Highlight success stories of private sector: Information minister

Information Minister Hasan Mahmud has called upon journalists to promote success stories of businesses and find out wrong-doings as well to help the government understand what is happening in the private sector.

The minister made the comment while attending as chief guest the grand launching ceremony of the Business Insider Bangladesh, a business newspaper, at its office in Karwan Bazar of Dhaka on Thursday.

“Alongside the success stories, you (journalists) should project reports on wrongdoings in the private sector so that it becomes helpful for us for its solution,” Hasan Mahmud said.

Wishing success and progress of the Business Insider Bangladesh, the minister also called upon the journalists to report on humanitarian aspects alongside the business reporting.

These types of business-based newspapers are needed so that they can focus reporting in trade and commerce, he said.

“There is a concept that good news is not news but bad news is news. We will have to come out of that mindset,” the information minister said.

The nation which does not have any hope or expectation cannot march forward, he said.

Citing moral degradation among the people in developed countries in their family and social lives, he said, “Only the materialistic development is not a sustainable development at all and thus the journalists should come up with the report on humanitarian aspects.”

About his government's success in different sectors, he said Bangladesh achieved tremendous progress under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over the last 10 years. “Bangladesh’s per capita income grew to $2,069 now from $600 plus in 2008. Similarly, Bangladesh also progressed significantly in social indicators.”

Bangladesh scored the first position in South Asia while 25th in the world in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic when many countries could not start the vaccination programme yet, he said.

From the very beginning, many people were vibrant in criticising the government for its vaccination campaign but they are now taking their jabs with self-enthusiasm, he said.

He also requested the businessmen to shun the get-rich-quick mentality for the sake of the country’s overall progress.

“Businessmen in our country want to get rich overnight but the mentality should be changed,” Mahmud said.

While speaking at the ceremony, Md Ghulam Hussain, chairman of Business Insider Media Limited, said that the main objective of the newspaper was to promote the country’s SME and agricultural sectors instead of just traditional journalism.

“We will have to come out of the mentality that the government will do everything for us. We want to be a part of the government’s development activities,” said Hussain, who was also the former chairman of the National Board of Revenue.

Earlier, Sajjadur Rahman, editor of the Business Insider Bangladesh, presented a paper on the private sector business and how the media can help them grow further. Meer Moniruzzaman, director of Business Insider Media Ltd gave a vote of thanks.

Among others, Lauren S Arce, attaché to the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Dhaka, Hajji Haris Bin Othman, High Commissioner for Brunei Darussalam in Dhaka, Muhammad Aurangzeb Haral, counsellor (press) at the High Commission for Pakistan in Dhaka, and leaders of different business organisations also attended the event.

Besides, people from different business and trade bodies also visited the Business Insider Bangladesh office and extended their greetings.