MP Abbas says judges should stop being ‘lazy’, expedite cases

Velidhoo MP Mohamed Abbas said on Monday that judges should overcome their “laziness” and start clearing the backlog of pending cases.

During the parliamentary debate on Monday morning on legislature submitted by the government to amend the Drugs Act, Abbas, a lawmaker from the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), said that tackling drugs require close collaboration between the police, Customs and the judiciary.

Abbas said that the drug crisis has escalated to an alarming level, and that the Maldives cannot stand by and watch as the younger generation falls to ruin due to drugs.

He blamed the escalation in the drug crisis on the failure of investigative and law enforcement agencies to properly fulfill their duties.

Abbas also blamed judges, who he said have grown “lazy” while enjoying their MVR 80,000-MVR 100,000 salaries and various privileges.

“These judges must especially overcome their laziness. These judges take [leave] every year. [Members of] this honorable Parliament are here without taking leaves, working for the sake of the people. Do judges need to take a one-month or two-month-long leave every year? They do not. They need to finish pending cases,” he said.

He said that the Maldivian judiciary is failing, and urged judges to clear the huge backlog of pending cases.

Abbas also said that suspects arrested in most drug cases are released back into society after holding them for 10-15 days.

He voiced support for the amendments to the Drugs Act, and urged law enforcement agencies to properly enforce the law.

The bill, sponsored by Gan MP Yoosuf Nasheed, grants law enforcement agencies more powers to tackle drug-related crimes, criminalizes more drug-related offenses, and reforms drug rehabilitation.