DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 6 (MExN): Nagaland Chief Minister, TR Zeliang today addressed the 4th Edition of the Pangkor Dialogue at Ipoh city in the Malaysian State of Perak, speaking about the qualities of the Naga people and Nagaland state which could lure global players to enter the state.
He spoke of a sustainable world where maintaining and improving the quality of life is done while also ensuring that decisions made today, take into consideration social, economic, and environmental consequences for the future. Sustainable development, he stated means “containing our needs that very often turns into greed.” He went on to say that “greed is indeed at the root of our threatened environment as also of the eroding governance systems.”
“This understanding is vital, especially for the underdeveloped and the developing world as we try to catch up with the highly advanced technological societies of the west. Compared to them, there can be no end to our perceived needs. There is, therefore, a need to design our entire lives - our social, economic and political structures and our governance systems that will be suitable for us and which will help to redefine our needs, as also the sacrifices that we have to make so that human existence is made sustainable,” he added.
Sharing the political realities in Nagaland, Zeliang pointed out that the traditional Naga way of life, like many societies of the South East Asian nations, did not quite get along well with western concept of Parliamentary democracy and the concept of universal adult franchise was something new to the Naga people resulting in glaring material corruption and faulty electoral practices in the State. He lauded the Clean Election Campaign launched by the Church in its attempt to cleanse the malpractice in the electioneering process.
Zeliang also shared developments in the State such as communitisation of public services like education, health services, electricity etc. “We are grateful that The United Nations had given an award to our State in recognition for instituting such a reform,” he said.
He meanwhile spoke on environmental degradation which has led to drastic climate change in the state in recent years such as drought-like situation for months at a stretch, and damaging hailstones and cyclones in various parts of the state.
“We are all aware that such a phenomena, which is global cannot be resolved overnight and by acting alone,” he said and appealed to world leaders “to think together, to share the solutions and to further help each other in reducing the risks through adaptation as well as mitigation strategies in the better interests of our survival.”
He urged for cooperation and sharing for “our mutual existence,” as societies in South East Asia grapple with governance, sustainable development and at the same time find answers to the challenges of climate change.
“We have to help each other through the sharing, not only of knowledge but also of pooling our limited resources. In this, one of the great needs is to re-skill the public servants and the policy makers at all levels on issues of governance and the environment,” he stated.
This, the Nagaland CM said can be done through appropriate institutions with professionally designed trainings programs that will add value to their work and thereby, enhance governance at their respective levels. “It will also bring about regional cooperation among the countries. This will require initiatives at both the local and the national levels,” he added.
Proposing an International Conference to facilitate this, he expressed confidence that the Government of India will be amenable to such proposals “as it will be for the mutual benefit of India and the East along with our partnership for economic growth and well-being.”
