Back to basics PNG

In light of the tragic events of recent past which have struck at the very core of our social and moral conscience, many people have called for radical changes to be effected to the way we dispense justice upon perpetrators of violent crime, as well as to the whole government system we have as a country, with some calling for us to adopt Communism, for example.

However, I believe that adopting a new system of government will not necessarily prove to be the answer.

Certain systems of government 'work' for different societies because of the inherent character and nature these societies possess. Communism and 'guided' democracy 'work' for China and Singapore respectively because of their peoples’ ability to subject themselves to the rule of law, in whatever form this takes, and to coexist in a relatively stable manner in communal societies. There is no universal application of systems of government to societies with distinct peculiarities. Three cases in point; Cuba, China and North Korea are all communists states, but the application of the communism doctrine varies in all three, hence the differing types of societies these countries have relative to each other. In Fiji, military dictatorship is being seen by some as working positively for them. Note though that they have two predominant cultures, we have 800.

The parliamentary democracy we have presents us with the best avenue through which we can attempt to correct the ills affecting our society. And we already have the guiding principles and documents to steer us through, our Constitution being the most significant. The National Goals and Directive Principles, as well as the Basic Rights and Basic Social Obligations provide the best prescriptions for us in all our endeavours. The fact that we have deviated from these prescriptions sees us faced with the predicaments of today.

We need to revisit these noble goals and redirect our path. At the basic level, we need to instil in our children the basic principles of common human decency. For example, our children need to go through programs such as the Scouts and Guides at the elementary and primary level, a (military or paramilitary) cadetship at the secondary level, and a national service scheme after tertiary levels. We need to have religious instruction classes brought back to schools (be gone with political correctness), for students to sing the national anthem at assemblies, to recite the national pledge, and to learn the basic principles contained in our Constitution.

Our state institutions need to be reminded that they are duty bound to give effect to all the National Goals and Directive Principles through the laws and policies they formulate (see s.25 of Constitution), in that whatever law or policy a government department or agency makes must reflect the intentions of the NGDPs at all possible opportunity. An example would be for government to ensure all policies have a 'family impact statement.' Failure to have one must result in such policies being rejected.

Solutions should be sought to address the root causes of problems such as rural-urban migration, poor housing in urban areas, lack of ready access to health and education in rural areas, and poor road and transport infrastructure, rather than being reactive to symptoms of such underlying problems that fester over time and manifest themselves through such violent crimes as we have been witnessing lately.

There is no guarantee that changing a system of government will result in change for society if there is no change in the kind of people who would most likely be at the head of whatever 'new' system we adopt. As in the case of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, we may witness pleasing changes in the initial stages, but these will prove to be superficial as the appetite for power is gradually whetted by unrestricted and authoritarian power.

As simplistic as they may seem to the 'sophisticated' minds of the 21st Century, our NGDPs nonetheless provide for us a basic framework through which we can work to make things 'right' again. We need to go back to doing things the way we used to before which ensured that life during the 'gut taim' was a lot better than it is today.