Opinion

Forests and us

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/28

By Dr Upatissa

pethiyagoda Sri Lanka’s forest cover is estimated to be about 27% of the land area. It was three times this extent a few decades back. The Forest Department was one of the first to be established by the British and is a hundred years old. The dwindling forest cover is a constant lament among Environmentalists, Ecologists, Foresters and Wildlife enthusiasts. Forests and trees have recognised economic and aesthetic value. Bhutan is a good example, maintaining some 70-80% of the land area in natural forest, with a corresponding benefit to the “quality of life”. Generally, trees are desirable and have many virtues that are the subject of this note. It is only exceptionally, such as when their roots invade building foundation or when they fall on roofs, that they cause damaging negative effects.

Sri Lanka is subject to droughts and floods that are increasing in frequency and severity and likely to do so in the future as well. There is a real fear that these multiple effects of global warming could have serious effects that may in the distant future lead to the extinction of life on the Planet. Scientists have evidence to believe that this has happened in the past – as dramatised by the sudden disappearance of the Dinosaurs. The terror of extinction is so much ahead however that our generation may feel no need to worry.

But there are more immediate considerations. The fears are real that the World may run out of fuel, water and clean air. For all these perils, forests and trees, directly or indirectly, are important influences. Mercifully, Sri Lanka is outside the worst Hurricane, Earthquake and Volcanic Zones. But as a small island set in the Tropical Monsoon Zone, we are vulnerable to localized perils and must remember the devastating tsunami of not so long ago. Further, there is a global moral obligation. It is easy to see that global warming will impose pressures on fossil fuels, water and clean air. These long-term consequences cannot be ignored – small though our overall impact might be. A few random considerations are touched.

LAND CLEARING

Pressures of agriculture and urbanisation have caused heavy losses of forest cover. The Mahaweli scheme is a recent case in point. For convenience in awarding contracts and for other reasons, clearing operations have been allocated in extents much in excess of immediate needs. It would have been ecological prudent for clearing operations to keep pace with settlement demands. Also it may well be realised in the future that the most stable system for dry zone farming, would be for areas farmed to alternate with reserves of native forests alternating with farmed land – in a “patchwork” or “strip – planting” style, with dimensions and cycles appropriately determined. Such arrangement would also create fire-gaps should there be devastating fire accidents and provide shelter for Wildlife as well.

FORESTS AS COMMONS

Present forestry practices treat forested areas as isolated from human trespass. Much evidence proves that this is a failure. Timber thieves and other despoilers (eg. treasure hunters, gem prospectors, squatters, poachers and vandals) are not deterred. Much the better approach should be to enlist the co-operation of locals as joint users. This will guard against marauders and allow regulated access to timber and other forest products (firewood, fruits and medicinal herbs). Regulated harvesting of so-called “Bush Meat”, which is anyway poached, would be possible. A sense of ownership of forest resources has many benefits. Other countries have used such approaches successfully.

DEFORESTATION AND WATER MANAGEMENT

Clearing of tree cover has spectacular damaging effects on water flow of small streams – they easily disappear. Exposed soils dry out quicker, the water table drops and wells become less productive. The ameliorative effects of trees on coolness become immediately apparent to anyone venturing into forest or tree reserves. Forest tree roots open up the soil, encouraging readier infiltration of rain water. Additionally leaf fall increases water retention and slow release in the mulch. Tradition recognises that some trees such as Kumbuk are specially valuable alongside wells. Tree roots also purify water as it moves through and may even have use in respect of CKDU by detoxification. One wonders whether this factor has been considered by the many studies that have been do9ne in the search for possible causes. Trees are also invaluable in controlling soil erosion or in draining swamps – often so employed in “Woodlots” on tea estates.

AGROFORESTRY

A whole new discipline termed “Agroforestry” has developed. This consists of reforesting with trees of immediate use. We have many such that could serve – the selections naturally depending on particular circumstances. Tropical Farming has a historical reliance on tree crops – often based on livelihood and market needs. The socalled “Kandyan Forest Garden” is often cited as an excellent example. The Chena system coped with depletion of soil fertility by simply moving on to fresh forests which were abundant in the past.It may be noted that in Chena Farming, the operation is referred to as “Eli peheli kireema”, meaning in essence that the trees are thinned, no removed entirely. Bhutan as mentioned, is estimated to retain 70 to 80% of their land in forest, with corresponding benefits to quality of life. Not without significance is that Bhutan replaces Gross National Product (GNP) with Gross National Happiness (GNH). Appropriate candidates for agroforestry are very many. In addition to fuel and pulp needs, forests are in use in other Tropical regions carrying a variety of timber species, Bamboos with dozens of species grown for special uses, fruits such as Jak, Breadfruit, Durian, Woodapple, Beli, Mora, Goraka etc and industrial crops such as Kapok, Kekuna, Castor (and other Energy Crops to reduce the need for petroleum products). Opportunities are infinite, each for its environmental niche.

