How did the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ miss the bus?

by Air Vice Marshal [retired] A B Sosa VSV, psc

It is said in several fora that when we were given Independence on a platter by the British in 1948, our economy was only second to that of Japan in Asia. In this context it is relevant that Japan which was ravaged in the Second World War in 1945 had recovered to the extent of being a top ranked economy within three years. The “Jewel in the British Crown”, India which had of course been sapped dry by their colonial masters and other Asian countries were at this stage economically struggling with a sizable proportion of their citizens in abject poverty and virtually starving as they could only have one meal a day. Of course, quite a number starved to death.

Our ancestors and their progeny did not face this tragedy. On being granted Independence with not one bullet fired in anger the tragic slide of our economy commenced. Within a couple of years most of the other Asian countries which were referred to as “Tigers” [not to be confused with the LTTE] made rapid progress. I was the only Executive Director of a multi national Korean company for a period of 12 years after my retirement from the SLAF. At informal get-togethers with my Korean colleagues they asked me “what went wrong”? My considered reply was that “we ate what we had and frittered what we earned”.

They joked with me that on our being gifted our Independence, we opted for “democracy” whilst they who had got over the ravages of war had opted for “development”. We had got our wires crossed and were belatedly trying to emulate them whilst they were on the path of democracy only after they had reached an acceptable level of development. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Any Sri Lankan visiting an “Asian Tiger” land will only stand and stare in awe and weep for our motherland.

In retrospect I have pondered on the tragedy that has befallen us in the period from 1948 to date. My personal conclusion is that we, with our sense of democracy, elected self seekers from the time of our much bandied universal suffrage. My thoughts on this subject are briefly as follows. The rightful person who should have been at the helm in leading the then Ceylon was the incomparable philanthropist Sir Don Baron Jayatilleke. He gifted his prized possession “Thurban House” on Bauddhaloka Mawatha to be utilized to house the Department of the Public Trustee. To date, this magnificient edifice houses this department. He also gifted his coconut estate viz “Pitakanda Estate” located at Maduragoda in the Kurunegala District. All proceeds from the estate were to be utilized for the maintenance of the “Thurban House” and any unutilized funds were willed to be distributed for educational, charitable and social work as decided by the Public Trustee.

This Oxford University educated gentleman was not a typical “Lord of the Manor”. In 1924 he stood for election to the Legislative Council. He was so hugely popular to the extent that no one dared to contest him. Thus, having been elected uncontested his deputy was Mr. D S Senanayake. The latter realized that the colonial rulers will quit Ceylon in the foreseeable future and the first Prime Minister will be Sir D B Jayatilleke. He hence, activated an internal conspiracy to oust Sir DBJ and maneuvered for him to be posted to India as our High Commissioner there. This honorable gentleman agreed without realizing that he was committing “political hara kiri”. It was several years later that he realized that his throat was slit by some of his political colleagues. He died in India a heart broken person.

When Mr. D S Senanayake became Prime Minister his deputy was the suave Oxford Educated luminary Mr. S W R D Bandaranaike. DS who was a master of nepotism made political life difficult for his deputy as he desired to make his son Dudley his successor. The illusion has been created that D S Senanayake was the “Father of the Nation”. When he fell off a horse and died it was open sesame for Dudley to step into the prime minister’s office. Bandaranaike by then had struck out on his own and the rest is history.

Whilst the father and son duo were at the helm there were rumblings that the populace was experiencing difficulties in making ends meet. Hence, they decided to give massive subsidies in food and other essentials. This largess could not be sustained for long. As a result, a couple of years later the disgruntled masses came out in an uprising which is referred to as a “hartal”. Dudley could not stomach this situation and handed over the reins to his colleague, Sir John Kotelawala, “a man of the world”.

This Prime Minister was trounced at the subsequent polls by Mr. Bandaranaike who had marshalled the support of the “Pancha Maha Bala Vegaya” – the sangha, teachers, ayurvedic physicians, farmers and the working class. Of course, he too had promised more than what was possible inclusive of Sinhala being made the official language within 24 hours. The rest is history.

Among the crucial factors that accelerated our downward slide were unscrupulous politicos who got involved in trade union activities. They urged the so-called “buddhimath janatawa” to demand unreasonable increases of wages and to desist from diligent work. They indoctrinated that the “capitalist class” inclusive of the government were exploiting the “sweat and tears” of the proletariat. As a result of this, productivity suffered and thus the cost of production of goods kept increasing which resulted in them not being competitive in the international market. I have personal experience in that the work force of almost 4,000 in my company was being constantly misled by the union leaders that the expatriate owners were exploiting them and making profits off their “blood, sweat and tears” [dadiya, kandulu sura kanawa ]. This phenomenon was common to most industries particularly those owned by foreigners.

To make matters worse, these politicos when in the opposition kept instilling in the masses the concept that the Government in power must succumb to their demands. Hence, the public were demanding concessions and subsidies across the board which the Government, even though it could ill afford to do so, was compelled to concede if it was to retain power at a subsequent national poll. Thus, funds that should have been utilized for the development of the country were frittered away to appease the misguided.

This unfortunate phenomenon was an occurrence irrespective of who was in power. My contention is borne out recently when some tremors were felt in the Digana area people living there were virtually demanding that the Government must step in to sort out the threat of a major earth quake! When such a regrettable national mentality prevails, is it a surprise that due to the initial nepotism of the leaders who selfishly clung to their positions from the time of Independence on a platter until now, maneuvered themselves into office and made all possible efforts to retain it? Can we expect complete accountability similar to that prevailing in South Korea where its former President is now serving a prison sentence for her corrupt practices whilst in office?

The slide down the slope continues with only darkness pervading in the “tunnel with not even a distant light in sight”. In this context I quote the words of Justice Khanna of the Indian Supreme Court “experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government’s purposes are beneficent. The greatest danger lies in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but lacking in due deference to the rule of Law”. Hence, we can only ponder on the machinations of the selfish persons who monopolized the seats of power for the past 72 years. We can only dream of an “oyster making that mythical pearl” in the years ahead.