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by Dr MICHAEL
UNAGE
Beware of rhetoric, demagogy
MANY political parties may have
successfully registered without having to produce their platform to the
registrar.
Some, presumably, may not even have a party’s constitution as a guide.
Though a platform is not required upon registration, justice demands
that voters know the party’s philosophy before the polling.
This concern, nonetheless, may be trivial for the majority of the
illiterate voters. For them, a party’s policies are not even considered
when casting their votes.
They vote for candidates who offer bribes, who intimidates them, or the
clan that the person belongs to.
The same cannot be said of the few educated voters for whom the
character of the candidate along with the party’s platform is of
paramount importance.
In order to promote good governance and quality of life, casting votes
for the party with the best platform should be recommended for people.
In this regard, all political parties should release their platforms to
the media for people to comment or criticise.
Any political party dodging this should be regarded as lacking vision
for development. Thus, the reason that many of the voters are illiterate
should not be used as a pretext to conceal the party’s inadequacy.
People should be informed of the party’s stance through whatever medium
of communication possible.
Therefore, in this article, we wish to set the perimeters in which
voters can make their assessment of a party’s policies.
In any policy speech or writing, the voters should demarcate viable
policies to what are merely rhetoric.
Rhetoric simply means a display of words, and many political parties do
that in their speeches and writings.
Rhetoric can also imply unattainable development policies. For instance,
if a policy says that in five years’ time, all children in PNG would
have attained universal and free primary education, it can only be
rhetoric.
Does the country have enough money to construct 1,000 new schools, apart
from other infrastructure development costs?
Thus, party development policies should be pragmatic, feasible and
realistic. Otherwise a party’s platform becomes mere decoration to
entice votes. The Green Revolution policy of the current Government
qualifies for this.
The second area where voters need to be cautioned is demagogy, which
means a popular figure who stirs up people by appealing to their
emotions and prejudices.
The main aim of most demagogue is to get money, power and other things
for themselves.
Over the years, PNG politics has been using this method of campaign. And
I believe the same method will be used in this coming election.
Demagogy is manipulative because it exploits people’s vulnerability to
the advantage of the few.
It is also a method used by political parties that lack the acumen in
dealing with real policy issues. Hence, both political rhetoric and
demagogy should be excluded from political party’s platform.
Voters need to bear in mind when screening political party platforms the
interpretation and implementation of the national goals and directive
principles (NGDP).
National goals are supposed to be the guide to any development process
in the country, however, many political parties seem to do without them.
Instead, political parties buy ideas from other countries that are often
difficult to apply to this country.
It is imperative that voters discern political party platform that would
best implement strategies to develop the national goals and directive
principles.
What we will explicate below is to provide the basic premises for which
voters have to screen political party platforms in implementing the
Government’s NGDP.
The first area is integral human development. The platform must say
something about the development of the whole person and focus on the
human being.
Other areas of development should only come after this.
Development for development’s sake alone is not sufficient.
The policies should contain something about human values and relations,
taking into consideration the family and marriage as a basic unit and
bond in society.
Scientific and technological values should not overshadow this
fundamental truth.
A statement by the PNG Constitutional Planning Committee in 1975 is
appropriate and deserves quoting here: “We see the alienation of people
that is the result of the present machine-oriented economy. We see true
social security and the people’s happiness being diminished in the name
of economic progress. We caution therefore, that large-scale industries
should be pursued only after very careful and thorough consideration of
the likely consequences upon the social and spiritual fabric of our
people...
“There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that a significant number of
people who live by the fruits of multi-million dollar, multi-national
corporations live in misery, loneliness and spiritual poverty. We
believe that since we are a rural people, our strength should be
essentially in the land and the use of our innate artistic talents.”
Do party platforms reflect the wish of the constitutional fathers?
The second area is equality and participation. The party platform should
provide for equal opportunity for all to participate in and benefit from
the development of the country.
The policy should make every citizen take part in nation building, and
should suggest ways in which all people would share governance
responsibilities.
Of importance is the participation of women in political process. Women
voters should question political parties and their attempts at involving
women in their organisation.
Does the party support and endorse women candidates? And how many?
According to former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, gender equity is
more than a goal in itself – it is a precondition for meeting the
challenges of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and
building good governance.
Will the participation of more women in the political process effect
good governance?
The third area is national sovereignty and self-reliance thus the
philosophy of the political parties should deal with political and
economic independence and self-reliance, and should promote the
interdependence and solidarity among citizens, and an emphasis on
patriotism.
The platform must not reflect dependence on foreign assistance, but on
what people can do to be self-reliant.
Developing a work ethic for people must be included in the party’s
policies. At this juncture, it is very important for the National
Alliance party to explain to the people its involvement in the Julian
Moti saga because it was a major breach of the country’s sovereignty.
The fourth area is natural resources and environment. Does the policy
have a strategy to deal with the sustainable use of resources for the
benefit of all?
What would be the party’s policy on foreign resource developers?
Does the policy say anything about the wise use of natural resources,
the conservation of part of the environment, about its sacred, scenic
and historical qualities?
Does the policy say anything concerning the protection of our valued
animals and plants?
These would be the questions voters want to see appear in the party’s
platform.
The fifth is Papua New Guinean ways. The ideology of the party should
deal with how to employ Papua New Guinean ways of organisation.
Development processes should use PNG forms of participation,
consultation and consensus. Does the policy say anything in regards to
respecting and improving traditional ways, and recognising the positive
strength of culture?
Policies that talk about emulating other countries’ example of success
will not work here in PNG, be it Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or one of
the African countries.
We may be inspired by their success, but only a PNG way will bring
success.
 
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