5th Column

My dear Rajitha,
I thought I must write to you because you are in the news once again. I know that being a politician, you must be thinking that any publicity is good publicity but I am not so sure about that, especially when other members of your family are also involved and you are trying to do battle with doctors.

Rajitha, there was a time when you were admired for your courage in leaving Mahinda maama’s cabinet, along with Maithri. At that time, you conveyed the impression that you sincerely wanted to end the corruption that was rampant at the time. It was also thought that you were taking a huge risk.

Maithri then surprised everyone by winning the election and you were rewarded for your loyalty. You were given a high profile ministry and entrusted with looking after the health of the nation. No one saw anything odd about that because, being a dental surgeon, you too belonged to the same sector.

Not only were you appointed as Minister of Health, you were also appointed as Cabinet spokesman. We have had a few misfits as Cabinet spokesmen recently but we have never had someone who spoke his mind so freely as you, giving opinions about everything — some of which you knew nothing about.

You made a habit of predicting who would be arrested next or what major policy would be adopted by the government. Sadly, most of those predictions turned out to be wrong, so much so that it came to a stage where people began to say something wouldn’t happen — just because you had said it would!

I suppose you cannot become Minister of Health in this country without battling the doctors’ trade union. If there was anyone who could put them in their place, we would have thought it was you because you had also served as the secretary of the dentists’ trade union for about one a half decades.

What we are seeing now though is a constant war of words between the doctors’ trade union and you. They have honoured you with the title of being the most unsuccessful minister of health in the country although they too tend to say that about every minister of health that they have had to deal with.

Don’t get me wrong, Rajitha. I am not a great fan of this trade union either. They think that they — and not Maithri- run the country. They launch strikes at the drop of a hat, inconveniencing thousands of people. For some time now, they have been behaving as if their word is the law in the health sector.

I am confused about some of their policies too. They are opposed to private medical education in this country with a vengeance. They try to dictate terms to the government on how it should handle that issue, or threaten to stage a strike — even when the matter has been taken before the courts of law.

What is baffling is that these doctors see nothing wrong with private practice, although they are against private medical education and will go to extreme lengths to prevent their fellow Sri Lankans getting a medical degree from a private medical school. They want to have the cake and eat it too!

But, just when we thought there should be a strong minister of health to deal with these chaps and that you were probably the best man for the job, instead of hearing from you we hear from your son. He seems to think that the doctors’ trade union is the devil incarnate and calls them names in public.

The young man’s name means ‘eloquent’ but whoever named him got it horribly wrong. When he speaks in public these days he is anything but eloquent and reminds me of Wimal sahodaraya, beard and all. Wimal provides good entertainment but few people like him. That could happen to junior too.

Because your spouse is also involved in the same sector, it now seems that this dispute has become a battle between the doctors’ trade union and your family. Meanwhile, thousands of patients — who probably don’t know who the minister of health is or what the doctors’ trade union is — are suffering.

I don’t think this is a satisfactory state of affairs — and it is as inappropriate as the doctors’ trade union calling for your resignation. Remember, Rajitha, you left Mahinda maama’s Cabinet complaining about nepotism. Surely, what is bad for the Rajapaksas cannot then be good for the Senaratnes?

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS: Being a dentist, you make a living by opening other peoples’ mouths but much of that good work is lost when you open your own. They say that sometimes silence is golden and that is something you should try to live by — and right now, it would do no harm to convey that to your offspring too.