l 6 commissions to carry out reforms
l Free, fair polls aimed at
l Keep factories running to boost economy
Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday issued a note of warning to the people asking them to refrain from taking laws in their hands to create disorder in the society.
“If anybody creates disorder in the society by breaching the laws, we must bring him/her to book. Please, refrain from committing any such act, which might hamper religious harmony,” he said during a televised address to the nation, marking his one-month in office.
Professor Yunus, who took the charge of the interim government on August 8, just three-days after the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led government amid a student-led mass uprising, came up with the warning amid incidents of group attacks and vandalism at various places in the country.
In his 33-minite address, the Chief Adviser said his government is committed to building a democratic framework for the future generation.
“We are working with a target so that we would not face any autocratic regime anymore…we could say that we live in a democratic country and we all can claim that this country belongs to us,” he said.
Prof Yunus said that his government had been working relentlessly to improve the law and order.
“We are committed to resisting all sorts of misdeeds,” he said, urging the people to refrain from creating any obstacles in communication system.
The Chief Adviser said that the interim government took measures to bring back the laundered money while an initiative had also been taken to form a Banking Commission to bring order in the financial sector.
“A huge change has been brought in the banking sector. We have been able to bring order in the sector,” he said.
Announcing the formation of six commissions to carry out the job, Professor Yunus urged the people to cooperate with the government to accomplish reforms.
"We want reforms. It is our sincere request - please do not go to the spectators’ gallery after bestowing the key responsibility of reform on us. Stay with us. We will do the reform together. It is the responsibility for all,” he said.
He also called upon all to bring reform to their own world too, saying bringing reform to a nation does not mean only reform of the government.
“Bring reform in your business if you are a businessman. Business groups should bring reforms through their respective associations. Bring reforms in associations. Rewrite the constitution of the associations. If you are a worker, you should bring about reform in your work,” he said.
“If you are a political leader or an activist, bring reform in your field. Bring about reform in your organisation if you are the head of the organisation,” he added.
Urging everyone to seize this as an opportunity, the Chief Adviser said, “Through this reform, we want to start a new journey as a nation. We all expect that this journey would establish us as a respectable nation in the world.”
He said it has become necessary to complete some national reforms in order to implement the aspirations of people and prevent the recurrence of fascism or autocratic rule in Bangladesh and introduce a state system based on people’s ownership, welfare-oriented and dedicated to public interest.
The Chief Adviser said one of the central points of the reform plans is to establish a fair election system and good governance.
“As we believe in people’s voting rights and people’s ownership, the improvement of the electoral system has been given importance in our reform plans. We think, it is in no way acceptable to impose tyranny and misrule of the majority on the people in the name of elections or to keep all the power monopolised to one person or family or any group,” he said.
Dr Yunus said the government is thinking of reforming the Election Commission (EC) and other institutions related to elections to eliminate these fears.
“In addition, we feel the need for constitutional reforms to ensure the representation and interests of people from all walks of life and to reflect the message of the July mass uprising,” he said.
Reform of four institutions - police administration, public administration, judicial administration, anti-corruption commission- which are related to the electoral system is essential for fair and free elections, he said.
As an initial step to reform these issues, the government has initially decided to form six commissions, he said.
The Chief Adviser said six eminent citizens have been appointed to head these commissions. Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar will act as the head of electoral system reform commission while Sarfraz Chowdhury as head of police administration reform commission, Justice Shah Abu Naeem Mominur Rahman as head of judiciary reform commission, Dr Iftekharuzzaman as head of the anti-corruption reform commission, Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury as head of public administration reform commission and Dr Shahdeen Malik as head of constitution reform commission.
After this, the government will continue the process of formation of commissions on various other issues, he added.
Speaking on the ongoing unrest in the readymade garment and pharmaceutical industries, Professor Yunus said it would put a negative impact on our economy.
He said they got a weak economy after the student-led mass upsurge while institutional shape was almost destroyed.
“The forex reserves have been dropped. We have been trying to bring pace in the wheels of economy. If the industries are closed at this time, it will seriously hit the economy. None of us can expect it,” he said.
“We must bring out a solution through tripartite talks. Please keep open the factories and let the wheels of the economy run,” he added.
The Chief Adviser said that readymade garment and pharmaceutical industries are the pride of the nation.
“The success of the two sectors has stunned the world. But, the progress is now halted. We want to remove the hurdles of the two sectors to bring back the glory,” he said.
