Working round the clock, but off to Singapore at the first sign of a break!
The incumbent faces criticism for a growing divide between his promise of constant public service and his frequent personal travel. Despite claims of round-the-clock dedication, records show the leader has made eight trips to Singapore and spends significant time on leisure activities like futsal. This pattern of international getaways and island retreats has led observers to question the administration's actual commitment to its governing duties.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. | Presidents Office
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu famously promised the electorate that he would remain at their beck and call every single hour of the day.
The head of state boldly claimed that he alongside his complete governing team would maintain constant availability, famously spinning a metaphor that their mobile internet connection would never experience a single moment of downtime.
This exact narrative has been loudly and repetitively parroted by a multitude of cabinet ministers speaking from official state platforms on a long list of occasions.
Digital presence vs actual absence
The concrete behavior displayed by the incumbent and his governing circle paints a completely conflicting picture.
Even if we assume his cellular connection stays up and running, his real-world choices completely shatter the promise. It forces any rational observer to question whether being glued to a phone grid is really the same thing as round-the-clock public duty and genuine administrative accessibility.
The vast gulf separating these high-flying speeches from the reality unfolding right before our eyes every day triggers massive skepticism, exposing a glaring divide between what falls out of the leader's mouth and how his administration actually functions.
Jetting off for festive getaways
The incumbent administration keeps selling the fairytale of a chief executive who gives his all to the public without taking a single second to rest or breathe for his own personal needs.
However, the moment a festive break hits the calendar, the supposedly sleepless leader is spotted boarding flights to international hot spots.
Singapore is a particularly favorite playground and his recurring presence there is backed up by cold, hard data.
Just this past Sunday evening, the incumbent pulled a vanishing act and flew out to Singapore on a non-state excursion to enjoy the Eid festivities. Looking at the formal bulletin released by the President’s Office, the text plainly declared that the head of state left the country for Singapore on an unofficial visit.
A much more honest and straightforward update would have simply confessed that the chief executive was fleeing to Singapore specifically to enjoy his Eid-al-Adha vacation.
Counting the Singapore stamps
This latest getaway marks his eighth journey to Singapore since taking power two and a half years ago.
Breaking down the itinerary, the year 2024 saw him taking four distinct private vacations to the island nation.
When 2025 rolled around, he checked in twice, split evenly between one formal state visit and one private vacation.
Now that we are in 2026, he is already burning through his second private vacation of the year.
The frequency of these specific Asian getaways naturally begs the question of what exactly keeps pulling him back there so desperately.
One cannot help but ponder how an individual who claims to be utterly buried under the weight of governing a nation manages to magically find endless pockets of free time for routine foreign excursions.
Island escapes and midnight futsal
This distinct habit of prioritizing relaxation is hardly restricted to his international flight patterns; it is just as obvious when he is physically inside the country.
A massive chunk of the working week is burned away at Aarah, the designated presidential island getaway.
Word on the street is that a high volume of his evenings are surrendered to kicking a futsal ball around and indulging in laid-back fun on the island, surrounded by a loyal entourage of cabinet members and tight allies.
Because of this, the official presidential speedboat is forced into endless loops, burning fuel as it constantly zips back and forth across the water between the capital, Malé City and Aarah.
The head of state has openly admitted to the populace that he participates in grueling, physically intense futsal matches on the sands of Aarah three nights out of every single week.
For a political executive and a ministerial squad that allegedly labors through the daylight and the darkness for the sake of the populace, the sheer volume of hours salvaged for sports, casual hanging out and rapid flights to Singapore is astonishing.
It makes a person wonder if the affairs of the country are genuinely so peaceful and perfect that the leadership can easily afford to indulge in such a carefree, vacation-heavy way of life.
