Fitte: Tasking Ihusan to protect personal data akin to handing over blood bank to dracula

Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyadh (Fitte), on Monday, states that while the Personal Data Protection Bill is an essential piece of legislation for the Maldives at this time, assigning responsibility for its implementation to Home Minister Ali Ihusaan would be akin to "handing over a blood bank to Dracula."

Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the government-backed bill, sponsored by West Henveiru MP Ali Ibrahim, Ziyadh cited the Parliament’s two core responsibilities are the enactment of laws and oversight of their implementation. He reiterated the importance of the proposed legislation and expressed his overall support for the bill.

However, Ziyadh voiced strong concerns over the designation of the Home Minister as the authority responsible for enforcing the legislation, accusing Minister Ihusaan of involvement in the unauthorized acquisition of personal data belonging to approximately 400 residents of Vaikaradhoo for the purpose of registering them with the ruling People's National Congress (PNC). He added that the Minister had previously admitted to this.

The remarks come amid earlier allegations by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which accused Minister Ihusaan of admitting members to the ruling party through access to data held by the Department of National Registration (DNR): an issue which became a huge political controversy in the Maldives.

Referring to these allegations, Ziyadh remarked: "What I am saying is that entrusting the enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Bill to Ihusaan is like putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank.”

Ziyadh also criticized what he described as the government's misuse of legislation. He argued that the Maldives possesses extensive laws compared to many other countries and remarked, ironically, that if the country's laws were sold as a business, they would likely be highly marketable. He added that such a scenario might at least reduce the number of laws that, in his view, remain unenforced by the current administration.