Red signal for Bangladeshi government
by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
January 23, 2011
Stock Market in Bangladesh has stopped trading for past few days, when small investors went on citywide massive rampage at the sudden fall of values of shares of a large number of companies. This is the second biggest share scam in Bangladesh since the past tenure of Bangladesh Awami League government, which came in power for a 5-year term in 1996. It may be mentioned here that, in 1996, hundreds of small investors turned pauper by investing in the stock market, when several companies played dirty trick with the investors by artificially inflating the prices of the shares.
Finance Minister AMA Muhit has told the media that the current crisis in the share market is the result of some of his 'mistakes'. Though the Bangladeshi finance minister endorsed his failure, he did not resign from the post accepting his failure. Instead, the minister is trying to find some real or even artificial ways in some how cooling down the current crisis, thus tackling the virtual lawlessness prevailing in the stock market. According to media reports, a number of companies listed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange are cashing hundreds of millions of dollars through numerous manipulations. It is also reported that, most of such culprit companies are either backed or owned by influential members of the current ruling party. A number of influential ministers are also actively involved behind this huge scam.
Like many other developing nations, in Bangladesh also, small and medium range investors as well as unemployed and students are investing money in the share market in hope of profit. In most cases, such investors are lured and misled by culprit companies as well as some corrupt stock brokerage firms as well as corrupt officials within Dhaka Stock Exchange. Concerned ministry is visibly remaining mum even after seeing the small investors turning virtually pauper in the stock market.
Former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank [Central Bank] Khondokar Ibrahim Khaled in an exclusive interview with a local news agency revealed that, Around 10-15 politicians and businessmen grabbed Tk 150 billion from the country's innocent investors in fast bucks in the last four months, crashing the stock market onto a new low.
He said, "One lawmakers of the then ruling Awami League was responsible for the '96 share-market scam, but this year's crisis was created by some other politicians and businessmen, including a BNP leader. However, I don't want to name anybody's name,"
Putting a rhetorical question as to how such a huge amount of money vanished from the stock market as the tiny investors had come up with huge investments since the beginning of the upturn in the share-market index, he said, "I think this huge amount of money simply poured into the pockets of a group of people who reaped a windfall out of a freefall in share prices over the last few days."
He added: "Creating the crisis they looted such a huge amount of money, which they would never invest in the stock market."
Local and international media reported the plunge in the stock as unprecedented in the 55 years' history of the Dhaka stock exchange. Dhaka Stock Exchange [DSE] general index lost 1235 points in two consecutive days bringing nerve shattering shock wave to small investors.
According to stock market analysts and financial experts in Bangladesh, the current crisis may not be easily tackled by the government as several unscrupulous companies have already extracted millions of dollars from the market and smuggled out major portion of this money to various countries in the world. In this case, if the government will fail to tackle this situation immediately, it will certainly put a huge negative impact on the very fate of the ruling party in Bangladesh.
On the other hand, the share market scam took place at such a time, when the ruling party was already feeling nervous and uncomfortable with the just concluded municipal corporation elections held in the country. During this election, it is visibly shown that voters are getting increasing unhappy on the current government.
During the municipal corporation elections, the ruling party got almost neck-to-neck seats with the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, while the voters also elected a few candidates belonging to Islamist party named Jamaat-e-Islami. The voters have also rejected all the candidates from the Jatoyi Party, which is headed by former military dictator Hussain Muhammed Ershad. This result has several dimensions to evaluate. First of all, the same voters, who elected Bangladesh Awami League with landslide victory, giving absolute majority in the parliament, thus pushing Bangladesh Nationalist Party to the status of a cornered opposition, has for several reasons turned visibly annoyed with the ruling party. Secondly, the voters also categorically showed that there is no space of sympathy for a former military dictators like Hussain Muhammed Ershad, who not only is known to be a champion corrupt, but also is a war criminal [Ershad was a member of the tribunal formed by the Pakistani government in 1971 to try the officers who were defecting in favor of Bangladesh and the liberation movement]. The voters also showed that anti-liberation forces like Ershad or Jamaat-e-Islami are already rejected from being in politics. Though politically quite different, Ershad's Jatiyo Party and Jamaat-e-Islami has a few ideologies in common. Ershad made Islam as the 'State Religion' of Bangladesh. He supports enforcing Sharia Law and makes the Blasphemy Law much sticker in Bangladesh. Furthermore, Ershad advocates Dhaka's 'closer ties' with the Arab nations as well as China, while he indirectly opposes any growing relations with the West. Hussain Muhammed Ershad is also one of the front ranking political figures supporting countries like Iran, Palestine etc and voices for elimination of Israel from the global map.
And very unfortunately, Hussain Muhammed Ershad and his Jatiyo Party are an influential partner of the current ruling 'Grand Alliance' led by Bangladesh Awami League.
During the winter, the government is little bit comfortable with the power crisis, but with the beginning of summer in February end, the country will once again start witnessing multiple load-shedding everyday, thus causing tremendous suffering to the commoners. On the other hand, the government has failed to address issues like prices of essentials as well as law and order situation.
Secularist forces in the world wants to see parties like Awami League in power in the Muslim nations, as they can very actively combat Islamist militancy and Jihadist forces as well give a solid foundation to country's democratic institutions. But, what we are witnessing in the country in current days is nothing but a serious red alert to the party in power. Wish those in power would pay minimum heed to such issues and actively formulate policies in addressing these without wasting any time. Unfortunately, no one learns from the history. And it is repeatedly being proved in this country.
