Leader of Jumhooree party and parliament member from Maamigili constituency Gasim Ibrahim has said he refrained from attending the Parliament sessions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking on the morning show of Raajje TV Fashaairu, Qasim said he had to step away from the work of the parliament when he had to deal with the illness.
He also said that he believed the safest way to stay away from Covid was not to attend the parliament, as the disease was very prevalent in Maldives at the time and he was a high risk person. However, he said he is now busy with parliamentary work again as the situation is improving.
Because of the danger of COVID-19, due to my age, my illness (this is my health condition), I am very prone to COVID-19, so I stayed away. It is the best way as stated in the religion too.Gasim Ibrahim
Gasim has been criticized by some MPs and the public for not attending parliament for a long time. However, he has started attending recently, and has introduced some bills in parliament. These include amendments to the Constitution to limit the number of MPs to 87, an amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code calling for stricter penalties for same sex offences, and anti Islam acts.
