Where Are Our Leaders of the Bai?

Dear Editor:

In the book, “Leadership in the Pacific islands: tradition and the future” Edited by Donald R. Shuster, Peter Larmour and Karin von Strokirch, Ngiraked Roman Tmetuchel shares that the traditional bai of Palau was more than a meeting house. 

It was the heart of leadership, a place where chiefs gathered to deliberate, debate, and reach consensus. Every symbol carved into its beams carried meaning: the rooster reminding chiefs to rise early and hear the cries of the poor, the bat teaching humility, the clam warning of the consequences of harm to a village, and the school of fish showing the importance of unity under a leader. Chiefs were not paid salaries. They carried burdens, fed the hungry, and sacrificed for their clans. 

Leadership was service, not privilege.

Today, our leaders in the Olbiil Era Kelulau and the Executive Branch seem far removed from this tradition. Where are the leaders who wake early to hear the cries of the poor? Where are the leaders who stoop in humility, who act carefully knowing their decisions carry consequences, who guide sthe people in unity rather than scatter them in division?

The bai demanded consensus. Chiefs sat on the stone platform under the sun and rain until agreement was reached. Compare that to today’s politics, where majority votes replace consensus, leaving division and unrest. The bai reminded leaders that they had one voice, one mind, one united front. Yet our modern leaders often speak with many voices, each serving personal gain or corporate interest rather than the people.

Ngiraked Tmetuchl reminded us that chiefs were chosen carefully, prepared through upbringing, and ratified by the community. Leadership was feared because it meant sacrifice. Today, leadership is sought for prestige, salary, and influence. The Constitution even provides for chiefs to advise the president on matters of tradition, but that advisory role has weakened, overshadowed by imported systems that prize individual ambition over collective responsibility.

So we must ask: where are our leaders of the bai? Where are the lawmakers who will stop sitting on their hands while families struggle under taxes? Where is the executive branch who will sacrifice privilege to lift burdens? Where are the leaders who understand that governance is uplifting the people not just padding your wallet? Palau’s future demands leaders who embody the bai’s lessons: humility, responsibility, unity, and sacrifice. Not leaders who preach slogans while ignoring the cries of the people. 

Everything for Everyone and Nothing for Ourselves. That is the leadership Palau needs, not status, not self-interest, but service.

Your Humble Servant

Dudalm Kelulau

The Silent Majority