The Bhutanese Leading the way.
“It’s no longer a question of whether we can do it or whether we can’t. It’s a question of whether we get up and do it. It’s a question of whether we care enough about our future. ”
His Majesty the King, while expressing his concerns for the nation also shared his dreams with the more than 2,000 graduates in a royal address at the National Graduates Orientation Programme (NGOP) closing ceremony on October 7.
The King highlighted the importance of one’s own determination and conviction to serve the country and said
it’s no longer a question of whether one can do it or can’t do, but of whether one is willing to get up and do it. “It’s a question of whether we care enough about our future because we are small (country). We can move faster than others, we are much more efficient, we can be one step ahead of any of our neighboring countries, but it is going to require a lot of effort,” His Majesty said.
His Majesty also said values such as good leadership, determination, fortitude, resolve, conviction, and hard work will take us into the 21st century.
“We must never shy away from challenges and problems because in the past, if we pay close attention to history, the country is where it is today because we tackled every single challenge that the 21st century dished out at us. We used tact, resolve, fortitude and determination,” His Majesty said.
“We can either achieve greatness in the shortest period of time with the greatest level of efficiency, or be consumed and be overwhelmed with problems that every neighboring country seems to be facing in this day and age,” His Majesty said.
The opportunity cost, the King said is going to be huge and that the window of opportunity might close in very quickly as we have a limited time.
His Majesty said the country being small with a little more than 6,00,000 population has the advantage over other nations and has the opportunity to show the world on how work could be done with speed and a great deal of efficiency.
“We don’t have the resources that large countries have,” His Majesty said. “But if we have, on the other hand, all the problems that large countries are faced with, then this is not a place that we want to be in.”
His Majesty also stressed on the importance and need to feel a strong sense of a single national identity. “What is important is strong sense of national identity irrespective of whether you speak Tshangla, Dzongkha, Lhotshamkha, or whether you are from the east, west, north or south. The emergence of a single national identity is important.”
His Majesty closed the session with two options for the graduates to think about and muse on. “Work hard now and in the near future, to lead a happier life with many accomplishments. Of which your greatest accomplishment is going to be your contribution towards nation building and even greater accomplishment is going to be the security and the well-being of your family,” His Majesty said. “Or the other option is, you can have fun right now and you can suffer later. There are two options. I think the choice is simple.”
The King stressed on the need for the graduates to stand on their own feet and become the productive citizens of the nation.
