Expressing deep over the existing law and order situation in Bangladesh, top economic and leaders of Bangladesh have urged the leading political parties and stakeholders concerned to work together with greater responsibility to help improve the situation and bring back normalcy in the daily life.

President of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Kamran T Rahman in a statement on Wednesday said the country’s economy and business will suffer heavily unless sound law and order situation is restored.

Kamran T Rahman has warned that creation of new jobs and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country will be hampered provided the country’s deteriorating law and order prevails in the country.

Some 20 lakh youths enter the job market every year creating a hiccup in the job market as the Bangladesh economy in the last 10 years also witnessed a growth with creation of less jobs in the market, said a leader of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).

Greeting the move to form an interim government in the country by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, he expressed the hope that new government will reorganize the state’s important organizations in the shortest possible time to run the country ahead.

Expressing concern at the work stoppage by the law-enforcing agencies over some demands, Kamran T Rahman said they will start performing their duty soon and help improve law and order situation and restore the normalcy.

Kamran T Rahman voiced concern over the loss of lives and properties in recent violence and expressed the sympathy to the relatives of deceased persons.

He demanded proper enquiry into every killing, treatment of the injured persons and mid- and long-term compensation to the relatives of the victims and their near and dear ones.

The economy of Bangladesh has suffered a massive blow during the student movement on quota system in the government job during the period of July, 2024, said a top leader of the Japan-Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI).

He said the cumulative loss of the economy would be higher during recent violence than Bangladesh economy suffered after the during Holey Artisan incident in 20216 and Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013.

He said the economy will require at least 5 years to overcome the loss centering movement and violence and laid emphasis on normalcy to run business.

High economic disparity, corruption, nepotism, slow employment creation, Russia-Ukraine war,  siphoning off  state wealth out of the country by some corrupt persons have a created crisis in the economy, said a retired professor  of the economics department of the Dhaka University while talking to this correspondent.

Secretary General of the Australia Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ABCCI) and also Director of Shah Fatehullah Textile Mills Limited Jobayer Tansim Ahmed said a section of miscreants are engaged the looting and plundering of the properties in the country.

He said a group of youths are patrolling streets at Gulshan to stop stealing and looting of propertied in cooperating with the Gulshan Society and military personnel.

Expressing deep concern at destruction  targeting industrial and commercial establishments in the country, President of the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB) Md Mahbubur Rahman has urged Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman to step in and ensure the security of business premises.

Md Mahbubur Rahman, president of ICCB, said, "We must stop the destruction caused by miscreants. Students are not involved in this. Some miscreants are causing havoc across the country. If we cannot stop them, the situation will worsen. We urge the army to intervene and halt this destruction."

ICCB President Mahbubur Rahman also mentioned past pressures on businesspeople during the Awami League government's tenure. He said, "During that time, you had to either support them or be against them. There was no opportunity to take a neutral stance."

In response to a question about meeting with the then prime minister to discuss student protests, police killings, and the curfew, Mahbubur Rahman said, "Since we did not have much choice, we had no opportunity to object when invited to meet with the government head."

At a press conference in a city hotel on Wednesday, business leaders voiced their concerns and supported the decision to form an interim government with Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus as the chief advisor. The International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB) organised the event.

AK Azad, former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) and Managing Director of Ha-Meem Group, said, "We need protection for our lives and factories. Our global image is deteriorating. If the Army chief takes prompt action, the situation may improve."

He added, "Several factories have been set on fire, including those of Ha-Meem Group, Beximco, Gazi Group, and Square's headquarters."

Md Mahbubur Rahman, president of ICCB, said, "We must stop the destruction caused by miscreants. Students are not involved in this. Some miscreants are causing havoc across the country. If we cannot stop them, the situation will worsen. We urge the army to intervene and halt this destruction."

Garment owners reported that although factories were supposed to open today, many, including those in Ashulia and Bhaluka, remain closed. Entrepreneurs are hesitant to reopen. Additionally, multiple factories in Narayanganj have been vandalised.

MA Matin Chowdhury, former president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, said, "Many are unable to unload raw materials at the port. Factories are stockpiling products. Buyers are moving about 30% of their orders elsewhere.

"However, if the situation improves quickly, the overall business environment will stabilise."

MA Jabbar, managing director of DBL Group, said, "Buyers are continuously inquiring about the current situation. This situation cannot be prolonged. If the situation improves rapidly and law and order are restored, we can manage."

FBCCI Vice-President Amin Helaly said, "We are currently going through a tough time. With the private sector contributing 85% to the economy, halting it makes economic progress difficult. Immediate improvement is necessary."

Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad has expressed deep concern over the vandalism and damage of properties and loss of lives during the student movement and after resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024…….

The miscreants are damaging and looting properties and have also killed a number of persons during the last three days

Emphasizing restoring law and order situation in the country, Nur Mohammad, also former member of parliament, said sound and law situation is important in the greater interest of country.