THE “POPHAM PRINCIPLE”

F.H (Sam) Popham was an adventurous retired tea planter who took it upon himself to develop a means of resuscitating degraded forest land in the Dry Zone. He acquired some 18 acres of degraded scrub alongside the Dambulla –Kandalama Road. He spent his entire pension and contributions from benefactor friends in the UK, to experiment on a novel concept. He observed a few vital rules, essentially based on the notion that Nature, if helped to do its job, was a far better forester than man. The usual foes were weeds, fire, stray cattle and humans. The major effort was to meticulously remove all thorny choking weeds and coarse grass. Fire gaps were established. Cattle were fenced out but wild life was afforded entry. Only privileged human visitors were permitted. He kept a careful and detailed diary of daily rainfall and water table (in his well) records. Not a single plant was introduced. Only forest tree seedlings, naturally dispersed were preserved.

The results were astonishing. The scrub progressively disappeared over the years to be replaced by a mix of indigenous trees that took on the appearance of a Temperate meadow. Dried stream beds awoke to life and fish, crabs and frogs appeared. Small wild life and Jungle fowl visited every afternoon to a corner, which became a “Feeding Station”. Popham left a few years ago, bequeathing his treasure to the IFS who in turn passed it on to “Ruk Rekaganno” who it is hoped, still honour the “Popham Principles”. Although expensive a method to adopt widely, this was a classic achievement.

Incidentally, Popham was a Cambridge Alumnus (Classics) and one is tempted to believe that this helped. Much the same principle has been adopted by (Rohan) Pethiyagoda, who on some 50 acres of degraded Tea was developed into a Wet Montane Forest, by merely allowing abandoned tea to grow into medium-sized tree s and secondary forest established.

BIOMASS FOR ENERGY

The World is moving away from fossil fuels and moving to renewable energy forms – mainly solar, wind and biomass. In our context the last is most relevant, as the cheapest option and as rural dependence on wood fuel is very large. A good proportion of this is gathered from forests. An organized effort to grow high wood producing trees (Gliricidia initially) intends to make an impact on its use for industrial needs and for dendro-power generation. Interesting projections for the extents of fuel-wood plantations required for generation of electricity from decentralised power stations sited close to consumption centres have suggested attractive operations. Wood requirements of such small power units, tailored to specific regional needs have been calculated. This would be a true and non-controversial “devolution of power”! The late Dr Ray Wijewardene has to be honoured as an enterprising pioneer, who established Gliricidia as an intercrop on his coconut property, designed and built his own generator, of a size sufficient for his bungalow needs and to recharge his electric car and still provide basic power needs for his rural neighbours.

Excellent PR ! Strangely, little systematic attempts have been made to support and encourage domestic solar power installations. Even heavily industrialised, Western countries are busily expanding this option. For us, this would remove a considerable drain from grid supplies, releasing the saved power for other uses. The same holds for wind power. There has also been some mention of Norwegian-assisted wave-energy projects. Meanwhile, for an inscrutable reason, two large coal power stations are reportedly imminent, at a time when the rest of the World is moving away from coal for power!

MANGROVES AND SAND DUNES

Extensive mangroves grow in areas around lagoons and river mouths where the sea meets fresh water. The brackish and sheltered environments provide valuable breeding grounds for shellfish, crabs and some true fish. They are under stress due to unregulated harvesting as firewood. They protect shore-lines from erosion, and when the Tsunami struck, as a protective barrier. To address the dwindling area of this precious resource, a project to replenish the exploited mangroves, a commendable project supported by a large company (and the Sri Lankan Navy) is in progress. The ideal component trees are fortunately quick to establish.

Mangroves are vital in improving several environmental factors. Travellers through the Hambantota area may have noticed that in recent years, a medium-sized tree, known locally as Katu Andara has colonised the sand dunes and surrounding areas, spreading rapidly. This tree (Prosopis juliflora), known also as Mesquite and Tamaruga is considered an invasive species and believed to have been introduced in the 1950’s as a cover for the sand dunes in this arid area. This it has done well, but proved to be highly invasive and has spread well beyond its original area. It has limited uses – of the pods and seeds as a minor food, for medicinal uses and the young foliage as fodder for roaming cattle. Its bark may well be of use for tanning leather. Its sudden spread is probably due to cattle feeding on it and passing the seeds out with their dung. Although useful as firewood, its thorny nature is a disadvantage.

It burns fiercely and thus could find use for dendro-power. Due to its thorny nature, it would require mechanized harvesting (tractors) to meet handling problems. Its rapid growth is an advantage. It could even prove to be a pioneer species to enable planting these otherwise barren wastes with useful tree crops (like Cashew) once “softened” by this tree. One remembers how the barren wastes of the Dry Patanas, widely regarded as inhospitable for use, were transformed by planting with Gums (Eucalyptus). This in turn elevated Palugama to the township of Keppetipola. This was more than a mere change of name !. One is aware that widespread monoculture plantings (in our case, Pinus) are controversial for ecological reasons. The original intent ion to use these plantation as a source of pulp for paper, is yet to become a reality.

