Zahir resigns as President of MJA

Ahmed Zahir (Hiriga) has resigned from the post of President of the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA).

In his resignation letter addressed to Vice President of MJA Ali Shammaan, Zahir said that his resignation comes following three unsuccessful attempts to elect members to the organisation’s steering committee, and that his conscience no longer allows him to remain as the President of MJA.

He said that despite his resignation, as one of the founders of the association, he will continue to work towards holding the steering committee election.

Zahir noted that as a result of his efforts during his tenure as President, MJA has been recognised locally as well as internationally as a credible organisation. He highlighted that the organisation has facilitated higher education opportunities abroad for many Maldivian journalists.

MJA has organised three meetings to elect members to its steering committee, all of which have been obstructed and stopped. The group that impeded last night’s meeting at Youth Centre claimed that several journalists were absent as they had not been informed of the meeting. MJA, however, said that the meeting was announced on its website after a 15-day period, as required by the basic regulation of the organisation.