Are Sri Lanka’s MPs ministers above the law applicable to ordinary people?

by Bedgar Perera

The above question has been bothering me for quite some time. Considering what is apparently happening in this country, one can safely assume that at least some of the above categories are definitely above the normal law as it applies to ordinary people. There is something very wrong calling for instances being pointed out with examples for necessary correction.

There was a time not long ago when a murder suspect ran at the last parliamentary election. He won with a high preferential vote count numbering over 100,000 indicating significant voter acceptance of this candidate despite his alleged criminal record. This throws some light on the voter mentality in that district. Eventually he, after a lengthy trial, was convicted of murder by the Ratnapura High Court and sentenced to death. This MP, then in the death row, was brought from the Welikada prison to Parliament for sittings and then taken back.

Can we see such a thing happening in the other countries in the region or elsewhere? It is highly unlikely as such murder convicts have to be held where they belong upon conviction. I presume that an average citizen of Sri Lanka who is a murder convict will be strictly held within the prison walls and will not be allowed to move out at any cost. Hence this is a clear case where this MP was above the Law as applicable to the average man.

It may be that this unheard of facility is given to MPs on account of the so called privileges they enjoy in Sri Lanka after being elected by the voters. It is high time we re-examine and review these privileges in the light of such facilities afforded to parallel categories in other developing and developed countries. Eventually the MP under reference was acquitted and discharged by the Appeal Court and he now serves as the State Minister of Ports and Aviation.

Very recently, a Government MP from the Puttalam district was detected by Customs trying to leave the airport with a large quantity of undeclared gold and smart-phones via the VIP lounge where baggage of so-called VIPs are not normally checked. He was caught red handed, as the Custom officials checked his bags on prior information received of this smuggling attempt.

He was arrested immediately and was released after he paid the imposed fine of Rs.7.5 M. Upon release after paying the fine, he attended and voted in Parliament in spite of protests by the opposition requesting action by the Speaker. This was turned down by the latter saying he has no power to take action against this errant MP.

Having committed this dastardly crime, the relevant MP continues to function in office and reportedly flew to Dubai two days after the detection. It has been reported that this MP had been making frequent trips to Dubai prior to the detection. Most people will reach the inevitable conclusion. At least on ethical grounds, this MP should have immediately resigned. Alternatively there should be some provisions that an MP guilty of such serious offences will immediately lose his seat. Parliament is a supreme body where the elected representatives of the people gather to make the country’s laws. They cannot in any way be above the law of the land and must be strictly law abiding persons.

It is noteworthy that there is at least one instance in Sri Lanka many years ago, where a sitting MP was asked to resign immediately by the then President over a smuggling offence he committed for which a fine was imposed by the Customs. Ironically, his sister was nominated by his party to fill the vacancy!

Another interesting case is that of a State Minister of Prisons who stormed two prisons in an allegedly inebriated state and threatened some prisoners at gunpoint. While unsurprisingly no action whatsoever was taken against him by the then Government, there is a pending court case against him filed by eight prisoners claiming violation of their fundamental rights. He continues to be the State Minister in another Ministry, while the court case, where the Attorney General has quite rightly refused to appear for him, is dragging on with no early end in sight.

Previously too there had been a case against this particular state minister over the murder of 10 Muslim youth and he was eventually acquitted of this charge by the High Court on January 20, 2006. So much for his record despite which he continues to hold ministerial office.

In contrast, in a country like Singapore, where zero corruption is the strict policy, even if a minster or a member of the legislature is being subjected to an investigation, leave alone a court case, he or she will be asked by the Prime Minister “to immediately take a leave of absence until the investigations are over”.( reference article by Sanjeewa Jayaweera “How Singapore dealt decisively with a Minister under investigation for corruption”, in the Sunday Island of July 23,2023) Here, there is no such thing and these errant MPs and Ministers continue regardless. That is why Singapore which ranked below Sri Lanka at the time of our Independence in 1948, is now a developed country and Sri Lanka is lagging way behind as a lower middle income country.

There is another notable case of a Cabinet Minister who was convicted of a crime of threatening a businessman over the phone and demanding Rs. 64 million as a bribe to evict unauthorized occupants in a land in Kolonnawa and to refill the land when the accused was the Chief Minister/Western Province. The Colombo High Court on June 6, 2022, found him guilty and sentenced him to two years rigorous imprisonment suspended for five years and imposed a fine of Rs.25 million plus payment of Rs.1 million as damages to the businessman.

Despite this verdict, the Minister continues to sit in the Cabinet without any problem, even though he also has another case pending against him for encroaching on valuable state land. This had reportedly been filed by a member of the public and not by the state. Ethically, it is immoral for such a person to hold a Cabinet portfolio; but in our country where many at the top rungs do not have a conscience worth tuppence this is no big deal and they carry on regardless.

A further instance where MPs and Ministers are above the Law that applies to the average citizens of Sri Lanka relates to their pension rights. While a government official has to reach a minimum retirement age of 55 years or a maximum of 60 years, and have at least 10 years of service to qualify for a pension, the MPs/Ministers are entitled to the same after just five years in Parliament. This is an unheard of type of retirement benefit as far as I know. In this regard, It will be interesting to find out the details of pension schemes, if any, for legislators/ministers adopted in other countries.

In this regard, consider former President GR who resigned due to the aragalaya after just two years and eight months in office without completing his five-year term. He returned to the country he fled after the dust settled and is now enjoying a tidy pension, state-provided luxury housing and other perks provided to presidents who served their full term. Commonsense decrees that anyone giving up office midway will not be entitled to term end benefits. Requesting or enjoying such benefits is unconscionable. Yet Sri Lanka accords unaffordable benefits to lawmakers and other elected leaders either serving or retired. Sauce for the goose is not sauce for the gander. All this must be corrected forthwith with the law holding equally to all from the top down. Otherwise we will not be able to move ahead along with other progressive countries and will surely continue to lag behind.

The specific instances spelt out are an expression of what needs to be done. The law must apply equally to all whatever the position anyone holds. A code of ethics for all elected officials must be strictly enforced and they must all be required to “deliver or get out and give way”.

Let us not lose hope and await meaningful system change. We must find ourselves good, honest, no-nonsense leaders without vested interests who won’t safeguard wrongdoers at any level. When that happens we will not see our young people ‘jumping ship’ and quitting the country.

All the best, Sri Lanka !!
Email <bedgarperera@gmail.com>