PRESERVING ENDEMICS AND THE GENEPOOL

Our country is highly blessed with a wealth of endemic and sometimes unique, plants and animals. It is classified as a “Biodiversity Hotspot” by UNESCO. This floral and faunal variability has to be preserved, not least because it could be a massive asset, for breeding, search for novel products such as herbal pharmaceuticals and as a tourist attraction. Bio-piracy is of huge international concern. Much of our endemic flora grows in the Low Country Wet Zone, in which the Sinharaja represents the only sizeable remnant. Encroachments by tea plantings, and poorly located mini-hydropower plants, need to be controlled. The recent frequency of detections by Customs of attempts to smuggle out Wallapatta (Agar Wood) suggests widespread despoiling of protected reserves – possibly before the very eyes of policing authorities. As is well known, a large percentage of Medicines are of plant origin, and much probably are still in the forests awaiting discovery.

UNECONOMIC TEA LANDS

There exist considerable extents of abandoned or uneconomic tea lands. These should be earmarked for other uses. The soils have been so impoverished that few substitute species will thrive. One immediate approach may be to allow such tea bushes as have survived in such areas to remain and grow into trees, to be a nucleus allowing forest trees to establish. Once some fertility is thereby regained, more profitable cultivations could succeed. Illegal cultivations above the legally prescribed contours should be compulsorily and forthwith abandoned for reversal into Montane Forest. The Central Highlands need protection as the principal source which nourish our rivers.

CARBON SEQUESTRATION

The World’s recognition of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide as an important cause of Global Warming, has established a scheme of “Carbon Credits”. This is calculated based on actions taken to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. A globally accepted scheme exists for awarding “Carbon Credits” that could be traded with countries which were requiring over agreed quotas. Thrifty countries are awarded credits for carbon sequestration which they could sell or barter with excess emitters. The “currencies” were valued at one Unit per ton of carbon dioxide. Recognising that developed countries were the larger emitters (through industry, vehicles, and domestic consumption etc) they were obliged to make greater reductions (at 25% of figures, with 1990 as the base year, with developing countries assigned lower percentages and other concessions to meet their targets). The scheme operates similar to the Stock Market.

Each country farms out its allocation, to its high emission companies. Any company operating within its allocation could trade its savings on the stock market, for trading with those releasing above quota. The latter are required to pay a tax or purchase the deficit from the market. While it is relatively easy to calculate emissions, from industry and power installations, the interplay of many variables makes the task more difficult for sequestration by forest trees. As a result, while emission figures were set out relatively easily for industrial emissions, those for trapping in forest trees have led to many difficulties of implementation because of the complexity of several variables. Amidst all the complications, an important consideration is that trapped carbon in trees is offset by releases through decay or burning of fallen leaves and branches and eventually as timber. The locking up of carbon is thus temporary. These various issues merit the closest attention by our competent professionals

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Opinion

If Sri Lanka wants ‘real’ stability, only one way to achieve it, in a short time

Published

3 days ago

2026/09/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

by Sunil Abhayawardhana

After the economic crisis of 2022, and the IMF programme that followed, some are of the opinion that ‘stability’ was achieved, but followed by ‘not out of danger yet’. Where is the ‘stability’ then?

We know that the cause of the crisis was a lack of foreign exchange. However, the IMF programme focused on the fiscal aspects, not one that enhanced export earnings. So, we are once again in a situation, facing the same problem, with the ‘fiscal discipline’ thrust on us.

Therefore, it is clear that if we seriously want to achieve ‘real’ stability, we need to use our heads much more and get out of the ‘epistemic insularity’ that has been around for so long. (Epistemic insularity is a state where an individual or group becomes isolated from alternative perspectives, data, and frameworks of knowledge. It occurs when individuals, groups or communities construct a protective bubble around their beliefs, making them resistant to outside evidence or challenging viewpoints).

It applies also to guys who have recently got into the bubble and being taught Neo-liberal lessons.

Fixing targets for budget deficits and tax collection is ok if it is in relation to a development drive. If not, it would only increase the misery of a higher cost of living. That development drive is what is missing in Sri Lanka.

A development drive comes after formulating a development plan, which is not an instant production, takes much time and effort. Therefore, Sri Lanka needs right now an accelerated ‘urgent’ project, that would bring ‘real’ stability, in the shortest possible time. Once ‘real’ stability is achieved, the focus should shift towards a greater development plan.

The only way

The only way for Sri Lanka to achieve ‘real’ stability is by enhancing its export earnings by at least $ 20-25B. Most of the projects that are being thought of are not capable of bringing in earnings on the scale required, in the shortest possible time.

Over the years, tea, rubber and coconut was the first base of exports. Then there were many smaller products such as gems and petroleum products that were not developed, tough the potential was there, followed by garments and IT, which were small in scale.

