Whither Sri Lanka: or would we have to say Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa?

By an Old Connoisseur

The D-day is approaching rapidly. There is feverish activity on all fronts as a prelude to the 21^st of September 2024, the Presidential Election Day. Crowds are being recruited, palms are being oiled, jumpers are putting to shame even the crack Olympic Champions, the decibel levels of speakers at propaganda rallies are going up by the minute and accusations as well as counter-allegations are flying like pre-programmed arrows.

There seems to be so much at stake for the politicians but what about the ordinary citizens; the Pereras, Silvas and the Fernandos, not to mention the Senas, Palas and the Appuhamys, etc? These are the people who really matter in this equation, isn’t it? They form the denominator which should be the factor that should be used to assess all kinds of claims. This article is for the general populace of our land.

This country is for all Sri Lankans and certainly not only just for the miserable politicians. Some candidates bask in the glow of what they claim to have done and pulled the country out of the deepest possible mire while others put forward various plans and protocols to ensure that this thrice blessed and beautiful little Pearl of the Indian Ocean will have a future filled with milk and honey.

Some others pontificate that they will get hold of all the ill-gotten wealth from numerous “thakkadis” of our own Sri Lankan ilk, put the miscreants in jail and usher in a prosperous nation with that money. The entire country has become a crucible of varying contentions that would necessarily bring out the question as to whom could we believe.

Now then., that is where we need to look carefully at the past performances of all these worthies. The man at the helm now can claim some credit for the current economic performance of the country. We should give even the devil his dues. Yes, the man has managed to improve the social standards and eliminated shortages and queues. However, we are inclined to ask ‘At what cost?’ The cost of living has gone through the roof, and indirect and direct taxes have led to a situation where even the well-to-do have run into problems. Many people with fixed incomes have had to eternally worry about where the next meal for the family is coming from.

There is rampant malnutrition amongst not only the children but in the adults too. He says that he could not get the cooperation of the pohottuwa guys but all he had to do was to threaten them and say that he would dissolve the Parliament. He is rather autocratic, has some confirmed rotters in his entourage, and the man has even tried to cross swords with the judiciary, not once but quite a few times. Internationally, he wields quite a clout with most countries and for beggars like us, that is a plus point. Yet for all that he has quite a few skeletons in his cupboard a la Batalanda, etc. One does wonder as to what we would get by giving him another 5 years of the Executive Presidency. Your guess is as good as mine.

Then there is the Dasa character from the Dasa heritage. He seems to reign supreme in the SJB/SJS. Autocracy seems to be in his genes and he generally listens only to immediate family members., especially the one who has a ‘J’ in the name. He did run away when he was offered the headship of the country and he says that he could not have worked with the rogues of the flower bud lot. Once again, all he had to do was to threaten to dissolve Parliament and all of them would have toed the line and grovelled on the floor at his feet.

That is what Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore would have done. Yet for all that, the greatest problem is that this Dasa has now taken into his bosom all the rats that are abandoning another sinking ship. Like all rodents everywhere, these happen to be the absolute scum of the gutters. All kinds of miscreants have been given refuge in his perceived kingdom.

Many people are mad at him for that. The decibel level he uses when he pontificates at rallies is distinctly uncomfortable and even provokes the viewers to switch off their TVs. He has a reasonable set of acolytes around him but as to how much leeway he will be willing to give them, if and when he comes into a scenario of absolute power, is anybody’s guess.

There are the rathu sahodarayas led by AKD. They have loads of proposals to revive the country and admittedly, at least some of them, are quite reasonable and most attractive. However, they have several problems. One is that they seem to hate people with some money., even those who have made their money through honest means and hard work. However, their efforts to catch all the thieves and put them behind bars is most praiseworthy.

The populace will have no problems with that. But., and this is a BIG BUT., notions are flying around that if they come to power, private properties will be acquired, certain monetary investments beyond a certain value would be confiscated, some assets will be nationalised, etc.

This will be a worrying thing for people even contemplating giving their votes to AKD. There is also the story of the top man being used only as a front for the hard-core elements and trade union chaps to rule the roost. There is also their chequered past. This writer was a fledgling trainee public servant in 1971 and a high-ranking public servant in 1988 and 1989. He saw the atrocities committed by these sahodarayas. These were major mistakes they made in a quest for absolute power.

The young people and those who are entering the adult franchise for the first time are far too young to realise the gravity of these things., some of them not even being born during those troubled times. Many say that we should try the Sahodarayas out and give them a chance but then we need to look at countries like North Korea where people tried these socialist/communists out. In all these countries, where their people have employed the principle of “deela balamu” it has been an absolute disaster with no further proper elections and a complete destruction of democracy.

However, if these Sri Lankan brethren would be brave enough to come right out tomorrow and declare that they made terrible mistakes and blunders in the past and that those will not happen again and apologise to the populace, also say that the civil liberties of people will not be curtailed, and promise to put all the rogues in jail as well as look after the farmers, the workers, the down-trodden and the children, they will get my vote. For that matter, they will also get the votes of hundreds of thousands of others of Sri Lankan heritage.

That will be their trump card. THE SAHODARAYAS WILL THEN GET A LANDSLIDE VICTORY, even more than what GR managed to secure 5 long years ago. Of course, the people will hold the JVP totally responsible to honour their pledges. Over to you Harini A and Doctor Chappie in the JVP, you are probably the only two who will understand this…, and be able to convince the other Sahodarayas. So, over to you, to persuade them to play that trump card ASAP.

Readers will note that I have not mentioned anything about the other 36 contenders for the hallowed Executive Presidency of Sri Lanka. They, including the tycoon and the youngster from the flower bud party, will just only be ‘also-ran’ characters. There is no point in wasting time with them as none of them will even have a ghost of a chance.

It is not just the youngsters or those who have just got their franchise, who need to consider the content of this article. True, the younger generation has to opt for a system change. Even people of my vintage have an abiding duty to make an informed choice for the sake of our children and grandchildren. All of us need to think very deeply before we exercise our much-valued franchise.

Our decisions could be a harbinger of absolute disaster or a vista of an august future with visions of blissful opulence for this wonderful Motherland of ours. Five years ago, people voted for Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour, only to find that it was a monumental mistake. Let us contemplate ever so carefully and vote wisely for the sake of the country.