Let us get serious if we want to get ahead

If we are not careful, our nation may end up being the laughing stock in this region. In many ways, we are just not serious. The way we manage our affairs raises many questions. For instance, how do we expect a child who scores only 20 per cent in a critical examination to be an expert in any field of study? There will, of course, be consequences for the nation in general.

Worse still, the way our laws are debated and passed and then amended in Parliament is not satisfactory. The entire process is often clouded with politicking. As a result, we have many good policies and laws, but we do not have the spirit to enforce them. Given this tendency, how can we avoid bureaucracy, corruption and inefficiency?

We have always argued that if want to be successful we must ensure that, besides having good policies and laws, we have the political will to enforce them. If we do not, we can only expect to continue lagging behind other nations.

The President’s Delivery Bureau intends to amend the Public Procurement and the Public Private Partnership laws to ensure that Big Results Now works. This is a good move, but will amending laws and introducing more slogans increase transparency and efficiency in the government? We do not think so.

We believe that the Public Private Partnership is important in bringing about development. But what often fails us is widespread corruption, lavish lifestyles and opting for shortcuts even in priority sectors. It is time we changed our mindset if we really want to develop our nation.

Let us not just work, but work hard and intelligently. We believe that we have all the resources we need to develop this nation if we all play our part as we should. The government must leads us in this. We want to see this nation developing and not just piling up laws.