City of Hope

One of the perks of my job is that I get to attend fancy dinner parties in various cities in Asia. At one such recent "who's who" event in Singapore, I ran into a friend who happens to be a prominent corporate lawyer in Asia. Upon seeing me, the first thing my friend said to me was: "I just came back from your city of gloom." The city of gloom he was referring to was none other than my birthplace, Dhaka.

My friend went on to relate how the curfew last week had made his and his colleagues' lives miserable while he was in Dhaka for a "due diligence" trip (to evaluate a company on behalf of a foreign investor who was interested in making an investment). Over the course of the evening, several other lawyers and bankers at the gathering informed me that, given the current situation, they know potential investors are now thinking about holding back from investing in Bangladesh.

After hearing one negative point after another, the final insult was the comparison with Calcutta (a number of them had recently returned from business trips in Calcutta). "You both are Bengalis, why is that Calcutta is booming and filled with prospects while Dhaka is so gloomy and morbid …what is happening, when will you guys get your act together?"

Sitting miles from Bangladesh, I try to distance myself from the country's internal politics. I rationalise it by saying: I don't live there so I can't comment on the situation. However, this hands-off attitude does not work well given the profession I am in and the fact that I am seen in many situations as a "representative" of my country. So, whether I like it or not, I am forced to look at the situation and judge the merits of it.

In this case, when I was asked what was happening, sadly, I had no answer.


We had hope
I have had the chance to visit Bangladesh several times since the beginning of the year. The sense of euphoria that was in the country in January now seems like a distance past. In the past 8 months I have witnessed the country go from the peaks of excitement and expectation to the valleys of despair, in a cycle that has been repeated every time a new regime has come to power in Bangladesh.

This feeling did not contain itself in the country alone. The rest of the world has been waiting to see if the current government will be able to validate Goldman Sachs's prediction that Bangladesh will be in the next group of economic tigers. Everybody was ready to cheer from the sidelines, but unfortunately, the parade never got started -- at least not yet.


In the name of corruption
This government was going to root out corruption, and we all were ecstatic about it. (Trust me, it is no joy to hear over and over again that Bangladesh has had the misfortune of getting the top position in Transparency International's list of most corrupt governments several times).

However, we all knew that rooting out a disease which has become a part of our system would not be easy. In the last few months, it seems as though the fight against corruption has taken over everything.

The time we are supposed to spend in building back the country became a time to pull each other down. All I heard from people and read in the paper was who was corrupt, who should be arrested, who is having a hearing, which building will be torn down, etc etc.

I did not hear my countrymen, women, or leaders say: We will fight corruption but we will also build the nation. We will make every Bangladeshi, here and overseas, play a role in building the nation.

When I watched on television the Rangs building being torn down piece by piece, all I could think about was that they could have taken the windows out, the air conditioners out, all the fixtures out first, and sold them and used the money to rebuild some schools.

Instead, the whole scene was one of raw passion and raw anger taken out on people and infrastructure. I thought we learned from history that such raw anger needs to be directed to more positive endeavours.

I full heartedly agree that the fight against corruption is extremely important, and the government should be applauded for its courage in this battle. I hope the government will prove its cases against the worst offenders with clear evidence in an open process that will leave no doubt that justice was done. But, while cutting out the disease of corruption, the government must also look forward to building a prosperous, hopeful society.


Running a country is tough but ...
Running a country is tough, and I do not envy anyone who has to do it. However, I cannot help myself from drawing some over-arching parallels between running a country and running a company. In my humble opinion (albeit biased by years of running companies), to run either (company or country) one needs to: keep the customer (the citizens) happy, make money (promote economic growth), and keep the employees (the business community and citizens) motivated.

Keeping this three-pronged approach in mind, one can and needs to move forward. Now what is the plan?

Keeping customers (citizens) happy:
Remember, the customer is king, which means the citizen is king (we Bengalis of course know this well). This means you have to listen to the customer. She may have issues, concerns, and passionate views about your product (policies) -- which you may or may not agree with, but you have to listen to her. Make her feel important and make her opinion count (give the citizen a voice, let her vote, encourage a free and independent media).

Make money (economic growth):
You have to put the right sales strategies (economic policies) in place to make money. Have a sales culture (promote entrepreneurship). Let your sales people have a say in the company (bring the business community into decision making -- not in the way of the past where politicians granted favours in return for bribes, but by listening to legitimate concerns of businessmen) and make them the most important part of your company's organizational structure.

Keep employees (business community and citizens) motivated:
This means encouraging your employees (citizens/business people) to take risks for the company (country) and not be reprimanded for it. You may not like some things they do, but that does not mean you take away their office desk (stop nationwide mobile phone operations) or stop their salary (impose curfews). Difficult and annoying as it may be, talk to them. Get them to see your way, the company's (country's) way. Give them a sense of ownership.


