It gives me great pleasure to write a few words about a gentleman I had the pleasure of serving when he adorned the highest seat of Parliament, as Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
The late Al Haj Bakeer Markar was a true Sri Lankan in all respects, serving the masses with love and dedication. He started his political career as a member of the Beruwela Urban Council, implementing various programmes for the upliftment of the community. He was committed to serving the Sinhala and Muslim communities equally. He was a humble, kind-hearted and deeply religious leader who wanted to do his utmost for the people. He was truly a people’s representative.
Al Haj Bakeer Markar entered Parliament in 1960, having won the Beruwela electorate. He was elected to Parliament for a second time in 1965, and became a Member of Parliament in 1977, when the UNP Government enjoyed a landslide victory. On this occasion, Al Haj Bakeer Markar was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker, and became Speaker when the late Anandatissa de Alwis relinquished his post to take up a ministerial post in the government under the late J. R. Jayewardene.
I got to work closely with Mr. Bakeer Markar when I was in my early twenties, when he personally entrusted various duties to me. It was a unique privilege to work for the Speaker, who was also a great humanist and gentleman par excellence. As a politician, his one goal was to serve the country with sincerity and to the best of his ability. He attended to his duties with a deep sense of responsibility and commitment.
His fine qualities were an inspiration to all those who worked under him. His simplicity and down-to-earth approach endeared him to many. A genial politician, he won the hearts of people from all walks of life. I also worked closely with him when he was chairman of the Committee of Public Petitions and I was head of the relevant secretariat at the time. As chairman, the late Al Haj Bakeer Markar ensured that the petitioners who came before the committee seeking redress were given justice. He upheld values and treated rules and regulations with the utmost respect. He believed that justice delayed is justice denied. The Petitions Secretariat at the time earned everyone’s respect and appreciation.
When I think of the late Al Haj Bakeer Markar, I am reminded of the words by Rudyard Kipling: “If you can walk with Kings and Queens and not lose the common touch”. Mr. Bakeer Markar was a shining example of someone who did not lose the common touch. He moved with the masses with admirable humility. This quality stood him in good stead as a politician. He was much loved by all communities.
He served the Supreme Legislature for 16 years, and was Speaker for more than five years, and a Minister for another five years.
The late Al Haj Bakeer Markar was fluent in all three languages. He associated with people of all classes, religions and races, and moved easily with both rich and poor, educated and uneducated. I have seen him confer with heads of states. He made sure the staff under him enjoyed benefits they were entitled to.
His simplicity, sincerity and affectionate ways endeared him to all who came in contact with him.
I continued to associate with him closely, even after he had left politics, having completed a term as Governor of the Southern Provincial Council.
We enjoyed his generous hospitality whenever we visited him at his home in Beruwela. He insisted that I, a citizen from down south, dropped by at his residence on my way home, if time permitted. We would discuss a variety of subjects, including his efforts to improve the quality of staff at Parliament. I respected the late Al Haj Bakeer Markar in the same way I respected my father.
He may have had his enemies, but he bore no ill-will to anyone. He was full of humour, and enjoyed helping people. His benevolence had no limits.
He was a true party man. He always said he was proud to be a UNPer. He stood firm, whatever the odds against him.
His eldest son, Al Haj Imtiyaz Bakeer Markar, the former Minister of Mass Communication, is following in the noble steps of his legendary father. He will no doubt fill the immense vacuum created by the late Al Haj Bakeer Markar.
Lacille de Silva,
Director (Administration), Parliament of Sri Lanka
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