by Sanath Nanayakkare Courtesy The Island

No-one seems to be spooked by the ongoing political crisis, and in a way, people seem pretty happy, comfortable and more relieved without a government, D. H. Wijewardene, president of Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) said on Tuesday.

However, when The Island Financial Review asked him whether he seriously thought that investors also won’t be spooked when there is no government, he said, “The current crisis and the way the businesses and the people react to it shows that a government is not needed to a certain extent. You see, businesses can’t let the crisis dishearten them as they have to move forward, and the general public just take a look at what’s going and then they simply go about their daily business. Sri Lanka is a country with enough resources which are yet to be tapped in full. The country is not governed by the ‘correct’ people. I believe that the ‘correct’ people will come at the ‘correct’ time to take over the administration. We need to replace old faces in parliament with young blood. People’s attitude towards politicians is changing. Now they don’t give politicians unnecessary honour and veneration as they used to. This crisis is not the end of the road. The citizens are looking after themselves without the support of the authorities who are mandated to do so”, he said.

Architect D.H. Wijewardene (centre) poses for a group photograph with senior members of SLIA and main sponsors of its upcoming “A 19- The Exhibition” to be held from February 20-24, 2019 at the BMICH. Colombo
Pic by Nishendra Silva

Architect Wijewardene made these comments at an event held at Galadari Colombo where SLIA announced the “A 19- The Exhibition” and other events of the 37th Annual Sessions which are scheduled to be held from February 20-24, 2019 at the BMICH Colombo.

The Exhibition comprises a series of events including the most prominent event of “A19- Members’ Work and Trade Exhibition” under this year’s theme – “Emergence: Entrepreneurial Architect “.

The ceremony of signing MoUs between SLIA and the sponsors for the sessions of 2018-2019 also took place at the event.

“A19″- The Exhibition” will have a virtual reality web where trade and architects will be in a mutual electronic forum with unique products and services presented in this legendary Sri Lankan Exhibition of Architects that is scheduled to be held in February 2019.

A number of esteemed organizations have partnered with SLIA to add strength to the Exhibition and its Annual Sessions. Holding on to the top spot for the past several years, Alumex PLC is the strategic sponsor with Nippon Paint Lanka joining hands with SLIA as principal sponsor.