The Maldives parliament has passed a bill on Establishing Maldives Broadcasting Corporation, with several amendments presented by the members. While 42 out of the 69 members present voted in favour of the bill which was proposed on June 23, 23 members voted against it.
Mathiveri MP Hussein Mohamed, Chair of the committee formulated on October 15 to study the bill, said the committee considered comments by MPs at debate stage. He said the committee held discussions with heads of state media and private media organisations and sought their assistance. He stressed that two members of the committee were against article 12 of the bill, which describes the procedures for appointing the corporation’s Directors Board. Although the Directors will be appointed on parliament endorsement, “parliament would not have any influence on the corporation’s works,” he added.
MPs said the bill would give legal status to Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) and freedom. The parliament approved 18 out of the 35 amendments proposed to the bill.
(Source: Haveeru Online)
