Mr.POLITICIAN, Face The Mirror!
Posted on July 29th, 2016
By Dr. Tilak S Fernando Courtesy Ceylon Today
Politics and politicians have become a pet topic nowadays. Cambridge English Dictionary describes the word politics as ‘activities of a government, members of law making organization or people who try to influence the way a country is governed’. Urban Dictionary, however, defines it differently viz: “Politics derived from the words poly meaning ‘many’ and ‘tics’ meaning ‘blood-sucking parasites‘.
Currently a politician’s position has become like that of a professional in Sri Lanka. A politician becomes either acceptable or detested by the very people who elect him or her to Parliament depending on his or her ability to justify the ‘sugar-coated’ promises made at general elections; though popularity, honesty, sincerity and simplicity are regarded as the basic ingredients required for a politician to survive.
With the amalgamation of two main political parties in Sri Lanka (UNP & SLFP), and the emergence of the new concept of ‘Yahapalanaya‘, 19 months ago as the brainchild of the incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena, to work in unison as a single team for the benefit and progress of the nation; it seems is exhibiting hairline cracks widening into major fissures. In such a backdrop it is sad to observe the development of rather a chaotic situation among the Parliamentary groups displaying the worst type of selfish attitudes where bickering, backbiting, infighting and fragmentation is taking place, seemingly leading towards an anarchic situation among themselves, which only leaves the voter confused and perplexed.
Ancestry
In the bygone era Sri Lankan Parliamentarians were thorough gentlemen of prominence who hailed from respectable families. They were sincere and committed and worked for the betterment of the nation with affection and dedication. After all, they too were human, and had their individual political ideologies, but when it came to national issues they forgot about their personal concerns or party politics and stood firm as a team of true patriotic sons of the country. Looking at the world at large, Britain is a good democratic example to emulate the solidarity of a nation. During the World War II and throughout their military battle with the Falkland Islands, during Lady Thatcher’s premiership, this was clearly evident.
A random sample of yesteryear politicians will show Dudley Senanayake’s name coming at the top of the list. He displayed unpretentious qualities as a parliamentarian. A gentleman who resigned from the post of Prime Minister of the country three times, yet the people re-elected him in every instance. At the end of his sojourn in this world his bank balance revealed only a few hundred rupees to his credit!
Dudley Senanayake used an ordinary man’s vehicle, a Triumph Herald, as his private car. He never had any security backups and escort vehicles, as opposed to what people in this country have seen in the immediate past where politicians (from Government Ministers down to the ordinary Members of Parliament and Provincial Councillors) are being driven in luxury Pajeros, intercoolers, Mercedes Benz, Volvos and other limousines usually driven by millionaires of other countries.
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike left quite a lot of financial liabilities at the time of his assassination; having tried his best to fulfill his pledges to the people, while dabbling in politics. Dr. N. M. Perera, an intellectual, as well as a politician with his socialist ideology, did not wish to bow down to dishonest politics, which of course denied him the opportunity of seizing power. Wijeyananda Dahanayake came from an ordinary background but set a divine example to parliamentarians, of generations to come, by commuting from Galle to Colombo in a CGR (Ceylon Government Railway) 3rd Class compartment mingling with the commuters.
What was common among the bygone generation of Sri Lankan politicians was many of them entered politics from good family backgrounds, highly educated (most of them had attended foreign universities) with dedication, patriotism and fully committed to work for the people as well as the country. Most of them having hailed from wealthy families had no desire to earn that extra buck out of politics using their power and political might, as opposed to some of the present day breed who have been appointed as parliamentarians minus any such moral qualities of their ancestors.
On the brighter side though, one consolation today is the absence of hell’s angels and back- up vehicles, in front and at the back of VIPs travelling on roads, pushing all other road users to the drains to make way for their masters who assumed they were a special breed fallen from heaven. But still the greediness, self-indulgence and the conceit to ride in Mercedes Benz cars and SUVs seems to be the order of the day for parliamentarians of all hues, which will cost millions to the tax payer! The recent approval of duty free car permits to all parliamentarians, which caused a huge public outcry, and stopped though temporarily by the government.
