A national bourgeois class needed to strengthen institutions: Mahfuj Alam
He also said that a nexus has developed among the cultural establishment, the military-civil bureaucracy, and corporations - an “unholy alliance
Information and Broadcasting Adviser Mahfuj Alam today (28 October) said that a national bourgeois class is necessary to strengthen Bangladesh's national institutions.
"To strengthen Bangladesh's national institutions, we need a national bourgeois class. In the past 50 years, you will not find any national bourgeoisie in this country," he said while addressing the launching ceremony of the book "Agnijhra Borsha: Desh O Bideshe" as a special guest at a city hotel in the capital's Gulshan area.
Referring to the 1990s as the period when the bourgeois class began to emerge in Bangladesh, Mahfuj Alam said, "There are reasons to criticise Ershad, and we will; but even then, from Shaheed Ziaur Rahman to roughly 1996, that was the period when our bourgeois — those who now control large sums of money and own major business groups — began to grow."
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"These bourgeois were built with state incentives and public money. But what have they given back to the country?" asked the adviser.
He also said that a nexus has developed among the cultural establishment, the military-civil bureaucracy, and corporations - an "unholy alliance," as he described it.
In this nexus, political will or ambition becomes secondary, he said, adding that unless this bond of power among the three is broken, even the best policies cannot be implemented.
Mahfuj added, "The media, cultural establishment, military-civil bureaucracy, and corporations together have formed this unholy nexus. In front of them, political goodwill becomes insignificant. This is where we need to work."
Among the media, the cultural establishment, and the military-civil bureaucracy, "I do not see much desire to do something for the people," he added.
He further noted that the government is not in crisis, but entrepreneurs are waiting for a new government.
"Business will do well. The issue here is trust. Everyone is waiting for the election, after which they will invest. It's not that there is a major crisis in the government; rather, there is a lack of trust in the market," Mahfuj said.
People are holding onto money, waiting for a five-year government to come and then start rolling their capital. It is not a crisis — not in business at least," the adviser added.
