Maleeh dismissed from PPM

Former Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamaal has been dismissed from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) with accusations of attempting to disrupt and split the party.

A letter signed by PPM Vice President Ahmed Shiyam informed Maleeh of the decision of the party's Disciplinary Committee to dismiss him for the charge of working to split up the party and defame it while being a party senator. The leadership of the party had earlier suspended Maleeh and submitted the case to the Disciplinary Committee for review.

The actions against Maleeh were taken in response to his conducting a press conference on Tuesday night after forming a separate committee of the party without informing the party's leadership.

The letter sent to him stated that the committee had seven different findings in their investigation into his suspension after his remarks at the press conference which aimed to create discord amongst party member.

These findings include the fact that Maleeh had created the committee for the administration of the party unilaterally without deliberation with the leadership or senate, and that his remarks at the press conference were also based on his own thoughts, and did not stem from any discussions with the leadership or senate.

The committee also noted that even after suspension from the party, Maleeh continued to conduct activities in the name of PPM, speak to media with no valid right to represent the party, and defame the president of the party Abdulla Yameen by lying in his name and speaking in a way that undermines his reputation.

It also noted Maleeh's failure to comply despite being instructed to attend disciplinary committee hearings on two different occasions.

Prior to this, former President Abdulla Yameen has established a temporary committee to lead the party, which is against the rules of conducting the party compiled and passed by PPM's congress.

This temporary committee is devoid of any members of the PPM leadership. Instead, Yameen appointed former Vice President Abdulla Jihad to head the committee, handing over the leading of its administrative functions to former minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamaal.