Friday 6th February, 2026

Some Opposition big guns went ballistic yesterday in Parliament, lashing out at the JVP-NPP government for refusing to provide SJB MP Rohana Bandara with security in view of threats to his life. They have been urging the government to ensure the protection of MP Bandara, but in vain. It looks as if the eminences grises of the JVP remote-controlled the national legislature.

The government MPs made some facetious remarks about MP Bandara’s demand for security. Their flippancy is deplorable. Gun violence is on the rise, and hardly a day passes without a fatal shooting in this country. Underworld gangs have amply demonstrated their ability to strike anywhere at will. The police swing into action only after crimes are committed.

The police first made a proper threat assessment and concluded that MP Bandara should be provided with security. The government, which had made light of his complaint, was left with egg on its face. It disregarded the police report and sought to obfuscate the issue. While it was drawing fire in Parliament for the inordinate delay in taking action to protect MP Bandara, the police issued a counter-report, reversing their earlier threat assessment, and, lo and behold, claimed that the threats to the MP emanated from a rival in his own party. Obviously, the government pressured the police to make an about-turn and help give a political twist to the issue. The police have earned notoriety for their absurd claims, which are legion, and trotting out lame excuses in defence of their political masters.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday chided the government frontbenchers for flippancy and making a false claim that MP Bandara had received threats from someone in his own party. He said a Deputy Inspector General of Police in Anuradhapura and intelligence services had initially recommended that MP Bandara be given adequate security. But the government members continued to crack themselves up. Ruling party politicians behave in this manner when power goes to their heads.

The Opposition MPs are in a dilemma where their security is concerned. When they face threats and ask for protection, the Speaker says the government goes by threat assessments done by the police in deciding whether to provide them with security. The police do as the government says, and issue reports justifying its position that there are no threats to its political rivals. Thus, the Opposition MPs have no one to turn to when their lives are in danger. The government MPs are apparently deriving some perverse pleasure from MP Bandara’s predicament.

Let the government be warned that it is making a big mistake by refusing to provide MP Bandara with security. Sri Lanka is no stranger to political assassinations. The JVP itself has gunned down hundreds of its political rivals. The UNP, the SLFP, etc., too, have a history of political violence, which claimed many lives. Those who do not learn from history are said to be doomed to repeat it. One may recall that an assassin’s bullet that pierced DUNF leader and former Minister Lalith Athulathmudali’s heart in April 1993 became the undoing of a UNP government. That repressive regime disregarded the then Opposition’s demand that the UNP dissidents be provided with security as they were facing threats to their lives from the LTTE as well as pro-UNP goons.

Most of all, a fundamental democratic and legal norm underpinning modern parliamentary systems is that all members of Parliament are equal in rights and privileges and must be treated as such. It is unbecoming of a government to dismiss threats to an Opposition MP’s life, and make flippant remarks, which reflect poorly on it.

Thursday 5th February, 2026

The argy-bargy is done, and the battle’s lost and won, one might say with apologies to the Bard. A prolonged tug of war between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Constitutional Council (CC) has come to an end. The newly reconstituted CC has unanimously approved President Dissanayake’s nominee for the post of Auditor General (AG). The National Audit Office (NAO), which remained headless for months, now has a new head—Samudrika Jayaratne, who has served as Senior Deputy Auditor General. But the question is whether one can truly say, in this case, all’s well that ends well.

We do not intend to raise suspicions about the integrity of the new AG, but there are some questions that warrant answers. The critics of her appointment have levelled some allegations against her, including transactions tainted by conflict of interest and ‘unprofessional conduct’. They have also claimed that the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has launched an investigation into allegations against her. Unsubstantiated as these allegations are, they have the potential to raise doubts in the public mind about the new AG’s integrity and that of the NAO under her. Hence the need for her to respond to them.

Thankfully, President Dissanayake’s efforts to parachute a total outsider loyal to the JVP into the post of AG came a cropper because the immediate predecessors of the three newly appointed civil society members of the CC intrepidly resisted pressure from the Executive. However, the government ought to explain why it overlooked Dharmapala Gammanpila, who served as the Acting AG. The general consensus is that he is the most eligible candidate for the post of AG. Four Mahanayake Theras wrote a joint letter to President Dissanayake, recently, urging him to appoint Gammanpila as AG. The prelates’ request resonated with those who cherish good governance, but President Dissanayake ignored it.

