“…. led an arrogant, insensitive, and thoughtless government”
By Saman Indrajith
The only people who should vote for Ranil Wickremesinghe in the presidential election on 21 September are those who wish to endure needless suffering for another five years, SJB MP Prof. G. L. Peiris has said in a televised interview.
Prof. Peiris said that under Wickremesinghe’s leadership, Sri Lankans had suffered immensely and that he had done nothing to build a resilient, strong economy capable of facing future challenges.
“He speaks of ‘continuity’, but the only continuity you experience is continued suffering. Over the past two years, poverty has doubled, we now have a 27 percent child malnutrition rate, around 500,000 children have dropped out of school, 1.1 million households have had their electricity cut off, and approximately 250,000 small and medium enterprises have collapsed. This is unprecedented. We have an arrogant, insensitive, and thoughtless government,” he said.
Prof. Peiris remarked that the standard of living had drastically declined during the past two years, making claims of economic improvement under Wickremesinghe baseless.
He noted that a large number of Sri SLPP MPs had joined Wickremesinghe, putting their political futures at risk. “I don’t think anyone seriously believes that Wickremesinghe will win the presidential election on 21 September. What has happened to the SLPP MPs who joined him?” he asked.
Prof. Peiris added that he had been campaigning in the north for the past few weeks, and the voters there were keen to support Premadasa. He mentioned that northern voters as in the rest of the country were concerned about the rule of law, the collapse of the health and education systems, and restrictions on freedom of expression.
“Additionally, the sheer incompetence of this government is shocking. Look at the chaos they’ve caused with the issuance of passports. They are unable to provide the most basic services. The Constitution guarantees the freedom of movement and the right to choose one’s residence within Sri Lanka, as well as the right to return to the country. Whether one uses one’s passport for foreign travel is not the government’s concern. This is a government incapable of guaranteeing basic needs, but Wickremesinghe’s supporters attempt to portray him as a genius,” he said.
Prof. Peiris also criticised the government’s race to embezzle as much money as possible within the limited time available to ministers, citing the VFS scam, which cost the country billions.
“We can make noticeable changes in six months if we simply get the basics right. With the correct policies and efforts to curb corruption, we will see positive results in just a few months,” he said.
He noted that while professionals were forced to pay exorbitant taxes, many billionaires paid none at all. “Tax breaks have been given to these billionaires, and the state has lost billions in revenue. When offering tax breaks, we must ensure that they lead to increased economic activity that offsets the losses. There have been instances where we questioned officials about the rationale behind certain tax breaks, and they had no idea what the expected outcomes were. Clearly, these tax breaks were intended to benefit friends of politicians,” he added.
