Courtesy The Daily Mirror

any critics argued that the Minister made a big blunder by attending a forum in which the working language was English and messed it up

Members of the opposition political parties, both minority and majority,  have been making fun out a mispronunciation of two English words by a prominent Cabinet Member of a NPP government. The phrase that has been mocked at is It’s a Big Kuchchan”, a mispronunciation of It’s a Big Question”. It was the opening sentence of the Minister who was questioned about US president Donald Trump’s role at a panel discussion titled: ‘The Call Of Support Over Climate Change’ in India few months ago. 

Many critics argued that the Minister made a big blunder by attending a forum in which the working language was English and messed it up. Some even went on to criticise that the politicians disgraced the entire country and even humiliated Sri Lanka’s age old standard of free education which was above many Asian countries. There was also an argument that the Minister could have taken a translator and answered the question in Sinhala so that a good translator could have done a far better job. 

However, there were a number of those came in support of the Minister even as he was mocked by many. Among the arguments were that English is not Sri Lanka’s mother tongue and it should be OK to make a mistakes specially in pronunciation. Some went on to justify Minister’s mispronunciation with the argument  that many Sri Lankans pronounce ‘Question’ simply ‘Kuekshan’ because  we do not have ‘Q’ sound in Sinhala and Tamil alphabets. 

Making a mountain out of a molehill, the Minister was mocked at by claiming that he pronounced ‘Question’ as ‘Kuchchan’ and over the last few weeks we saw some lawmakers nicknaming the minister with the same phrase. 

Setting the mockery or mudslinging apart, government can learn a lesson from the bottom-line of what the critics say, checking whether the right people are at the right places or whether it is doing the right thing at the right time. When one seriously analyses the government’s conduct at the end of its one year, whether it is delivering what it promised or whether it is understanding what  governance is It is a Big Question”. We saw many progressive plans were presented during its run up to the last two elections,  but how much has been achieved is a question to consider. 

‘A big question’

We can understand the reality without going far from our own kitchens. Though we have recovered from the worst ever financial crisis three years ago, its a challenge for any middle income earning or below families to access the most essential basic human need – food – in Sri Lanka today. This is not luxury foods we are talking of but the basic three meals. For some of these families, the practice of eating out occasionally for a change has become an unreachable dream because if they do so, running the family the rest of the month would be an impossible task. At least three years after the economic crisis,  there are families in Sri Lanka where parents go hungry to feed  their children. Does the government know about this reality? It’s a Big Question”. 

Whatever said and done,  human desire is such that we crave to please our taste buds. This may be why we see in several parts of Colombo and its suburbs people, especially the young, flock in queues to Bing Chun” which is said to be serving tasty deserts, ice creams, bubble tea and many more. The tagline of the Chinese business started in Xinxiang City of central China’s Henan Province, is delivering delicious flavours at affordable prices. Speaking to the media,  chairman of Bing Chun, Cheng Dong, said: We plan to keep expanding in countries along the Belt and Road, bringing new Chinese tea drinks to more consumers,”. The chain now has more than 3000 stores around the world with 500 in Southeast Asia. Thus we see that, similar to many US based food outlet brands like KFC or McDonald’s, China too,  is expanding its culinary market. 

For most Sri Lankans right now, Cheaper and tasty food could be some relief especially at a time when they go through severe struggles.

Does the NPP government know about this? It is a Big Question”!