Continuing on the same path, is not going to change the story. A radical change of stance is urgently needed. What is amazing is that it has not yet been realised.

A point to note is that a World Bank report issued a few years ago, highlighting the possibility of enhancing exports by the present exporters by as much as $10B, if provided with some assistance, was not even considered. However, this should be an ongoing programme, but conditions of the IMF programme may not be able to give the required support to these industries.

Historically, since Independence, the path chosen has not been able to bring the desired results. Should we then, not change our thinking, to be able to bring about the urgently required outcomes?

Widespread development is going to take time with the existing conditions. The governments programmes would at best, bring in an additional $5B by 2030 at best. Therefore, targeting one specific sector and industry, with total focus for about a year or two, has a better chance of success.

Even if total investment is around 10% of GDP and half of it is diverted to a single project capable of increasing export revenue by 100%, that bold decision should be taken. The shortfall in public investment for a short time should be tolerated.

Sri Lanka has never embarked on such a programme and is the only way it could achieve ‘real’ stability.

Therefore, after much research, the only single project, capable of enhancing export figures by as much as $20 -25B was identified as mentioned below.

Oil refinery in Trincomalee

This is a project that should have been started at the time of Independence in 1948, when the funds were available from the Sterling Balances Agreement. However, it did not materialise and the country paid a heavy price.

Now, to be able to generate $20-25B, a refinery with at least a 400,000 b/d refinery is urgently required to be set up in Trincomalee. India is planning to set up eight new refineries in the coming years. The world’s largest refinery is located in Jamnagar, India, with a capacity of around 1.6 million b/d, owned by Reliance Industries.

The funding of such a project has many options, Multi-lateral sources, Joint Ventures and many more. (However, for a country that could release $2-3B for vehicle imports, should be able to work that out).

An idea of the cost could be determined by the Chinese cost for a 200,000 b/d refinery, which works out to around $3.7B. Sourcing equipment from China is considerably lower, compared with other western sources.

Sourcing the correct equipment, from suppliers at a price that the project can afford becomes critical. Equipment from the west is highly inflated, while Chinese equipment is now available at a much lower price.

The shortest time a refinery has been established is one year, in South Korea, and Singapore’s first refinery, a little over a year. There are many hurdles that have to be got over and a government has the ability to do so, if it is really determined. Most of it is paperwork and environment issues, with site selection.

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has been in existence and operating the 50,000 b/d refinery from the late 1960s and should be able to handle such a project, if not outside help would have to be deployed.

Most governments do not see the long- term benefits of such a project, due to the normal long- time frame to commence such a project. However, this is where ‘urgency’ has to be understood. As the CPC is the only institution involved, apart from the state bureaucracy, there is no reason for delay. If there is a strong will, there would always be a way of getting it off the ground, in the shortest possible time.

The discussions already commenced regarding the UAE, India, SL project, could be beneficial. A joint venture with India, is a strong possibility. The pipeline distribution would reduce delivery costs. However, total dependence on the Indian market would not be a good strategic or business decision.

The second refinery

China offered to establish a 200,000 b/d refinery in Hambantota, three years ago. Obviously, the government is under tremendous external pressure on this. This is where diplomacy at its best is required.

Sri Lanka had this ability in the 1960s and early 70s and later in the 1990s and early 2000s. This ability does not seem to be around at present, but needs to be revived.

I remember in the early 1970s during the Bangladesh war, Pakistan requested permission to fly via Colombo to East Pakistan. No one expected Sri Lanka to grant permission. But it was granted, keeping the relationship with India intact.

The proportion to be released to the local market and tax concession, should be worked out with the best interests of the country in mind. Even though the original percentage to be released to the local market was 20%, a further 20% would reduce the export earnings, but would save importing that amount, as SL imports around 100.000 b/d of refined petroleum.

Tax concessions face obstacles with the IMF programme, which could be solved via negotiations, that convince the IMF of the greater benefits to the country, but requires skill, as mentioned earlier.

A project of this nature, which brings immediate results, has never been seen in SL and lacks the confidence needed, but has to be built up to take bold decisions. It would face many obstacles, but as mentioned earlier, if there is a will, it could be done.

The Hambantota refinery could easily add another $10-15B to the aggregate earnings from petroleum exports, which would total around $ 35-40B in total.

Would that not bring ‘real stability’ to the economy?

No other project or projects could bring in the foreign exchange on the scale that these two could. In fact, expanding the refinery capacity in Trincomalee and Hambantota, could be considered later.

Other possibilities

While aiming for ‘real’ stability, it should not be forgotten to bring ‘real’ stability to the farming community in the country.

The mistakes of the past in relation to agriculture development needs to be corrected by the farmer being the ultimate beneficiary from agriculture development. It is ridiculous in an under developed economy like Sri Lanka, where the farmer toils so hard, while the big millers get the ultimate benefit.

Therefore, the thinking should change, where the farmer sells rice, with milling by farmer coops and linking the farmer to the rice market.

