Editorial - Where are the servant leaders?

Time-tested and time-honoured spiritual values and principles show us that those who wish to take leadership must be ready and willing to be the servants of all. This was underlined by great spiritual leaders including  Lord Buddha and  Lord Jesus Christ who gave up all they had and were ready to sacrifice everything including their lives for the common good and liberation of the people.

Even in secular terms the constitutions of many countries including Sri Lanka emphasise that the people are sovereign. That means they are the kings. Periodically they elect leaders or representatives to be good stewards of the country’s wealth and resources and to serve the people in vital areas ranging from health and education to economic development and the protection of the environment.

Sincere servant leaders are those who are experiencing a gradual inner liberation from their slavery to selfishness and self-centredness or the desire for personal gain or glory, prestige and popularity. Without this liberation their leadership will be deceitful with hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Instead of being good stewards, they will plunder the   wealth and resources of the people, the ill-gotten millions often deposited in secret Swiss bank accounts, while millions of poor people suffer because of the soaring cost of living.

What is happening in Sri Lanka today? Most independent analysts believe that the sovereignty of the people is a king-sized joke. If at all the people are sovereign only on election days, but we appear to be surviving in the worst of times where even elections are rigged through the abuse of state resources and a racket described as computer jilmart.

What about servant leadership? That also takes place to some extent during election campaigns when those seeking leadership visit even shacks and shanties and make all sorts of promises to the people. But after the elections the servants become masters and lords dominating or bluffing the people.

During the past two years, after the enforcement of the 18th Amendment, we have seen virtually absolute power being exercised by the executive presidency, supported by parliament where a patch-work coalition has been put together by offering perks and privileges to small parties and political pole-vaulters or should we say poll-vaulters? Recently an SLFP deputy minister accused a minister of obtaining millions to cross over or do a pole vault though the minister angrily denied it. Whatever happened, they are playing around with the people’s money.

Sri Lanka’s main source of income and foreign exchange is the six billion dollars received every year from poor women and men toiling in the red dust of the Middle East and other countries. These are the billions that the politicians are using and abusing for their luxuries, extravagances and frauds to such an extent that 35% of the country’s expenditure is the payment of interest on foreign and local debts amounting to trillions of rupees.