Ex-President Yameen attempted to acquire Muli'aage Palace for 'development': Minister Yumna

Former President Abdulla Yameen attempted to acquire the site where the Muli’aage Palace sits so as to use it for ‘development’, Minister Yumna Maumoon has said.

Yumna, the Minister of Arts, Culture, and Heritage, said this during an interview with RaajjeTV, adding that the Yameen administration ‘cared little’ for preserving historic sites.

While she was appointed minister in late November, Yumna worked at the department of heritage for a long period. Yumna said in Tuesday night’s interview that it was during this time that she learned of said attempt.

Yumna said that as discussions to acquire the site were ongoing, there were also talks to destroy other historical buildings inside the Sultan Park, although they were stayed due to the heritage department having other plans for said buildings.

The Sultan Park, which was the site of the former royal palace and served as a leisure grounds for Maldivian sultans and their family, has been renovated and reopened as a recreational facility with a ‘winter corner’ and an artificial ice-rink.

“The Muli’aage Palace is an old and important historical building. If it was destroyed and replaced with a multi-storey tower, we would have lost a monumental evidence of our history, one of the last remaining ones at that. To carelessly destroy such places is irresponsible and callous. Without them, there is nothing that separates us. We really would not have anything for tourists to look at either”, Yumna told RaajjeTV.

The Muli’aage, commissioned in 1914 and completed by 1919, is currently the official residence of the president. Former President Yameen had opted to live at the Hilaaleege and used the premises as a meeting place for lawmakers and senior members of his party.

The Muli’aage Palace was built by Sultan Muhammad Shamsudheen III of the Hilaalee dynasty. The name literally translates to ‘New House of Muli’ and was built on the site of the sultan’s ancestral home.