Renowned religious scholar Dr. Abdullah Shiham has reversed his decision to run in the presidential elections 2018.
He made the announcement on s VTV talk show on Friday. Dr. Shiham said he had initially decided to run for president as "politicians had failed and the nation’s unity was lost”. However, he said he reversed his decision due to lack of conducive environment for the elections.
Highlighting the issues in the current political scenario, including the arrest and detention of politicians, he said he will always call for political change for the good of the country.
Dr. Shiham said that his biggest wish is for the betterment of the Maldivian people, and added that making Maldives a peaceful and prosperous country is not a difficult task. He said it depends of the sincerity of the country's leaders.
Although he will not be running for president, Dr. Shiham said he will always work for religious awareness and development of Islamic finance in the country.
Since 1975, Dr. Shiham has been active in serving the country. He holds a Phd in Law from the International Islamic University, Malaysia.
He held his first government position during President Ibrahim Nasir’s tenure, and held various government posts in the governments that followed.