Opinion

Change is good: Provided it is for better and not for worse

Published

2 years ago

2024/06/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

Aragalaya

by Jayasri Priyalal

Many Sri Lankans may have joined in commemorating the 2568 years of Buddha Parinirvana with much discourse about the fundamental truth, the core teaching of Buddhism about impermanence, last week. As we all realise the fact, that there is nothing permanent in this world; everything is subject to change. Change is the only permanent constant in the universe. This essay focuses on change from socio, political and economic angle.

Sri Lanka is undergoing its worst ever economic crisis without any hope of getting it into a recovery track soon. There is a clarion call from the masses aspiring for a system change as a springboard towards chalking out a recovery path to overcome the crisis. Yet, no one knows or discusses what that system should be to put in place.

One fact remains as an acceptable analogy. Those who cannot cope with change will never be able to initiate change in any circumstances. This applies to all stakeholders including those who caused and contributed to the current crisis. Fair share of responsibilities falls on the electorate who got carried away with populism engineered by a few; with an ultimate aim of state and regulatory capture for their advantage leaving the country into a dire state grappling with debt. Therefore, capacity and capability to initiate that essential change is absent in the DNA of politicians who deceived their constituents.

This year 2024, is remarkable for those countries where representative democracy functions. Over 2 billion voters are expected to cast their votes at polls. As per predictions in 70% of the elections a change in government is anticipated. Some elections are already over and results are known. In Sri Lanka there are two main elections in the pipeline namely the Presidential and parliamentary polls. The UK gets ready for polls on 4th July 2024. Change is the campaign theme of the Labour Party led by Sir. Keir Starmer. Chase or change dilemma will be an option for the electorate in the USA to test in upcoming presidential elections in November 2024.

Change and the Chase Countercyclical in Sri Lanka

In the last presidential election in 2019 Sri Lankan electorate rallied with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa giving him an absolute mandate with 6.9 million votes, anticipating a change for the better. It was too late for Sri Lankans to realise that their bet was on the wrong horse. That change triggered the public to rally towards a chase. People’s power proved greater than those who come and hold political power.

The so-called people’s movement Aragalaya forced the Prime Minister to resign with the ipso facto resignation of the cabinet of ministers. Amongst many wrong doings President Gotabaya Rajapaksa nominated an unelected PM to lead the cabinet without dissolving the parliament with the reluctance to test the pulse of the people to secure the right mandate to govern. Rest is history, and finally the people’s power chased out President Gotabya Rajapaksa culminating the grand achievement of the GoHomeGota campaign. Thereafter, people’s aspiration and hope for a change short lived and shortchanged, widening the mistrust between policy makers and electorate further.

Have we learnt from similar power struggles from the past?

Our present has direct links in many ways to the past. The island nation has been deceived by many egocentric figureheads -as they cannot be named as true patriotic leaders- misjudged the public sentiments and aspirations and surrendered the sovereignty of the country to Colonial Masters. Does history repeat itself? Have we forgotten the bitter lessons learnt from history is what is discussed in the next few paragraphs?

This writer is enthusiastically influenced by the historical knowledge shared by Prof. Raj Somadeva via Neth FM radio and the YouTube programme. Due credit should be given to the Professor for all his extensive historical studies and the efforts to share them with the rest of the Sri Lankans in and outside the country. Prof. Somadeva narrates the stories very well with an appeal to draw parallels to the contemporary political power struggles with a warning not to repeat the past mistakes.

Coronation of Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, last King of Kandyan Kingdom 1798

Having defeated the British Army battalion sent by the Governor Frederick North badly in 1803, the powerful Kandyan Kingdom fell to the British by 1815. Internal power struggles between the Kandyan elites to capture the throne from the Nayakkar clan paved the way for colonials to step in effortlessly to end the 2300 of historical royal lineage, to govern. Finally, Ceylon became a colony of the British Empire under King Gorge III.

Maha Adikaram Pilimatalawe engineered the coronation of Kannasamy Naidu a nephew of Sri Rajadhi Rajasinghe over the legitimate claimant to the throne Muttusamy. Pilimatalawwe was ambitious of becoming the Kandyan King, worked closely with the British and installed Kannasamy in the throne assuming he can control the King to meet his egoistic goals.

The change he anticipated never happened. Then he conspired to kill the King. Pilimatalawwe and the conspiring gang were beheaded by the King. Pilimatalawwe engineered the change and had to work on a chase and he got eliminated by the person whom he elevated to power.

Power crazy Maha Adikaram installed a weaker character in the throne so that he could overthrow him with the help of the British. The whole strategy backfired ultimately sacrificing the nation on a platter to the British ending a royal lineage of over two millennia. The miscalculations of those close to political power to serve their selfish needs have ruined many countries bringing in misery, hardship and colossal loss of lives and property to its citizens. The island nation has many such cases throughout its history.

