Ali Haashim, the council member suspended on Thursday, said that the he was penalized by the government in order to mask the Housing Ministry’s obscure process through which it has been allocating housing units.

Haashim told RaajjeMV that the Local Government Authority’s decision to suspend him shows the amount of influence the ministry has on statutory bodies.

The council chair was suspended on the grounds that he had ‘expressed his intention to publicize a list of flat recipients’ that would contradict the Housing Ministry’s tentative list – which was met with criticism for several discrepancies.

Haashim accused the Housing Ministry of using prejudiced means to allocate housing units, claiming that most of the list comprises of well-known ruling party supporters.

He said that the case has been filed with the Anti-Corruption Commission.

“No matter what steps they take against me, these housing units are not the property of any one person. It belongs to the people” Haashim said.

He further added that he had given his full cooperation to officials of the Housing Ministry and that, despite his words, his suspension is unfounded.