President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom Saturday said Maldives has no time to trudge like an "old bear", but that Maldives must move like a young gazelle.
Speaking at the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) rally on Saturday, President Yameen said that he could not work to bring development to the archipelago at the slow pace of an aged bear.
Pointing out that such slow pace was not what the youth wanted, president said the country wants Maldives' progress to move forward fast as a gazelle.
"In this day and age, we cannot move slow towards development at the speed of an old bear, we have to pounce on opportunities with the speed of a young gazelle," the President said.
He said that if the Maldives were to move towards development slowly, then Maldives would end up falling behind other countries and become 'prey'.
"We do not want to be the hunted. We aim to be the hunters," President Yameen said.
The President also stressed on the importance of the opportunities a good government budget can provide, saying that we cannot continue injecting money into government the way sick birds are injected with medicine.
"We do not want Maldives to fall behind other countries in this developing world, we want Maldives to be a developed country with developed views and a strong economy in spite of size. We are trying to get a budget that could help us achieve this," the President said.
He also said we can only move forward with hope, and stated that his government will always encourage people to hope. He informed that hopes are not fulfilled now by building classrooms in schools, but by working on huge projects such as airports.
"I hope that this country we move forward with our youth, I hope the elderly have their needs satisfied, and I hope to fulfill the wishes of every citizen no matter their gender or class," the President said.
He also stated his intention to ensure that all Maldivians were living fulfilling lives. He also said that the overpopulation and difficulty of living in Male' could lead to increasing crime rates, and stated that the Maldivian youth must be protected from this. He informed that this was the reason that the government was building gardens around Male'.
"Dreaming and hoping are not a crime under my authority, it is something that must be done, that is what we are trying to achieve," the President noted.
