Ali Waheed, a former parliamentarian and part of the opposition’s leadership, has called on members of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry to take a more active role in defending tourism in the Maldives.

In a post on his Twitter account, Ali Waheed said that members of MATI should have more tasked to them than to ‘just travel to tourism fairs abroad’.

“MATI must have the willingness to defend local tourism and tourist outlets, staying silent on such a matter only gives greenlight to the poor judgement that caused in the first place. Today Villa, tomorrow?” Ali Waheed’s tweet said.

Ali Waheed is referring to the police and customs search of resorts owned by Villa Group, a conglomerate founded by opposition leader Qasim Ibrahim.