DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Doctors visit

Stability, development and the way forward for Bangladesh

Ifti Rashid n

ast week, Bangladesh hosted an eminent doctor. Dr Mahathir Mohammad (also known as Dr M), former prime minister (PM) of Malaysia, visited Bangladesh on a private trip as the convocation speaker of a private university.During his trip, the visiting dignitary also attended a press conference and attended a dinner hosted by the Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina in his honour. It would be no exaggeration to state that Dr M is something of a legend in Bangladesh. He is widely respected internationally as a visionary leader and a successful statesman who made Malaysia stand tall in the global arena, both figuratively and literally if you consider the Petronas Twin Towers once the tallest building in the world in Kuala Lumpur. As the longest-serving PM of Malaysia (and the region), Dr M spearheaded an overriding development agenda that transformed his country from an agrarian to industrial and knowledge-based economy in less than two decades. He was a doctor who not only treated his patients but diagnosed and prescribed the medicine of development for the healthier future of his country too.

sia. To the contrary, the country had an active and vocal opposition. There was also vibrant internal competition within political parties. To be fair, Dr M was not Suharto. He considered himself as the Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia, Inc and put his nation first. He respected democracy, but opposed violence and destructive politics in its name impeding stability and development.

Dr Ms democracy: Improve the life of people, not to subject them to mob rule
Dr M has consistently made a distinction between the rights of the majority for development vs. the rights of the minority for violence. He laid out his philosophy of democracy in simple terms in a letter to a foreign leader written in 2001 that has been published recently: I cannot accept that anarchy due to democracy must be acceptable and preferable to law and order, as well stability and food on the table. Democracy is supposed to improve the life of people, not to subject them to mob rule. In a public statement last year, Dr M emphasised on the need for responsibility in democracy: Democracy works only when the people understand the limitations of democracy. When people think only of the freedoms of democracy and know nothing of the implied responsibilities, democracy will not bring the goodness that it promises. Instead it will result only instability and instability will not permit development to take place and people to enjoy the benefits of freedom and the right that democracy promises.

Lauding development successes

This was Dr Ms second trip to Bangladesh since retiring as prime minister in 2003. In his courtesy call on PM Hasina this time, Dr M highly praised significant development achievements by Bangladesh in recent years. Bangladeshs success in different fields, particularly in developing its infrastructure, is remarkable, he was quoted as saying. In response, PM Hasina reiterated her commitment to both urban and rural development. It is not surprising that Dr M lauded Bangladeshs progress. Our new wave of growth and development is visible to any visitor to the country. On his way from the airport, Dr M must have seen the expansive network of flyovers that has changed the look of the city in the last five years. It is likely he took the picturesque Hatirjheel boulevard en route to the convocation and dinner that has not only beautified the city but also halved the transportation time downtown. These are just few of the many development projects undertaken by the Awami League (AL) government, including an elevated express highway and metro rail system in the capital.

The new wave of growth is visible to any visitor Article 38 (ii) draws the line between political activism and terrorist acts or militant activities against the State or the citizens. There is nothing stopping the opposition from a movement, but it cannot be tantamount to violence and terrorism. We do not want to see more people being killed and injured from bombs, clashes and arson that characterised the perversion of democracy last year. The country cannot afford colossal economic losses of Tk1.6bn ($200 million) or 0.2% of GDP daily because of the hartals (strikes) and barricades called by the opposition. Quite simply, the rights, aspirations and interests of the majority of the nation for peace, stability and development can no longer be compromised in the name of political protest. radical religious forces, including the Jamaat-e-Islami and political parties linked to Hefazat-e-Islam. In this respect, it is worth mentioning that Dr M took a decisive stance against religious extremists at the same time as championing the cause of Muslim-majority countries. There is a lot to learn from Malaysias experience in bringing the madrassa network under the regulatory framework, for instance. In the meantime, the AL must keep the doors open for negotiations with the opposition for a fully-participatory general election in 2019 while maintaining the momentum in the development path over the next five years.

SYed latif hossain

The Bangladesh context

Dr Ms foresight on stability and development is particularly relevant in the context of the widespread violence Bangladesh faced in the lead up to the January 2014 general election. Though political confrontation is nothing new to the country, this time the violence took the form of terrorism with random but premeditated bomb explosions, derailment of railway tracks and arson attacks by the opposition killing political rivals, security forces and general population alike. Last year alone, 504 people were killed and 22,507 people injured due to political violence and clashes. It is only predictable that Dr M in his press conference would emphasise on the need for political and social stability to sustain our development successes. He pointed out emphatically how destructive street politics is neither beneficial to development nor democracy, instead calling upon political parties to wait for the election if they want to change the government. Dr M has time and again lamented how political infighting has characterised democracy in many Muslim-majority countries and hindered development.

