It's the economy, not the politics
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
AFM Mohiuddin
THE numerous newspaper editorials or the endless talk-shows (gibberish) might continue to dissect the political discourse of the country; the street folks only care about two square meals a day. To the millions of malnourished and the poverty-stricken people of Bangladesh, the economic freedom and a better management of economic fundamentals are the most important determinant of their destiny. While the neighbouring Asian countries are dismantling the tentacles of poverty, we seem too obsessed with the politics that we hardly pay attention to the pressing demands of the common populace. To the street and the village folks, the arrest of Hasina and the others matter very little. However, to them rising inflation matters a lot. To them, unemployment matters a lot. They are scared of the state of sluggish economy, not anything else.
Our excessive preoccupation with the politics is hindering our growth. We failed so far to present to the nation a complete economic road map that can steer ahead the country with the poverty reduction and wealth creation. This is our collective failure. But more so, it is the failure expedited by an obsessive media. The media gives scanty coverage to the economic conditions of the country. The editorials and the occasional commentary run by the editors only harp on the politics and the politicians. Perhaps, ours is the only nation in the world that has a vibrant media, which is fully devoted to the recycling of rotten politics.
An army-led government is ruling our neighbouring Thailand. The military administration has set up a Constitution Draft Commission to frame a new constitution. The draft of the constitution is to be endorsed or rejected by the people through a referendum in a few weeks time. There have been political agitations in Thailand against the military rule. But, all are politically civilised. Thai media continues to play a commendable role in projecting the economic and political image of Thailand with a greater sense of social responsibility and professionalism.
Thai newspapers did not have to run countless editorials, nor did Thai television channels have to host any political talk-show, when the military regime even threatened to sever trade links with the neighbouring economic hub and fellow ASEAN member Singapore a few weeks ago. The diplomatic rift with Singapore started when the Thai military-led administration wanted immediate and unconditional extradition of former Thai premier Mr. Thakshin Shinawatra from Singapore, who now lives there. Perhaps, the Thai media is not as freedom-loving as our local media that they did not have to give continuous highlights to the political nitty-gritty in their country.
Our media has prioritised the politics. The Thai media has prioritised the welfare of the country. To them, covering the economic credentials of the people and the economic opportunity created by the individual entrepreneurs at micro level to contribute to the growth is more newsworthy items than dwelling on politics. They see and project the immense potential for their country to grow in a globalised interdependent world. May be this is because the media elsewhere is run by the people with high professional integrity and mature journalistic commitment. They do not have to think about maintaining status-quo and the political patronage.
But then, there is a striking similarity between the people of Bangladesh and those of Thailand. To ordinary Thais on the urban streets and the peripheries, the running of the wheel of economy is the most significant. They want jobs. They want smooth functioning of their business. They want uninterrupted economic activities to prosper and grow. They desire better healthcare facility. They would like more investment to flow into their country for increasing industrial productivity. The people here at home also want the same. But, in case of Thailand, their media and elite have successfully captured the popular imagination of Thai people. In our case, we are so unfortunate that common instinct of an economically independent life is always relegated to the extreme periphery of national discourse.
I find it ludicrous when the media and the political beneficiaries of academics cry foul at the arrest of politicians. But they remain silent when a near revolution has taken place in Chittagong Port during the current care-taker government. The Port has changed a lot. I also find it surprising to see the media pundits keeping mum when the national revenue collection has now significantly risen, when the stashed money is being brought back home and when the power and water pilferage has considerably decreased. Also, there is no editorial commentary when many a public servant is axed on the alleged corruption charges. All these do not seem to be worth of editorial scrutiny.
However truly, the government continues to grapple with the price hike. Here at least, the people expect media not only report the prices of different commodities, but lay down practical suggestions on how to control the price hike. The media can launch extensive and in-depth investigations into the causes of the price rise. People do not want fancy conjectures about the pricing conditions in the markets. They rather want a series of thorough and detailed investigative reports that expose the invisible hands of unscrupulous traders involved in market monopoly. These reports could help the government to identify the causes of price hike and the remedies there of.
