MJA seeks 4-month review period for media bill

The Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) has called on Parliament to allow at least four months for a detailed review and analysis of the media regulation bill currently under consideration.

The Independent Institutions Committee on Monday opened consultations on the bill. Following the session, MJA Executive Secretary Mohamed Junaid Saleem told reporters that journalists had presented their concerns to the committee.

Junaid noted that both the Broadcasting Commission and the Maldives Media Council (MMC) had urged the government not to push the bill forward without wider consultation. He added that journalists doubted whether the committee would make meaningful amendments at this stage.

“Journalists spent four hours today in Parliament explaining the reasons why the bill should not proceed. I hope Parliament will listen to those concerns and move forward by rejecting the bill,” Junaid said.

He stressed that the media was not opposed to regulation, but to the way in which this particular bill had been drafted without consultation. The MJA has proposed working with state institutions to review the current framework and suggested improvements.

The association has formally written to the committee requesting four months to review the existing regulatory system and to present recommendations alongside an analysis of the bill.

Veteran journalist and MJA co-founder Ahmed Zahir said that if the bill was passed against the advice of regulatory bodies, the media and journalists, opposition to it would continue.

“We have met the Attorney General, we have met the President, we have raised our concerns in the committee, and we have voiced them publicly. This effort will continue,” Zahir said.