The JVP-led NPP’s election manifesto, A Thriving Nation: A Beautiful Life, attributes the deterioration of the public service to ‘political appointments’ and ‘state workers making political decisions’. Among the steps the NPP has promised to take to straighten up the public service are ‘merit-based appointments and promotions’. But its refusal to appoint Gammanpila as AG has raised many an eyebrow and lent credence to its critics’ claim that it is wary of having an upright official at the helm of the NAO because it does not want various fraudulent deals in the public sector on its watch exposed; some of them are the questionable release of 323 red-flagged freight containers without mandatory Customs inspections from the Colombo Port and the rice and coal scams. The only way the government can show that the merit principle it claims to uphold has not fallen by the wayside and its commitment to good governance is genuine is to give credible reasons for its decision to overlook the most eligible candidate for the post of AG.

The heads of all state institutions must be above suspicion like Caesar’s wife, so to speak, for a fish is said to rot from the head down. One may recall that the Police under Deshabandu Tennakoon, whom the SLPP-UNP government appointed IGP by unashamedly subverting the CC process amidst protests, became subservient to the then rulers. Sadly, the situation has not changed much; the long arm of the law has become a cat’s paw for the JVP-NPP government. While claiming to uphold good governance, the incumbent government has embarked on a campaign to vilify the Attorney General in a bid to pressure him to obey its dictates. Thankfully, he has proved that he is made of sterner stuff, and his staff, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and others have circled the wagons around him.

Meanwhile, the CC’s unanimous endorsement of the appointment of the AG has diminished the Opposition’s moral right to criticise the actions of the NAO under the new head.

Wednesday 4th February, 2026

Another Independence Day has dawned. Elaborate arrangements have been made to celebrate it on a grand scale. The national flag will flutter at full mast majestically to the roll of drums and the blare of trumpets. A colourful parade and a fly-past will be among the day’s many attractions. A ceremony with such pomp and circumstance is an occasion for reflection.

Sri Lanka is celebrating the 78th year of Independence while emerging from its worst-ever economic crisis. There is a long way to go before it achieves full economic recovery. Much is being spoken about the need for economic reforms, and their importance cannot be overstated. But the question is whether they alone will help usher in national progress.

Since 1948, Sri Lanka has seen various political and economic reform movements. Its economy and political system have undergone radical changes during the past several decades. and reforms have yielded mixed results, with progress in some areas and setbacks in others. The current economic crisis and the ongoing recovery efforts have necessitated a national strategy to reform the economy. Experiments with political, constitutional and electoral reforms are far from over.

Successive governments have experimented with economic and political reforms. On the political front, the executive presidential system has survived several half-hearted attempts to abolish it and reintroduce the Westminster system. Politically-motivated amendments have made the Constitution look like a badly edited periodical, according to cynics. The electoral system has become an unholy mess. Provincial Council elections have fallen between two electoral systems, so to speak; at present, they cannot be held under either the Proportional Representation system or the Mixed Proportional system.

Meanwhile, the blame for the sorry state of affairs on all fronts has been laid solely at the feet of politicians. But it should be apportioned to the people, for it is they who elect governments. They vote in such a way that one wonders whether they are capable of making rational decisions and choices despite the country’s high literacy rate. True, politicians deserve the flak they receive for corruption, other malpractices and, above all, the country’s failure to achieve development, but it takes two to tango.

The state service has earned notoriety for inefficiency, incompetence, and delays. Decades of politicisation alone cannot be blamed for this situation. Sri Lankans’ attitude to work leaves much to be desired. The country is yet to develop a strong national work ethic, which is a prerequisite for enhancing national productivity and achieving development. Trade unions perennially make demands but rarely turn the searchlight inwards, much less concentrate on their duties and responsibilities.

The public apparently does not care much about civic duties and responsibilities. Tax compliance is extremely low, and indiscipline is widespread. Roads are characterised by utter chaos, and accidents, mostly caused by reckless driving, claim about seven or eight lives a day. Complaints of sexual harassment of women in buses and trains abound.

The focus of the government, the Opposition, the media, religious leaders and others is currently on educational reforms, which have apparently taken precedence over economic reforms. There are media reports about discussions on constitutional and electoral reforms as well. But there has been no serious discussion on the much-needed social reforms.

Social reforms are organised efforts aimed at not only promoting justice, equality and inclusion across political, economic, cultural and social spheres in a country but also helping bring about attitudinal changes and positive mindsets essential for a nation to adapt to changing times, face challenges, achieve its development goals and progress. It is time serious thought was given to social reforms.