Jameel, Riyaz hit back at public criticism of JP ministers

Dr. Mohamed Jameel, the former vice president and current political adviser to Jumhooree Party (JP)'s leader Qasim Ibrahim, has expressed concerns over the public dissatisfaction towards JP members appointed to the Cabinet of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

JP represents 5 out of 19 ministers currently appointed, thus representing a quarter of President Solih's Cabinet. The five members that represent JP includes Ali Waheed as the Minister of Tourism, Abdullah Ameen as the Minister of Health, Dr. Hussain Rasheed Hassan as the Minister of Environment, Maleeh Jamaal as Minister of Communication Science and Technology, and the wife of party leader, Aishath Nahula, as the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation.

Some of the ruling coalition supporters have called out to the parliament, on social media, to deny these members the opportunity to represent their appointed sectors. They questioned the validity of the minister appointed from JP and claimed that the party's leader, Qasim Ibrahim, has business interests that will conflict with the interests of citizens.

Jameel, however, declared that such actions are considered to weaken the new government of President Solih. He slammed local television station ‘Raajje TV’ for promoting their concerns towards the appointed JP ministers.

Jameel expressed that the criticism towards the ministers of his party can be seen as an attempt to break up the coalition formed to run the government.

Furthermore, he questioned whether the appointment of other ministers to the cabinet were justifiable, stating that controversial issues can also be revealed about other ministers appointed to the cabinet as well.

Jameel's defence of the ministers hailing from JP is supported by his party’s parliamentary group leader, Abdullah Riyaz, who asserted that the JP ministers met the qualifications as stated in the constitution.

President Solih had assembled the Cabinet according to member nominated by the parties of the coalition. While JP minister make up a quarter of the Cabinet, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), on the other hand, consists 40 percent of the cabinet, while former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's faction and Adhaalath Party represent 20 percent and 15 percent, respectively.