Courtesy The Island

September 7, 2018, 9:51 pm

Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders. – Albert Camus

There is a new interest in the Death Penalty. It comes from President Sirisena himself. Speaking at the parliament premises this week, he said the Death Penalty should be the punishment to those who misused public funds and properties. He was obviously upset that his call for the Death Penalty on those convicted of drug-related crimes, who continue such crimes from the prisons, was not implemented…despite those volunteer hangmen and hangwomen.

Such thoughts are not strange to those elected to serve the people, but have wholly failed in the task given to them. He knows how big the Central Bank Bond Scam was, but the one who proposed the Madu Valige and the Sword against such crimes, did not demand the Death Penalty for them. Isn’t this some dilly-dallying over capital punishment?

This is some new thinking, possibly following the Janathava Kolombata protest, which had much to do with the corruption of this government. Of course, we know that this Janatha Ralla in Colombo was mainly to put an end to the cases coming up against the corruption of the recent past. However, it must be giving cause for worry to those in government today, including its leaders, to prevent any possible future punishments to them. With tomorrow’s Jana Rali against today’s corruption.

So, his call for the Death Penalty for those misusing public funds and properties.

We are talking about misusing public funds and properties. What has he done to stop it – let us put the Bond Scam aside – what about today his ministries? Is the money spent on renting out that luxury and costly apartment for the Ministry of Agriculture, by none other than his own Minister of Agriculture and Secretary of the SLFP, a gross misuse of public funds? Does the President think such a supporter of the SLFP led by him should be hanged? Or, does the President have a rate of misuse of such funds to earn the gallows?

Not a bad idea. Misuse ten million of public funds and get ten public whacks on one’s knuckles. If it is a hundred million, it can be a tougher caning on the bum. The Death Penalty will come only to those who have misused so much of public funds that they have begun to own the Hanging Tree or the Gallows.

The President’s Office will soon have to work out such a punishment system leading up to the Death Penalty, and make it the new operative system of punishment for corruption in Sri Lanka. The Corruption Punishment rates adopted by parliament. That will not be tough to those working out that hugely wasteful, propaganda expenditure for Polonnaruwa alone.

President Sirisena will certainly be able to get good support for this calculated progress to the Death Penalty from his coalition partner, the UNP and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The level of corruption within its ranks is so high it will also support a graduated progress to the Death Penalty, with it never reaching Arjuna Mahendran, and only public knuckle whacks to Ravi Karunanayake and the forgetful likes.

In fact, the President did think of this when he suggested that all the party leaders should consider his proposal and make necessary measures to draft laws in this regard. What a great idea. Democratic agreement and Collective Political Responsibility on the Death Penalty for the Corrupt!

I am sure the President knows there can be ready agreement on some aspects of this killing proposal. It is the family connection – the Pavul Balaya exception. Surely, what political party or political leader in this Thrice Blessed country wants to punish any corrupt member of a political family, especially if it is a family of corrupt leadership?

Just think of those families – Blue, Green and Purple – the power players and handlers in this country, with so many members ready to, and always carrying out corruption against the State. Not just misusing public funds and property, but grabbing and playing out such funds and property. We must be topping the South Asian list of such crooked political families, and will top the Third World list very soon – even with the Death Penalty on Corruption.

I leave it to the readers to carry out some home calculations and work out how many corrupt families we have in political leadership. Work out the lists of brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, sons and daughters. This can be quite an interesting Home Play situation, with wonderfully crooked answers and hugely crooked people.

One certainty is that the crooked in our politics will certainly climb over the hangman’s rope, with the certain support of political leaders, whatever dreams the President may have.