Attorney General Ahmed Usham, on Thursday, remarked that he believes there is no need with withdraw the controversial Media “control” Bill, which would grant the government significant control over the media.
The controversial Media Bill, was submitted to the Parliament by Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakr, an independent lawmaker aligned with the government and a medium-scale businessman with no background in media. 
The Parliament, in which ruling PNC holds supermajority, accepted the bill on Wednesday and forwarded it to the committee for review. The Independent Institutions Committee commenced work on the bill on Thursday during which they set a September 15th deadline for completion.
The bill has been heavily criticized by journalists who have been protesting the bill since yesterday.
Speaking during a press conference regarding these concerns, Usham said after the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) reviewed the Media Bill, he sees no need for it to be withdrawn.
“When we researched the content of the bill and reviewed related works undertaken by Attorney General’s Office and recommendations that have been put forth by various parties, I believe, in fact it is my opinion, that we can proceed by further researching the bill currently at hand and making amendments as necessary,” he said.
“In my opinion, there is no need to withdraw the bill,” he added.
Usham said there is a daft bill sent by AGO to Maldives Media Council in 2022, adding there is not much different between this bill and the bill which has been submitted to the parliament.
In this regard, he detailed that the draft bill sent to Media Council includes a provision stating two members of the media regulatory body will be appointed by the president.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu also met with journalists on Thursday following the protests. During the meeting, the President assured that his administration is “100 percent media pro”, adding the government will submit revisions to specific provisions of the bill.
In addition to allowing the President power over appointment of its members, the new bill also empowers the proposed commission to impose major penalties against media outlets as well as individual journalists, including during the investigative stage. This includes:
Fines of MVR 5,000 -25,000 against journalists for failure to comply with the commission’s instructions.
Fines of up to MVR 100,000 against media outlets and magazines for legal violations.
Temporary suspension of registrations during ongoing commission probes.
Permanently revoking registrations through the courts.
Blocking websites during ongoing probes.
Ordering the cessation of broadcasting.
But while journalists' associations such as the MMC, the Maldives Journalists Association and even the International Journalists Assocuation protest against the new media bill as a threat to press freedom, it is backed by the government, which insists the legislature is designed to empower the press and protect press freedom.