Leveraging public sentiment

Star

Discerning observers say that the cynic segment of the intellectuals believe that in our parlance respecting public sentiment does not necessarily mean sharing public naivety or at worst their stupidity. One would like to trust that our wily politicians do not subscribe to such a view. Therefore, there are good reasons to hope that public voice or aspirations carry a special meaning for our public leaders.
It is in this backdrop that one feels encouraged to hear that henceforth the BNP, a major political party, would seriously take into account the public sentiment while crafting its strategy.
The trusting millions of Bangladesh would expect that BNP's strategy would not remain confined to the religious sentiment of the people and would encapsulate the mundane and material expectations of the broad populace. The question, therefore, is how much people-centric have our political programmes been? How does a paradigm shift in our attitude to people's welfare become a reality? Those are thoughts that should engage the attention of concerned citizens.
In specific terms, will our politicians realise that corruption is the greatest solvent of public institutions and is a far greater threat than poverty? Shall they recognise that ordinary people in course of their business are bewildered and frustrated by reckless corruption of service-giving institutions, and that there seems to be little effort to stem the rot? One may need to know if our public leaders shall remain occupied in maintaining a system that is poisoned by collective bad faith and polluted by individual avarice.
Public sentiment demands that we in Bangladesh remain constitutionally and politically united so that we retain the strength that is necessary to sustain us in adversity and also progress towards prosperity. Citizens would like to see that ignorance, incompetence and dishonesty are treated as serious disqualifications for high public office, either in the ministerial ranks or elsewhere.
The people want our public leaders to realise that bureaucracy is the instrument through which public policy is formulated and plans implemented. Therefore, after defining the role of public servants and settling the rules of the game, they should be allowed to operate independently and without political interference.
Concerned citizens would like to transform the police force into an effective instrument of crime control; and that would entail actions like re-defining its role, re-fixation of its size and rationalising its functions. One may also like to see an end to the apparently unlimited powers of the police that might have been useful in colonial days but are irrelevant now.
The people's sentiment centres around their participation in the process of governance. To be specific, they do not want to be mere chattels who have no self-respect or dignity. They want to be in a position to demand protection or security as a matter of right, and do not like to request, beseech or beg. In fine, they want an effective end to the present patron-client relationship, once and for all.
Responding to popular sentiments would in effect mean that our leaders put the nation above the party and the group. People would like to see the change from privilege to talent and from accident of birth to emphasis on calibre and demand that the leaders make serious efforts to stop our society from disintegrating into confrontational factions.
The citizens wish and pray that our leaders are blessed by the wisdom to perceive the truth and display the courage to say it to the people. They want the authority to demonstrate that there is no substitute for knowledge and integrity in public life and that persons are appointed to high public offices because of what they are and not because of their belonging to a particular interest. They want their leaders to stand like a rock in the wilderness of shifting sands.
On a wider canvas, people want the leaders to show the spirit of moderation. This moderation, in practice, would mean not pressing a partisan advantage to its bitter end coupled with the ability to understand and respect the other opinion and the realisation of a unity between all citizens. The people want them to inculcate the habits of consent and compromise that are attributes of mature political societies.
Citizens do not want their leaders to remain preoccupied with single-minded pursuit of money thus becoming money-minded and avaricious. In desperation, they are now looking for people for whom money is not everything.
Our people do not have high aspirations and they do not make heavy demands. They only want reasonably honest and pragmatic leadership that can deliver. The need of the hour is good management and managers. Ensuring that would mean responding positively to public sentiment.

Muhammad Nurul Huda is a columnist for The Daily Star.