Mahmoud Ahmad

Recently, I was engaged in an interesting conversation with a group of people over the word "discipline". The whole conversation was sparked following a chance remark that how Saudis are not disciplined and they do not follow rules and regulations.



Although I am totally against generalizing people for the action of some, not few, I thought on this occasion that they might have a point. Instilling discipline in a person or a child is a tough job sometimes, but it is doable. The question, however, is how do we bring discipline to a whole nation of people?



On many occasions, Saudi youth are accused of not having discipline and not following rules in their jobs. They are accused of coming up with excuses to do little or they do just the basic things to escape punishment. The conclusion, invariably many arrive at, is they do not have discipline.



On the streets, Saudis are accused of not following the rules of the road and failing to follow traffic signals, and often the conclusion arrived at is that they behave like a fiend behind the wheel and do not have discipline.



At government departments or in public places, Saudis do not like to stand in line and follow orders or respect the rules of the place. For example not smoking in closed buildings is a rule that is in place now but to many of them it is just a smokescreen, and the conclusion derived thus is they lack discipline.



In schools and universities it is a similar story. Students are not serious about education and they are physically present only to while away their time and the answer for their abject behavior is that they have not been taught discipline.



If the parts become the whole, then the scenario presented to us is a bit gloomy. It would seem the sections of such people make a major part of the nation and this would result in the majority of the people in the nation lacing discipline. The question that stares in our face is how do we instill discipline in these people for the betterment of the nation?



Most of us eye with envy the law and order in neighboring countries, the disciplined people and they being in their best behavior in all aspects of their lives. The same people who talk about the strict laws in other countries are the first ones to break it in their own country — although same laws exists here and there.



To be fair, demonizing Saudis for their lack of discipline on the roads is discriminatory. We have to understand one thing, blaming only Saudis for not respecting the rules of the road is not fair because it is Saudis and expatriates alike who break the rules willy-nilly. That they do so with temerity is simply because the laws and rule are not implemented strictly or even-handedly.



Take for example the simplest rule of the road, which is pedestrian crossing. How often do we see people crossing major roads from the assigned pedestrian crossing? Allow me to answer. Never. It is not because we lack  discipline — Saudis and expatriates alike — but because the streets are not designed for people to walk in or to cross. In a neighboring country, crossing the road from the middle is punishable with a fine of SR200. Here, what fine?



I believe that in the absence of strict implementation of punishment, people will lack discipline. I remember few years back when people used to laugh about those wearing seatbelts. For people in my generation felt that those wearing seatbelts were new to driving while experts did not need to wear it, although it was designed to save our lives.



When the traffic department imposed SR100 fine on those not wearing it and strictly implemented it, people started belting up even before turning the ignition on for the fear of being fined. Where did such discipline come from? The fear of being punished and being hit where it hurts — ones’ pockets.



As for Saudis on the job, if there was strict monitoring of productivity with a clear reward and punishment system, then a disciplined workforce would be evident. Saudization should not protect lazy Saudis because it just helps them to become more lazy and not disciplined. How can we teach them discipline if they know very well that they will be protected by the system whether they are productive or not? Anyone on the job should know that he/she is replaceable with another Saudi if he/she did not come through.



The same goes for our students in schools and universities. They should be educated to understand that discipline is a strong tool they need in life along with knowledge and seriousness in order to carve a niche for themselves in the job market.



From the current state of affair, maybe it would be a tall order to instill discipline in this generation but at least let us work hard on the next one. They should be made to understand from their childhood that discipline should not be imposed on us, but it should be within ourselves.



Discipline helps us to focus on our goals and what we want to achieve. It should be the tool that guides us. Parents should be disciplined and automatically that positive impact would make the children disciplined. We should force discipline in our surrounding environment and the collective positive effect would bear fruit in many ways.



The same way we are disciplined when traveling abroad we should behave in a similar fashion in our own country.



Getting back to where I started, I can only say that the debate ended with people saying that there is no hope in trying to bring discipline to our people with me countering there is hope, and it stems from educating more people about discipline and to strengthen this concept in our young children.



It takes one person to break the law and the rest will follow. But if the person who broke the law did not find anyone breaking the law with him, he would be shamed and forced to follow the law.

— Mahmoud Ahmad can be reached at mahmad@saudigazette.com.sa