President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that the bill submitted to the People’s Majlis that obstructs freedom of media and freedom of expression, will be rejected and that he does not seek to control media.
The government has submitted a bill to the People’s Majlis that threatens extreme restrictions to media freedom. The bill was submitted on November 13 by MP For Thulhaadhoo constituency Abdulla Hannan Aboobakuru. If the bill becomes law, the Broadcasting Commission of Maldives (Broadcom) and the Maldives Media Council (MMC) will be dissolved.
While the purpose of the new law is said to establish efficient and strong standards for registering news outlets, and to create a separate institution to implement media affairs including the broadcasting sector, under this law, if a news outlet repeatedly violates the code of conduct for journalism established by the commission, it can be fined between MVR 5,000 and MVR 50,000. In addition to this, individual journalists can be slapped with fines between MVR 5,000 to MVR 10,000 as well.
At a time several journalists have expressed concern about the bill, Muizzu addressed the issue at the “Week 52” ceremony held on Sunday to celebrate one year in office.
Speaking at the ceremony, the president said that there are no policies in the media bill that he accepts, and that he is not seeking to control the media.
When journalists individually questioned Muizzu, he said that the People's Majlis will reject the bill and that the bill will not be accepted.
Muizzu added that he will give more freedom to the media than now, and that he is working to empower the press.
Emphasizing that funds have been included in the budget to provide money to the media, the president said that office space will be arranged for the media at a low cost and that the government has taken over the building that STO had previously started constructing in Hulhumalé, with some floors of the building to be dedicated to the media.
Further, Muizzu noted that it will take about a year to complete the work on the building and that he hopes to provide space for each media outlet from there by the beginning of 2026.
Noting that the media has a responsibility, the president said that this is an Islamic country and that the media is run by Muslims. With this, Muizzu said that the media should be operated with honesty.
In addition to this, Muizzu stressed that this is a transparent government, and that information is being disclosed to an extent never seen in the Maldives in the past.
Going on to shed light on the several RTIs submitted, Muizzu noted that 91 percent of RTIs have been answered and that out of 819 questions submitted to the portal created under the name of "People's Voice", 773 questions have been answered, and that several ministries have held 73 press conferences within 52 weeks.
The president noted that ministers have visited multiple media outlets 791 times to provide information.
A confident president said that they were speaking through results and that they are running a transparent government.
President Muizzu has spoken in this manner at a time several have criticized the government. It has been a long time since President Muizzu met with journalists and many continue to claim that the government is only disclosing certain information they want to reveal.
Further, the total number of political positions in the incumbent administration remains undisclosed. Despite repeated inquiries, the figure has not been disclosed so far. While Muizzu has his opposition to the media bill, some members of the People's Majlis continue to allege that the bill was submitted under a proposal from the government.
