Promises Vs. Policies

By Upul Kumarapperuma

Despite the destruction and psychological trauma Japan had under gone, shortly after the war, they started rebuilding the nation. The skilled undergraduates, in certain fields, were handpicked and sent to the West in the hope of learning advanced technology, with the assurance of their return. As promised, they returned and strengthened the malnourished labour force of Japan and, eventually, brought the nation forward to stand among the top three economies in the World. When the Olympic Games were held in Japan, in 1964, they had removed all remaining ruins of Second World War, except the war memorial monuments, to show the world that they had resurrected from death. The first bullet train (Shin Kansen) was introduced in the same year that the Olympics were held. At that time, it was the fastest train in the world.

 

Secret of success

Today, Japan is the third largest economy in the world, and one of the most secure and methodical countries as far as quality of life is concerned.

Having undergone massive destruction of its wealth and lives during the war, in the absence of rich natural resources, and with 88% of its land in such a state that it could not be utilized for any purpose, what is the secret to Japan’s success?

It is the commitment, discipline and the dedication of its rulers as well as its people.

It is evident that the success story of Japan is due to the motivation of the rulers – the positive attitudes of the rulers and the people towards the development of the country.

 

Honeymoon welfare

In contrast, we have been boasting of a rich civilization spanning two thousand five hundred years. We talk about our expertise in architecture, agriculture, irrigation, and confine ourselves to history. While trumpeting all of this, the country is in a deadlock in terms of development, and the reasons are multifaceted. The rulers, citizens, attitudes, commitment, dedication and discipline, and so many other causes, are involved in this crisis faced by the country.

Most Sri Lankans are very much comfortable living as dependents. The  culture of dependency that the majority indulges in is the best breeding ground for opportunistic politics. The promises that are aimed at the voters at elections are taken on ad-hoc basis to impress the dependent voters and have no scientific or rational basis.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who got nominations to contest at the forthcoming election from the Kurunegala District, has very recently announced that,  if he becomes the Prime Minister, he would make a donation of Rs. 200,000 to all newlyweds. This is not uncommon in some rich countries where it is considered convenient to stay single. Usually these countries possess enormous wealth and have maintained an allocation for social welfare and social security as a policy.  Does this country have such a policy? Is the Treasury overwhelmed with money? The answer for both of these questions is “no”. Is there a study done in this regard? The answer is “never heard of it, but there might be a survey to account for the unmarried young population”. It is worthwhile to note that the same leader who had increased the registration fee for marriage from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 5,000, today plans to grant a dowry of Rs. 200,000.

It is obvious that, as a developing country, Sri Lanka is not in a position to introduce such a mega welfare scheme for honeymooners nor is it necessary as there is no impediment in the marriage rate. The burning issue is that the economy is handicapped with inconsistent production and poor productivity of the labour force. The country is mainly relying on foreign debts.

Then why has the former President made such a promise? The simple answer is “that is politics”. There is an intricate explanation that gets ti the root of Sri Lanka’s society and its behaviour.

Given past experience of the behavioural pattern of voters of this country , it is obvious that the best promisor becomes the best candidate. The unfortunate fate of the country is that the majority is not educated enough, or they are not inclined to understand the illogical nature of the promise and the difference between policy and promise. The masses would prefer casual benefits rather than await a permanent solution.

At past elections, candidates stooped to the level of distributing lavatory commodes and sil-redi. The beneficiaries, in turn, stooped to the level of accepting whatever was offered to them, in exchange for their sovereignty.

Rajapaksa has clearly identified the vulnerability of the country and exploits their helplessness and state of poverty to achieve his targets. Even amidst serious doubts cast over the implementing of these herculean tasks, his target audience, for convenience, has given him the benefit of the doubt.

The level of education, or intellectual capacity, is insufficient to eradicate this political culture. There are a number of examples where intellects have also bent down with promises. Most of the people are not educated on policies formulated for long term benefits. The general belief is that, when a political party comes out with policies and not promises, they are impractical. The inclination is that, to cast a vote for a political party with good policies, it is necessary to have some fairytale promises, serving as an appetiser for their day to day life.

 

Development manifestos

The main criticism against the present government is their failure to continue with the development projects initiated by the previous government. The social media operates against the present government, brutally attacks the government on this issue. The response of the government, to the accusation, was that they have restored law and order in the country and, with the introduction of the 19th Amendment, they have laid the foundation for good governance. The reason given for suspending the ongoing development projects were the heavy loans which could not be afforded by the country. Even though the government’s response was logical and credible, the pressure mounting on the government persist since the majority still thinks a “right based society” is a luxury and has no relevance or benefit to the ordinary person.

If one compares the manifestos presented to the country, for the upcoming elections, by all the main political parties, a significant feature highlighted in the manifesto presented by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna is that they have presented a policy framework for several fields which are important for a right based society, good governance and the production economy of the country.

They have identified existing problems in these areas and presented remedial measures and the results to be expected after making reforms in each sector. There is no doubt that their manifesto is a visionary statement, focusing on at least five years to get results. The country needs a visionary plan, to move to the next step. With a shortsighted society, it is doubtful that it would get due recognition.

 

Change of attitude

There is a serious dialogue taking place to change the attitudes of the people and make them independent and free. Most of the countries have changed governing patterns with better attitudes. At one time, Singapore was way behind us, South Korea was the second poorest in the world in 50s, there was corruption even in Japan, but, at some point, all these countries realised where they were and where they could have been. That was the starting point of their respective economic revolutions.

Each of those countries awakened with a clear vision, brought to light by a change of attitudes of their society, guided by their rulers. There is an imminent necessity of changing the behavioural pattern of Sri Lankan society. It is necessary to take drastic steps to get the country onto the correct path.

Countries governed with policy frameworks delivering consistency, predictability, uniformity, accountability, and transparency to its citizens, have prospered. Their citizens know they are protected by policies. In Sri Lanka, the general belief is that the protection of an ordinary man is by the pleasure of the ruler and not by any policy.

With the aforesaid promise of Rajapaksa, it is understood that his intention is to keep alive the vulnerability of the dependent and not lead them to any economic freedom as envisaged.

(The writer is a senior lawyer)