Contentious media bill withdrawn following outcry

Independent lawmaker Abdul Hannan Aboobakr said on Tuesday that he has withdrawn the new media bill he submitted to the Parliament last week – legislature that would have allowed the government control over medias.

The Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission Bill was designed to create a seven-member Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission, replacing the Maldives Broadcasting Commission and the Maldives Media Council. Four of the members, including the president and vice president of the commission, would be appointed by the president with parliamentary approval. The remaining three members would be elected by broadcasters and medias. It also proposed fines of up to MVR 10,000 for individual reporters.

Hannan confirmed to Sun on Tuesday that he has withdrawn the bill.

The bill had set down guidelines for broadcasters and medias, including safeguarding national security, promoting principles of upholding the legitimate government, and protecting the dignity and private affairs of individuals.

The new commission would be charged with formulating the code of ethics for medias and journalists, the violation of which can be punishable with fines, suspension of license and demands for public apologies.

Repeated violation of the code of ethics would be punishable with fines of MVR 5,000 to MVR 50,000 for medias, and fines of MVR 5,000 to MVR 10,000 for individual journalists.

The bill had sparked resistance from the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) and opposition parties, including the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – which labeled it an effort to “bury” freedom of the press in the Maldives.

MDP had alleged that the bill was drafted by the government. And was submitted through Hannan so that the government can be safe from any blowback.

The MJA had expressed concern that the bill undermines the principles of a free press and would lead to “undue government influence on freedom of media and journalists.”

“The association believes that the bill will severely restrict the constitutional right to freedom of the press and impose serious obstacles on the work of journalists. The media will lose their existing power to self-regulate or self-regulate, and instead, the government’s influence and power will penetrate heavily into the media, pushing the freedom of the media in the country backwards for many years,” said the association.

The bill had prompted South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem, a lawmaker from the MDP, to present a parliamentary resolution asking for the withdrawal of the bill, after an emergency motion he submitted over the same issue was rejected.

The bill had also sparked a campaign by the local media, ‘Hatharehge Haggugai’, which loosely translates to “In Defense of the Fourth Pillar.”

The government broke its silence over the bill on Sunday, when, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, addressing a ceremony marking his administration’s one-year anniversary, said that he does not support the bill.

He said that the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), which holds a supermajority in the Parliament, will reject the bill.