"Fat Friend": A Foreign Policy!

When someone says Rodney Dangerfield you might wonder who is he. He was a great performing artist of the 1960s who was a brilliant actor, musician, and producer as well. However, he was popularly known as a talented comedian. He was an American artist who passed away in 2004. His late-night performances with talks of a sense of humour are still alive and vivid among people.

There is a very well known, humorous and a popular joke of Rodney. That is the brilliant invention of the fastest way to lose weight or appearing slim. He said that “the easiest way to appear slim is to be with people who are fatter than you as much as possible”.

The moral of the joke is that when you are with people who are fatter than you when compared to them, you will appear slim. Even if this is a humorous joke in fact, this is true. The purpose of talking about this joke is that we can relate the joke to the Maldives foreign policy as well.

Even though Rodney is the founder of the “Fat Friend Effect” we can see that one of the most prominent political leaders of the Maldives, who also has the most political weight in the Maldives, using ‘Fat Friend Effect” to compare the two countries that aided the Maldives tremendously. The blunders done by the current closest ally is being covered-up, making “Fat” and turning people’s attention to the blunders previously done by another country. Some people call him Alex Ahmed as well.

He is fishing for loan assistance from India in the name of various needs. However, in Indian media, he is talking about loans taken from China by the previous government. It seems that they cannot award a single project to Indian companies without saying that Chinese companies have implemented projects at higher prices. While taking large amounts of loans that the Maldives might not be able to pay back, he is accusing another country of snatching Maldivian lands.

What is the purpose of this policy?
Instead of stating the loans from India are obtained at a lower interest rate, he is highlighting the “slimness” of the loans by talking about “fat” interest rates previously proposed by China. There is no talk of current government officials that travel to India to negotiate loans, the debt amount owed to India and the projects that they award to Indian companies. A trip’s loudest talk is the debt amount the Maldives owes to China. What do we call this, other than turning attention to something else from what they are doing?

The President of the presidents is continuously talking about reviewing the agreements between the Maldives and China and the loans taken from China. However, the government has not officially expressed that they have asked for the need to review the agreements. If China had done so badly, then we cannot think of any reason to award the contracts to China. Nevertheless, instead of negotiating with China, he is talking about the ‘fat’ loans taken from China in front of the whole world. He is not bothered about the bilateral relations between China and Maldives.

Chinese Ambassador as well humorously tweeted saying that within a short period he lost 2 KGs by referring to his baseless talks and clarifying the truth.

Then there is the chance of having a hidden agenda on this policy of him that is the tactic of obtaining loans at a much lower interest rate from India. Making India feel reluctant to bid at higher prices by saying that China is bidding at much higher rates. Since he is a politician, it is better not to say on what particular purpose he is doing this.

From every corner, it clearly shows the “fat friend” policy in the long relationship we have with these two countries. The assistance that India extends is accepted from one hand by slapping China with the other hand. As Rodney said, India’s “slimness” is appealed by showing how “fat´ China is. Somehow, the comedian Rodney’s humorous joke has become a country’s chief foreign policy.