Present day politics in Sri Lanka are diluted, adulterated and corrupted to the core! It has transformed into a thriving business as could be seen by the number of so called ‘ honourable’ men and their goons allegedly accused of various kinds of fraud and of pilfering public funds are seen frequently visiting the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID). More than once, getting imprisoned and then being bailed out, yet again, after a few days re-visiting on repeat performances for various other allegations. All the while intricate, convoluted and long-winded inquiries are still progressing into obscure areas, according to government sources! This makes the impatient public frustrated and who tend to believe that the grinding wheels of the Yahapalanaya are becoming rusty, and if at all, turns at snail’s pace!
Sri Lanka has also managed to become a record holder in world politics, by becoming the only country where parliamentarians qualify for a retirement pension after clinging on to their ‘Member of Parliament’ tag for five years! What an amazing opportunity for them and for the whole world to become green with envy! This should be recorded in golden letters in the Guinness Book of Records as their pension rights come after drawing handsome salaries pumped up with perks and allowances of many a kind. Official residences, free electricity, which helps some of them to have air conditioning 24/7 even in their washrooms, tax free vehicles, free fuel, body guards and the lot, they enjoy, during their five year term, and end up still sucking blood out of the country’s coffers.
The reason for some of our modern politicians to become unpopular could be endorsed by the fact that very few of them have the good attributes of their political ancestors, be it as a representative of the people at Local Government, Provincial Council, or Parliament; a degree of vulgar affluence seems to affect them! This is the main reason why society is getting horror-struck with the present lot, as some of them have become rapists, thugs and thieves of public funds, who take the political might into their own hands and exhibit their raucous behaviour even during parliamentary sessions stooping to utter gutter levels of the worst kind.
If a public opinion is warranted on the present day politician in Sri Lanka, a friendly advice would be to say politely: ‘Dear Mr. Politician, when you wake up in the morning, please have a look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself a simple question as to who you are? Wait for the mirror image replay which say to you: ‘ Remember my dear friend, you are no more than a small servant of the public; ahead of you today is a considerable responsibility, and that is to serve your nation’!
tilakfernando@gmail.com
July 30th, 2016 at 2:35 am
Mangala must be replaced by a patriotic foreign minister. Actually Ranil, Sirisena, CBK traitors must be replaced too. However Mangala must be replaced as soon as possible. A country’s government should first and foremost look after the country’s security, sovereignty, territorial integrity and in the case of a small country such as Sri Lanka its unitary status. Mangala has betrayed Sri Lanka by accepting the UNHRC resolution which no country with any integrity will accept. Mangala must realise that those LTTE terrorists who massacred the citizens of this country for over 26 years simply because they wanted a large chunk of this island for themselves, illegally, that they should be dealt with in a very careful manner without betraying the security, sovereignty, territorial integrity and in the case of a small country such as Sri Lanka its unitary status, even if extremely powerful forces such as the US,UK, EU, Canada, Sweden, Norway and India are behind the LTTE terrorists. In addition, we must place forth the argument that those who settled in the island quite recently only during the past few hundred years i.e. the Sri Lankan Tamils who are only but 11.2% of the population do not have any rights whatsoever to demand over 28% of the land area, 66% of the coastline and 66% of the vast ocean resources which belong to Sri Lanka. This message should be conveyed to the TNA, the separatist terrorists and those who support them i.e. the US,UK, EU, Canada, Sweden, Norway and India as soon as possible so that they understand our position. This is the task of a foreign minister. Mangala therefore has betrayed Sri Lanka and must go. Sri Lanka cannot afford large self ruling entities which are illegal anyway since this island as a whole belong to all its people in total. It is the foreign minister’s task to covey this message to everyone concerned.
July 30th, 2016 at 2:39 am
The missing persons commission, the name is a misnomer. It should be called ‘those combatants on all sides who died in the war i.e. the Sri Lankan Forces, the Police Force, Civil Defence Force members, the IPKF, Tamil Armed Groups against the LTTE and the LTTE terrorists themselves and whose bodies have not be found’. Therefore the name itself is wrong and invented by the UNHRC to tarnish the image of the armed forces of Sri Lanka.
