Presidents Premadasa and Wijetunga – some personal anecdotes

by G.A.D.Sirimal, Retd. SLAS

Chandra Wickremasinghe’s interesting piece on Presidents Premadasa and Wijetunga last Sunday (Oct. 10) nudged my memory about my own encounters with these two personalities when I worked with/for them. So here goes:

True, President Premadasa was certainly not easy to please or satisfy and his officers managed to complete work he wanted done in whatever manner possible to avoid unpleasant repercussions. It was said that Mr. Premadasa, as Prime Minister, had requested the then Secretary to the Treasury (name withheld), a former Civil Servant who was brought back to service by President JRJ to provide funds for his Janasaviya project. The Secretary had said he cannot accommodate such a large sum in the Budget; Premadasa had responded saying he would find another person who could.

The upshot was that another Secretary to the Treasury, who also chaired the Development Secretaries meeting which approves or rejects proposals for/by ministries, was the result. This senior (I’d rather not name him too) sometimes said, “Find the funds, this is a big man’s requirement.”

President Premadasa as Prime Minister started taking the government to the people, his Mobile Secretariat, covering outlying areas/villages. I was appointed from the Ministry for Power and Energy to handle these mobile offices, meet villagers and settle requirements on the spot. This necessitated our going to the place where the mobile office was to be held (often a school), and stay at an area resident’s home (invariably an influential UNP supporter). The day before the program began, we had to arrange desks and chairs to make the venue look like a government office.

The first day I set up the office, some of the PM’s staff turned up to check whether everything was in order. One of them asked me why no portrait of the PM was not on display. I said I didn’t have one and it wasn’t a requirement. He said the PM is very particular about this and brought me a framed portrait to be displayed behind my desk. The next day I found that a clerk who was present when the PM’s people visited had garlanded the portrait. PM Premadasa used to visit every office set up for this mobile project when an oath of service (prathigna) was taken to start off proceedings. When the PM stepped into my office and I greeted him, I noticed him looking smilingly at his own portrait. These mobile events closed with an announcement where the next one would be held giving us time to prepare; and I would start contacting the Divisional Manager of the area to discuss what should or could be done and make necessary arrangements.

There was an interesting episode when a Mobile Office was to be held in Matugama. I discussed plans with the Divisional Manager South of the CEB and he came up with a bright idea. He said he will be completing four rural electrification schemes and we could on that day get PM Premadasa to declare them open by switching on the lights in a newly electrified home. He said he would request some householders, whose homes were close to the distribution line (and not involve planting a new electric post), to wire their houses and on payment of the estimated cost at a bank, a connection will be given the same day.

I contacted my friend Jehan Cassim, then Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon, and asked him how best he could help. He said arrangement could be made to receive payments at the Mobile Bank which will be on site. This was to be kept a secret to give a surprise to the neighbourhood. The day arrived, the morning oath was taken and we went back to the office to start work meeting people. I sent a message to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to announce what we had planned, and requested that the PM be informed. As this announcement was made over the public address system, all of us were surprised when PM came to my mobile office, congratulated me and said ‘That’s the way government servants should work’.

There was a large gathering and loud applause when the lights were switched on by the PM who entered one of the houses to do the honours. The owner’s wife offered a sheaf of betel and worshipped him. I could see the satisfaction and happiness in his smiling face.

About three days later, an official from the PM’s secretariat handling the Mobile Office project met me and asked whether I would join the Secretariat. I declined the offer on the advice of my friend Jehan Cassim (Chairman BOC) who told me, ‘Siri, if you accept it, then forget your domestic obligations as he will call you at any time of the day or night and assign tasks. He will provide you with a car and a driver and a flat at Elvitigala Mawata if needed.” He then related an incident when Mr. Premadasa had summoned him by phone at 2 a.m requesting his immediate presence and he had to rush to his car doing up his buttons to make it on time. My excuse for declining the offer was that I had two sons who I take to school every morning and also that I was happy working at the Ministry for Power and Energy.

As President, Premadasa commenced his Gam Udava Programme, all Ministries, Departments and State agencies were required to display what they did at each festival. When this began, we received a request for a generator to provide electricity at the Gam Udava grounds. The CEB being a commercial operation, we said that at least the cost be met. This was not to the liking of the President and his staff. However, by some means, they had contacted the Workshop Engineer of the CEB and got generators without approval.

When I visited the Gam Udava site at Buttala, I saw them being operated by CEB employees. Without making a fuss, on my return I inquired about it from the General Manager who smilingly said ‘We know when to keep a blind eye’. The story does not end there, when Mr. Premadasa was elected President he did a cabinet reshuffle and Mr. P.Dayaratne, who was our Minister for Power and Energy was assigned Ministry for Mahaweli Development. Lo and behold! The Workshop Engineer was appointed Chairman CEB!

