The purported leader of the greater opposition, Anni, was first given an opportunity to make changes from within the government - an opportunity that few of us could ever dream of attaining. We're talking about being elected as member of parliament representing the capital city, Male', of Maldives. At his beck and call were most leading capitalists of the nation. So too were the majority of the grass-root people of the nation. How one squanders such an opportunity by jumping head-on into an obvious pitfall amazes me.

There was one missed opportunity, but that wasn't the end of it. With the emergence of MDP as the backlash to an outcry against police brutality, Anni was yet again presented with a non-statutory power gifted him by the vast majority of the country. His was the responsibility of leading his supporters into an era of 'legislative equivalence.' I have seen nothing on offer by the MDP except the semblance of a platform for free speech.

The one thing MDP did achieve were the majority of seats in parliament (at one point in time), an achievement which must, in all honesty, be attributed to the capitalists aligned in the cause (some of these capitalists were to later find MDP's stance overly aggressive causing the dilution of their initial resolve). Even with this opportunity no real efforts were made in changing the laws which sanctified the police brutality (a failure attributable to the enigmatic leader of MDP?). No efforts were made in making the public aware of the importance of changing law, rather than toppling one or two figure-heads.

Now, when all else has failed, it's back to vociferations against prime targets in the hope of engineering hatred against them amongst the public (which might certainly be a fruitful endeavor, but only to the extent of strengthening the various leaderships' collective resolve to crack down on the negative publicity). The Rodney King incident should remind us that the problem is not only lackadaisical leadership, but also the legal systems governing their efforts. With the right kind of post-arrest inquisitions and actions, I am certain the police elements who physically interface with the people will put more thought into their actions. Furthermore, the right kind of law would force the leadership to adopt a more responsible and accountable role (whether it be the current leaders or the likes of Anni at the helm).

I say more effort must go into forcing the leadership to divulge and amend the law than into trying to topple them by verbal abuse (if there has ever been such a phenomenon in the history of modern politics). MDP should eke out the various shortcomings in current law and generate awareness amongst the people with regards to these. It's not Anni's opinions about law that counts, but the public opinion. As a wannabe leader, it is Anni's job to empower the people, not to use the people's support to empower himself.

Anni, old chap. Teach the public how important it is for their representatives in parliament to be answerable to them. Teach them what legal avenues can be pursued if such accountability is not there. Teach them how to be CITIZENS!