By Manish Chand,

Male (Maldives), Sep 10 (IANS) The Maldives, the Indian Ocean atoll nation often referred to as 'the last Eden on Earth', will have its first taste of modern, liberal democracy with the holding of multiparty elections in 2008, says President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the man who has ruled the country for nearly three decades.

"I want to usher in a modern, liberal democracy in line with modern democracies of the world," Gayoom, Asia's longest-serving leader, told IANS in his presidential palace in the Maldivian capital here.

And despite what sceptics say, the 69-year-old Gayoom, who is now in his sixth five-year term as president of a country of nearly 300,000 people spread over 1,192 islands, means business this time.

He has unveiled an all-encompassing package of democratic reforms that includes a free press, an independent judiciary, an empowered parliament, a brand new penal code, a human rights commission and the drafting of a new constitution that will ensure accountable and transparent governance in the country.

According to the roadmap prepared by Gayoom in November 2003, the Maldives will have its first multiparty elections in 2008.

But Gayoom is no uncritical admirer of Western liberal democracy.

"You have to tune your democracy to the needs of the country, a democracy that is conducive to peace and prosperity and also in line with your traditions and faith," says Gayoom, the man who wears many hats - politician, scholar, teacher, calligraphist, poet and a passionate environmentalist who tirelessly campaigns against global warming.

The democracy Gayoom wants to introduce will, however, not be a secular democracy, but a democracy within the framework of an Islamist society. "We are a 100 percent Sunni Muslim nation. It has to be in line with that as well as customs and culture we have had for so long," he says.

Gayoom, who was educated in Sri Lanka and Egypt, has survived three coups and is profusely thankful to India for helping him avert a threat to his rule from anti-government forces in 1988. "I am extremely grateful to then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi for his support to me during a crisis in 1988. I had called him personally and he sent troops promptly."

Although the opposition has accused him of perpetuating his rule under the guise of democracy, Gayoom insists that reforms are for real. Criticism and name-calling do not bother him much.

"When you begin an era, you will have teething problems," he says in a philosophical strain.

"I take media attacks in my stride. The opposition, however, needs to be more responsible and objective. They are seeking power, not democracy," he told IANS.

"We have embarked on legal reforms. I am planning to have a supreme court under the new constitution. I have constituted a judicial services commission, which is going to be independent of the government and will advise the president on the appointment and role of judges and magistrates," he asserts.

"All these reforms are going smoothly," a proud Gayoom says.

Why democracy now, after three decades of lording over the country? Democracy needs a certain level of education and socio-economic development to work, says the patriarch, who is admired by many as "a man for all islands" and reviled with equal gusto by his opponents.

"When I took over in 1978, the country was in a backward stage, socially, economically and educationally. We didn't have any infrastructure or schools. My first priority was education," he recalls.

And then, he reels off a spate of impressive statistics to prove that the Maldives is emerging from the chrysalis into a nation on wings, even after a destructive encounter with the Dec 26, 2004, tsunami.

Since 1978 the country's gross domestic product (GDP) has gone up four times, the per capita income being $3,000, the highest in the region. The literacy rate is 98 percent.

"I thought that the time has now come for democracy. There has to be a certain level of education and socio-economic development to appreciate the value and meaning of democracy."

What kind of legacy does he wish to leave behind? "I want the people to remember me as someone who has been responsible for putting the Maldives on the map of the world. When I took over in 1978, nobody knew the Maldives. It was a backwater."

"Now, the Maldives is a famous tourist destination for Europe. Not just for Europe, but also the East - Japan, India and China. But my most important legacy will be a liberal forward-looking democracy for the Maldives."