“No matter how much you criticise the police, and call it names, you can't live a moment without its presence. It is simply unbelievable what the police force went through in the last few days. We never heard of such things [atrocities], no one expected that such a terrifying situation would arise. They [the police] went through a horrible time, he said in an interview with the Business Standard . 

This fear is contagious. When one person is scared, others get scared as well. So many police stations were attacked, so many police officers were killed; to restore all this, we need to act immediately. And it has to be a combined effort by all of us.

I have spoken to the IG and others that if needed, the police should give a statement which will be supported by everyone - the politicians, the military etc. This might bring some stability to the current situation and help in reducing the fear among those who left the stations, and those who are now in hideout.

Senior police officials can do it and politicians and the military can give their support. Only then will they [the police] get back the courage. They went through a terrifying experience, and still are.

But whatever we do, we have to think well and proper before doing it. There can't be any discrimination and we have to think things through before deciding on anything.

I think that ever since police stations were established, there has not been a single moment when they were deserted or abandoned like this. So, what we have to do is come together and instill hope and courage in them [the police officers] and this has to start from now. 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank (BB) spokesperson Mezbaul Haque on Wednesday said as Bangladesh Bank (BB) officials are appointed by the government, their resignations will be processed by the interim government after it is formed.

"The resignations will be presented to the government on an urgent basis," he said at a press briefing at Jahangir Alam conference room of Bangladesh Bank headquarters following an unrest among officials who demanded the resignation of four deputy governors, one advisor and the head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).

Director, executive director, and senior officials of the central bank were present at the press briefing...

Mezbaul Haque said due to dissatisfaction among the officers and employees of Bangladesh Bank, they demanded the reform of all irregularities including the bank orders to the administration.

Leaders of the Foreign Investors Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce (BGCCI), France Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI), Swiss-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dutch -Bangla Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DBCCI),  Thai- Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTCCI), American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), Spain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SBCC) and Korea -Bangladesh  Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KBCCI) have expressed concern over the recent violence that demerged reputation of the country, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Philippine government is closely monitoring the developing situation in Bangladesh, said its the Department of Foreign Affairs in a statement from Manila.

The Philippines called for the "peaceful and orderly" transition of power in Bangladesh, following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024, according to a message here on Wednesday.

Since 2 August 2024, the Philippine government, as recommended by the Philippine Embassy in Dhaka, has raised Alert Level 1 in Bangladesh.

Alert Level 1 reminds all Filipinos in the country to remain indoors and to regularly monitor the situation during this period of transition.

The Philippine Embassy in Dhaka and the entire government stand ready to assist Filipinos affected by the on-going political developments in the country, the statement reads.

The Philippines conveyed its solidarity with the people of Bangladesh and committed to efforts aimed at restoring peace and stability in Bangladesh

Emphasizing restoring law and order situation in the country, Nur Mohammad, also former member of parliament, said sound and law situation is important in the greater interest of country.

Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said “ I would suggest that the interim government start off by preparing, very speedily and efficiently, a white paper on the state of the economy, so that we have a bit of transparency on the current state of affairs of the economy.

Firstly, the white paper could focus on problems such as the economic challenges that were triggered by the recent movement in the last month or two.

The second set of problems [they could focus on] include macroeconomic stability, the foreign exchange reserve, the power situation, the inflation rate, etc. that affected us in the recent past.

The third set of problems are the structural problems that we have carried forward in the last decade or so: the fault lines in the development approach we pursued, including revenue mobilisation, banking reforms, capital market reforms, how to improve private investment, etc. and also the backlog on the longstanding reform agendas.

So, I see three sets of problems. Immediately to bring back economic normalcy, we need to first ensure that exports, remittances, employment, wages, etc. are in line at the moment and stabilise the market to the extent possible for the commodities, which are very much necessary for the lower-middle class or middle class.

On the other hand, [we also need to address] the problems we saw in the recent past, partly because of the global situation, and partly because of our own mismanagement and then thirdly, [we need to address] the reform of the long outstanding issues.

Zahid Hussain, former lead economist, World Bank Dhaka office, said “ Where the economy goes from here depends on where we take it. We are not sure what the next government will look like and what their mandate will be. If they have a very limited mandate, where their only task will be facilitating a free and fair election to install a democratic government, in that case, they will not have much to do when it comes to the economy other than routine policy-making, because it is outside their mandate.

But even within the purview of that routine work, they will have to focus on some aspect of the economy, because the wheels of the economy must keep turning. The haemorrhaging has almost stopped, so we must now focus on the diseases that have taken root inside the body.

The past couple of weeks, we were almost in a double lockdown. You could neither go out, nor could you do anything from home. Even during the pandemic you could at least work from home. So, there was a real lockdown and a virtual one. The economy became totally dysfunctional due to the double lockdowns. Even in Gaza, the vegetable sellers bring out their produce. Other than that bare minimum, the economy came to a halt.