The responses from the media and the policy-makers to the plight of Bangladeshi migrant workers abroad are more than disappointing. Again, our preoccupation with the politics has practically blinded us from looking at the ordeal and the suffering of the wage-earners abroad, who are keeping the wheel of our economy running. Our local media reports the plight of Bangladesh workers in different regions only when the foreign media picks up the news. It is very disappointing that our media pundits and the educated elite never take up the issue of the migrant workers seriously.
A few years ago, a Philippino maid in Malaysia was tortured by her employer. That triggered a chain of national reactions back in the Philippines. The Philippines government with the help of local and regional ASEAN media pursued the issue of safety and better employment package for the Philippines migrant workers in Malaysia. The Malaysian government was driven to effectively frame new laws to protect the domestic maids from the abuse of their employers.
The irony is that Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia continue to face social harassment, institutional prejudice and maltreatment by their employers. Similarly, the Bangladeshi migrant workers face untold suffering in the Gulf regions. No editorial or the talk-show is run to talk about the plight of these people. No in-depth report is published critically analysing how these people are systematically tortured, underpaid and abused by their employers and how they are maltreated by the Bangladesh embassy officials.
Yet, the Bangladesh Bank governor projects 7.0% GDP growth rate in fiscal 2007/08 based on the strong flow of remittances from the migrant workers. The ordinary migrant workers send the hard-earned money back for the economic well-being of the dear ones at home. A few educated professionals, who are working and enjoying the opulence of western life style, seldom bother to remit their earnings back home. They bring their family and children to the adopted country and live there comfortably. But, the remittances come from those, who leave their family and children back at home.
We would have done better as a nation if we had given much focus on, and attention to, the economic potentials of our country. Also, our brothers and sisters working as labourers, cleaners, sweepers, plantation workers, shop-keepers and cabbies in distant lands would not have to suffer so much mercilessly. But then, we can still turn the wheels around. It is never too late. An achievable economic road map targeting growth potential sectors will salvage us from the abyssal depth of political exploitation and the anathema of perpetual corruption. If Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia can grow economically, so can we.
THE numerous newspaper editorials or the endless talk-shows (gibberish) might continue to dissect the political discourse of the country; the street folks only care about two square meals a day. To the millions of malnourished and the poverty-stricken people of Bangladesh, the economic freedom and a better management of economic fundamentals are the most important determinant of their destiny. While the neighbouring Asian countries are dismantling the tentacles of poverty, we seem too obsessed with the politics that we hardly pay attention to the pressing demands of the common populace. To the street and the village folks, the arrest of Hasina and the others matter very little. However, to them rising inflation matters a lot. To them, unemployment matters a lot. They are scared of the state of sluggish economy, not anything else.
Our excessive preoccupation with the politics is hindering our growth. We failed so far to present to the nation a complete economic road map that can steer ahead the country with the poverty reduction and wealth creation. This is our collective failure. But more so, it is the failure expedited by an obsessive media. The media gives scanty coverage to the economic conditions of the country. The editorials and the occasional commentary run by the editors only harp on the politics and the politicians. Perhaps, ours is the only nation in the world that has a vibrant media, which is fully devoted to the recycling of rotten politics.
An army-led government is ruling our neighbouring Thailand. The military administration has set up a Constitution Draft Commission to frame a new constitution. The draft of the constitution is to be endorsed or rejected by the people through a referendum in a few weeks time. There have been political agitations in Thailand against the military rule. But, all are politically civilised. Thai media continues to play a commendable role in projecting the economic and political image of Thailand with a greater sense of social responsibility and professionalism.
Thai newspapers did not have to run countless editorials, nor did Thai television channels have to host any political talk-show, when the military regime even threatened to sever trade links with the neighbouring economic hub and fellow ASEAN member Singapore a few weeks ago. The diplomatic rift with Singapore started when the Thai military-led administration wanted immediate and unconditional extradition of former Thai premier Mr. Thakshin Shinawatra from Singapore, who now lives there. Perhaps, the Thai media is not as freedom-loving as our local media that they did not have to give continuous highlights to the political nitty-gritty in their country.
