Now that it’s over
Posted on January 27th, 2015
Laksiri Warnakula
A salutary remark
Our beloved land still exists, undivided and should I say not very much united? However, the credit for preserving what Sri Lanka has been for thousands of years in its entirety should go to Mr M. Rajapaksa. And the ones, who try to belittle what he did in that regard, are doing something not right. After all, he did not kowtow to the west or bend down in the face of enormous pressures brought on him, both within and without.
I do not want to write anything about ‘why Mr Rajapaksa had to go’. Most of us know that and agree on what he shouldn’t have done. That’s why he lost the election.
So far, that is till the 09th of of this month
They all went one way or the other. And they, at least for some time brought hope and dreams of a wonderland, to people like you and me.
The vanquished became subjects of relentless criticism for things done, undone and not-done at all during their reign, up until the election fever subsided. Later they would keep coming back again and again, when many a promise given to the people at the election-campaigning could not be fulfilled, leaving only the customary blame-game for us to watch and weep in silence.
The victorious came out with new agendas for nation building and of course the commissions. There were lots of them. And they achieved next to nothing.
From present to the future
Dear Mr President, I am an ordinary Sri Lankan and am not an expert in political-economy or economical politics! However, please allow me; governing our nation with ‘good governance’, which was your election motto could be made much easier, if you can do a few things in the direction of disciplining our politicians.
We need a whole new definition to the term ‘politician’ and a new code of conduct for them. It must be drilled into them that they are only servants of the public and not the masters. The deadly transformation of them becoming (once elected) tacticians, technicians, magicians, martial artists, con artists and what not, all rolled into one, must be eliminated once for all.
Their interference in anything else other than matters that they are responsible for must come to an end. They also need to be made accountable for what they do, in your name, in party’s name or whatever.
Please bring in new legislature, so that our commission for investigating bribery and corruption can question and look into matters relating to their wealth and assets at any time. This should be extended to cover all public servants.
It is quite sad to say that nowadays and more often than not, there is always someone in power, big or small behind most of those acts of corruption and lawlessness.
Lastly, please ask them to keep their families and friends away from their offices. Although nepotism and cronyism are not new to politics in many a country in the world, our country just over a few decades surpassed many of them in this regard.
And please advise them to talk to their kith and kin not to let it get into their heads; a puffed-up sense of self-granted power and authority that would make them act like they are now above everything and everybody under the sun that shines on our nation.
We can take our cue from the west, here (at least this is one thing that is good about them). If you ask any Englishman, Frenchman, Australian or any other westerner, what their PM’s or President’s children look like or what they are doing, a good majority of them would look at you with blank or amused faces that if interpreted in to words could only be saying ‘we don’t know’.
Mr President, If you can make this happen, you will then have achieved something that would indeed pave way to make our beloved land a miracle, not only of South Asia, but of the whole world.
January 27th, 2015 at 5:12 am
LW,
You state that “the credit for preserving what Sri Lanka has been for thousands of years in its entirety should go to Mr M. Rajapaksa.”
But according to a report in the Sunday Observer of 25 January, under the proposed Colombo Port City Development Project, “The Chinese company will own one-fourth of the 230 hectares of land that will be re-claimed from the sea and the remaining will be handed over to the Government for development with foreign investment, according to the MoU signed between the Chinese investor and Sri Lanka. The entire project cost US $ 15 billion.
With the ownership of a seafront land by a country, there is a right for it to claim ownership for a certain extent of the sea – the Exclusive Economic Zone. “
Now, that sounds to me like giving away part of SL’s territory to China together with a right to a related Exclusive Economic Zone in the sea around it!
January 27th, 2015 at 5:25 am
So their submarines can roam about.
I just take my childhood hero Madduma Bandara (MB). OMG this bugger MR is not worth 1/16 th of the fearlessness of MB.
How about those who gave their lives ? MR stole the country instead and yet earned the full credit for preserving what Sri Lanka has been for thousands of years in its entirety.
