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| Sunday, 19 December 2004 |
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More mature leaders, please Induction speech of OPA President H.H. Subasinghe, at the BMICH on November 14, 2004. I wish to take this opportunity to share with you some thoughts that crossed my mind when this Medal symbolising the office of the President of the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) was placed on me. First, it is the humility and the sense of gratitude towards my fellow members for the confidence placed in me by election to this high office. Then the inspiration it gave me, to continue to believe in what is just and right, as this must be the one qualification in me that stood out in their minds in electing me. Next, the weight of the responsibility in providing leadership to this unique organisation, which has earned the respect of the nation as a whole and in particular successive Governments that were elected to office, since OPA's inception in 1975. Then, the opportunity I see in the OPA, for mobilising the vast ocean of talent inherent in its membership, to be used for the good of the country. I now realise what they meant when they sad, "Uneasy is the head that wears the Crown". OPA is indeed a unique body as it has in its fold the representatives of all the pertinent professional groups practising in this country. These representatives being members of respective professional bodies are guided by stringent codes of professional ethics and conduct, stipulated by their own professions. They bring with them the best practices of each profession. They also subscribe to the code of ethics of the OPA as spelt out in Chapter 3 of our Constitution dealing with 'the Principles of the Organisation'. Thus, our members represent without doubt a most disciplined and right thinking group, among all others in the society. OPA is a unique body. The OPA is guided by professionalism, integrity, justice and fair-play. It echoes the sentiments of the right minded and just people of our society. It is the leader of the independent civil society and the representative of the intelligentsia of this country.It therefore a sound ally of any prudent government. The OPA is constituted from 37 Associations of diverse interests and beliefs with a membership of over 40,000. It cannot therefore be partisan to any narrow ideology or political grouping. It has to represent the whole civil society and has to promote what is scientifically and morally feasible for the contemporary situation in Sri Lanka. The OPA was established in 1975, as an initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation which at that time saw the need to promote contact among professional groups working in the same country and to create the focal points for country to country contacts among professionals. The Sri Lanka OPA has emerged as a success story of this effort and has grown from strength to strength due largely to the untiring work done by the members of the past governing bodies and the leadership at that time. Our nation today is at crossroads. But to me there seems to be a difference of opinion in what we see on the sign posts as to which way to go, I ask my self, can we afford the time and money for experimentation, if those giving us leadership, cannot see clearly ahead ? Do we act with a long-term vision? They say that - "A man has discovered the meaning of human life when he starts planting shade trees under which he knows well, he will never rest". Political parties when in the opposition tell us that bribery, corruption and mal-administration, above all criminalising society, prevails in an incumbent Government. This happens every occasion when an election is due.Today the reason why we vote is not to elect a new government, but to remove the government of the time. The new government is only a by-product. It has been the accepted norm, so far that people have confined themselves to the democratic method of the ballot. The breakdown in law and order, the abuse of power, corrupton in high places, criminalising society, wielding power in obstructing the process of justice, are admittedly disconcerting matters. I must say that those who value privilege above their principles soon lose both. We are reminded of the folklore that a pretty damsel adorned in her best with a precious gem in her hand could walk alone from Magama in the South to Anuradhapura safely. This symbolises the respect to human values, and law and order at that time. Is there any chance that those values will ever come back to our society ? What are the values that are prevalent in our society at present ? Are the lives of innocent people safe and guaranteed today ? Aren't the happenings around us serious enough to draw the attention of those that matter. Is this the justice we are endowed with. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". Do we not have the right to ask those holding the reigns of power to protect the lives of every citizen of this country from those who carry illegal arms. Why do we watch in silence when those in power do not honour the pledges given to us? Why are we as a nation complacent? Is it that our people still suffer from the legacy of the ancient feudal system and colonial governments of being prepared to accept all that is dished out without protest. I pose the question. Are we mature enough for democracy? The next question that comes to my mind is, are our people losing confidence in the electoral system? The declining voter turn out from a healthy 80-85% in the past to the present day between 60 to 75 is a fine example for this. I do not believe our leaders are ignorant or unaware of these. Most of them are well meaning, astute and experienced politicians. Then where are we going wrong ? We are endowed with a rich parliamentary democratic system. We know that there are millions in the world, who would die and are dying, to be able to enjoy the privileges of democracy. We have to therefore ask ourselves, are we managing the mutli-party democratic system wrong ? We have watched in dismay and distress how political parties, who stand for very noble ideals, are forced to compromise on their fundamentals to muster the support of other groups to establish majorities in Parliament. We watch in helplessness the vulnerability of our politicians to the dictates of their sponsors, as a price we pay for our own multi-party democratic system. Birth of political parties claiming to espouse aspirations of individual ethnic groups, a bane in all democratic countries in the third world, is polarising our society and allowing opportunists to thrive. This goes against the true spirit of democracy and the consequences are all too apparent in Sri Lanka. Are we guilty of allowing the circumstances to develop that created these monsters? While the diversity in the political arena makes Sri Lanka a true symbol of a functioning democracy, do we see a lack of maturity in our leaders in coping with diversity? Here we are reminded of a saying by John F. Kennedy - "If we cannot end our differences now, at least we can help make the future, safe for diversity". May I remind this distinguished gathering that the 17th Annual Sessions of the OPA held during the 13th and 14th of August this year dedicated the Sessions to the theme 'The Nation, Civil Society and Responsive Governance'. I must tell you also that, the selection of this theme was no accident. The inaugural session and the technical sessions had many presentations made by very knowledgeable and eminent persons on several of the maladies of our present day society highlighted by the above matters. The deliberations contain many proposals and suggestions by the participating professionals. This no doubt, provides a wealth of information on this subject. The OPA therefore has the best platform now to launch ahead on drafting proposals to solve these problems of our country. |
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