The New Nation - Internet Edition

Mostafa Kamal Majumder

Information is power in today's society. And dissemination of information has been revolutionised by the information and communication technology (ICT) which has turned the world into a 'global village.' Information is needed not only for education and awareness creation entertainment but also for transparency and accountability.

It is therefore, no wonder that when editors of newspapers and news agencies had an opinion-exchange meeting with the new Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad on Tuesday, at his invitation, demands for approval of the Right to Information Ordinance with suitable improvements and tolerance of criticism of governmental activities figured prominently.

A politician with an information service background and a senior member of the National Press Club, Information Minister Abul Kamal Azad was well received for not only his acquaintance but also his approach and the cooperation he sought to make his job (that he termed temporary) fruitful.

The editor of an English Daily dwelt on the causes of the shifts in popular verdict in favour of or against political parties during the last one decade and requested the minister to be cautious about the influences of godfathers, top terrorists and corrupt elements.

A free press would always play a supportive role in this context if the government takes criticisms in good grace and with patience. As the opposition in Parliament is small in size this time, the press from its traditional anti-establishment position would strengthen their role, he pointed out. The editor of another English daily requested the minister to view critics as friends.

The meeting invited on the fourth working day of the new government is expected to immensely benefit them. Suggestion came to keep the door open to journalists without discrimination to seek, check and verify information to write informed stories and thus avoid frictions and misunderstanding that sometimes follow publication of news stories.

When access of representatives of the fourth estate is restricted, vicious circles grow around the centres of power and create walls that often isolate popular leaders from the people they are promise-bound to serve. Only very intelligent leaders can keep their antennas open to catch signals floating in the air outside such walls.

There are also practical ways to prevent the development of vicious circles and the creation of artificial walls around people welding power and influence. One of those is to give the media space, of course within the set norms. In the absence of the media the rule of secrecy prevails. And in the words of famous columnist the late Khandakar Abdul Hameed (who used to write in pseudonym 'Spastbhasi') - 'absolute secrecy corrupts absolutely'.

Many people see the use of the secretariat created for a president exercising absolute powers by successive prime ministers after the restoration of democracy in 1991 as the root cause of many problems that they faced subsequently. At least keeping the method of running the secretariat as that of a dictator cannot serve the purposes of democratic prime ministers.

Senior members of the media recall that before the emergence of absolute presidency in the eighties the office of the chief executive in this country used to remain open to representatives of all major news organisations. After the opening of the President's Secretariat, now called Prime Minister's Office, regular excess was restricted only to representatives of two news agencies and the state-controlled television. Representatives of other news media organisations used to have access only on request or upon invitation.

Unfortunately, the same practice has remained in operation for the last 18 years even after the transformation to parliamentary democracy from presidential dictatorship. Only the access of some private television channels has increased. Limited access of the media to the office of the chief executive made tall people to thrive at the cost of the people's leader they were appointed to serve.

Another practical way to keep the chief executive's office before the searching eyes of journalists is to bring it back to the Cabinet Division at the central secretariat of the government. This would prevent unwanted elements from growing tall beyond the view of the media and help preserve the dignity and sanctity of the office of the Prime Minister and make it more functional. This would also help speedy decision making for good governance because the ministers and state ministers would be doing office at walking distances from the office of the Prime Minister. They would take less time to have guidance from the chief executive, and chances of intervention by intermediaries would come down to the minimum. Strong and informed news media would only facilitate the process.