Putting a Wrong Guy in a Critical Position – Are we repeating the same mistake?

Throughout history we Sri Lankans have repeated the same mistake and disrupted the nation’s progress leaving the plight in the hands of outsiders. Although there aren’t any competing empires in the current context, there are clear indications that the local political expectations are gravitating towards the emerging geo-economic-political centres.

The current political leadership or the conventional thought processes are not spurred with an organic strategic growth trajectory with originality backed thought process. None of the political parties have identified the right causes that led to the current crisis.

Moreover, they are getting ready to deceive the electorate to secure the mandate to govern to continue to repeat ill-conceived policy tools without coming up with viable policy options to break the vicious debt trap. Adage goes on to remind that – right diagnosis is half of the solution. Instead, many are getting ready to prescribe the failed remedies with a strong dosage as prescribed by the defunct cold war institutions. It appears that the healer itself is the disease leaving the patient bewildered and leaving the disease into an uncontrolled debt pandemic. We Sri Lankans need to think locally and act globally and not the other way around. In the absence of original ideas and remedies, local politicians are happy to swallow the bitter medicines prescribed on the basis of diagnoses.

Since Independence the ideology of various political parties were developed based on systems and discourses practiced in other countries introducing a welfarist socio economic system. Now, it has turned towards the aspirations of the emerging geo-economic centres. Sri Lankans need to forge a unique turnaround strategy to serve the best interest of its people, and not to become subjects of other countries. Therefore, the Sri Lankan electorate needs to collate its political mandate in the hands of a leadership who will change the destiny of the country for the better and not for the worst.

Prisoner’s Dilemma

Colonial masters connived with the power crazy Kandyan elites and captured the last King of Ceylon, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, dethroned, imprisoned and deported to India. Once you fast track the historical events, we can extrapolate the current situation drawing many parallels. Unlike in the past, the leaders who mislead and mismanage the future of the nation without any original thinking and being subservient to foreign advice will never be deported. They will be facing a prisoner’s dilemma remaining on the island, having given away ports, harbours, airports and other critical infrastructure to foreigners to manage and own.

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Opinion

Jeffrey: Cartoonist par excellence

Published

21 hours ago

2026/01/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

If there exists a print media personality who does not receive the due recognition and appreciation he rightfully deserves, it undoubtedly is ‘Jeffrey’ of The Island newspaper. The works of many a journalist have been frequently highlighted and appreciated but the capabilities and efficiency of personnel of the calibre of ‘Jeffrey ‘ are, more or less, taken for granted.

In every sphere of life, professional or occupational, there are people who function, not necessarily from behind the scenes, but nevertheless perform an equally efficient service, which in all probability goes unnoticed.

To be frank, even before reading the headlines of the Newspaper, as is customary now, my eyes seek for the Cartoon of the day. Indeed, a sight for sore eyes each morning, the lovable ‘Jeffrey’ makes my day.

Suffice to say that a ‘Good Job done man’ type of occasional pat on the back, to a person who puts his very soul into his work, would touch the only place where it matters the most – his heart. If a smile could work wonders, then how much further would a word of appreciation go.

‘Jeffrey ‘ has, time and again through his cartoons, aptly proven his innovative and creative skills to present factual depiction of current affairs, both local and global. His drawing pen effortlessly covers all boundaries, irrespective of whatever nature. On a previous occasion, too, I have openly commended his abilities, finding it difficult to fathom how he could convey pertinent incidents, normally requiring hundreds of words to express, with a single drawing.

To all intents and purposes, ‘Jeffrey ‘ ranks much higher and could be considered as a rare find when compared with the numerous others actively engaged in this particular field of professionalism.

In ‘Jeffrey ‘, The Island newspaper indeed has a Cartoonist par excellence!

Jeffrey, more power to your elbow!

WILLIAM PHILLIPSZ

Opinion

Anti-aging injection shows promise in re-growing knee cartilage

Published

21 hours ago

2026/01/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Scientists at Stanford Medicine have reported a discovery that could change how arthritis and joint damage are treated. In experiments on animals and human tissue, researchers found that blocking a protein linked to aging can restore worn cartilage in the knee and prevent arthritis after injury. The treatment works not by adding stem cells, but by reprogramming existing cartilage cells to behave in a more youthful way.

In aging mice, an injectable drug rebuilt knee cartilage that normally thins with age. In mice with knee injuries similar to anterior cruciate ligament tears, the same treatment prevented the onset of arthritis, a condition that often follows such injuries in humans. A pill form of the drug is already being tested in early clinical trials for age-related muscle weakness, raising hopes that a similar approach could one day be used for joints.

