Letters to the Editor
View(s):Educated young leaders, the need of the hour
I have lived in this country as a medical professional for nearly 70 years and have seen tragedies that have taken place from colonial times upto the time we received Independence in 1948 and what has taken place after that with “old cronies” in power.
We faced a terrible tragedy during the past fortnight due to the President, carrying out unconstitutional and illegal acts, which I have not heard of or seen happening in any other democratic country in the world.
He has betrayed three key persons over the past few years. Firstly he betrayed the SLFP when he left in November 2014 after a meal of hoppers. Next he betrayed Ven. Sobitha Thera, who was instrumental in making him the President of Sri Lanka in January 2015. The President promised, at his funeral three years ago, that he would carry out his wishes for the country by abolishing the Executive Presidency. Thirdly, he betrayed the UNP, which made him the President with 6.2 million votes, without ever having been the Prime Minister of the country.
All this has taken place in a matter of weeks, from October 26, during which time he sacked the Prime Minister of the country and appointed another. Within a span of two weeks, he dissolved Parliament, while in the process of appointing ministers and deputies to ministries in the new Cabinet.
I am sure the world will be laughing at the present impasse that has tragically befallen this paradise island.
It is high time that youth leaders come to the forefront. There are in 12 countries of the world currently led by young leaders, among them Emmanuel Macron of France (40 years), Justin Trudeau of Canada (46), Jacinda Alvern (38), Sebastian Kurz of Austria (32), Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (38) of Bhutan, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (38) of Qatar, Carlos Alvarado Quesada (38) of Costa Rica and of course, the highly controversial North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who is 35.
By and large, the young leaders are doing a wonderful job in those countries; they are all very educated and not corrupt.
Although more than 40% of the voting population in Sri Lanka is less than 40 years of age, it is pathetic that they are not represented by sufficient young Parliamentarians.
I’m quite certain this country has enough and more highly educated young leaders who are professionals, who certainly can take over the reins of this beautiful country, which was ranked the No. 1 tourist destination in the world by ‘Lonely Planet.’
Unfortunately, in this country there is no minimum qualification required to be a Parliamentarian, unlike other categories of professionals in this country. No wonder, 1/3 of the Parliamentarians do not have at least the very basic minimum qualification which is the Ordinary Level pass.
I certainly hope that the younger generation of this country will rise up to appoint just and uncorrupt young leaders to man this sinking ship and guide it safely to port.
Prof Wilfred Perera Via email
Look into President’s land law revelations
The President’s speech revealed the existence of a “Corridor of Deceit” to pass important Statutes surreptitiously in spite of protests by the President and the Cabinet.
Every apolitical citizen in this country should be alarmed at the revelation made by the President regarding the capricious manner followed by a few elected members of Parliament to make laws, through this path to deal with the capital assets of our country, mainly land.
In his speech to the nation on October 26, 2018, the President said, “Emergency Cabinet papers were presented to award tenders and massive construction awards were given despite objections at the Cabinet. One such example is the Kandy Highway project. Another is the Land Ordinance Special Act, which was presented to Cabinet last week. Then there was the paper on establishing a Land Bank. I lodged strong protests and postponed those Cabinet papers. Majority of Cabinet Ministers were against these projects.
“If the last week’s Land Ordinance Special Act was passed by the Cabinet and then by Parliament, all the lands of our Motherland could be bought outright by foreigners without any difficulty. All the Agricultural settlements established by Honourable leaders like D S Senanayake, Bandaranaike and Gamini Dissanayake will be destroyed. This bill presented under the political and economic vision of Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe adversely affects the land rights of the country and must be totally blocked by us.”
This is a dreadful disclosure. Sri Lanka has an abundance of professional organisations such as the Organization of Professional Associations, Bar Association, Law Society and many more which should have followed up when such situations were developing and initiated timely action to prevent them. I hope they are now alerted to study the statutes that the President mentioned, especially the Port City Act, Act to Grant Absolute Title to State Land and the Act to provide for the State Land Bank.
I had read in the newspapers that the statues relating to land have been drafted by teams of foreigners who were engaged on excessive fee structures. The public is not consulted. See Indian Express
http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2016/aug/13/English-laws-to-Apply-to-Colombo-Port-City-Says-Lankan-PM-1508855.html
English-laws-to-Apply-to-Colombo-Port-City-Says-Lankan-PM- which is being built with Chinese funds and expertise, . Indian Express 13.8 2016 and the Sunday Times Sri Lanka
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170827/business-times/constitutional-amendment-required-for-port-city-laws-256014.html
It was reported that Hong Kong-based consultancy Baker McKenzie is to draft new laws on various sectors including the CIFC, Colombo International Financial City. A corporate and tax law expert had told the Business Times that while amending the Constitution is inevitable in this scenario, changing the Constitution won’t be an easy exercise.
Western agencies and corporations compile and draft policies opening up the Sri Lankan economy to outside domination. According to newspapers, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US Government body has a project unit established in the PM’s office to provide expertise to draft statutes and policy for the Government
I am appalled to realize that the now existing “Corridor of Deceit” is a smooth vehicle that can easily pass through Cabinet, Attorney General and the Legal Draftsman to enact statutes, without the knowledge of the people of this country! Where are these statutes? Can we get them? Should we not study them? Over to the previously mentioned professional organisations of Sri Lanka.
Land is the invaluable capital asset of any country to be guarded jealously to sustain the sovereignty of the country. Will the existing procedures now in place change with the changing of the PM?
Bandula Liyanage Via email
Spare a thought for those of us lost in high-flown Sinhala
I am first and foremost a citizen of Sri Lanka, then a Muslim who can speak colloquial Sinhala but finds it difficult to understand what one may call ‘high Sinhala’ with the result that much of the newscasts on our TV channels are beyond comprehension unless a brief translation is made auditorily or in the form of subtitles.
May I kindly appeal to the authorities in charge of our television channels to help out and not keep those like me in the dark, that would be unfair in an enlightened democracy like ours. I shall be most grateful myself and very grateful on behalf of those others who are in the same predicament as I am, especially when we would like to follow the news in times of crisis as we are in today.
Hussain Saibo Via email