Parliament Lost Order Today Over Deputy Speaker Not Allowing MPs to Question Minister
From the parliament meeting today, April 28, 2025, while Minister Dr Muththalib is on the stand to answer questions by parliamentarians | Photo: Parliament
Parliament descended into disorder today after Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim restricted parliamentarians from questioning the Minister of Construction, Housing, and Infrastructure, Dr Abdulla Muththalib, citing that their queries were not connected to the matter for which he had been summoned.
Minister Muththalib appeared before Parliament to answer several questions. MP for Velidhoo constituency, Mohamed Abbas, posed the first question regarding the progress of the water and sewerage project in Noonu Atoll Lhohi. After responding, Deputy Speaker Nazim opened the floor for further questions, offering Abbas the first opportunity to continue.
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When Abbas inquired about other projects in his constituency, Minister Muththalib stated he would only respond to questions related to the Lhohi project.
“Since I am likely to talk less about project-related issues, I would like to tell you that I do not intend to answer questions that are not related to [this] project,” Minister Muththalib said.
Minority Leader Ibrahim Nazil then raised a procedural concern. After consulting parliamentary regulations, the Deputy Speaker ruled that the Minister’s position did not violate procedure, noting that Article 85(a) specifies follow-up questions must relate to the issue for which the minister was summoned.
Despite the ruling, parliamentarians continued to rephrase their questions. However, Deputy Speaker Nazim refused to direct these to Minister Muththalib, maintaining that they remained unrelated to the original issue.
MP for Dhaandhoo constituency, Mohamed Fazeel, subsequently forfeited his right to question the Minister, acknowledging that his question was unrelated.
When MP Nazim asked the Deputy Speaker how he was determining the relevance of the questions, Nazim clarified that only matters directly concerning the Noonu Atoll Lhohi water and sewerage project were permissible.
“If we are allowed to ask questions to the ministers as per this understanding, the government has over 2,000 ongoing projects. If we are to ask questions for each project separately, that is 2,000 days the minister will have to be summoned here to answer. Even in a five-year [parliament] term, we are unable to hold around 600 [sessions]. How will they answer all these questions? You are interpreting this in a manner that is impractical,” MP for South Hulhumale, Mohamed Shameem, said in Dhivehi.
