When right is wrong

Acts of outrage, anger, retaliation, reactivity, etc, constitute moods and behaviours normally associated with a violation of law, rights, values and principles. When people are treated unfairly, when injustice persists, when laws and principles are violated the above reactions are normal and justified. In Pakistan, the opposite has been witnessed for decades. Breaking laws and rules is treated with utmost comfort and tolerating degradation of principles and values is dealt with consummate ease. When government officials misuse the public offices in assigning perks and facilities or awards contracts in violation of the rules it is the "done" thing. When public misuses public facilities and violates safety rules etc it is a sign of being a "Pakistani" and thus "it happens". This excessive leverage to wrongful deeds and excessive concessions to skirt the laws has resulted in a country where wrongs have become rights.
Thus what we have seen recently is that at all levels there is a resistance to being held accountable for laws. The protests include ordinary bike riders who are complaining on being fined Rs 1000 for not wearing a helmet and also land owners who are protesting against the encroachment drives of the government against illegal expansion of operation. These protests are against laws that have been there for many years and are universal in their application. Motorbike riding is perhaps the most dangerous form of transport in the country. Every type of safety requirement is being violated. The number of people riding a bike is unlimited. As many as 7 people are seen loaded on a frail bike escalating the chances of tripping, unbalancing, engine heating, etc. The bike rider has been assumed as not having any road sense and is the vehicle that is accepted that will slip, dodge, bypass, speed, turn and cross at whim. The number of road accidents has multiplied causing deaths to not only owners of bikes but serious injuries to the occupants of other vehicles trying to save themselves from their twists and turns smashing in barriers or other vehicles.
With this background the drive by the traffic police to impose fines on people not wearing helmet should have been applauded and appreciated. Instead the public is complaining about it being unfair and the fine being too high. Any fine that is easy and does not pinch is ineffective; any fine that does not scare and make the person become proactive in avoiding the violation is futile. The fact that for Rs 1000 will induce bikers to wear helmets and is part of a universal law of safety is not just about harsh punishment, it is about saving lives, reducing accidents, and creating a system of accountability that makes laws strong and effective. Similarly, breaking traffic signals or taking wrong road turns is mainly responsible for long traffic jams, road blockages and accidents. However, the entrenched system of driving and maneuvering your vehicles in James Bond-style on roads is considered daring, smart and heroic.
Self-accountability comes when people are educated and aware and also afraid of consequences of disobedience to laws. In Pakistan together with low literacy and little disciplinary action change in behavior is not automatic. The governor's houses have opened up for public. The behavior of the general public is far from disciplined. Littering and breaking of flower pots and even a bridge have been reported recently. A wooden bridge inside the governor's house collapsed due to the extra load of people climbing on it. This happened despite the bridge being inaccessible. The wooden bridge was closed for public and tape was attached at the sides to stop people from climbing it but nothing can stop a mind with little grooming on civic responsibility. Fortunately, no loss of life or injury was reported as the water was only four feet high. However, the lack of civic consciousness and accountability has become a major barrier in creating public ownership of public properties.
A nation whose founding father Quaid e Azam described discipline along with unity and faith as three core values of the country is now perhaps the most undisciplined country in the region. Why has this happened? This has happened because our founding leader not only crafted these values but lived them and set examples for the others to follow. What the public has seen is the reckless bending and breaking of laws of our leaders with scant regard to public money, property or image. An example of this" wrong is right" mindset was the protest carried out by parliamentarians on the arrest of the leader of opposition. There was total outrage and anger on why the National Accountability Bureau had dared to arrest the leader of opposition. They called it a bad "tradition" and a bad "example" and an attack on the sanctity of the house. The fact that he was arrested in a case that has been a scandal for years where billions in a housing scheme for poor resulted in both the houses and the billions disappearing is almost immaterial to the outraged parliamentarians; that the people working on the project have given irrefutable evidence on how contracts were illegally awarded to contractors who took billions but never laid a brick is almost normal for them. The problem with these leaders is the same as the problem with our public. For so long they have broken the laws with ease and without suffering any consequences that for them the exercise of law is an exercise unlawful.
We have unlimited examples of the rich kids of influentials driving down the roads killing people and getting away with it. The sight of Shahrukh Jatoi, the rich kid who is said to have murdered Shahzaib, and showed victory signs on his arrest just about sums up what the new generations of this country have grown up with. With these examples around for years, it is but natural for most people to believe that being honest is being stupid and skirting the law is what political or business acumen is all about. However, history is full of nations that have changed and changed quickly when a mix of education and non-discriminatory discipline systems creates behavior modification. It has happened in Malaysia, it has happened in Singapore and if an enabling environment of civic consciousness and disciplined accountability is created, it can happen in Pakistan as well.
(The writer can be reached at [email protected])