The missing persons commission to date has receive 24,000 complaints from 1983-2009 period. Of this number over 5,000 are regarding missing Sri Lankan Forces members, whereabouts unknown, almost certainly executed by the LTTE terrorists. Over 12,000 complaints are against the LTTE itself recruiting young persons using coercion. Therefore over 70% of complaints are against the LTTE itself which amount to over 17,000 complaints. The rest of the complaints are I am sure about the whereabouts of LTTE combatants or terrorists who died while fighting but whose bodies have not been found.
My question is, why cannot the UNHRC, the US,UK, EU, Canada, Norway, Sweden and India accept that Sri Lankan Forces, Police Force, Civil Defence Forces, IPKF, Tamil Armed Groups against the LTTE and the LTTE terrorists themselves died fighting in this war and leave it at that. What is the point in looking for these combatants now? Why is it that the UNHRC the US,UK, EU, Canada, Norway, Sweden and India never ever talk about the over 35,000 Sri Lankan Forces, Police Force, Civil Defence Force members who died in the war? or the 1,200 IPKF members or the over 2,000 Tamils Armed Groups against the LTTE members who died in the war? or the over 6,000-7,000 Sinhala civilians and even Muslim civilians who were massacred by the LTTE? or the around (my estimate) over 3,000 Tamil civilians massacred by the LTTE?
Why is it that the UNHRC, the US,UK, EU, Canada, Norway, Sweden and India is not concerned about the over 10,000 Sri Lankan Forces members permanently disabled by the war, or the over 23,000 Sri Lankan Forces members both temporarily and permanently disabled by the war? or the over 136,000 Sri Lankan Forces members who were injured due to the war?
Why is it that the UNHRC, the US,UK, EU, Canada, Norway, Sweden and India not concerned about the over 65,000 Sinhala people and over 75,000 Muslims ethnically cleansed from the North?
Why is it that the only the around 35,000 LTTE terrorists who died inclusive of Prabhakaran are the concern of the UNHRC, the US,UK, EU, Canada, Norway, Sweden and India? Perhaps this missing persons commission should answer that question first.
July 30th, 2016 at 2:40 am
Even if the constitution will be changed since this idiotic government follows whatever instructions the US, UK, EU, Norway, Canada, Sweden, India, the TNA and the separatist terrorists tell it to do, we must ensure that the unitary status of the country is not compromised in any way whatsoever. The clause in the 13th amendment which says that ‘the North and the East is the homeland of the Tamil speaking people’ must be deleted since it is totally false when looking at the history of the island. This clause must be replaced with the clause ‘the entire island is the homeland of all its peoples’. The provision which allows for the merger between two provinces should be deleted. As much subjects from the concurrent list should be included in the national list. Under no circumstances should land, police or fiscal powers be given to provincial councils. All of us need to ensure that the above happens since if the system reverts back to a parliamentary system and the presidential system is scrapped, the only way to ensure the unitary status of the country is the make sure that the provincial councils do not get any more powers than they have at present. The Public Security Ordinance should not be amended in anyway as well. If any provincial councils acts out of line, the head of government should dissolved such a provincial council and direct rule by the head of government should be enforced under those circumstances.
July 30th, 2016 at 2:41 am
I would please urge any person who has any influence whatsoever with Ranil, Mangala, Sirisena, CBK to let them know that these Western Countries i.e. the US,UK, EU, Canada, Sweden, Norway and India will only back off if Sri Lanka takes a very firm stance and refuses to carry out this unjust UNHRC resolution. Sri Lanka must do this without any fear since I am sure if Sri Lanka takes a very firm stance and refuses to carry out this unjust resolution the UNHRC, the US,UK, EU, Canada, Sweden, Norway and India will back off. I can guarantee that will happen. So it is up to Sri Lanka or rather Ranil, Mangala, Sirisena, CBK whether they are going to place our Sri Lankan armed forces in jeopardy for crimes they did not commit or whether they are going to defend the country’s armed forces and the country’s sovereignty, independence, freedom, integrity, unitary status etc. by refusing to carry out this unjust UNHRC resolution which no country on this planet earth with any integrity will carry out. However, if they keep complying with whatever unjust demands are made by the US,UK, EU, Canada, Sweden, Norway and India, they will have to keep complying with those unjust demands at the expense of Sri Lanka breaking up into pieces and placing the Sri Lankan people’s security in jeopardy. Sri Lanka will end up being partitioned too.