City of Hope
The key is communication. We need to listen to each other, we need to believe in each other, we need to trust each other and we need to tell the international community the great things we have to offer to the world and back that up with actions.

So, let us stop burning buses and cars, stop shooting at each other, stop mid night arrests, stop curfews and stop the interrogations. Let us start building up businesses, schools, creating job opportunities, encourage community building and celebrate our achievements.

Over the last several decades even after being beaten up, crushed and taken advantage of, we Bangladeshis have not given up hope. So, let us now turn this hope into action. Let us say: "We will think big, we will build this country and we will all do it together."

I do hope, for my country's sake, in next few months our City of Gloom turns into the City of Hope, and we measure up to any of our neighbouring cities. Whatever they can do, we can do it better -- I know we can. We now need our leaders to believe in us and guide us to that success.

End Note: I wrote this piece last week. In the intervening days, I was delighted to hear Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed address many of these issues in his speech on September 9. I applaud this as a move in the right direction for the country and a first step in putting citizens' concerns at ease. We need to see more such communication as well as tangible action towards rebuilding a strong, prosperous, democratic nation.

Durreen Shahnaz is managing director of a regional media company based in Singapore.

This article was published in Daily Star on Sep 12, 2007

Wanted: A good leader

Current Status: the Begums are gone (at least we hope so; but then again, some of us are missing them). The caretaker government has its hands full with inflation, unpaid wages, and a power crisis; our leaders in khaki are pacing back and forth; we pushed away a Nobel laureate -- now what do we do? I propose a solution -- we advertise for a leader. We need a leader who will fulfill all our specifications and fearlessly run in the elections and win.

Read the requirements below, perhaps you or a friend or relative may qualify (remember, as Tagore eloquently put it: "Aamra shobai raja amaderi rajar rojjott").


Job Title: Democratically elected leader of a promising nation.

Job Requirements
Integrity/Honesty

• Must be "clean."


• Only work with "clean" people.


• Must promise not to hire any unqualified relatives.


• Will not be influenced by the existing evils of dirty politics.


• Will not be influenced by the temptations of ill sourced wealth.

Creativity

• Can mobilize others to work.


• Overcome gender, race and religion barriers.


• Able to make us Bengalis optimistic (this will be the most difficult task).


• Show us a government and society without corruption.

Courage

• To stand up to the evils of our society.


• To stand up to our other so-called political leaders.


• If need be, to make some unpopular decisions for the ultimate good of the country.


• To change Bangladesh's image in the global community (this one should be easy: the image currently is so low that it can only go upward).


• To bring the Foreign-Direct-Investment that the country needs without being labeled a "foreign/MNC dalal."


• To withstand a deluge of criticism (criticizing, is after all, our favorite past time).

Vision

• Dare to make every citizen dream.


• Rid our country out of chronic poverty and the curse of illiteracy.


• Provide basic health care and economic opportunity.


• Bring unprecedented economic growth.


• Encourage entrepreneurship.


• Upgrade infrastructure.


• Create public-private partnerships.


• Establish a place for Bangladesh in the international community.

Communication

• Distill the message/goals of the country for all the citizens.


• Inspire people to think beyond bi-partisan politics.


• Communicate in ways other than hartals, strikes or name calling.


• Preferably a "non-screamer."


• Convince every citizen (here and aboard) to do their share in rebuilding the nation.


• Effectively communicate Bangladesh's position in the international arena.


• Establish fruitful dialogue with other foreign leaders (without being labeled a foreign agent).

Motivator

• Get the young, the old, the disenchanted and the pessimistic to follow you.


• Surround yourself with good leaders.


• Make your immediate team better than yourself.


• Motivate your underlings with the pride of serving the nation but pay them well enough so there will be no excuse for corruption.


• Rally the international community to assist Bangladesh in the meeting the challenges of global warming.

Charisma

• Either you have it or you don't.


• If you don't have it, then make up for it with passion.

Good Health

• To withstand the physical and mental rigors before, during and after the election.

Education

• At least a university degree with good, coherent communication skills in both Bengali and English.

Relevant Past Experience

• Led a large public or private "civilian" organization with representation all over Bangladesh.


• Daughter or wife (or for that matter, son, husband, mother, father, second cousin, or any other relative) of a past leader does not count towards relevant experience.

Reference

• At least 17,000 citizens who will write in and ask you to "run for election."


• Vote of confidence from international community is a plus not a minus

Compensation

• Upon winning the election, salary of a prime minister (sorry, no other financial "bonus").


• Government housing, car and security.


• The priceless pride, joy and agony of turning a nation around.

