Iqbal Athas speaks to Fathulla Jameel: Asia's longest serving Foreign Minister

Humour, wit and diplomacy

That is a common occurrence in the office of 59-year-old Fathulla Jameel, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Maldives. If he is widely known as Asia's longest serving Foreign Minister, he is equally well known as a man gifted with great wit and humour. 

Outside the conference halls of the United Nations in New York, he is often accosted by his counterparts from other countries. The greeting is standard, "Your Excellency, what is the latest joke you have heard ?..." And that phone call to his office came from a Middle Eastern Foreign Minister. He asked Jameel, "Your Excellency, have you heard this one?" and went on to relate a joke. 

Jameel's wit and humour have won for him not only a fan club of Foreign Ministers and diplomats world-wide, but also created a network, which like satellite television, spreads instantly humorous tales to take the drudgery out of the monotony of diplomatic routine. Even without the glare of publicity that seems a unique achievement for the Foreign Minister of a nation of 270,000 people. This unique trait has earned for him a place in the hearts and minds of his contemporaries. 

That is not to say it is all jokes and no work for Asia's senior most Foreign Minister. If 23 years of rubbing shoulders with world leaders has made him an Asian elder statesman, only two others are denying him the title of world's longest serving Foreign Minister - Sheikh Sabah of Kuwait and Sheikh Mohamed Mubarak of Bahrain. 

The son of a highly respected Arabic and Islamic scholar, whose Dhivehi (Maldivian national language) religious discourses are still broadcast every morning on radio, Jameel is a man of 'many parts'. Like President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a product of Cairo's Al Azhar University, he began his career as a teacher in Male's Majeediya School. Later, after a short stint at the Foreign Service Training Centre of the Australian Foreign Ministry in Canberra, he began a foreign service career as Under Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs in 1973. After short stints in other positions, he was for two years Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations and became Foreign Minister in 1978. 

His tenure as Asia's longest serving Foreign Minister also confers on Jameel another complementary title - one of Asia's widely travelled men, whose air travel hours would accumulate to many months. Once on a trans-Atlantic flight to the United States, he was woken up by a Stewardess in the Business Class. Jameel found the airline he was travelling had planned to spring a surprise on him. She had a parcel gift wrapped for Jameel who was just then completing flying a million miles with that airline. 

Two weeks ago, I met Jameel and wife Fathimath, at the Kandooma Resort, a picturesque tourist resort 35 minutes by speed boat from Male. During weekends they take a break from their official chores to oversee the working of their resort and to freely mingle with the guests. Fathimath, a senior official in the Health Ministry, has found enough to keep herself occupied. Nestled amidst cottages and suites, is a neatly painted white walled house which Jameel says is "my White House." In a well manicured back garden, protected by wire mesh against insects, lay a variety of vegetable and fruit trees, many from Sri Lanka. Kochchi Miris (hot chillies) in varying colours weigh heavily on the branches. A Swiss tourist once asked whether she could use a blender to make a juicy drink only to be told it would be disaster. Sour plantains (ambul kehel) and over sized ash pumpkin (alu puhul) abound amidst varieties of lime and lemon. 

As I sit with Jameel in a cadjan thatched reception area facing the sea, sipping Thambili water, a German diving instructor is preparing his latest batch of students for a diving trip just ahead of the Kandooma jetty. It turns out that the event is a star attraction. The dive, some 12 feet under water, was to a spot where there are large shoals of hammerhead sharks. 

"In addition to matters of foreign affairs, I have to travel a lot for other chores too like attending World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Fund meetings," says Jameel. "Being a small nation, we cannot afford to have too many faces showing up to make the same request or to ask the same questions," he points out. 

Asked whether a sense of humour is an essential ingredient in diplomacy, Jameel says, "It may not be essential but it has its benefits. You can change a serious situation or lessen tension." Asked to illustrate an instance, Jameel says, "Seven Foreign Ministers of SAARC countries once met in New York. My Pakistani counterpart was the host. That was a time when there was tension in the region and strained bi-lateral relations between two members. 

"One colleague came up with a remark which offended another. The friendly atmosphere was disturbed and there was tension. I came up with a short story and a decent joke. Others came out with their own tales and soon they were competing with one another. Tension eased and things ended up on a good note." 

"I like to be very open and frank in my conversations with my colleagues. This is how I am able to build close friendships," he says. He adds, "After dinner, we try not to behave that seriously. We talk of the lighter side of life. I grew up in Egypt, which is a place where people have a great sense of humour. They have a story on every subject." 

Turning on to a more serious topic, Jameel recounts how a small nation, is sometimes exposed to some degree of arm twisting. He relates an instance where such a move was resisted. That came when a UN agency had made a generous offer to distribute food. They had spelt out modalities on how to do it. But the Government of Maldives did not agree with that modus operandi and rejected the offer. He had later learnt from UN officials that Maldives was the first country to have shunned such a generous UN offer. 

Speaking on some aspects of Maldivian foreign policy, Jameel staunchly defended the action by the on woodUnited States and its allies in Afghanistan. "The ruling group in Afghanistan (Taliban) is following a very narrow policy. We don't feel at all that it represents what has been taught in Islam," he says. 

"They just take a few or half of something and neglect the other. There is widespread poverty and ignorance in those areas. The trend is to follow some leader who is just preaching something," says Jameel. He points out that "Islam is a religion of moderation. There are many verses in the Koran which say that there is no extremism in Islam. Fundamentalism in Islam is moderation. In Maldives, we have always had this moderation whereby we have a closely knit community." 

I joined Jameel and Fathimath one morning on a picnic to an uninhabited island, some 20 minutes by speed boat. The journey was cross channel through deep blue waters to a long stretch of land, only 70 feet in width. It is a swimmer's paradise with waist deep waters extending beyond two kilometres. Under a cadjan thatched hut with a sandy floor, workers laid out a buffet table with chafing dishes, much the same way it is in a star class hotel. A variety of Maldivian and western dishes lay on the table. At lunch time, Jameel was missing from the tables adorned by well starched cloth and cutlery. With his lunch in hand, he had joined the workers seated on benches woven with ropes on wood, a case of being equally comfortable with world leaders and his own workers. 

That over, he turned to me to relate what he called a joke about "you guys." It had been passed on to him by President's Counsel Daya Perera, one time Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative at the United Nations. This is how it went. The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had advertised for volunteers to be sent to planet Mars. There were three applicants, an American, a Russian and a Sri Lankan. 

At the interview, the Ameri can had asked for a million US dollars. Asked why, he had said he wanted to give half to his family and retain the balance for his use upon return. The Russian had demanded two million US dollars. He had explained that a million dollars were to be given to Russian space programme since they were bankrupt. The rest was to be shared between him and his family. The Sri Lankan demanded three million dollars. Asked why he had demanded such a high sum, he explained that he would keep a million dollars and would pay his interviewers a million dollars. 

What would he do with the balance ? Well, he would pay the remaining million dollars to the American and send him to Mars. 

The return journey from the uninhabited island turned out to be an unforgettable encounter. The pilot of the speed boat cut his engine and brought it to a complete halt. It was only then did we realise we were surrounded by a sea of dolphins. They stretched beyond a 100 metres from our speed boat. The dolphins arced up into the sky in groups creating a breathtaking spectacle. 

Wafir Ibrahim, Resort Manager at Kandooma, remarked, "You are really lucky to see this sight. It is a very rare occurrence." 

Our speed boat literally floated on a vast bed of dolphins till we chose to clear our way and return.