Once stability has been achieved and a sizeable reserve built up via earning as against borrowings, Sri Lanka should set its sights on development and not stop at stability. Listed below are a few projects that could be initiated.

* An iron and Steel mill for export in Trincomalee- which could bring in around $10-15B.

* Develop Colombo as The Gem and Jewelry center of the World $ 5-10B.

* R+D into graphene if could be used for semiconductors

* Aircraft repair and maintenance facilities to service the huge fleet in India

* Local IT companies registered in SL, operating out of Jaffna

* R+D to be incentivised in various fields

Opinion

Navigating Sri Lanka’s Israeli Dilemma

Published

4 days ago

2026/09/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sovereignty, Tourism, and the Law:

by Sasanka Perera
(The writer is on X as @sasmester)

On 28 October 2024, I wrote in this column an essay, titled ‘Israelis in Sri Lanka and the Advent of a ‘Neo’ Colonialism.’ My concern then was the disruption long-term Israeli tourists, often over-staying tourist visas, were causing particularly in the Eastern Province. Government intervention was mostly visible through relative inaction. Over the past year, Sri Lanka’s pristine coastal enclaves, from Hikkaduwa and Weligama in the west to Arugam Bay in the East, have found themselves at the centre of a complex and needless geopolitically-inflected controversy. As I explained in my earlier essay, too, the rapid growth of Israeli tourism has brought to light serious concerns regarding regulatory oversight, economic fairness, and national sovereignty. The latest controversy erupted in August 2026, in Hiriketiya, near Dickwella, in the country’s south. Unlike in the east, where the protesters were mostly from Muslim communities, in Hiriketiya, the protests were led by Buddhists, including monks.

At the centre of latest public debate is the establishment of a ‘Chabad House’, essentially a Jewish community and religious centre, catering to Israeli travellers. One of the primary demands the protesters made, was to investigate if this religious entity was established legally and if the activities of Israeli residents, including running businesses, were legal. In the context of the earlier controversy, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya is on record for clarifying in Parliament on 8 January, 2025, that neither the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs nor any other government institution had granted official permission for the establishment of Israeli religious sites. In other words, what existed was illegal.

Chabad Houses as private business entities

Representatives of the local Chabad Houses, of which there are about six at present, claim they operate as registered private business entities. However, operating public religious and communal hubs on standard tourist or corporate permits violates local town planning and immigration guidelines. Besides, despite the claim, it is very unclear even if standard business licenses were issued in the first place. If religious entities were run under temporary business licenses, then, that itself is a clear violation of Sri Lankan law showing scant disregard to both the legal system in the country and its socio-political sensitivities.

This setup stands in stark contrast to how Sri Lanka’s own religious presence is managed in Israel. In Tel Aviv, a Sri Lankan Buddhist temple was established in 2013 to serve thousands of Sri Lankan migrant workers. The effort was facilitated by the Sri Lankan Embassy in the Israeli capital. To respect local Israeli laws and urban regulations, that temple operates discreetly inside a private apartment complex rather than as a prominent, independent public centre with an overt public religious personality as is usually the case with Buddhist temples globally. The Chief Incumbent of the temple, at the time it opened in 2013, Ven. Karavilakotuwe Dhammathilaka, is on record for stating very clearly that in keeping with the religious sensitivities in Israel, the inaugural ceremony itself was also held on a low scale without much publicity. This makes sense given the fact that Israel is one of the most religiously intolerant societies in the world as its track record amply demonstrates. This is more so in the last few years. What is important in the context of the opening of the Buddhist temple in Tel Aviv is, no laws were violated, the temple was meant for long term-residents, and respected local laws and sensitivities. It was also an effort formally facilitated by the Sri Lankan Embassy.

The comparison raises a fundamental question of parity: why should foreign nationals in Sri Lanka, including Israelis, establish public religious and cultural centres without municipal or government authorisation, while Sri Lankans abroad strictly abide by local constraints, as the nondescript Sri Lankan Buddhist temple in Tel Aviv clearly demonstrates?

The debate and anxieties around the Israeli presence in Sri Lanka occurs alongside another pressing concern. That is, the relatively precarious position of thousands of Sri Lankan workers in Israel who are mostly in the construction, agriculture and caregiving sectors. Recently, thousands of Sri Lankan migrant workers faced deportation from Israel due to job category violations, after switching from agriculture or caregiving to unauthorised sectors. The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry reportedly actively intervened with Israeli authorities to negotiate regularisations and protect these workers. In my view, Illegality is illegality everywhere. If Sri Lankans violated Israeli law, that country had every right to deport them, and we should not have intervened. But I do understand the government’s position, too, as it relates to employment of citizens. Then, there should be a system where such regularisations are managed via the facilitation of the Sri Lankan Embassy, and if citizens do not make use of such a facility, they should clearly face the consequences of Israeli law.