Though we appreciate the support of our development partners and multilateral agencies, there is no reason for Bangladesh to follow their prescriptions and dictates blindly or accept a patron-client relationship
Plan 2030. Like Malaysias Vision 2020, the time has now come for the government to articulate Vision 2021 and Perspective 2041 cohesively as the overarching national program to develop the country. The public agencies, private sector, civil society and most importantly citizens irrespective of political affiliation must be inspired and motivated to calibrate all national activities in line with the targets of 2021 and 2041. It must capture the imagination of our nation and all national policies must be in sync with the branded national program of 2021-2041. This will help not only harmonize public-private efforts but also enthuse the young generation to participate in nation-building activities to achieve our collective goals with development as the principal national agenda unifying the country. For this purpose, the government must take the first step to reach out to all political parties for their constructive contribution in implementing the development plan. If the opposition declines the overture for political expediency, it will be at their own peril exposing their short-sightedness to the nation. Most importantly, the message must be clear to all political parties that their participation in the program is their prerogative but their activism cannot take the form of violence and terrorism, undermining the aspirations of the majority of the people for stability and development. At present, the foreign aid contribution to GDP is less than 2% in Bangladesh. Though we appreciate the support of our development partners and multilateral agencies, there is no reason for Bangladesh to follow their prescriptions and dictates blindly or accept a patron-client relationship. We have to find our own homegrown solutions best suited to our political, social and economic challenges. As Bangladesh moves forward in its development path, we need strong relationships with the international community but on equal terms as a sovereign country. In respect to foreign policy, Dr M was a maverick who believed in the courage of his convictions and innovative policies that would benefit his country and region. He pioneered the forward-looking Look East, SouthSouth and Prosper Thy Neighbour policies that can be adopted by Bangladesh.

Fresh election?
A section of the international community and civil society has been calling for a fresh general election ahead of 2019, failing to realise how this will serve no purpose but plunge the country into another cycle of violence, instability and retribution undermining development. We must not forget that the disagreement over the election-time administration is not the problem itself but symptom of a much larger problem pertaining to our political culture and dysfunctional relationship between the two political parties. There is no reason to believe our political and governance challenge would be magically resolved by holding another election immediately. Though well-intentioned, such calls undermine political stability further and would benefit the country better by instead focusing on dialogue to build political consensus on major issues, including a mutually acceptable model of an all-party interim government as a permanent solution to administering the general election to avoid a political deadlock every five years. Similar consensus on other major issues would help the country much more than holding a premature general election and recreating a dj vu situation.

Get Tough: Zero tolerance for anarchy

Unfortunately, our experience last year does not justify much confidence in a peaceful movement by the opposition. As we face the spectre of violence and terrorism yet once again, the onus is on the government to take an unmistakably tough policy against those impeding stability and development if there is a repetition of the past. The government must adopt a zero tolerance policy against any attempts to undermine peace and stability in the country. In this respect, the

The new Bangladesh

Dr M was visiting Bangladesh at a time when the country is hosting the ICC T20 World Cup, in fact just on the heels of the Asia Cup Cricket 2014 last month. Bangladesh also joined the international search efforts for the missing MH 370 flight offering its naval and air assets in the crisis situation, a sign of the country playing a role as a leading and responsible member of the international community. These are all indications of a Bangladesh coming of age a trajectory of growth, progress and development the country has not witnessed before. Bangladesh received record foreign direct investment of $1.78bn in the last calendar year. The rural economy has been revitalised through innovative projects like the one house, one farm scheme. The poverty rate has declined from 37% to 26% in the last five years, while the government aims to reduce it to 13% by 2019. As someone who has grown up in Kuala Lumpur, I can tell you todays Bangladesh the economic boom, infrastructure growth and rural development, amongst other successes has a strong resemblance to the late 80s/early 90s Malaysia, the initial years of the country taking off in its journey forward. This is a new Bangladesh marching ahead.

