CULTURE OF ABUSE A DISTURBING TREND THAT ENDANGERS OUR FUTURE

ELIMINATING IT WILL LIFT OUR THE LEVEL OF FUTURE PROSPERITY A-G and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says morality real key to modernity.

Imagine if we all maintain the same ethical and moral standards that Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum talks about.

We would be enjoying a higher level of prosperity and most of the challenges we now face would not be there. When he said “morality is the key to modernity” in his Budget address on Friday night in Parliament he was referring to the link between morality and progress.

Simply put, we cannot move forward without doing the right thing. Morality is about principles that distinguish between right and wrong or good behaviour and bad behaviour.

Our vision to level the playing field could only be realised if we apply the same moral and ethical standards. It means we cannot afford to cheat, abuse, steal or lie. It also means that any decision is made purely on merit or need, not on the basis of race, favouritism, nepotism (who you know) or any form of bias.

There seems to be a disturbing rising trend of morality cases in many facets of national life.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum highlighted some of these in his Budget address.

Education

He said: “We’re taking a hard look at the pathways towards higher education and taking some key steps to ensure students are entering higher education on a level playing field.” He said Government was checking that no one was cutting corners or getting preferential treatment, in order to ensure that everyone got a fair shot at success. “As we all know, students need to earn a certain number of marks to pass Year 13. Unfortunately, some universities are bending the rules in order to fill their own coffers, allowing in students who have actually failed to pass Year 13 altogether.” He said only those who could afford to pay got into the Foundation programme.

“That practice will no longer be allowed. To attend university, students need to have earned the necessary marks to pass Year 13 fair and square.”

He said it was a classic case of the “haves” getting by easier than the “have-nots”.

“We’ve been left with little choice other than disqualifying students who opt for the “Foundation Year” from receiving Toppers Scholarships.

“We will also no longer be allowing students who study in USP’s Technical Colleges to fund their education through TELS, given the current programme’s exclusionary policy of not permitting the cross transfer of credits to and from other universities. However, we will continue to fund FNU technical colleges through TELS as they do allow for cross-transfers.” He said a worrying trend of abuse was sweeping across our nation’s schools. He announced new actions to curb the “intolerable misuse” of Government programmes and assistance. “From now onwards, we’ll be restricting the Free Milk programme to Year 1 students in rural and maritime regions, and continue to keep a close eye on outcomes,” he said.

Bus Abuse

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said there had also been some serious issues of abuse relating to buses.

“Now, it used to be that the Government would subsidise students to ride on dedicated school buses to and from school each day. These buses came at set times, and if you missed your bus, well, you were out of luck. We undertook a trial programme this past year where we allowed subsidised student travellers to ride any bus – school bus or otherwise – to get to and from school.

“We wanted to give some flexibility to students and be a bit more liberal about their travel restrictions. Unfortunately, we’ve seen an unacceptable rise in truancy as a result. Some students are choosing to taking buses anywhere but to school. But even worse, Mr Speaker, we actually have parents of students who are taking their students’ blue subsidised bus cards and using them to travel around the country on half or fully-paid fares. “They’ll simply slide the card into their wallet, or even into their phones (HOLD UP PHONE) and tap it against the bus payment machines undetected. Mr Speaker, a parent taking a student’s card – a student who should be travelling to school – to abuse government assistance is a level of immorality that we, frankly, could not predict. And we’ll be firmly closing that loophole by again restricting travel for subsidised students to the dedicated school buses, and no allowing any student travel after 4:30pm.”

Tolerating Abuse

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said when we tolerated abuse, “we not only do a disservice to our nation and to those who actually deserve our help, we do a disservice to the abusers themselves, especially when they are young people.” He said “when someone spends their childhood getting away with disrespecting the law, they become adults who are comfortable breaking rules on a regular basis.”

He said our nation bore the brunt of those mentalities all the time.

“We have grown adult children who haven’t seen their parents for decades, flying in from overseas to cash social welfare checks the moment their mum or dad passes away. Those checks, of course, are intended for dependents, not estranged family members living comfortably overseas. We have people elbowing their way to the front of cyclone assistance queues, when – in reality – their properties didn’t suffer a scratch.

“Those who break our laws in those manners, shouldn’t kid themselves into thinking no one is watching. And I’m not talking about the Police. I’m talking about their children, their nieces and nephews, their little cousins and the children with whom they share a community. They’re watching what they’re doing, and when they set that sort of example, they stick our nation in an endless cycle of abuse and disrespect.”

“Now, I’ve actually spoken to some young people who have sought to abuse government assistance, and it’s clear they broke the rules, not because they bear anyone ill-will, but because they don’t see the harm in it. But there is harm. When you cut corners, and sneak off an extra slice of our national cake for yourself, you’re not stealing from some imaginary pile of government money, you’re picking your own neighbour’s pocket. When you abuse government assistance in the wake of a cyclone, you’re not stealing from some foreign aid office. You’re taking money from one of your fellow Fijians who needs it. Someone who may have lost their home, everything they’ve ever owned, or even a loved one. And when a parent abuses the rules, taking assistance intended for their own children, they tell that child that the rules don’t matter; that care for your fellow Fijians doesn’t matter. And, that, Mr Speaker, is the greatest tragedy of all.

Strength of Character

“So, don’t go around telling your supporters to exploit government freebees, not when there are real people who really need a leg-up. That kind of mentality will keep us a nation of mud crabs in a barrel, clamouring over each other to get ahead, while only succeeding in pulling each other down. “As a society, we need to come to terms with this persistent culture of abuse that has nagged at the heels of our progress for generations. It is the strength of character of our young people that can rid us of this blight on our national character.

“Now, I know there are many people who think that other’s bad behaviour simply isn’t their business, but that’s not true. It may be uncomfortable to tell someone to stop littering, driving drunk, or abusing government programmes – but it’s certainly your business to do so.

“And among young Fijians, it is that level of commitment to a rules-based society that will truly make or break our future. Morality is the real key to modernity.”