If you are still reading this, that means you know of someone who will fit the role. If you do, please do get the person to come forward. I cannot guarantee that some of our countrymen will not tear him/her apart. However, I can guarantee that if the person fits the rigorous requirements above, enough of us will support his/her candidacy. We will throw all in and support the person through victory in the election, through five years of clean, effective government, all the way until he/she hands over a new thriving country to his/her legitimate, elected successor.


Durreen Shahnaz is the Managing Director of a regional media company based in Singapore.

This article was published in Daily Star on May 06, 2007

In 10 years Bangladesh will be where ____ is today...

It is time for us Bangaldeshis to have a common goal -- a goal every citizen can relate to, every citizen can remember, and every citizen can boast to the international community about. In simple marketing words, we need a tag line, and we need it now.

In the last few months, the country has gone through a lot of spring cleaning and drama. Now, it's time to step back and focus on the next step -- rebuilding the country. Number one task on hand in rebuilding the nation is finding a common achievable goal (or two). This goal will be an idea/concept/reality that every citizen can aspire to and the leaders of the country can work towards.
Hokey as this may sound, it worked for a country like Singapore, and I ask: why can't it work for us? Singapore is a good example of how a solid goal and good tag line can unify the people and give purpose to everything a government does. It brings back national pride, and right now Bangladesh can do with some unified national pride. Let us not shed any more tears for the Begums or wait for the caretaker government or Prof. Muhammad Yunus to tell us what to do. Let us for a change tell them where we want the country to be in 10 years, what their task is in reaching this goal and what we as citizens can do to bring it there.

For the past three years I have been living in the island city state of Singapore. This city on the surface seems like the grown-up version of Disneyland. There is no garbage on the street, subways (MRT as it is known here) are clean and arrive on time, everyone looks healthy and happy and of course we cannot buy chewing gum (actually a little secret -- one can buy it in the pharmacy section of the drug store after giving all your personal information -- including passport number and stating in writing that you are trying to quit smoking!). Despite all the fun poked at this country, I often marvel at the fact that this country was basically a swamp land in the 1960s and it is today wealthier than its former colonizer -- the United Kingdom.

Forty years ago when Singapore separated from Malaysia, it was a country that Lee Kwan Yew (founder and first prime minister of Singapore) said would be built on meritocracy and a "clean" government. It managed to do both and more. The government built the nation on its strategic location as a trading post, it focused on making itself the "hub" for several vital industries (e.g. aviation, financial institutions, bio technology) -- list of which evolved over the years. This "hub" concept was the main economic "goal" for the country.

My fascination with Singapore's success goes back to my university days. In the 1980s as an economics student, I remember studying about the "Asian Tigers" -- Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea over and over again. These economies were the darlings of IMF, and all the economics experts and institutions used them as the examples of what every emerging economy should emulate. We studied the exponential growth of these economies from many different angles -- economic development, prudent fiscal policies, free trade, and the list goes. I of course have forgotten almost everything I learned back then.

However, I do remember one observation a professor of mine made when he visited Singapore in the early 1980s. He said he was astonished that every person he asked how the country was doing gave him the same answer: "By the turn of the century we will be where Switzerland is today." He said it was rather eerie (yes, to get the "unified" message across, the media here does a bit of brain-washing) that everyone gave him the same answer. Well, eerie as it may be, it worked. Two decades on, Singapore is where Switzerland is -- with a thriving private banking business and on its way to becoming one of the world's leading financial hubs.

I say we can and need to do this for Bangladesh. We need to give every citizen of this country the option of playing a part in nation building. Every citizen should "buy into" the goal and help promote it. And we don't need to wait for a figurehead to give us that. I embrace Prof. Yunus bestowing some "Grameen magic" on the rest of Bangladesh (and I hope we let him do it), but till that happens, let's all do our part and chip in.

So, for my part, here is what I believe Bangladesh will be in 10 years:

• Asia's new Economic Tiger.


• A country with 100% literacy rate.


• A country with double digit growth.


• The country with the highest number of new businesses every year.


• The IT hub for Asia.


• The most successful turn around story of this century.


• An exemplary democratic state.

The list will go on ... and feel free to add to it. I would expect our chosen leader to sift through it and pick one or two goals, and make them happen.
You will say: "Easier said than done" (our usual famous Bengali immediate negative reaction). I will say: we have to start somewhere and we need to have a goal to strive for. Now, it is the job of a charismatic leader to lead us through the treacherous path to get to the goal. As we have already seen, it will not be easy, but let us tell our future leader what we want and then give that person the support to make it happen. Let us be selfish and dream that we can make this country more than just the nation of strikes, political feuds and crises.

Thus, my request to our chosen, charismatic, action oriented, future leader: Stand up and lead us ... we are anxiously waiting ... because we want to begin the journey with you to take "Bangladesh where Singapore is today ..."

Durreen Shahnaz is a Managing Director for a regional media company based in Singapore.

This article was published in Daily Star on April 29, 2007