Temporary Media Commission committee established

Civil Service Commission (CSC) today has decided the committee members for the temporary Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC). This is being done as a buffer for the appointing of permanent committee members.

Maldives Media and Broadcasting Regulation Bill was passed last Tuesday, with the bill being ratified last Thursday. The five temporary members that have been appointed by the CSC are:

As per the Media Commission guidelines, until permanent members are appointed, the commission will be run by the temporary five members appointed by the CSC.

As per the new law, the temporary members to be chosen to temporarily run the commission must be Director General-level and higher. They must also be from civil service organizations. For temporary Presidents and Vice Presidents to be chosen, the five temporary members are to do so via a secret ballot.

As per the guidelines, permanent committee members are to be decided within 30 days of the five temporary members being appointed.

Out of the seven permanent members that are to be appointed to the commission, three of them are to be appointed by the Parliament as per the law. The other four members will be elected by the media via a secret ballot. The Parliament reserves the power to remove any member of the commission as per the law. It also states that the Commission President will be appointed by Parliament.

The bill submitted by Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakuru initially stated that individual journalists would see fines if the law is breached. However, with the amendments of the Attorney General's Office, that particular article was removed. But if newspapers and magazines are in violation of the disciplinary code determined by the commission, they can be fined anywhere between MVR 5,000 and MVR 100,000.

The article regarding the withholding of a media's registration was also removed. The article regarding past cases has also been removed.

Even with the bill being passed with the amendments made by the Attorney General's Office, the biggest concern that journalists have is the government's influence in the regulation of journalists. Journalists also state that the Parliament having the power to appoint three members, along with the Parliament having the power to remove any commission member is also a major issue.