D.B.Wijetunga

The first time I met D.B.Wijetunga, was during my stint in the Railway Department, then attached to the District Engineer’s office at Dematagoda, in the early 1950s. As I remember, he came into my office, introduced himself as Private Secretary to Mr. A.Ratnayaka, a cabinet minister and wanted a personal favour. He said he had paid for some old railway sleepers and whether it was possible to have them transported to a point close to Pilimatalawa. The way he made his request without throwing his weight made me want to help and I gave him a note to Mr. Costa, the Foreman Platelayer, requesting him to oblige as I knew there was re-sleepering to be done in that area.

About three weeks later, Mr. Wijetunga came all the way to Dematagoda to thank me. Since then, I occasionally saw him in the Fort in his usual gray tussore suit. Once I was going home to Nawalapitiya, and waiting for the train at the Fort Station when he saw me and asked where I was going. When I said to my home at Nawalapitiya, he smiled and said ‘You are also an upcountry person’. When the train arrived, I got into a second-class compartment while he traveled third-class. He waved to me when he passed my carriage when he detrained at Kadugannawa.

Years passed and he was elected UNP MP for Udunuwara in 1965, having lost Kadugannawa in 1956. I was working for the PWD handling improvements to minor roads and other road projects. One day he came to my office for some business and recognizing me, remembering the favour I had once done him long ago, whether I was once in the Railways. He had now come to see whether estimates sent by PWD Executive Engineer Kegalle have been approved. On that occasion he told me how he followed-up all matters pertaining to his electorate by visiting the relevant offices and meeting officers to expedite work. Surprisingly, he lost the next election by a small margin but never failed to follow-up work he had started in the electorate he represented.

When I was transferred to the Ministry of Mahaweli Development, the Ministry of Highways was scrapped and brought under the Mahaweli Ministry leaving the Department of Highways to function as it was. He used to visit me there in connection with electorate work and the talk went round that I was a UNPer. I will not relate the consequences of that but only say I was transferred back to Department of Highways and after about one year brought back.

Then when the Sirima Bandaranaike government was defeated at the next election, Wijetunga was once again elected as MP for Udunuwara; the Mahaweli Ministry was disbanded and Ministry for Power, Energy and Highways was formed. At a conference chaired by Wijetunga, where the separation of departments was discussed, he asked me what Ministry I propose to work at. When I said Ministry for Mahaweli, he said “You had been a Highways man, so why do you choose Mahaweli’. Before I could reply, he turned to the Secretary, James H Lanerolle and said ” James, take him to my Ministry”, much to my embarrassment. I thought the Secretary may think I would be a tale carrier to the Minister. However my fears were allayed in the manner Mr. Lanerolle treated me and promoted me take on added responsibilities.

Later Wijetunga was assigned the portfolio of Posts and Telecommunication, by President JRJ.

I recall another instance of his simplicity when he was Finance Minister with an office at the Old Secretariat. I was waiting with several others for the lift to go up to the second floor. The liftman didn’t allow us to get in as Minister Wijetunga was approaching, he saw me and the others and beckoned us to get in.

He was a simple man whatever position he held and trusted his officials some of whom took advantage of his nature. He had a faithful Co-ordinating Secretary, Wilson who was also a friend of mine. One day an engineer -friend Arulambalam who fled the country during LTTE uprising and was in England for over ten years came back after the war and found the telephone at his house on Station Road, Wellawatte, disconnected. He contacted me to help get it reconnected. I took him to Wijetunga who was then the Minister for Post and Telecommunication. When I introduced Arulambalam as an engineer who worked in the Railways, to our surprise he said ‘ Why I know him. What’s your problem?’. When he was told the reason for our visit, he instructed Wilson to get all the particulars and telephone the Chief Telecommunication Engineer to attend to the matter immediately. Walking out of the building my friend Arulambalam said that this was the first time he had met Wijetunga “and how could he say he knows me.” I laughed and said he is a very simple man, and that is a ‘politrick’ of politicians. On my way back home after office that evening, I dropped in at Arulambalam’s to see the re-connection had been done by 3 pm that day.

Once when I was travelling from Kandy to Colombo with my niece, I made an unannounced call at Prime Minister Wijetunga’s residence at Pilimatalawa. I was asked whether I had an appointment and when I replied ‘No,’ identified myself and asked at least to send a message to the PM saying I was there to meet him, this was done with much reluctance. To the amazement of the security officer, the PM asked him send me in while others waited. He was happy to see me, ordered tea and we had a pleasant chat. In the course of this conversation, referring to various sorts of government servants, he said that there are efficient and hard working officials, but there were others like the Mara trees in the jungle that grow huge but are of no use at all! My niece still chuckles over this remark.

Once I asked him why he did not contest the Presidential Election at the end of his period serving the balance term of President Premadasa. He said Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted him to step down but if he had contested, he had a better chance than Ranil.

I remember with gratitude that he once willingly helped get my son into DS Senanayake College. I told him that living in Boralesgamuwa, I found it difficult to get my son into a Colombo school. He promptly rang Principal R.I.T.Alles, and got the boy in. Such humble, simple and lovable, approachable people in high positions are hard to find.

The writer retired as an Asst. Secy. to

the Ministry of Power and Energy