SL should have embraced national unity according to vision of first PM D.S. Senanayake
Sri Lanka should have adhered to the vision of the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, D.S. Senanayake who stressed on national unity and living together as one Sri Lankan nation, Parliamentary Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has said.
Speaking as Chief Guest at the Felicitation Ceremony for National Honour Awards 2017 organised by the National Chamber of Commerce (NCC) held last week in Colombo, he said “The lead was given by Mr. D.S. Senanayake, our first prime minister, though he did not have a PhD or nor any degree, in his first speech after Sri Lanka gained Independence, he talked about the national unity and for a Sri Lankan identity together as a Sri Lankan nation and it is very important today”.
Pointing out that a person’s religion and race is an accident of birth, reminiscing on the past experiences of national unity, Mr. Jayasuriya remarked that there was a time that Tamil cricketers played for the Sinhalese Sports Club and Sinhalese cricketers played for Tamil Union and in this nation that has been battered by 30 years of ethnic conflict, it is important that the country builds national unity There are some attempts to bring about racial disorder in the country once again, which is very sad, but Mr. Jayasuriya warned that the government is taking a serious note of this fact and to quell these attempts, as they did not want to see the bloodshed again. In creating this unity and harmony he emphasized that the NCC has a great role to play.
“So, I am sure, your membership would realise the value of this and in the development of this country your president and the members of this Chamber has a great role to play,” he added.
Speaking of the great achievements NCC has gained over the years as even some of its members are dominating the overseas market, he indicated that the policy of the government is for private sector growth and some of these giants in business have been honoured by President Maithripala Sirisena.
He said that the country has received GSP+ as the government is on the right track. His advice for the young people who take up business is that they have to not only serve the 21 million people of this country, but also to go overseas to serve the global village – the entire world as one market. But, he conceded that the export market today is declining.
“Therefore, it is our duty to help the government to achieve this end. I remember in the 1990s we looked at the export led growth and the result was that the then President (R.) Premadasa wanted to have an exhibition for trade promotion and it was in 1992. It was the first time that a trade exhibition was organized here. He wanted 1001 people to come. He was asked why 1001. He said another president pf a country had 1000 visitors and he (Premadasa) wanted one person more and it was a very successful exhibition.
There were over 5,800 visitors and the largest influx of foreigners. During that time Sri Lanka had a super growth in exports.”
He said that during President Premadasa’s time in the 1990s exports were thriving and except for wristwatches, every other thing was manufactured in Sri Lanka and at that time the First Lady also wore a saree woven in Sri Lanka.
The NCC felicitated nine of its past members who were bestowed with the country’s highest honours (Deshamanya and Vidya Jyothi). They are: Abbas Akbarally, Chairman Akbar Brothers; Micky P. Wickramasinghe, Group Chairman, Ceylon Biscuits Ltd;Â D. Eassuwaren, Chairman, Eswaran Brothers; W.K. Wegapitiya, Chairman, Laugfs Holdings Ltd; Capt. M. G. Kularatne, Chairman/Managing Director, MAGA Engineering Pvt Ltd; Dr. Victor Hettigoda, Chairman, Hettigoda Group; Tilak de Zoysa, Chairman , Supervisory Board to the Al-Fattaim Group of Companies in Sri Lanka; Prof. Lal Chandrasena, Director/General Manager, Nawaloka Hospitals Ltd and Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of Parliament.
Sujeeve Samaraweera, President, NCC in his opening remarks, stressed that business could be the best vehicle to bring in unity, harmony and reconciliation to the country, pointing out that when doing business, there are instances of different communities, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims with a common goal of achieving business success.
The other matter, he stressed was the lack of entrepreneurship, especially among the young people. To remedy this ailment, he said that the NCC has set up a ‘Youth Business Council’ where children of business people were made members and it is progressing well, he indicated.