Sudath Gunasekara 15. 06. 2017
In this country you have neither Monarchy, Aristocracy, dictatorship, plutocracy, oligarchy representative democracy, or any other conceivable form of Government.
Then what shall we call it if not total anarchy?
All of you have heard about the 7 wonders of the ancient world. But I do not think you have heard anyone talking about this ‘political Wonder in the World.’ Perhaps it could be the only one of its kind in the modern world. You may definitely know where it exists on this planet earth. I take the liberty to call it ‘the Political Wonder of the World of all times’ as I have not read or heard of such a specimen either in the ancient or the modern world. I am sure you all must have heard about this country at least once in life time.
If you have not I give the details of that country not certainly for the serene joy and emotion of the pious as the Mahawmsa author said at the end of each chapter of the Great Epic but for the deep sorrow and lamentation by a whole nation for their ignorance of what their own government is doing or not doing or for tolerating such a corrupt and appalling political system implanted on their heads by a foreign invaders and their local agents. This country is an Island situated more or less right at the center of the earth and named after that notion by the ancient oriental rishis. It is a little over 25,000 square miles in area and has a population of about 22 million. It was a glorious nation that mesmerized the whole ancient world and stood in far with civilizations like roman, Egyptian and Chinese for 2500 years and that was the envy of the then known civilized world. Its Kings were one with the people and religion and they regarded and treated the subjects like their own children
In the ancient times it was invaded and destroyed frequently by a neighboring giant country and in modern times by the occidental barbarians for four and half centuries. But none could destroy it fully. Nevertheless they were able to leave behind a sad legacy of communal and religious confusion, chaos and disorder as they left the shores of this Island after plundering a major part of its invaluable cultural treasures and planting their own political, administrative and legal system. They also left behind millions of slaves brought by them to work on their industries and a generation of unpatriotic urban native pukka sahibs who were taught and trained to think, eat, dress and behave like their colonial masters. This generation is fully uprooted and alienated from the native customs, ethos and values. Through these tentacles the colonial masters control this Island even today.
This wonderful country has a Parliament of 225 MPP and a Cabinet of nearly 112 Ministers in addition to 45 Ministers at the provincial level. Thus it is the only country on earth that has 157 Ministers. None of these politicians represent the people. There are electorates but these MPPP don’t represent them They are selected by the party hierarchy in the capital and imposed on the people. Party leader can nominate any one from any part of the country. The people have no option but to elect him or her under the prevailing electoral system. As such representative democracy is a big joke and a mockery in this land. Voters have no choice but to vote the man or woman nominated by the party. He doesn’t live within his electorate. He has no interest there either. Once elected, he lives in the capital enjoying the luxuries of his new life, a dream he never must have dreamt for his qualifications and attainments. For his survival in office he has only to give his vote in support of his party. No educational or any other qualifications are necessary for one to get nominated or elected to this high office.
Once they get elected they never attend to the needs of the people. They only attend to their own affairs and well fare while keeping the party boss happy and safe. These politicians are highly paid. An ordinary MP gets a take home salary of that of a supreme court judge in addition to free official bungalows with servants, free water, electricity and telephone, faxes and computers almost free, five star meals in Parliament, free transport, any number of officials vehicles, duty free and salable vehicle permits of nearly 62,500 US $ every five years and innumerable other fat perks. At the end of 5 years they get a full pension making their wives also pensionable whether they have attained 55 or not. The losses on duty free permits is said to be amounting to over 40 billion rupees a year. This was revealed in the content of the first fiscal policy statement made in Parliament on November 20, 2015 by the Finance Minister.
For purpose of brevity and to make it easy for readers to grasp it at a glance, I give below the salient features of this unique and wonderful political system of this country.
In this wonderland
1There are two heads of Government De jure Executive President and a de facto executive Prime Minister. where the tail wags the dog instead of the dog waging it
2 The President who is supposed to be the Head of the State, the head of the Executive and of the Government and the Commander -in- chief of the Armed Forces has no control of the Government and the Armed Forces but in practice he behaves like a silent shareholder of a company
3 The Prime minister acts, talks and behaves the de-facto Executive of the Government and the President does not take any policy decision without getting permission from the PM
4 The Government violates the Constitution of the country at random with impunity and during the 2 year period in power it has violated the constitution of the country at least 15 times. It started with the appointment of the Prime Minster on Ja 9th 2015, sacking the CJ, appointing the Leader of the Opposition, allowing to sing the National Anthem in two languages, appointing candidate rejected by the people at elections as Ministers and MPP and violating their own 19th Amendment that laid down the maximum number of Ministries number at 30, by increasing it to nearly 112.
5 The naming of the Ministries has no scientific or rational basis or relevance to meaningful classification of functions and even after 2 years in office the ministries are not properly assigned their subjects either. Few glaring examples are Higher Education and High ways, Foreign Affairs and Lotteries, Justice and Buddha Sasana
6 There are many types of funny Ministers viz Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers and State ministers (as if others are not), Special services Ministers and even Ministers without portfolios on the top of that, just to make them Ministers and to keep them happy to guarantee the majority in Parliament.
