Nadeem Qadir writes for DOT :
When the ruling Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid emphasis on the young and zero-tolerance against corruption besides the spirit of the Independence War in its 30 December 2018 poll campaign, many wrote it off as graft has persisted in this country despite previous such pledges.
Sheikh Hasina herself has been saying repeatedly saying that she would be tough on the issue of graft and those who know her will tell you she achieves what she pledges. She is a strong and charismatic leader and we should not doubt her even for a second.
Those who are close to her told me that the prime minister will emerge as a very tough leader as she has already acknowledged that the landslide victory has also brought with it huge responsibilities for her and she has to deliver to the people.
“Take it from me, you will possibly see a new Sheikh Hasina this time … a tough Sheikh Hasina not seen before,” one Awami League leader told this writer.
Our all-age favourite cricketer Mashrafe bin Mortoza is a kind of character who would be one of the major crime fighters we all believe. During his campaign for the polls he has exhibited his personality which was a like a breath of fresh air compared to many other candidates of the ruling party.
He refused to accept a fund of some three crore take raised for his election campaign and had asked his followers to respect his opponents with no acts of vengeance.
There maybe few more like Mashrafe in the group of first-time law makers and who can draw young or old to help in the number one agenda — fighting graft.
It was in 2006 when Khaleda Zia was in power that Bangladesh earned the best porize it could get to tarnish the country;s image – number one in corruption status.
According to the Transparency’s Corruption Perception Index, Bangladesh is the 143 least corrupt nation out of 175 countries. Corruption Rank in Bangladesh averaged 132.78 from 1996 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 162 in 2007 and a record low of 51 in 1996.
In 1996, Sheikh Hasina came to power after 22 years in political wilderness, while it was Khaleda Zia who was in power for the second time in 2001 to 2006, leaving the country in such a shameful status.
Her son and acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Tarique Rahman had as if fought the polls not to return to power, but bury the Liberation War spirit forever by acting against Awami League and the people of Bangladesh with his TRUSTED FRIENDS Jamaat-e-Islami and Pakistan. What a shame, especially when wants to identify himself as the son of galantry award winning Gen. Ziaur Rahman. Then again it was Zia who laid the foundation of anti-Independence elements.
These elements under Zia and later General Hussain Muhammad Ershad opened the floodgate for corruption. Zia corrupted young men and women from college and universities with the famous trips to Singapore, the first by Hizbul Bahar ship.
The long patronisation of graft by the two generals between 1975 and 1990 plus Tarique’s looting of national wealth, between 2001-2006, made financial malpractices a way of life.
Thus the questions is how will the prime minister can make her pledge of zero-tolerance about graft a success. Ofcourse, Sheikh Hasina knows what she does and definitely she has already ready with her action plan.
One of the most common reasons for corruption is social inequality and injustice. Very few people resort to corruption just because of greed.
What does zero-tolerance means to the man on the street:
a) Tough on her own party men along with bureaucrats. No place for mercy if proven in the court of law.
b) Get intelligence report before making any important appointments and shun who is tainted by corruption in the past.
c) Research should be done to find out how different sectors can be made free from graft
d) Ensure giving different responsibilities to honest and popular figures like Mashrafe bin Mortoza to make her zero-tolerance pledge a success.
e) Massive digital public awareness about graft
f) Unmask the corrupt in public, and
g) Learn from other countries which have been successful in eradicating corruption.
One of the first things the electorate wants to see that those behind scandals involving commercial banks like Janata and Farmer’s Bank. One of my friend committed suicide as he was under pressure from those he collected deposits for the Farmer’s Bank. We need them to be punished.
As I mentioned earlier about Mashrafe, many of the people voted for him as the one who has already set a new example in Bangladesh’s volatile politics. Indeed, we need many more Mashrafes to assist Sheikh Hasina in a fight against corruption.
The steps taken to eradicate graft must be permanent and no quarter can escape as long as Bangladesh lives.
Good luck to the people’s leader Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who has no record of any kind of corruption. Long Live Bangladesh.
Journalist Nadeem Qadir is a UN Dag Hammarskjold Fellow.
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