Some people are on drugs, courtesy of DM Jayaratne , MR’s ex PM.
January 27th, 2015 at 7:10 am
What ever said and done Mahinda Rajapksa was a better President than all Presidents we had. For thirty years we sacrificed thousand of innocent lives to stop Prabakaran and his murderers and no one was dared to stop him except Mahinda Rajapksa and his Govt. That is more than enough for me and millions of grateful people in Sri Lanka to vote for him not only this time but in the future too.
We are not worried about our stomach but worried about our Motherland. Our Motherland is First,Second and Third as Mahinda said once. We feel like Prabakaran’s ghost is haunting back because of this yahapalana traitors who came to power with the help of LTTE Diaspora and the western Mafia.
January 27th, 2015 at 8:45 am
We feel like Prabakaran’s ghost is haunting back or Mulli Vaikkal ghosts ???
January 27th, 2015 at 9:59 am
Cassandra
The 230 hectares of land will be under the grant of a 125 year (or 99 year?) Lease on the Land bank. What that article fail to report is that the development of Residential units by the Chinese on that land will be available only to foreigners. Locals are not allowed to purchase the units/or the Chinese will not market them in Sri Lanka.
Ranjit-
I would agree with you that Mahinda Rajapakse was the BEST President to defeat the LTTE menace. End!
Thereafter, I don’t believe you can justify MR as better than any other President. Quite the reverse.
You may not be worried about your stomach but i can tell you millions of Sri Lankans are worried about their day to day living costs.
Next time you are in Sri Lanka ask a few people.
The answers would be:-
Can we eat the roads?
Can we even own a car to drive on these Expressways?
Can we eat at these luxury hotels and Restaurants or shop at branded stores?
Can we afford to send our children abroad for education never mind sending them to good schools in Sri Lanka
MR and the likes of you can keep the “lights on” for the ghost of Prabakaran or who ever you are “seeing”
January 27th, 2015 at 11:41 am
Marco, you asked
Can we eat the roads?
Well YES, we are EATING the roads, in a way.
Roads are the principal means of transportation of goods and services and lead to economic development and growth of communities. I am surprised that you are even asking!
Where good roads exist, people want to live, and businesses want to setup shops. Where there are people (customers) and shops (employers) there will be jobs and income fr the people. When people get better jobs and have money in their pockets, they will EAT BETTER!
With regard to EXPRESSWAYS which do not allow stopping along them, the growth is in communities located at the ramps where you get on and off it. They serve the growth of those communities in a slightly different way. They enable people to go from Katunayake to Colombo without wasting gas and time stuck in traffic jams in areas where they have no interest in driving through. Thus, they enable people to attend to their business saving money that they can spend on food. Less THROUGH TRAFFIC means that people are spared the unnecessary congestion, with the result that more people would like to live there and local economies improve with that better access. Increase in local economies puts ,oney in their pockets with which they can … yes…. EAT MORE! Taxi drivers and even 3-wheelers are making good money, MORE money, taking people to Katunayake airport than before, because in a given day they can make many more trips!
Can we even own a car to drive on these Expressways?
I am CONTINUALLY amazed by the number and quality of cars I find on Sri Lanka’s roads. For your information, people are owning cars and driving on the expressways. They save more on gas than they are charged at the toll booth, so that setting convenience and time asidde, it is a really good deal for the car driver.
However, passenger cars, luxury cars in particular, are indeed expensive in Sri Lanka, due MAINLY to the PROHIBITIVE CUSTOMS TAXES that are imposed. But yet, people are driving the very latest cars, despite the cost. I am a fan of the Toyota Prius as the best car produced in the last 25 years. It is very popular in CA where I live half the year and it is now extremely popular in Sri Lanka as well.
Also, buses are allowed on the EXPRESSWAYS taking those who cannot afford to own a car a very fast and convenient way to get to their destination quickly! So, they also benefit from the EXPRESSWAYS!
