From Crisis to Opportunity: Leveraging Meritocracy, Pragmatism, and Honesty to Revitalize Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka needs to study best practices to govern the country,We can learn many from other countries. It is exciting to analyze the factors of Meritocracy, Pragmatism and Honesty((Singapore’s MPH Formula) and we will see how Sri Lanka can implement this in our context. We should read this MPH introduced by Dr. Goh Keng Swee, (architect of Singapore’s economic miracle,)and Mr. S. Rajaratnam, (Singapore’s philosopher par excellence). Given Sri Lanka’s current crisis, we must explore diverse strategies and draw insights from proven successful practices worldwide.
Let us discuss this magical formula that is aligned with the Sri Lankan context.
Meritocracy
Meritocracy means a country picks its best citizens, not the relatives of the ruling class, to run a country. In a broader perspective, there should be a mechanism for selecting people on merit rather than class, privilege, or wealth. This should apply to the ministers, government as well as in other sectors in Sri Lanka. If you appoint your relative as your successor just because of the relationship in the Institute that also needs to be considered in this context.In Sri Lanka, there should be an apex body to consider the appointment of ministers and heads of institutions in the government and the duty is to make sure that the section of ministers and heads of institutions are made with their competencies(not with class, privilege, or wealth ). Prior to the section the proposed ministers/administrators should be audited and all of them need to submit their asset declarations etc. That also comes under the purview of the “Apex body”
Pragmatism
As per Mahbubani(2017) “Pragmatism means that a country does not try to reinvent the wheel.” The following remarks of Kishore Mahbubani clearly indicate the real application of Pragmatism. “As Dr. Goh Keng Swee would say to me, “Kishore, no matter what problem Singapore encounters, somebody, somewhere, has solved it. Let us copy the solution and adapt it to Singapore.” Copying best practices is something any country can do “.
In Sri Lanka, we can see the education, social and cultural systems of the country mostly align with dogmatic ideology. Anyway, there is a need to change and adjust yourself(and organizations) by looking at the environment. this can be more seen in state-run institutions. All stakeholders (Management,employees, trade union, and customers) should come together and make certain changes for this.It can be proposed to have “Consultative committees “ in state-run institutions with a combination of stakeholders and experts from the private sector. it is worth noting that some private sector companies in Sri Lanka also have this same “Dogmatism syndrome” .We need to have transformational leaders with intellectual stimulation in which they challenge themselves as well as things around you . You always ask yourself how you can change the world for happiness. I think the other aspects of transformational leadership such as idealized influence (charisma, self-confidence, consistency and trust ), and Inspiration motivation (inspire confidence, motivation, and a sense of purpose in followers.) also important to have better pragmatism.
Honesty
This is always aligned with unethical activities such as corruption.I believe the religious leaders of the country should take the initiative and act as the main influencing group to inculcate a country’s honesty. And also it is important to note that practicing “Honesty” is not only applicable to “Politicians” it is to all citizens in the country. Even this most debated “corruption “is under SDG goals as well. As per United Nations “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests”. The 17 SDGs are: (1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reducing Inequality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life On Land, (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (17) Partnerships for the Goals. More importantly under SDG 16 “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions” fighting corruption “ is really important .To ensure the 2030 agenda there should be a special consideration for this factor of “corruption” unless this will destabilize the progress of All SDGs.
Conclusion
As Sri Lankans, the time come for all of us to have our reflections. And everybody in the country needs to “change” with a common vision. If one argues we need to have a better system it is only half of the solution as there should be “responsible citizens” to articulate that system.The people of the country also should be changed. So this “secret” formula of MPH is one prescribed formula that applies to the country. And also we need to be “pragmatic” to accept the good practices with localization.
(The writer is a Professor in Management Studies, Faculty of Management, Management Studies, The Open University of Sri Lanka. You can reach Professor Abeysekera at nabey@ou.ac.lk)
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