July 30th, 2016 at 4:41 am
Thanks Tilak enjoyed reading your article.
….” stood firm as a team of true patriotic sons of the country. Looking at the world at large, Britain is a good democratic example to emulate the solidarity of a nation. During the World War II and throughout their military battle with the Falkland Islands, during Lady Thatcher’s premiership, this was clearly evident. ”
” Patriotic sons of the country ” is underserving to past politicians, doubt they perceived the meaning of patriotism or nation by dividing the nation illegally into separate additional nations without integrating settler communities INCLUSIVELY into the Sinhela nation of SL, which is the ONLY nation of the self evidently the only Sinhela country of the world. This is the root of the never ending conflict state of SL on top of what you complain as today’s valid problem. Yes, in Britain there are numerous settler communities but they are all ONE nation of British or UK nationals, which is true in other countries too except SL, which is a fantastic nonsense!
July 30th, 2016 at 7:10 am
The entire country became lawless during the 30 years of war with the LTTE. It was the corruption by CBK who was accused on the Waters Edge Property deal and also the pocketing of the insurance money from the Air Lanka planes which were destroyed by the LTTE plus other smaller deals with the Maharaja’s etc. which set the stage for the ensuing corruption of politicians. I agree it was no excuse however after the President CBK started stealing then everyone thought it is o.k. for me too. There was an entire book written about her doings in Sinhalese by Victor Ivan called “Rogue Queen”. Even her uncle Ratwatte was accused of taking commissions on the weapons purchases which were brought up by the UNP and then when she came into power she brought up the Batalanda commission report. Suddenly it was all hushed up and both inquiries were dropped. I think Ranil and CBK made a deal.
July 30th, 2016 at 7:33 am
It was alugosu (to Sinhalese only) thambi mudiyanselage jr who changed Sri Lanka. Simply put, thambiya
destroyed Sri Lanka for good. He put foundations to break up Sri Lanka by signing 13 with india. Then he
introduced pathalyin to silence (Sinhalese only) opposition. Since then catholic-run UNPatriotic party
have kept pathalyin and did their politics without a care in the world for Sri Lanka, Buddhism and the
Sinhalese race. Please google Sri Lanka’s underworld gangsters. All UNPatriotic party pathalyin top the list.
UNPatriotic party knows Sinhala modayas have short memories and easily fooled. So they go on rampage
committing murder, mayhem, thieving etc. etc. and get their catholic-controlled media to point the finger
at others. Meanwhile Sinhala modayas keep voting them in with the tamils, mussies and catholics.
We have to blame the UNPatriotic party and UNPatriotic party supporting Sinhala dhrohiyas for the plight
of the Sinhalese. Thanks to traitor thambi mudiyanse, UNPatriotic party deshapaluwan have become jaathi
dhrohee, murderous, thieving bunch of yama pallans who have no concscience, no shame or no shame.
Fortunately for them a lot of Sinhala modayas still belive these traitor YAMA PALLANS.
July 30th, 2016 at 9:19 am
When JRJ started the Free Market style Open Economy, he said “let the Rogue Barons in” !
What more ? That was the start of the decay into rampant Capitalism.
But we do recall the times before JRJ – we couldn’t buy a pound of sugar, and if at all, it had to be with dirt, and the bread had weevils dotting the slices !
This is told lest we forget the other side … with Mrs B & the Colombo Trotskites ‘closed Economy’ govt.
There must be a Middle Path in the Economy, with reverence for plainer living and high thinking.