays the embezzled money.

Ahmed Adheeb is currently serving a sentence of 33 years for a number of convictions, including his involvement in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scandal, and orchestrating an assassination attempt on the president.