The Parliament’s Privileges and Ethics Committee decided on Monday to hold a lawmaker from the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) and two from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) liable for damage to a microphone during a scuffle that broke out amid the passage of a contentious bill back in September.
The incident in question took place on September 15 as the Independent Institutions Committee voted in favor of contentious new media legislature.
As Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir - from MDP - used a microphone at the committee room to voice his objections to the bill, South Henveiru MP Hussain Imran Latheef– from the PNC - snatched it from the hands of Mauroof and Thoddoo MP Hussain Sameer - another lawmaker from the MDP - and dropped it to the ground.
The incident involving the trio, none of whom were members of the Independent Institutions Committee, was caught on camera.
Pnc ge Majilis Member Imran Latheef majileehuge thakehchah gellun dheefi#CtrlBillBeyrukurey pic.twitter.com/GrxEULk6Ez
— Muzayyin Nazim (@tedmaldives) September 15, 2025
During a meeting of the Ethics Committee on Monday, Madaveli MP Mohamed Shameez proposed assessing the damage and making all three lawmakers pay for it.
The motion was seconded by Kinbidhoo MP Ali Ashraq and passed by the PNC-majority committee.
Privileges and Ethics Committee convenes for a meeting on October 20, 2025. (Photo/People's Majlis)
In a message to a WhatsApp group of his supporters a couple of hours after the incident, Imran said the fault did not lie with him alone, but that he, along with Mauroof and Sameer, shared equal responsibility for the destruction of Parliament’s property.
He also claimed the mic came into his hands simply because he was physically stronger.
“The mic got damaged in the hands of three people. It happened in front of the media. But some people will see only I. It came into my hands because of superior arm strength,” he wrote.
Imran also said at the time that he had arranged to pay for the damages.