Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said the journalists can empower the powerless and speak for the unspoken people in society.
“We need to speak on behalf of the unspoken members of society. A journalist can do that,” he said, speaking as chief guest at a cheque distribution function of the Journalist Welfare Trust for the members of Chattogram Union of Journalists (CUJ), held at Bangabandhu Hall of Chattogramg Press Club on Thursday.
Dr Hasan said, “We need to tell people the story of how the country is moving forward. Then the people will dream more. The country will also reach the dreamt destination.”
Terming Bangabandhu’s daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as a humanitarian leader whom the international media has dubbed as the Mother of Humanity, Dr Hasan said Sheikh Hasina formed the Bangladesh Journalist Welfare Trust in 2014 though there was no strong institutional demand for it.
CUJ President Mohammad Ali presided over the function while Chattogram Press Club President Ali Abbas, its General Secretary Farid Uddin Chowdhury and CUJ General Secretary M Shamsul Islam, among others, addressed the function as special guests.
The minister said that journalists can inspire a society through their writing. A journalist has a lot of power that power may not be felt by the journalist himself.
“A journalist can give language to a person who does not have language in his mouth. The man who has forgotten to speak and dream or is afraid to dream, can be given a dream,” Hasan added.
The information minister said that he personally doesn’t want the environment to be ruined or the trees to be cut down at CRB area in the city.
The Prime Minister has been awarded the title of ‘Champion of the Earth’ for taking strong steps to address the risks of climate change to protect the environment, he said, adding that there will be no work that destroys the environment.
“The government will not do anything against the people of Chattogram. I will also present the matter before the appropriate authority,” he said.
If good deeds are not appreciated, then those who do good works will never be encouraged, he said, adding that some people, especially BNP, think that everything is bad if they are not in the government and everything is well if they are in government.
The minister said that the development carried out in last 12 years is unimaginable and the people’s per capita income has surpassed that of India.
“This progress has been possible due to the dynamic leadership of Janonetri Sheikh Hasina,” he said. The information minister said that the Journalist Welfare Trust has become a place of trust for journalists in the country.