Human knee cartilage removed during joint replacement surgery also responded to the treatment. When exposed to the drug in the laboratory, the tissue began forming new cartilage that resembled healthy, functional joint cartilage. These findings suggest that cartilage lost to aging or arthritis might eventually be restored through injections into the joint or even oral medication, potentially reducing the need for knee and hip replacements.

Osteoarthritis affects about one in five adults in the United States and costs tens of billions of dollars annually in direct health care spending. Despite its prevalence, there is no drug that can stop or reverse the disease. Current treatment focuses on pain relief, physical therapy and, in advanced cases, joint replacement surgery.

The new therapy targets a protein known as 15-PGDH, which increases in the body with age. The research team classifies it as a gerozyme, a type of enzyme that contributes to the gradual decline of tissue function over time. Previous work from the same group showed that rising levels of 15-PGDH weaken muscles with age. Blocking the protein restored muscle strength and endurance in older mice, while forcing young mice to produce it caused muscle loss.

Unlike muscle, bone or blood, cartilage does not rely on stem cells to repair itself. Instead, cartilage cells called chondrocytes can change their gene activity. By inhibiting 15-PGDH, researchers found that these cells reverted to a more youthful state and began producing healthy cartilage again.

“This is a new way of regenerating adult tissue, and it has significant clinical promise for treating arthritis due to aging or injury,” said Helen Blau, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford and a senior author of the study.

There are three main types of cartilage in the body. Elastic cartilage forms flexible structures like the outer ear. Fibrocartilage is tough and shock absorbing, found between spinal vertebrae. Hyaline cartilage, also called articular cartilage, is smooth and glossy and allows joints such as the knees, hips and shoulders to move with minimal friction. Osteoarthritis mainly affects this last type.

The disease develops when joints are stressed by aging, injury or excess weight. Chondrocytes begin releasing inflammatory molecules and breaking down collagen, the main structural protein of cartilage. As collagen is lost, cartilage thins and softens, leading to pain, swelling and stiffness. Articular cartilage rarely regenerates on its own, and attempts to find stem cells capable of rebuilding it have largely failed.

In the new study, researchers compared knee cartilage from young and old mice and found that levels of 15-PGDH roughly doubled with age. When older mice were treated with a drug that blocks the protein, either throughout the body or directly in the joint, their knee cartilage thickened and regained function. Importantly, the new tissue was true hyaline cartilage rather than weaker fibrocartilage.

The results were equally striking in injured joints. In mice with ligament injuries, repeated injections over four weeks sharply reduced the likelihood of developing arthritis. Untreated animals showed high levels of 15-PGDH and developed arthritis within weeks. Treated animals moved more normally and placed more weight on the injured limb.

Detailed analysis showed that the treatment shifted the balance of cartilage cells. Cells associated with inflammation and cartilage breakdown became less common, while cells responsible for producing healthy joint cartilage increased markedly. This change occurred without the involvement of stem cells.

When human osteoarthritic cartilage was treated in the laboratory for one week, similar changes were observed. Levels of harmful gene activity fell, and signs of cartilage regeneration appeared.

The findings are encouraging but still early. While safety trials of a 15-PGDH inhibitor for muscle weakness have shown promising results, clinical trials focused on cartilage regeneration have yet to begin. Even so, researchers are optimistic.

“Imagine regrowing existing cartilage and avoiding joint replacement,” Blau said. For millions living with joint pain and stiffness, that possibility now seems closer than ever.

Opinion

Why is transparency underfunded?

Published

2 days ago

2026/01/6

Sahan Weerasooriya

The RTI Commission has now confirmed what many suspected — although the RTI Act grants it independence to recruit staff, this authority is rendered toothless because the Treasury controls the purse strings. The Commission is left operating with inadequate manpower, limiting its institutional growth even as it struggles to meet rising public demand for information.

This raises an uncomfortable question: if the Treasury can repeatedly allocate billions to loss-making State-Owned Enterprises — some of which continue to hemorrhage public funds without reform — why is adequate funding for the RTI Commission treated as optional?

Strengthening transparency is not a luxury. It is the foundation of good governance. Every rupee spent on effective oversight helps prevent many more rupees being wasted through inefficiency, misuse, or opaque decision-making.

In such a context, can one really fault those who argue that restricting the Commission’s resources conveniently limits disclosures that may prove politically inconvenient? Whether deliberate or not, the outcome is the same: weaker accountability, reduced public scrutiny, and a system where opacity is easier than openness.

If the government is serious about reform, it must start by funding the institutions that keep it honest. Investing in RTI is not an expense — it is a safeguard for the public purse and the public trust.

A Concerned Citizen – Moratuwa