President Abdulla Yameen has said that his five-year term has been difficult and that he will not be able to handle the damage caused by any of his cabinet or parliament members leaving his party.

Speaking at the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s national congress on Friday night, President Yameen urged his senior party members not to jump ship, as it would be the most difficult obstacle he would have to face after PPM becomes an opposition party.

The president said that it is not a solution for senior officials to leave the party after losing their government jobs at the end of the presidential term.

“I urge everyone to not jump ship. God willing, our ship will overcome these huge waves and take us to shore.”

Regarding him being voted in as PPM’s president at the congress, he said that he has received a tremendous responsibility but that he was willing to carry it out even if alone.

During his speech, President Yameen said that PPM currently has its ‘real members’ which had contributed the most to the party since its inception. He also said that there were people in the early days of PPM who were out for their own personal gain and did not contribute much.

He noted that PPM did not even have 4,000 members during its first congress but that it now has more than 70,000.

Now that PPM has decided to become an opposition party, all the members will have to hold rallies and protest, said President Yameen, who banned protests during his administration.