Troubling double standard

Whichever way one looks at it, this highlights a very troubling double standard. That is, while Sri Lankan workers and the government have to cautiously navigate strict Israeli labour and visa laws, Israeli visitors in Sri Lanka frequently evade local visa laws without consequence. This mostly occurs as a result of the institutionalised spinelessness of our law enforcement when it comes to foreigners, and particularly seemingly ‘white’ foreigners. But surely, over 78 years after Independence, spineless meekness on our part must have clear limits. There needs to be clear reciprocity. Besides, Israelis are not here to work as the Sri Lankans in Israel are. They are supposed to be tourists. They should neither work nor establish religious edifices as they feel fit violating our laws and sensitivities as a matter of routine. This is why the ongoing Israeli activities reek of settler-colonialism.

Also, it is not only a matter of Israeli intransigence and official and public Sri Lankan apathy. The latter becomes possible when locals, who rent buildings to visa facilitate in running illegal Israeli businesses depriving their own citizens of legitimate incomes, are not even prosecuted by local law enforcement and judicial systems. As often is the case, foreign arrogance is built upon local meekness and lack of even the most basic sense of national pride. Of course, this does not apply to anyone, including Israelis who are operating a business in Sri Lanka legally, based on legitimate licenses issued by the government.

The proliferation of unlicensed, foreign-run businesses poses severe economic challenges to Sri Lanka’s local tourism industry. Many Israeli visitors enter this country on standard tourist visas but illegally set up guesthouses, surf camps, and cafes. Often operating exclusively in Hebrew, these businesses transact via informal channels or foreign accounts. When foreign visitors, including Israelis, run unregistered businesses, there are numerous local fallouts. For one thing, Sri Lanka loses substantial corporate, local government, and value-added tax revenues. Secondly, these activities severely undercut local livelihoods. Local vendors, tour guides, and small hoteliers are excluded by closed-loop and illegal Israeli operators. One of the common complaints where illegal Chabad Houses have been established is that they provide accommodation and meals to Israeli tourists, seriously disadvantaging local tourism-related businesses.

Adverse economic impact

Much of the income earned from these closed illegal operations, hardly comes to Sri Lanka in any way except for payment for supplies and rentals. Finally, since properties lease informally at inflated long-term rates to these operators, it drives up costs for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and small business owners. But all this has become possible and so entrenched because of the established track record of relative inactivity of the Sri Lankan government in general as well as local governments and law enforcement in particular.

This brings to my mind the Israeli feature film, Arugam Bay. Directed by Marco Carmel and shot on location in Sri Lanka, including Ella and Arugam Bay. The film follows former Israeli soldiers using Sri Lanka’s coastal towns to process military combat trauma. The production received formal clearances for filming from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in so far as publicly available information indicates. However, its narrative — framing Sri Lankan beach towns as retreats for Israeli military veterans — with blood in their hands and massive human rights violations to their credit, reaffirms local concerns about the island being used as a backdrop for Israeli human rights violations against Palestinians without sufficient regard for local perspectives.

It is precisely this kind of narrative, through word of mouth as well as social media, that creates an image of Sri Lanka as meek and trouble-free destination for Israelis intent on illegal activities. Do the Sri Lankan government or Sri Lankans want such a label attached to the country? I certainly don’t. It is quite shocking that the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau gave permission for a such film to be shot locally. It shows both the Authority’s sorry view of what tourism is and scant disregard for ethical tourism.

Pushback mischaracterised as anti-Jewish sentiment

Public pushback against these illegal activities has sometimes been described by local as well as Israel supporters as anti-Jewish sentiment. But this completely mischaracterises the issue. Global condemnation of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and beyond and massive rights violations of entire Palestinian communities is rooted in international humanitarian law — not antisemitism. Differentiating between opposition towards violating state policies and hostility toward Jewish people is critical. Sri Lankans standing against Israeli military aggression or localised law-breaking are asserting human rights and national law as well as decent and legal behaviour by foreigners in our own country. This is not engaging in discrimination. That is, Israelis must be treated here as our people are treated in Israel. By law and by the book.

Sri Lanka must remain a welcoming host to international tourists. However, hospitality must not replace accountability. The government must strictly enforce visa restrictions, shut down unauthorised commercial and communal spaces, and protect local businesses. By upholding the rule of law uniformly, Sri Lanka can safeguard its economy, preserve its national sovereignty, and maintain harmony along its shores.

Opinion

Whatever on earth happened to meritocracy, pragmatism, and honesty in Sri Lanka?

Published

5 days ago

2026/09/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Lee Kuan Yew

By A Concerned Aficionado

In 1959, just over a decade after Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then known, gained Independence, a tiny, resource-barren island in many ways, named Singapore, elected a man called Lee Kuan Yew as their Prime Minister. Before that, having been ejected from the Malaysian Federation into forced independence, the founding fathers of independent Singapore looked across the Indian Ocean with envious eyes. The subject of their admiration was Ceylon: “The Pearl of the Indian Ocean.” Here was a nation in a pearl blessed with fertile land, a highly literate population, a functioning model of the civil service, robust infrastructure, and standard English education. Lee Kuan Yew openly declared that his ambition was for Singapore to emulate Ceylon.

