One hat at a time please
Posted on January 21st, 2017
Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai, Dehiwela
Needless to say people are not very happy about the yahapalanaya neither would they like the earlier regime. The main reason why yahapalanaya is no more yahapalanaya is because, the president, in spite of being a sincere, trustworthy, good intending person is struggling between two contradicting roles.
While being the president of all the citizens of Srilanka he is also trying to fulfill his role as the leader of SLFP. Obviously this is going to cause conflicts. While sincerely trying to be true to all his promises he made as a presidential candidate, he is also trying to keep the strings of one political party within his grasp. This is what made him bring in all the unwanted elements into the government, not punishing the culprits of the previous regime and allowing all what he abhorred to continue in his own regime, undoing all the good he could have achieved.
A President, once elected is the president of all the citizens, irrespective of the party affiliation and irrespective of who voted for him. In fact every politician must realize this is the correct attitude they should take. They may have been elected to a particular post/ electorate by some, but they are supposed to serve the whole area to which they are elected. This used to be the case long ago but then the party politics overtook the democracy and the politicians publicly refuse to serve those who did not vote for them – or even may have voted for them, but their cronies tell them otherwise.
A president is even more duty bound to serve all the people, since there is only one president for the whole country. He cannot afford to serve or favor one party or one group of people in contradiction to some others.
Since our present president does not even aspire to come to office again, he must try to be a good president rather than the leader of a particular party. He may want the party he belongs to do well, but he cannot favor it over another party and he can always elect another leader for that party who will be do the job well.
Unless and until our president recognizes what these conflicting roles are doing to him, there can never be yahapalanaya.
He has to choose whether history will remember him as the best president of Srilanka ever, which he is capable of being, or who struggled to keep SLFP alive and failed in both roles.
One head can wear only one hat at a time; if two are worn that will become a tragedy and a comedy.
Let’s hope common sense will prevail.
Sent by:
Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai,
Dehiwela
January 22nd, 2017 at 8:06 pm
Mareena,
In our political system, we have an EXECUTIVE President, elected with the support of his party, and being the head of his political party.
This is not a FIGUREHEAD President who like a constitutional monarch, or a governor general, is expe ted to be non-partisan.
The problem is not with the EXECUTIVE Presidency, but that this President chose to oppose the sitting President and candidate of his own party, and chose to form a coalition government with the help of the opposing party the UNP, when he could have done that with his own party the SLFP, and driving many in his party to opose him. He is the victim of the many ugly choices he himself made in collusion with the enemies of his own country.
This backstabbing Appaya was a hidden viper who betrayed his President, his party, and now both his community and his Motherland. He is supporting and implementing moves inimical to his Motherland, such as the proposed constitution, the ETCA, the sale of natioval assets, wholesale looting of the national treasury, and many other paragathi deals.
Let us not sit on the fence, avoiding the issues. Let ys call a spafe a space and speak plainly. The judgment of the people is in, only a method of ousting the govt remains, absent Presidential and General elections until 2020.
But never fear, the people will OUST this backstabbing President spouting homilies and his jury-rigged Yamapalanaya KALLIYA very soon, before 2020.
January 22nd, 2017 at 10:26 pm
It is NOT the fault of Sirisena YAPALANAYA has gone to DOGS. It is the fault of UNP.
1. Central bank BOND FRAUD – UNP
2. CID/FCID – UNP
3. Horror budget – UNP
4. VAT horror – UNP
5. Fertilizer subsidy cut – UNP
6. School uniform cut – UNP
7. New Constitution TERROR – UNP
8. H’tota sale – UNP
9. Trinco sale – UNP
10. Attacking soldiers, students, etc. – UNP
The only fault of Sirisena is INACTION.
IF CROOKS are punished it makes Sira’s work EASY. CROOKS lose their MP seats and Sira can appoint HIS men into them, take control of SLFP FULLY and run the show.
UNP is NOT punishing them so that the SLFP is DIVIDED. UNP is using these CROOKS to control Sira.
So blame the UNP for saving CROOKS not Sira.
But wait! Sira has a plan.
IF UNP fields its OWN candidate for the 2020 presidential election, Sira will appoint his man as PM and FCID/destroy all UNP bigwigs including UNP’s presidential candidate. That will DESTROY the UNP on one side and UPLIFT Sira’s popularity on the other.
RAJITHA will do all these for Sira or Rajitha himself will contest to become president.
January 23rd, 2017 at 6:49 am
Mareena,
How can you say that Appa Sira is an honest man who is sincere and trustworthy when he back stabbed his leader twice. He will never fulfill his promises. If he thinks he can win the next election, he will never abolish the executive Presidency. Hope you are not expecting any favours for your people from him