January 27th, 2015 at 11:57 am
Marco, you asked
Can we eat at these luxury hotels and Restaurants or shop at branded stores?
Neither can ORDINARY American citizens. They eat at HOME or at the local fast food restaurant, for a small fraction of the cost of eating at a luxury restaurant. Eating at a luxury restaurant is reserved for the 50th Wedding Anniversary!
When did “eating at luxury restaurants” become the measure of how well the bulk of the people of a country are feeding themselves?
I found that better tasting nutritious fast food is available at a much lower price in Sri Lanka than in the US!
A lunch packet with three vegetable dishes, and fish or meat of some kind, is Rs. 125 in Dehiwala. Quite tasty too. Rs 125 is what you pay for a 3-wheel ride from Mount Lavinia Junction to Dehiwala Junction, including the Rs. 20 tip. 3-wheel drivers I rode with say that they make Rs. 3,000 in fares on a good day, and they pay 1/3 of that to the 3-wheeler owner. That should tell you how costly good ordinary food in Sri Lanka is. Many people pick up hoppers and string hoppers on the way home from work, because iit is easier and cheaper than making them!
January 27th, 2015 at 12:20 pm
“Yahapalanaya” in FULL SWING:
……………………….
Rajapaksa Sees Sinister Motive Behind Media Blitz Against Him
Jan 27 (NIE) COLOMBO- Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has slammed the on-going media blitz against him and has charged that the vilification campaign is meant to mislead the public.
In a letter to the Buddhist Maha Sangha and Lankans at large, Rajapaksa said that the accusation that he sought the Attorney General’s advice on how to remain in power illegally, is by its very nature, an “absurdity”.
“I was saddened by the comments made about this alleged incident and other matters by the incumbent President (Maithripala Sirisena) at a rally in Polonnaruwa,” he added.
About the TV images of the interior of his official residence “Temple Trees” which “insinuated” that he and his family had led an extravagant lifestyle at state expense, he said that these facilities had been created to cater to foreign delegates during the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in accordance with international specifications.
About the accusation that his wife Shiranthi was trying to sell 100 kilos of gold belonging to the government Treasury, he pointed out that the police had already responded to that “ridiculous” allegation.
On the search for hidden Lamborghinis, Rajapaksa said: “Vehicles that even remotely resemble sports cars are being taken by the police from the houses of their owners in their search for Lamborghinis belonging to my sons. But no Lamborghinis have been found.”
“Two containers of personal belongings of my family have been examined by the police on suspicion of being items ‘stolen’ from Temple Trees. These items were stored in containers because I had no place to go to in Colombo after vacating my official residence,” he said.
On alleged shady deals with foreign project contractors, Rajapaksa said that all agreements had been vetted by the Attorney General and approved by the cabinet. Many parties were involved in these projects and with so many eyes watching them, it would be impossible to inflate costs, Rajapaksa argued.
Pointing out that Chinese aided projected are being specially targeted, Rajapaksa said that China has helped Sri Lanka for six decades, and suggested that such mud-slinging be stopped.
“Outrageous and totally unsubstantiated accusations against me were disseminated through various websites and social media networks such as facebook both before and after the election. I self-critically admit that my government did not take these baseless allegations seriously and counter them in time.However, I am confident that the truth will prevail one day,” the former President said.
January 27th, 2015 at 12:37 pm
Marco: You say:
“You may not be worried about your stomach but i can tell you millions of Sri Lankans are worried about their day to day living costs.
Next time you are in Sri Lanka ask a few people.
The answers would be:-
Can we eat the roads?
Can we even own a car to drive on these Expressways?
Can we eat at these luxury hotels and Restaurants or shop at branded stores?
Can we afford to send our children abroad for education never mind sending them to good schools in Sri Lanka
MR and the likes of you can keep the “lights on” for the ghost of Prabakaran or who ever you are “seeing”
A full stomach requires a lot.
sound infrastructure
Education
a nation that has reliable electricity.
a nation that is healthy and literate.
