NATIONAL dailies on Tuesday reported that the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has informally announced the names of the office-bearers of its new executive committee for 2015-2017 through a stage-managed election on Monday. The Election Commission named Nitol Niloy Group Chairman Abdul Matlub Ahmad on Monday as the new president. Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, former president of BGMEA has been declared elected as first vice-president and Mahbubul Alam from CCCI as vice-president. There was no contestant for the three top posts thus making them elected unopposed. So also all other directors were declared elected unopposed from their chambers and trade associations.
It appears that the FBCCI election was nothing but a proto-type of the recently held City Corporation elections or the January 5 election in which the government was able to secure election of the candidates of its choice. But what is worrisome is that by doing so the government is destroying the election system and the democratic foundation of the state.
The FBCCI election passed off this time without even opening the election to voting. But the picking up the government selected directors has almost totally turned the apex trade body as subservient to the party in power. Consequently, it would fail to perform its mandated duty to speak independently for the country’s business community. The FBCCI failed to play a significant role during the recent political crisis when the economy and businesses were worst-hit from nationwide blockade and hartals. It rather acted like a front organisation of the government. The problem is that when powerful business bodies like the FBCCI becomes captive to the government, the worst sufferers become the rule of law and future of democracy. Because in advanced democracies powerful trade unions and business associations play the pivotal role of bringing pressure on the government to make essential compromise when the nation faces big socio-political crisis. In our country, such bodies have a tendency to join the government to extract undue opportunities.
The new FBCCI president Matlub Ahmad started his election campaign from the beginning claiming he has the green signal from the government and his panel ‘Unnayan Parishad’ has the government blessing as well. His panel won 25 posts out of 32 from the chamber and association groups and all the 20 directors nominated by the government to the FBCCI from District Chambers and Trade Associations also lent their support to him.
Such government chosen leaders of FBCCI cannot be helpful to serve the general interest of its members for advancing the cause of commerce and industry. It has proved in the past also that such government favoured leaders failed to improve the conditions of commerce and industry generally. It is unfortunate for the nation that the most important federation will be used for the benefit of special interests and not the general interest of business protection and economic growth. The country is run on the blueprint of bureaucratic unaccountability. It is short-sighted to be obliging to such blueprint.
