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Maldives in need of a press law

OPINION by Moosa Latheef - 3rd June 2004

Attorney General Dr. Hassan Saeed recently said that the government is in the process of developing a law regarding the provision of information. This news is bound to bring satisfaction to many people, especially in the light of a lack of standardized procedures by which government authorities provide information to the press. At present, due to the behavior of certain officials, it appears sometimes that any action undertaken by the government is a state secret.

Presently, there is no law regarding the press in Maldives. There is only the registration procedures for newspapers and magazines. Currently, no laws exist regarding press ethics and responsibilities of journalists, protection of state secrets, and the rights of the public for access to information. Due to this, journalists are unable to receive vital information, regardless of the relevance of certain issues to the public. Not only do certain officials refrain from speaking to journalists, but they also do not provide even written answers to questions sent by journalists.

However, this is with regard to only certain officials. There are officials who are quite open with journalists, making information easily accessible. These press-friendly officials have designated public relations officers or spokespersons at their offices to make it easy for the journalist to get information. Hence, this suggests that the reluctance of certain government authorities and officials in giving information to the media is more a personal choice than a standard regulation adopted by the government.

Sometimes government officials say to journalists: “Why do the public send you questions? Why aren’t they filing their complaints with the relevant government authorities?”

The answer is simple: a complain letter sent to a government official remains private and confidential but an issue raised to the press is information made public, and in a Maldives context, a problem that is made public is speedily address by the relevant government authority. A letter of grief sent to the relevant authority by a member of the general public may remain unanswered sometimes for weeks or months, but when an issue comes under public scrutiny, government officials are pressured to solve the issue at hand as soon as possible to minimize negative publicity. Hence, some grieving members of the public prefer to send their questions or complaints to the press rather than to the relevant government authority.

Last Friday, when the elections for the People’s Special Majlis were underway, two people who I am not acquainted with, telephoned me and told me of an incident whereby ballot paper ran out at two polling stations while a lot of eligible voters were still in the waiting line. I am not a staff of the Elections Commission, I am only a journalist. The two people who had called me were aware of this fact. They were aware that there was nothing I could do; I cannot provide any ballot papers. But the fact is that, incidents like this are not easily digested by the public. And sometimes, the only way they can let out their frustration is by bringing such issues to the attention of the journalist.

“The appropriate way to gather true public opinion is to provide freedom to the press,” Maldives’ young Attorney General Dr. Saeed said. This statement by him will hopefully reverberate throughout the country in the form of positive changes to how the press operates in Maldives.

A law that regulates the press here would certainly result in positive changes for not just some media but all media organizations as well. For instance, at the moment, the government-run Television Maldives and Voice of Maldives act all powerful. Their journalists are privileged easy access to certain events and information, while some government authorities treat private media organizations such as the daily newspapers with inferiority.