7 Ministers continue to fight like cock and bulls within the Cabinet and outside; they fight for allocation or not allocation of functions, fight for offices and rooms, varying facilities, vehicles and overlapping and many a flimsy issues that has no relevance to good governance.
8 Ministers also openly fight on party differences; challenging the other’s saying they will form their own government after the next election as a result there is no collective responsibility either in the Cabinet or the Government group
9 The incumbent President who left his party to contest as a Common candidate against his own leader with the support of the main opposition subsequently hijacked Presidency and also half of the MPP of the former bosses Party and a large number of defeated candidates through the magi wand called the National list and some of them were even made Ministers. The President and the PM are engaged in a marathon race in globetrotting, leaving aside the promised good Governance, one leaving as soon as the other returns more or less by the next plane, to meet (as they say) a world leader or to attend some insignificant meeting and taking photographs with them sometimes only handshaking ( without gloves), singing bilateral agreements and MOUs without getting the approval of the people who voted them in to power as if both of them are competing to win a medal
10 For example the Finance Minister of its Government has been awarded the Best Finance minister’s award recently, thou he has been sacked on his return
11 Defeated candidates are appointed as MPP and Ministers, to maintain the majority in Parliament through the National list, thereby making universal franchise a big joke and a mockery.
12 Some Minister are also appointed only to accompany the PM or the President on their foreign sojourns and make statements once in a way to defend the leaders shortfalls.
13 According to the politicians in this country there are many nations where as all other countries in the world having only one nation. But here even if there is only one man from a different community he is regarded as a nation. Both the President and the Prime Minister always refers to many nations in their speeches. Even University professors of history, archaeology and Sinhalese of Universities often talk of many nations in this country. One can imagine the depth to which this notion has got settled down when you hear of a theory of 24 nations present in this country invented by a Television commentator some time back in front of the Temple of the Tooth
14 Both Heads of State continue to woo and pacify the minorities at the expense of the majority community who form the Bhoomiputras of the country for the past 2600 years.
15 Similarly while all countries in the world have only one law here we have at least 4 laws, each community having one law for it, The strangest thing is the invader and illicit immigrant minorities enjoy their own laws at the discrimination of the Majority native community and the Natives are governed by a foreign Law called Roman Dutch Law thus disabling the only of their native laws and customs.
16 For the past two years the government has not done anything for the benefit of the country and the only thing it has been doing is to harass a national hero who has liberated the country by defeating a 30 year brutal terrorist minority outfit that was regarded as undefeatable by all world powers.
17 The Public and Judicial Services in this country are politicized beyond recovery. The Public Service is only public to the extent that the employees are paid by the public. It has got reduced to a mere domestic service of the political party in power. Public Servant here are also not told to treat the people as their masters. As a result the general public is at the mercy of both the politicians and the public servants.
18 All government institutions and corporations are run at a loss. Some of them running into billions, Air Lanka is the best example. All government institutions are packed with political appointees with no consideration to economic carder requirements. Often these political appointees have no qualifications to do the job. If you make a cost benefit analysis the Parliament is the biggest loss making institution in the country.
19 1.2 million poor women are exported as domestic servants to Middle East and other countries and the government boast of their remittance as the biggest foreign exchange component
20 Besides voting at election time the voters have no say in the government. They also have no power to recall their representatives either
21 All elections are postponed for political expediency by the Government in power, with local Government elections postponed for two years
22 The only service all politicians from top to bottom do is only attending functions, meetings, weddings, school sport meets and prize giving’s, funerals, parties etc. They look after their welfare only; they don’t do any service to the people who voted them; they only talk no work promises are meant to be broken only.
23 From President to VC member all are afraid of the minorities, none think of the majority. They all go after minority vote like the proverbial fox that went after the goat hopping what is dangling behind will fall at any moment and finally perished.
24 Beside accusing the previous President and taking his family members and supporters to the FCID various Commissions and courts without any finding up to date of their robbing or any other corruption etc the only thing the Government of this wonderland did for the 2 years since they were voted in in 2015 is blaming MR and his team and talking only. In short there is no Government in this wonderland at all at present. It is total anarchy each Minister and politician misuse the power in their hand and they are unto themselves. The President has no control over his cabinet or MPP. Robbing is rampant all over Its Central Bank was robbed of billions with the connivance of the Prime Minister by his fries who is not even a citizen of this country. In robbing in this country the only difference is in scale. Bigger the position one holds in this wonderland bigger the misuse of power and misappropriation of public funds. The small sprats get caught but the whales never
25 This is how governance in this ‘Political Wonder Land of the world’ headed by a no-executive Executive President, an Executive Prime Minister without executive power vested in him by the Constitution, 157 Ministers, 9 Governors, a Parliament and 9 Provincial Councils and 9 Provincial Chief Ministers, 12,50,000 public servants and innumerable public institutions called Ministries, Departments, Corporations, Authorities and Boards maintained at public expense is done.
Today 20,000,000 people of this land counting stars in the high heavens consider political bungling since 1948 as the root cause of this appalling and pathetic situation in this land of the ‘Political Wonder in the World’
Now I call upon you to name this country called ‘The political Wonder land of the World’?