Financial Times

Don't we deserve what we get?
By Random Access Memory (RAM)
It is said that a people get leaders they deserve. So all blame for the messes they get us into, must be placed squarely on ourselves, by whom else, but ourselves.

RAM invites you on this Sunday morning to silently reflect on what went wrong with us, how and where. Since we have so much of the blame game around us, we must get smart. We must without calling a spade a spade, call it some other name.

After all, that is what we have learnt to do so well, all these years, when our so-called 'elected' leaders indulged in their own games. Now indulging in our own game, let us give it a new name and call it silent reflection or even better, looking in the broken mirror.

Why should we bother to spoil this warm and sunny Sunday morning, you may think? It is they who do wrong, not I. That will naturally be our front.

We have not only being complacent, we have also being collaborators on all of this. Is it not we, who let the business of corruption set in, bit by bit, starting from the innocent 'santhosam' we gave, in the days of yore, the peon in the government office to move our file faster and get it on top of the pile? Is it not we who at each election, voted in those who shamelessly robbed us with big bribes, content calling them campaign contributions to the parties we shamelessly supported year after year?

Is it not we, who blamed even the few who had the guts to rise against non merit based practises and corruption with early warning signals, telling them that they were not smart enough to know how to work within the system? Is it not we who looked on silently, when our elected 'leaders' set in place systems to perpetuate their own glory through constitutions that allow them to do as they please? It is also not we, who did not react at all, when those who promised us to nullify them, did not do anything about it, when they were to hold the reins.

We always had short memories and we just did not care. And today, we once again seek to exercise our 'democratic right', waiting to see what more the next round will bring us. Most of those of us in business will want to make sure that our buddies are re-elected, for then we can strive to do better business and thrive.

That may be short term, but then in the long term we are all dead anyway, we should think. Some of us will also ensure that all sides are equally well oiled with campaign contributions, to make sure that we do not lose out in the game. We have over the years learnt to be masters at the 'we reap what we sow at election time' game.

We do not care if our country's bottom line is in a dire straits as long as our bottom line is all shiny and bright. What do we care if the Rs. 850 million, to be spent on another election, could have financed thousands of deserving micro-entrepreneurs all around the country to start a new life for themselves.

We perhaps think that to be the business of donors and NGOs. What do we care, when we think that, that is none of our business? We are happy when a stamp is issued with public money to celebrate an insignificant anniversary of a cricket encounter of our old schools.

We are happy, when we are presented with small mercies. Since today it is fashionable to look to the global village for lessons, let us turn to Jack Welsh of General Motors, a CEO held in high esteem in the recent past for some inspiration for us.

He said, "The success of GM was achieved by always ensuring that our customers were successful". The socio-political success of 'Thaksonomics' of the current Thai Prime Minister, we are told is based on this truism as well. We, together with our leaders need to reflect on who our true customers are, and ensure their success, if we are to get out of the mess we have got ourselves into. For we have no one else, but ourselves to blame.

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