You fail on above and you fail to produce sufficient food to feed the people.
-Israel took a barren piece of land and made it into a bread basket. Now she exports grain and food. She is a food exporting nation when her agricultural sector amounts to only 2% of her economy
-Japan which is the size of California (150 thousand square miles) has no natural resources yet she has the 3rd largest economy in the world. her people live a standard of living equal to any first world nation. She has a population of 127 million.
while California rich in natural resources, population at 40 million is almost bankrupt.
Food production and the management of it is a sign of an advanced nation.
India wastes 21 million tons of wheat per year. She is the world’s largest waster of vegetables and fruit and 3 thousand Indian children die EACH DAY of malnutrition related conditions. India is not an advanced nation who knows how to manage her overflow of food.
So much is interdependent for a nation to prosper. I thought you would know that. Any of the above information can be Googled.
January 27th, 2015 at 3:18 pm
Mr. Bernard Wijeyasingha, Sorry you are very wrong, California has a surplus today. I do not know where you live, I live in USA. Check it out. Marco (Polo I suggest he change his name) Yes one can eat roads before they make asphalt. The protein produced by crude oil can be used to grow rice. Check it out at the Saudi web site, they do lots of research on this subject. Marco Polo, shall we put a bila party in your area and start eating the Asphalt and drink some Kassipu!
January 27th, 2015 at 3:51 pm
Marco Polo was a traveller, not an invader. May be thief, we don’t know.
But our one is against settling Sinhalese in the areas he define as belonging to his ancestors.
This overshadows good points he is making. He should come clear of that principle, explain why those hardworking Sinhalese from the South , should not be given land in the North to settle there, sponsored by the government, if they are willing to.
January 27th, 2015 at 3:58 pm
Lankaputhra, BW
I live in California too …. and both of you are correct … at different times in the recent history of California.
The State of California, and its varius local administrations, were on the verge of bankruptcy, before George Brown was elected governor after serving as mayor of Oakland, because of the Nationwide recession which hit CA hard with job losses exceeding those of other states which reduced tax revenues and increased unemployment assistance payments, simultaneously the housing market collapsed with unemployed workers walking away from their homes leaving the banks holding mortgages in the lurch, the banks collapsed in succession and no one could get a loan, car sales took a dive driving many dealerships to bankruptcy, and to top it all the stock market collapsed shaking investor confidence. Those who had money, including most large companies, hoarded their money, and only speculators picked up dozens of abandoned homes at 50% discount. At that time California was INDEED teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. So, BW was correct if he refers to that time.
Since then, however, with the bank bailout by the Federal Government, and George Brown’s effective management of California’s budget and expenditures, both California and the nation as a whole have cawed back to stability. Today, the economy in California is very robust, and hiring has reached an all time peak, the stock market is doing well.
Everyone is buying big vehicles again buoyed by the low gas prices due to the surge in domestic oil production, and Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Gulf States driving the price of oil down to $50/barrel to bankrupt the Iranians. Here too, people have forgotten the miseries of the recent past, and the effects of global warming looming on the horizon, and are spending on buying gas guzzlers again. Eat, drink and joli karapalla today, and let heta look after itself! So, Lankaputhra is correct, if he is referring to the present time.
See, I KNEW I could please you both … at least this ONE time!
January 27th, 2015 at 3:58 pm
Obviously “eating” part related to roads does not come only from asphalt, but
1. Earthworks
2. Resumption of land
3. Award of contracts
4. Negotiation of private loans, a few I can think of. Asphalt too has a substantial potential.
But, by looking at bellies we can clearly see who are eating asphalt
January 27th, 2015 at 4:04 pm
Nanda,
With such RACIST TERRORISTS what ethnic harmony!
Tamills can live in COLOMBO but Sinhalese cannot live in Jaffna!! Blooddy apartheid Tamil racist terrorists. They are the root cause of the misery of Sinhala people, NOTHING else.