Decades later, the tragedy that developed out of this historical juxtaposition is staggering. Singapore now sits comfortably in the first world, boasting a GDP per capita exceeding US Dollars 80,000, world-class institutions, and zero tolerance for corruption. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, lies in the ashes of sovereign default, a begging bowl in hand, passing from one economic crisis to the next, crippled by debt as well as rampant corruption and governed by political short-sightedness.

What went wrong? The answer can be found in a simple three-letter acronym popularised by Singaporean diplomat and academic, Professor Kishore Mahbubani, MPH: the acronym for Meritocracy, Pragmatism, and Honesty: the proven mantra of that country.

Mahbubani famously argued that any nation, regardless of size or origin, can achieve extraordinary success if it rigorously applies these three foundational doctrines. If Singapore stands as the global poster child for the triumph of the MPH model, Sri Lanka stands as its renowned antithesis; a tragic case study of what happens when a country systematically dismantles every single one of those three sacred creeds of good governance.

Meritocracy Dismantled: The Triumph of Nepotism and Tribalism in the Pearl

Meritocracy, in Mahbubani’s framework, demands that a nation relentlessly selects its best and brightest to lead its institutions, regardless of ethnicity, family lineage, or political affiliation. In Singapore, early leaders like S. Rajaratnam, a Sri Lankan Tamil, were elevated to the highest positions strictly on ability.

In Sri Lanka, we did the exact opposite. Almost immediately after independence, our political class realised that exploiting communal divisions was far more lucrative than building a meritocratic state. The Official Language Act of 1956 was the first lethal blow, substituting raw linguistic nationalism for competence. This was followed by media-wise standardisation policies in higher education, which effectively told our youth that their brainpower mattered less than their geographic or ethnic identity. In short, this was the political misdemeanour that destroyed the Sri Lankan nation.

The institutional decay spread rapidly into our civil service, which was once the envy of Asia. The Independent State Services Commission was systematically gutted and replaced by political patronage. State corporations, statutory boards, and diplomatic missions became dumping grounds for politicians’ children, loyalist party hacks, henchmen and henchwomen and despicable sycophants.

Instead of putting domain experts at the helm of economic, medical, and technical bodies, our rulers appointed cronies whose primary qualification was their willingness to bow and kneel before their political masters. The resulting brain drain has been catastrophic. For generations, Sri Lanka’s greatest export has not been tea or garments, but its finest minds, driven out by a system that rewards loyalty to a party over loyalty to intellectual competence.

Pragmatism abolished: Ideological Dogma and Economic Madness in the Pearl

Pragmatism means deserting ideological blinders and adopting policies simply because they work. As Singapore’s Dr Goh Keng Swee put it to Mahbubani: “No matter what problem Singapore encounters, somebody, somewhere has solved it. Let us copy the solution and adapt it.”

Sri Lanka, by contrast, has been a graveyard of economic dogmatism and harebrained experiments. Rather than copying proven global best practices, our policy decisions have consistently been driven by shortsighted populism, ideological posturing, and economic illiteracy.

Consider our economic history: alternating decades of closed-economy import substitution that strangled private enterprise, followed by unbridled, corrupt market deregulation without supervisory safeguards.

Perhaps the ultimate symbol of our anti-pragmatic hubris was the infamous overnight ban on chemical fertilisers in 2021. Ignoring every agricultural scientist and expert in the country, the government imposed a purely ideological and immediate “100% organic” policy by a Presidential Decree. The result was immediate and devastating: agricultural yields collapsed, food security evaporated, and tea production; our main foreign exchange earner, suffered disastrous damage. It was economic suicide masquerading as some kind of a vision of splendour.

Pragmatism requires looking at numbers, listening to experts, and adjusting and changing course when a policy fails. In Sri Lanka, political leaders routinely ignore basic arithmetic and even common sense to preserve their political narratives. They cut taxes when the treasury is empty, print trillions of rupees while inflation soars, and hold off on seeking IMF restructuring until the country literally runs out of foreign currency for fuel, medicines, and food.

Honesty is dead: The Culture of Systemic Corruption, the Misery of the Pearl

The third component, Honesty, is perhaps where Sri Lanka has fallen down the furthest. Professor Mahbubani notes that corruption is the single biggest reason why third-world countries fail. Singapore combated this by establishing near-zero tolerance for corruption, enforcing the strict rule of law, and ensuring that no public official, no matter how powerful, was above accountability.

In Sri Lanka, dishonesty is not merely an occasional scandal; it has become the fundamental operating system of the state. Corruption in Sri Lanka is institutionalised from the bottom to the absolute top. White-elephant infrastructure projects were financed through high-interest commercial loans: not because they offered viable economic returns, but because they offered massive kickbacks and inflated procurement contracts. Commissions were pocketed on everything from highways and airports to coal shipments, vaccines, and even basic food commodities.

