On the morning of 12th March, 2022 I woke up a much sprightlier person – in the knowledge that next day we would all be delivered out of our prolonged Bardo. First thing I did was wash my car to a squeaky sparkle – it is finally going to see some action the following day: 13th March, 2022 – I need to go to town to buy a tube of QuickFix glue – to mend my fangled camera tripod.
Sadly when the Press Release was issued by the PMO, the lockdown was not lifted entirely as people had hoped. What has been announced is a systematic approach to how the lockdown would be eased over the coming days. I am not in the social media other than BlogSpot – thus I have not read what was being said but I am told that there is a humongous uproar over the matter.
Some friends made fun of me - "Your car is all clean and sparkling - where are you going?"
Someone forwarded me the PMO’s Press Release – I did not find it necessary to read through all that was written – my areas of interest were two: Can I move freely without timing and without having to dangle the Movement Card on my neck? When am I allowed to drive?
It is sad how the Bhutanese people are behaving – they make out as if His Majesty the King and the government are in some kind of conspiracy to bring pain and hardship to the people of Bhutan.
For the past more than two years, at the core of what His Majesty the King and the Royal Government of Bhutan has been doing is trying to safeguard the health and lives of the people. I am in agreement with the rest of the population – that livelihood has been put on the back burner.
But what is livelihood without life? How can people find fault in the King and the government prioritizing life over everything else?
It became clear to me that any time soon, great pressure would be brought to bear on the government and it is for that reason that some of my recent blog posts carry terms such as:
February 11, 2022 “Stop Grumbling”
February 18, 2022 “The lockdowns will ease the day the Bhutanese people begin to think
February 19, 2022 “Remain Calm & Realistic: DO NOT PANIC”
February 19, 2022 “Misjudgments are most often committed during panic situations”
March 1, 2022 “Jumping the gun”
March 1, 2022 “Avoid getting into a situation when we have to say “I AM SORRY”
These words were written as cautionary words directed towards the government to simply say that: The people will put pressure and they will grumble – but the government must not be hasty in their decisions, that no decisions should be made under pressure – that they should do nothing before time.
The current situation is that Thimphu has now overtaken Phuentsholing in number of new cases – almost double, indicating that “jumping the gun” may have already taken place.
Alarming number of new COVID-19 cases. Thimphu is now the new capital of the pandemic
I am not supporting lockdowns – but I am supporting the science and wisdom behind the government’s cautious approach to lifting the lockdown. Citizens must also realize that we have to place our trust in the King and the government – after all it is in their job description to get us all out of this situation. If not, who else can we trust? They wield the authority and the expertise to do what is best for us. The least we can do is support the King and the government in their endeavors.
My advise to the government: Please take heed of some sound advises that should be emerging from all the cacophony in the social media – but at the end you have to take the decisions as best you can – the decisions will have to be yours alone. After all, should the cookie crumble – you alone must stand to face the music. It would be lame to justify that people pressurized you into taking wrong decisions. It should also be understood that it would be unwise to take the route that other countries have taken – because our compulsions are unique to those of theirs.
The canines will bark but the caravan must keep moving unhindered!
I dont and I think no one questions the govt.'s intentions or thinks that there is a conspiracy to harm the Bhutanese public by the govt. As the saying goes the road to hell is lttered with good intentions. However the govt.'s many missteps in handling covid is indeed causing pain and suffer not least amongst the Bhutanese populace. The citizenry are the humblest, most obedient and compliant in the world, note the wrong building declared as a red building and it occupants complying with govt directives.
ReplyDeleteThe PM himself has declared lockdowns ineffective, however he persists with draconian measures even though he himself sees no benefits in them. However the pain is real, but he continues piling it on. As fellow with bad intentions dare not continue such torture of the public for fear of the reprecussions. But a person who is convinced of his own good intentions will have no worry to continue the same actions though it harms everyone, because he has good intentions and thats enough.
But if good intentions alone were enough anybody could become the PM! And unfortunately intentions cannot be seen either so perhaps we just pick someone who speaks and acts well!
ReplyDeleteThe government's lockdown decisions are never taken in isolation. In fact, they heavily rely on His Majesty's wisdom and compassion for all Bhutanese, on the ever-evolving medical science around the coronavirus, and then the task force that also refers to what's happening around the world (including places that have opened too soon - Hong Kong, Denmark etc.). There is general covid fatigue and we are all fed up of the lockdowns. But community cases are still on the rise. E-passes are easily sought and modified so that people are still moving around. The frontliners themselves are moving around to deliver friends' stuff and packages, and when we do open up a little, there is no social distancing - e.g. vegetable market or FCB to queue up for buying chillies last time, or in markets. Relaxation of lockdowns will require a lot of self discipline, and that is highly questionable. Thank god our young children are getting vaccinated now. We do not want to reach a time when our hospitals are filled with covid patients. Then what do we do? So, I feel we should support the measured relaxation of lockdowns. We are almost there.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that is quietly put out there (or deliberately leaked, as is often the case these days), is the RCSC mysteriously manipulating the outcome of the executive assessment. After officially declaring that only 7% of 62 Secretaries and DG's were deemed excellent (so, only 4 people), suddenly the new list has almost a 300+% increase in this category! There are now 13 excellent ones in the secretary and DG category. I guess this must be good if it is indeed true, but who are the RCSC trying to fool? You can fool some people some time, but not everyone all the time! This new result, especially for the secretary and DG is tinkered and fudged, and therefore not believable. And some poor fellows are made scapegoats to show that this is Ngar! This is the opposite of Ngar - sheer manipulation, and dangerous for allowing people to lose faith in the system. No point, really, and bringing dishonesty and lies into everything. When will meritocracy truly be valued? What a worthless, ngar-less fiasco to kill off some unlucky ones. If they said the executives who made it through are on this list, that is fair - but to say all of these are excellent? This is an insult to the ones who truly excelled! We can't pretend to have compassion selectively only when it is convenient for us. Who are you protecting? Remember, you are already 'managing out' some? The gradation is a softer blow - only a few excel, many get through, and some have to leave. That is how a bell curve works. So, each one is not far from the next level up or down. This manipulated list does not make sense, wai.