Leader of the Opposition and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Dr Shafiqur Rahman has said the media is the fourth pillar of society. A free, objective and responsible media keeps society alert and restores people’s trust, he said. “The media is called the mirror of society,” he said. “Just as nothing stays hidden when you stand before a mirror, a true journalist too presents the truth to people without distorting or altering any information. That is why journalists are called the conscience of society. As long as the media stays awake, a society stays awake too. And when the conscience dies, society dies as well.”
He made the remarks on Saturday as chief guest at a gathering held to mark the Daily Jalalabad newspaper entering its 34th year, at the Kudrat Ullah Mosque complex in Sylhet’s Bandarbazar.
Dr Shafiqur Rahman said: “As a member of the Jalalabad family, I would make one request of this newspaper. Our pledge was that Jalalabad would not be the mouthpiece of any political party; it would be the mouthpiece of the people. Which party comes to state power and when is God’s decision. But Jalalabad must hold to its neutral position.”
He said: “If holding this principled position means falling foul of any political party, there is no objection to that. Even if the newspaper has to shut down while walking this path, there should never be any compromise on principle. A newspaper may have few pages, but its news must be objective and must speak for the people.”
He added: “If, in publishing the truth, some news goes against me or even against my party, Jalalabad should not hold back from publishing the truth. When a media outlet fearlessly presents the truth, people’s trust in it naturally grows.”
Noting the crisis of mutual trust in today’s society, the Leader of the Opposition said: “Today one of the biggest crises in our society is a crisis of trust. People do not want to trust one another. I hope the Daily Jalalabad will, through its objective, neutral and responsible journalism, help society overcome this crisis of trust.”
At the end of his speech he prayed to God for the growing success, prosperity and long life of the Daily Jalalabad family, and expressed the hope that truthful, just and public-interest journalism in the country’s media would grow stronger.
Also present at the gathering were Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami central executive council member and Sylhet metropolitan Amir Muhammad Fakhrul Islam; central Majlis-e-Shura member and Sylhet district Amir Maulana Habibur Rahman; the Daily Jalalabad’s current editor and founder Muktabis Un Noor; Manarat International University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mohammad Abdur Rob; Sylhet metropolitan BNP general secretary Imdad Hossain Chowdhury; Philippine Christian University associate professor Anowarul Wadud Tipu; and senior journalists from Sylhet’s print and electronic media.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report