I hardly comment on politics but from time to time, I do. At this crucial time when rumours of another political “grass-hopping” is dominating discussions on social media, it may be appropriate to share some alternate views on the way forward.
My father sacrificed a lot to put me in Woodford International School, a privately run international primary school in the Solomon Islands. I repaid his generosity by going to King George NSS. At that time KGVI still had a reputation and our people paid it the respect it truly deserved. To its credit, this once proud high school produced some of the country’s very best students who subsequently became leaders across many sectors of Solomon Islands society. So I was blessed to study at 2 of the country’s very best educational institutions.
In our final year in primary school, to prepare for the National Secondary School Entrance Exam, the late Mr. Jack Tynan decided that arithmetic tests on Monday mornings were mandatory. Well known maths wizards like Soon Do Kwan, Tony Ataria, Patrick Toito’ona and Nola Pickacha certainly thrived on that challenge. All you required was a pencil, paper, some wit and speed. He would read out the problems and we would all frantically attempt to write the answers. We would then swap papers and correct our partner’s scripts. I dreaded this because he would go around the room and we take turns to call out the answer. There was a fifty percent chance your answer could be wrong and I personally hated those odds. Mr. Tynan would also wait for his favorite “class clown” to blurt out some incoherent murmur before humiliating them with some cruel off-the-cuff remark. It never fails and we all have a good laugh. I think it piled on more misery on their already shattered confidence.
Then off to high school I went. Most kids who made it to KGVI justifiably felt vindicated (and to a certain degree, proud) of their status as the cream of the crop. To be fair, there were indeed quite a number of brilliant students from all over the country who passed through its corridors and the school certainly lived up to its lofty status. High school introduced the world of chemicals, the periodic table, spatulas, beakers and bunsen burners…ah, the mysterious wonderful world of Chemistry. Katherine Nelson was a tall, dark-haired brunette who was quite an imposing figure towering over most of us. She was British and rattled off with her heavily accented English to a class of bewildered teenagers, half gawking, half engrossed and for some half asleep. Adrian Alamu was another chap who did not seem to exert much confidence and actually had a bemused look that made you wonder if he really wanted to be there. There was also Thornley Hite, a scrawny tall and wide-eyed gentlemen who seemed to always fail at connecting with us, oh well me at least! But their narratives of chemical structures was a constant struggle for most students whose most basic experience of chemicals was sweet or sour, sugar and salt!
As I thought of those experiences I realized that the one thing that is obvious about the political climate in our country is simply that the majority of our parliamentarians have a very “arithmetic” view of governing. Most are simply consumed with the additions, the subtractions, the dollars and the cents. Add a little trickery akin to simple algebra enables them to manipulate the fluidity of Solomon Islands politics.
On the other hand, the expectation of the public is really that there is chemistry; that by some outlandish “alchemaniac” wizardry, our parliamentarians would conjure a parliament that actually works because it has the right balance, the right formation, the right structure. The right formula would no doubt provide us with a parliament that exudes confidence borne out of vibrant relationships and bounded by a singular purpose to serve our nation.
Our sad reality is, no one in parliament really understands the complex make up of the 50 members of our parliament. Sadly, not one among the 50 has really invested time in creating a combination of parliamentarians who will fulfill our expectations; yes getting the right chemical balance. The Political Parties Integrity Bill was a milestone but it too failed because it still focused on numerical strength rather then the right combinations. Arithmetics over chemistry.
Alas, sadly even I must admit we must not hold too high an expectation. All our parliamentarians really understand is, 25 + 1 makes an absolute majority. Sigh! Arithmetic! Maybe I need a lesson in Evolution.