Bangladesh Needs the Leader of Clear Visions
-Dr Ajoy Kar
‘Bangladesh needs the leader of clear visions’, said Professor Pro-vice Chancellor Dr Atiq Islam in Bangladesh’s 40th Victory Day seminar organized by the Bangladesh High Commission in Canberra, Australia on 16 December 2011. Professor Islam advised to the seminar, which was attended by the professionals and community leaders from various parts in Australia, that the leaders should not talk in terms of ‘emotion’, but they should talk based on ‘statistics’ to move the country’s economy forward. Citing the name of Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahatir bin Mohamad, he continued that Bangladesh needs a competent and honest leader who can develop and implement a system that can cut corruption and generate Government revenue. He said a neutral judiciary system, secular parliamentary constitution, and livable wages for all workforces are mandatory for Bangladesh to prosper.
‘Have we really achieved our economic goal that we had had in 1971?’, raising this question, His Excellency LtGen Masud Uddin Chowdhury, the High Commissioner for Bangladesh informed to the seminar that the rate of economic growth in Bangladesh’s neighboring countries is faster than that of Bangladesh. He continued that if the country has to achieve the economic goal, which we dreamed in 1971, all Bangladeshis around the world need to contribute. He urged to all Non Resident Bangladeshis in Australia to contribute to their own field in Bangladesh to help the country to flourish.
The key presenter of this seminar, Economist Dr Mohammad Alauddin of the University of Queensland gave an informative presentation focusing socio-economic achievements, challenges and prospects of Bangladesh at the age of 40. He said that Bangladesh has come a long way, from 1971, through numerous challenges, and has made a significant achievement in population growth control, non-traditional export, ICT service export, food production increase, and disaster management capacity building. The presentation highlighted on a number of challenges which Bangladesh will have to face in the near future. The challenges are: (1) unplanned urbanization causing traffic congestion, and environmental pollution, (2) trans-boundary resources needing negotiation with neighboring countries, (3) managing inflation having disruptive effect on her citizens, and (4) income inequalities widening the gaps between rich and poor. Showing the statistical evidences, Dr Alauddin notified that Bangladesh has prospects in trained manpower export to earn remittance and ICT export to create jobs- currently ICT export accounts for only less than 14% of Bangladesh’s total export.
Mr Azhar Haq, Head of Chancery, Bangladesh High Commission welcomed all to the seminar which was moderated by Dr Helal Ahammad, the General Manager of Climate Change in ABRES.
The cultural program followed by the seminar was presented beautiful songs sung by Lana Shiekh (Canberra) and Amia Matin (Sydney).