When people think only of the freedoms of democracy and know nothing of the implied responsibilities, democracy will not bring the goodness that it promises
Rights vs protests
It is highly unlikely that our political parties will pay heed to Dr Ms advice to wait for their turn until the next election. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led opposition coalition has already threatened another strong agitation in the next few months to overthrow the Awami League (AL)-led government and hold a new election under a caretaker administration. The political climate has been further aggravated by anti-liberation forces who want to take advantage of the schism between the AL and BNP to thwart the War Crimes Trial. The opposition has every right to call for protests and demonstrations in a democracy. This right is enshrined in Article 37, 38 and 39 of the Bangladesh Constitution assuring freedom of expression, association and assembly. Having said that, let us not forget Article 31, 32, 36 and 42 in the same supreme body of law explicitly guarantees the right of freedom of movement and protection of life, property and personal liberty of all citizens. In fact, government should rigorously enforce the Anti-Terrorism Act (2009) and Public Security Act (2000) to bring the perpetrators of violence to book. The pre-meditated nature of political violence we have faced in the recent past aimed at creating fear amongst a wider segment of population leaves no doubt that it is indeed terrorism. The government must allow democratic room and space for political activities by the opposition, but this requires both sides to act in a responsible and matured manner. We need to distinguish between healthy political activism as opposed to destructive anarchy, to use Dr Ms language, for democracy and development in the greater interest of the nation. There is no doubt that the BNP is still the main opposition party despite its lack of representation in the parliament. The BNP has an important role to ensure political stability, but it remains to be seen whether the main opposition party can shun violence and rise to the occasion. However, this may require the BNP to reconsider its coalition of convenience with anti-liberation and

Way forward
In his press conference, Dr M mentioned that winning two-third majority in successive general elections and a supportive bureaucracy put him in a strong position to implement development policies. PM Hasina is in a similar position enjoying a twothirds majority and confidence of the bureaucracy. This leads to a million dollar question: whether PM Hasina can be our Dr M and perhaps even more? Only time will say. She will need to be bold to push the development agenda, crack down on those impeding stability and undertake farsighted policies to reform our political and economic system. Like Dr M, PM Hasina will need to make Bangladeshis think big to achieve our development goals. The government will have to deliver because at the end of the day its fate will depend on its performance. There is a need to accept that the system is not meant for us to win, its meant for the nation to win, Dr M reminded us in Dhaka. I say let us put the nation first and give PM Hasina a chance to take the country forward over the next five years. Godspeed, Vision 2021 and Perspective 4041! l Ifti Rashid is a political and security analyst, currently a PhD Candidate in the National Centre for South Asian Studies, Monash University. He is a columnist of the Dhaka Tribune.

Marching ahead
If our political parties want us to believe their raison daitre is the welfare of citizens, development should be their first priority irrespective of who is in power. Dr M conceptualised Vision 2020 (Wawasan 2020) in 1990 as the overarching national strategy for Malaysia to become a developed country by 2021. Likewise, PM Hasina has declared Vision 2021 and Perspective 2041 outlining her governments strategies and policies to make Bangladesh a middle-income and developed country by 2021 and 2041 respectively. Dr M explained his rationale for Vision 2020: There has to be longterm vision and planning: a goal to move towards to give people a sense of direction. In the case of Bangladesh, it is to the governments credit that they have formulated a number of forward-looking policies in the last five years, including Digital Bangladesh and the Power & Energy Sector Master

Standing tall
Another lesson from Dr Ms leadership is that Malaysia under his leadership did not kowtow to developed countries. Dr M engaged actively with the international community on economic and security cooperation, in fact embraced many of the liberalisation policies beneficial for Malaysia but at the same time rejected the imposition of one-size-fits-all formulae of developed countries and multilateral institutions that did not serve the interest of Malaysia. In the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, Dr M rejected the prescriptions offered by international organisations and was vindicated when Malaysia came out stronger than other countries with its own home grown solutions to the meltdown. Malaysia maintained close ties with the United States, United Kingdom and other developed countries but on the basis of mutual respect.

Lessons from Malaysia: Stability for development

Bangladesh has a lot to learn from Malaysia. Malaysia was able to achieve its extraordinary growth because of the visionary, progressive and strong-minded leadership of Dr M that did not compromise with the development priorities of his country. He gave utmost importance to stability for business and investor confidence, while taking a resolute stance against violence undermining law and order in the pretext of political activism. This does not mean there was no room for democracy in Dr Ms Malay-