Worse still, a culture of complete impunity took root. Commissions of inquiry were appointed not to uncover the truth, but to whitewash theft and buy political time. Files mysteriously vanished, prosecutors were pressured, and political deals were struck to protect corrupt figures across all political divides. The public watched in desperation as billions were drained from the national coffers, leaving the country bankrupt while the perpetrators enjoyed immunity, private jaunts, and even clandestine offshore accounts.

The Current Dispensation: Have They Got Their Wires Completely Crossed

If the public expected a sharp break from this pattern with political shifts in recent years, the disillusionment is totally complete. However, amidst a rhetoric towards a milk and honey nation, the aftermath has been everlasting desolation, as the stark reality has proven bitterly disappointing. The current political leadership appears to have got its wires completely crossed.

Instead of a sharp return to the MPH principles, what we witness is a baffling mix of improvised policies, misplaced priorities, and political double-speak. On the one hand, the government attempts to eloquently speak the language of reform and fiscal discipline to satisfy the gullible citizens and even the international lenders. On the other hand, it continues to rely on the same tired playbooks of executive heavy-handedness, administrative opacity, and political backroom deals.

Where is the true Meritocracy in the current administration? Key appointments in crucial public sectors are still dominated by political trade-offs and ideological echo chamber minions rather than competent people with independent, proven track records. Technical expertise is treated as a secondary consideration, way behind political compliance. The intense tragedy is the folly of ignoring and suppressing capable and efficient people and bringing in the henchmen and henchwomen.

Where is the Pragmatism? Rather than instituting big structural changes, modernising our public sector, and stripping away red tape to attract genuine foreign direct investment, the government remains addicted to piecemeal band-aid and bureaucratic control. Instead of fixing fundamental market distortions, it attempts to micro-manage the economy through top-down mandates, price controls, and extremely heavy taxation that burdens the middle class while leaving structural inefficiency untouched.

Where is the Honesty? Transparency remains a distant unattainable dream. Crucial state contracts, energy deals, and restructuring terms are still negotiated behind opaque doors. There is a glaring absence of genuine accountability for those whose past financial crimes pushed the nation into default. The rhetoric of “anti-corruption” is deployed aggressively against political adversaries, yet remains conveniently muted when it touches allies or organisational dishonesty within state institutions.

Instead of showing the public a clean, transparent roadmap for national recovery, the current regime seems intent on managing optics, suppressing dissent, and maintaining political survival at all costs.

The Path Forward: Can the Pearl be Restored?

Sri Lanka’s journey from being the envy of Asia in 1948 to a terribly bankrupt state in the 2020s is not a result of bad luck or external conspiracies. It is the direct consequence of our miserable choices. We chose tribalism over Meritocracy. We chose ideological populism over Pragmatism. We chose systemic corruption over sanctified honesty.

The Singapore story proves that natural resources, land size, and historical advantages do not determine a nation’s destiny. It has very clearly demonstrated that it is only the realism of proper governance that leads to prosperity. Singapore had no oil, no timber, no agriculture, and not even its own fresh water. What it had was a leadership obsessed with execution, integrity, and competence.

If Sri Lanka is ever to rise from the ashes of its self-inflicted ruin, it must abandon the political illusions that brought it to its knees. No amount of foreign loans, IMF bailouts, or geopolitical manoeuvring will save us if we do not transform the way we govern ourselves.

The formula is already written. It does not need to be reinvented. It has only to be implemented with untold dedication.

· Enforce absolute Meritocracy: Strip politicians of their power to appoint cronies to state bodies. Establish an independent, politically insulated mechanism for public sector leadership based entirely on competitive, verifiable competence.

· Embrace Pragmatism:

Kill economic dogma. Listen to experts, even when their opinions are unpleasant, copy proven global models, digitise state processes, and evaluate every public policy solely on one metric: would it or does it deliver measurable results for the people of our nation?

· Institutionalise Honesty:

Enforce an absolute, unyielding rule of law with zero tolerance for deceit and fraud. Empower independent anti-corruption agencies with real teeth, strip away immunity for financial crimes, and make asset declarations mandatory and publicly accessible for every elected official.

The time for empty political slogans, hereditary politics, and ideological arrogance should be over and, in fact, should be wiped out forever. Sri Lanka has run out of the flight runway. Until we, as a nation and the citizenry of a united nation, demand a radical pivot toward Meritocracy, Pragmatism, and Honesty, the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” will remain nothing more than a tragic reminder of what it could have been.

It is never too late. All it needs is a supremely committed political and national obligation to the glorious vision of a prosperous future for the entire nation. However, we are forced to lament whether any of our current lot of so-called statesmen, or, for that matter, stateswomen, of any hue and rhetorically imbibed, are up to that committed task of getting the pearl back into its long-lost pristine glory.