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Straight Talk - Moral Bankruptcy. (The Nation, Sunday, 2nd May, 2010)
Though I am still out of Pakistan, but from the emails that I have been receiving, it seems that what the country faces once again is moral bankruptcy, not only in our system of governance, but in society also.
Whether we are tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, we all consider ourselves above the law. You can burn, bury and maim women and children, run over innocent citizens or crush them to death in our chariots of fire or by building unsafe buildings and bridges and yet, there is no one to question you or hold you accountable, simply because in Pakistan, anything goes.
We do not think twice about throwing empty paper bags and cigarette boxes out of our air conditioned cars, smoking in No Smoking areas, breaking traffic signals, jumping ques or shoving or pushing our way to the front, cheat, lie, embezzle money from banks and the government, as this has become our ‘expression of freedom’ and simply because ‘This is Pakistan’.
Yet, the same Pakistanis behave very different when they are away from Pakistan. They will diligently observe the traffic laws, respectfully stand in ques and wait their turn, throw garbage in the dust bin, etc., simply because they are not in Pakistan and know that if they break the law, they will be hauled up and have their **** kicked.
We keep blaming our personal misbehavior and misconduct on our leadership and shift the blame with the excuse that it is due to the lack of honest and sincere leadership. This may be true up to a point, but I think that the real problem is within us.
With the passage of time and the deterioration in the quality of the civil or military leadership, the country has been forced to suffer a type of moral bankruptcy, which has plagued the nation in all sections of society, including the educated and the privileged. This is reflected in our daily life and in all our social and business activities.
The Catch 22 phrase, ‘This is Pakistan’, focuses on our own perception of how we see ourselves as a corrupt, dishonest, violent, dangerous and misgoverned nation, an observation, which is shared by many outsiders. When Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was asked about corruption in the military, he replied: "We are all of the same stock."
The national moral bankruptcy is highly evident during elections, when each time the ballot boxes are brought out and the voters, voting according to the dictates of their masters and feudal lords, they bring back the same old corrupt, morally bankrupt characters who have betrayed and disappointed them again and again.
Corruption, like every where else in the world and can be acceptable and condoned, but up to a point, if it goes hand in hand with competence, just social order, quick and effective justice, basic and reliable civic amenities and good governance to its citizens.
But when a country lacks any signs of law and order and incompetent and corrupt ministers, senators, bureaucrats and politicians are part and parcel of the system of governance, then good governance is just not possible and very soon civil society becomes corrupted in due time and becomes morally corrupt.
And ordinance such as the NRO, help in legitimizing such corruption.
This time round, it has taken less than three years of ‘democracy’ to wreak its revenge by the tales of corruption in high places. We are informed daily by our media with sordid accounts of how the country is robbed, not only by those who rule us and are paid to govern but who do not, but by those who do business and supply none other than our law enforcing agencies.
One company allegedly imported bulletproof jackets which were declared to the customs authorities as floor mats. As such, the defrauding of a fraudulent government and individuals is the order of the day and when it comes to the paying of income tax, why is it we have no full listing of the assets held by our elected representatives and the income tax they pay?
IMF have ruled that for a stable economy in a developing country, 15 percent of the GDP should be in revenues, while Pakistan has a ratio of only 7.2 percent, while our large neighbor on the other hand has managed 16 percent. And the taxes paid by our ruling elite is a joke and more evidence of the moral bankruptcy and corruption that prevails in the country.
The so-called pillars of state are shaky and unstable and the only way they can be stabilized, is by introducing immediate and undiluted, honest and transparent good governance. And it does not take a genius to prescribe the time-tested formula of good governance.
Good governance means redressing the problems, both social and economic. It means revising skewed policies in favor of the rich and the privileged and by introducing social justice, affordable education, healthcare and transport, clean water and basic amenities.
In Pakistan we have the minority, who are the privileged and very rich or the majority, who are very poor and miserable and there is very little in between. And this a dangerous formula for a clash between the haves and the have nots and a recruiting ground for terrorists and the Taliban.
If Pakistan fails to introduce good governance and a just social order in the near future, then the March of the Taliban will be replaced by the March of the Hungry and the Poor. And they will not be armed with machine guns or rocket launchers, but rocks and stones, which will break your bones. So beware, not the Ides of March, but the March of the Hungry.
H. Maker
