Financial Times

Knowing where we are going
By Random Access Memory (RAM)
Some call it being vision driven. Others call it an aim or knowing where one is heading. Leaders of several nations in our own Asian neighborhood such as Dr. Mahathir Mohamed of Malaysia and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore led their countries with a clear and well-defined Vision. They knew exactly where they wanted their nations to be in twenty years time and got there, through consistent maintenance of focus on what was to be achieved.

They also ensured that the vision was shared with the people of their countries. Massive media campaigns were launched to share the common values and goals associated with the vision with the people, from time to time. These were followed up by campaigns to instill pride and dignity in being Malaysian or Singaporean. 'Communication, Communication and Communication' seem to be the mantra that led the movements in the main, apart from the strong decisive leadership, consistency of action and staying the course with definite focus.

In Malaysia, the Bhumi Putras or the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians together took on a Malaysian identity to drive social and economic progress for that country. Today their advertising tag line of ' Malaysia - Truly Asia', the icon Petronas Towers, new wired up cities of Cyber Jaya and Puthra Jaya and the staying power as a nation overcoming several crises, even defying the prescriptions of global organizations, aptly reflect the fruits of that achievement.

In Singapore, the Singaporean identity is held above any ethnic identity. The key statement in 'Vision 21: Singapore is 'Every Singaporean Matters'. There is a definite unity within the diversity in that small nation state, often referred to as a large corporation. No matter what the issues and the size of the nations, the course these leaders took was not at all an easy one.

There were many bumps along the road they took. But the leadership was stern, brooked no nonsense and stayed the course, often driving strong initiatives mostly without fear or favour. The fruits of the achievements are clearly seen today in the progress these nations have made on both social and economic development fronts.

On our own turf, today we have some semblance of Sri Lanka having acquired a Vision. If 'Regaining Sri Lanka' is to be that Vision, then the leadership must stay focused on the course. Most of our 'leaders' of the recent past have had virtually no long-term vision for the country and were driven by very short-term objectives often stretching only to ensure survival till the next election. Even leaders who had a definite vision were not entirely supported by those who could have together made it happen.

Earlier this week, visiting Princeton University economist Professor William Branson was quoted as having said that 'Regaining Sri Lanka' was our hope for vision-driven development. He added that its success depended on well-managed implementation. He mentioned managing the socio economic impact of runaway inflation, need to prioritise resource allocation and effective sequencing of projects to ensure the generation of national economic value, in spending the donor funds allocated to 'Regaining Sri Lanka' as its key success factors. This indeed led a Sri Lankan economist to comment that runaway inflation was not a factor we needed to worry so much about.

He said most of the funds allocated will be spent outside the country in foreign consultants' fees, acquisition of equipment, and deposited in foreign banks by Sri Lankans who undertake to implement the projects locally. Just as the wages for labour and other incidentals will, if at all, impact on inflation.

The leadership should have the ability to stay focused, keep on driving bold initiatives, to establish systems of meritocracy and transparency for clean governance, and strongly share and communicate the ideals of the vision with the key stakeholder, the people. Our call is to Communicate, Communicate and Communicate, the Vision of 'Regaining Sri Lanka'.

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