The song violated the broadcasting code of conduct’s rules concerning accuracy, fairness and balance, the regulator informed Raajje TV CEO Naazmee Saeed in a letter sent on February 10.

The alleged violations relate to provisions that require news programmes to “always rely on a credible source of information” and to "strive to maintain accuracy, impartiality, fairness, and balance.”

It is unclear why news reporting standards are being applied to a song.

The seven-member commission decided to launch an inquiry on its own initiative and not because of a complaint, a broadcom member revealed. Speaking to the Maldives Independent on the condition of anonymity, the member agreed that “news and current affairs standards cannot and should not be applied to a song.” 

Asked about the decision to apply the standards, Sofa Shafeeq, president of the commission, said she could not comment before the inquiry is concluded. 

The commission has asked the private broadcaster to provide a written response by February 24. A ruling will be made in absentia if Raajje TV fails to do so, it warned.

Broadcom flagged the first verse of the song as problematic. The translated lyrics read: 

“Torched to muddle the list [flat recipient’s final list],

Housing [ministry] is ablaze,

Servers have been burnt down,

Everything burnt and turned into ashes right in front of our eyes,

burnt into ashes..."

The verse refers to a fire in Malé on December 12 that destroyed the office buildings of the housing ministry, infrastructure ministry and environment ministry. The housing ministry later announced that its servers were unsalvageable, raising concerns about the loss of data related to the evaluation of social housing applications during the final weeks of former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration. 

The opposition MDP alleged foul play.

Amir Saleem, programme manager at Raajje TV and the lyricist of the song, described the broadcom probe as a direct attack on artistic expression. “It is absolutely ridiculous that a song has to adhere to the standards of a news and current affairs programme,” he said.

“This marks the official commencement of government harassment against media outlets like Raajje TV, deemed to be dissident.”

The broadcasting law prescribes penalties for violations of the code of the conduct. If Raajje TV is found guilty, the commission has the authority to instruct the station to either “rectify” the content, issue a public caution, or broadcast a correction or retraction at a time determined by broadcom.

Repeated breaches or non-compliance could result in fines of up to two percent of the broadcaster’s annual income or a legally binding broadcast suspension order. Persistent violations could lead to a civil case to revoke the station’s broadcasting license and criminal charges over non-compliance with a lawful order.

A majority of the commission’s seven members must vote to approve any punitive measures. Of the current members, three were appointed by the sitting parliament, where President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s People’s National Congress holds a 75-seat supermajority. 

Ali Rifshan, president of the Maldive Journalist Association, expressed concern over the investigation and questioned the commission’s intent. “Such controversial songs have been broadcasted on other channels in previous occasions and broadcom has never launched an investigation,” he said, adding that the current inquiry “seems to be an attempt to stifle press freedom.”

“I don’t believe broadcom can reprimand Raajje TV over this,” he said. 

The opposition MDP-aligned station is no stranger to such threats. In October 2013, Raajje TV’s studio was torched in an arson attack. During president Abdulla Yameen’s administration, the station was also repeatedly fined millions of rufiyaa by broadcom under a defamation law that was later repealed. 

Raajje TV's owners include former MDP MP Ahmed Saleem and Akram Kamaludeen, the MDP government’s minister of state for housing, who was recently barred from travelling overseas for an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud in awarding social housing flats and plots of land.