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Leading by disciplined example

20 Dec 2021

Sri Lanka has been at the receiving end of much criticism and brickbats, both domestically and internationally, which the Government and its allies and supporters feel is undeserved. Much of the general public, however, feel otherwise, and the viewpoint that Sri Lanka needs a superior class of leadership because those who ruled the country in the past seven decades have not done their job properly is gaining ground. What can alter the direction of Sri Lanka’s economy is the question most people have these days, and many are looking for answers. Addressing the 96th Commissioning Parade of the Sri Lankan Military Academy in Diyatalawa, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa noted the importance of ensuring discipline in a military officer, and also how the attention paid to small details can help create a military officer who acts responsibly in bigger tasks, later in their lives. The President made this statement in a context where discipline remains one of the qualities most segments of Sri Lanka, especially in the political arena, are sorely lacking. Countless decisions made by the President’s own Government over the past few years have led to unprecedented repercussions. The most notable of these include the hasty decision to turn Sri Lanka into a 100% organic agriculture country, which has now led to not only an agriculture community that is suffering from a lack of fertiliser, but also threats that they would not sell the Government any of their produce. The decision to appoint the “One Country, One Law” Task Force, and regulations to make it mandatory for people who earn in US dollars (USD) to change their earnings into Sri Lankan rupees, also show a lack of discipline as far as their consequences are concerned, and this situation disappoints the people who expected something better than “good governance” (yahapalanaya) promised by the former United National Front (UNF)-led Government. In fact, if the politicians had any sort of discipline, those who made an imprudent decision to approve a Letter of Credit (LC) for the controversial Chinese fertiliser stock would be paying the $ 6 million-odd payment, not the people struggling to survive worsening inflation and regular shortages of essentials. This lack of discipline is ironic as one of the main reasons that the voting public elevated political outsider cum presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the top seat in the country was because of his billing as a no-nonsense disciplinarian who would ensure that those reporting to him and the wider population would follow laws, rules, and procedures. While his address yesterday was delivered targeting the military, it is high time for the President to ensure the politicians under him conduct themselves in a disciplined manner. The country could really use some public representatives, instead of politicians, who take their job seriously and make judicious decisions for the wellbeing of the people. The time has been, and is right, to instill some of this discipline in those who have taken the role of leading the country. At a time when the country is in an unprecedented social and economic decline, this discipline should be passed onto the people as well. However, when the leadership shows a great deal of lackadaisicalness and irresponsibility, it is highly unlikely that the people would behave any differently. The bottom line is, those in top positions – i.e. political leadership – have to take the initiative to show some sort of discipline, and thereby spread the disciplined mindset and give the people an example, rather than motivational speeches.


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