Our media has prioritised the politics. The Thai media has prioritised the welfare of the country. To them, covering the economic credentials of the people and the economic opportunity created by the individual entrepreneurs at micro level to contribute to the growth is more newsworthy items than dwelling on politics. They see and project the immense potential for their country to grow in a globalised interdependent world. May be this is because the media elsewhere is run by the people with high professional integrity and mature journalistic commitment. They do not have to think about maintaining status-quo and the political patronage.
But then, there is a striking similarity between the people of Bangladesh and those of Thailand. To ordinary Thais on the urban streets and the peripheries, the running of the wheel of economy is the most significant. They want jobs. They want smooth functioning of their business. They want uninterrupted economic activities to prosper and grow. They desire better healthcare facility. They would like more investment to flow into their country for increasing industrial productivity. The people here at home also want the same. But, in case of Thailand, their media and elite have successfully captured the popular imagination of Thai people. In our case, we are so unfortunate that common instinct of an economically independent life is always relegated to the extreme periphery of national discourse.
I find it ludicrous when the media and the political beneficiaries of academics cry foul at the arrest of politicians. But they remain silent when a near revolution has taken place in Chittagong Port during the current care-taker government. The Port has changed a lot. I also find it surprising to see the media pundits keeping mum when the national revenue collection has now significantly risen, when the stashed money is being brought back home and when the power and water pilferage has considerably decreased. Also, there is no editorial commentary when many a public servant is axed on the alleged corruption charges. All these do not seem to be worth of editorial scrutiny.
However truly, the government continues to grapple with the price hike. Here at least, the people expect media not only report the prices of different commodities, but lay down practical suggestions on how to control the price hike. The media can launch extensive and in-depth investigations into the causes of the price rise. People do not want fancy conjectures about the pricing conditions in the markets. They rather want a series of thorough and detailed investigative reports that expose the invisible hands of unscrupulous traders involved in market monopoly. These reports could help the government to identify the causes of price hike and the remedies there of.
The responses from the media and the policy-makers to the plight of Bangladeshi migrant workers abroad are more than disappointing. Again, our preoccupation with the politics has practically blinded us from looking at the ordeal and the suffering of the wage-earners abroad, who are keeping the wheel of our economy running. Our local media reports the plight of Bangladesh workers in different regions only when the foreign media picks up the news. It is very disappointing that our media pundits and the educated elite never take up the issue of the migrant workers seriously.
A few years ago, a Philippino maid in Malaysia was tortured by her employer. That triggered a chain of national reactions back in the Philippines. The Philippines government with the help of local and regional ASEAN media pursued the issue of safety and better employment package for the Philippines migrant workers in Malaysia. The Malaysian government was driven to effectively frame new laws to protect the domestic maids from the abuse of their employers.
The irony is that Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia continue to face social harassment, institutional prejudice and maltreatment by their employers. Similarly, the Bangladeshi migrant workers face untold suffering in the Gulf regions. No editorial or the talk-show is run to talk about the plight of these people. No in-depth report is published critically analysing how these people are systematically tortured, underpaid and abused by their employers and how they are maltreated by the Bangladesh embassy officials.
Yet, the Bangladesh Bank governor projects 7.0% GDP growth rate in fiscal 2007/08 based on the strong flow of remittances from the migrant workers. The ordinary migrant workers send the hard-earned money back for the economic well-being of the dear ones at home. A few educated professionals, who are working and enjoying the opulence of western life style, seldom bother to remit their earnings back home. They bring their family and children to the adopted country and live there comfortably. But, the remittances come from those, who leave their family and children back at home.
We would have done better as a nation if we had given much focus on, and attention to, the economic potentials of our country. Also, our brothers and sisters working as labourers, cleaners, sweepers, plantation workers, shop-keepers and cabbies in distant lands would not have to suffer so much mercilessly. But then, we can still turn the wheels around. It is never too late. An achievable economic road map targeting growth potential sectors will salvage us from the abyssal depth of political exploitation and the anathema of perpetual corruption. If Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia can grow economically, so can we.