Sunday Times 2
Wishing You a Very Wishful New Year
Twenty-Nineteen was ‘The Most Promising Year’ in Lanka’s political history with Sajith Premadasa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa bidding furiously against each other like at an auction sale.
Rajapaksa won for other reasons and not for the stupendous promises made, some of his ardent supporters say, but, on no account, can he dismiss the promises made like some individuals do on the basis that the end of the year is the expiry date for promises and pledges made. He has not attempted to do so. The challenge before him is super colossal with a billion-dollar (or is it trillion- dollar) debt to be paid back and revenue and export incomes he gets right now being just cadju nuts.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa needs a magician like Gogia Pasha to overcome this crisis and has evidently chosen his trusted ‘Mahinda Aiya’ for the task by bestowing on him not only the premiership but also seven portfolios — Finance, Economic Affairs, Policy Development, Water Supplies, Urban Development, Housing, Cultural Affairs and the Buddha Sassana. Mahinda Rajapaksa, like Hercules, has seven labours to perform. ‘Loku Aiya’, Chamal Rajapaksa has three key portfolios: Mahaveli Development, Agriculture and Trade. He has also been sworn in as State Minister of Defence since a constitutional Amendment, stipulates that the president cannot hold a cabinet portfolio.
Thus the three Rajapaksa brothers hold the posts of President, prime minister and ten ministries including the Defence . This was predicted by most political analysts. It holds the three Rajapaksa brothers—Rajapaksa, Rajapaksa and Rajapaksa, the 3 Rs — accountable for the successes and also failures in the governance of Sri Lanka, as what happened in the 2015 presidential elections.
The resounding victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa has enabled the Rajapaksa supporters to contend that they have received a mandate of the people to hold these posts. Nonetheless, this new political hierarchy is only an interim measure and much will be dependent on the success of the SLPP (Pohottuwa Party) at the parliamentary elections scheduled to be held next year. If the Pohottuuwa (flower bud) fails to blossom out as it did last November, much of its attraction and fragrance is bound to wither away. If the Pohottuwa succeeds it will bloom over the years and not fade away as flower buds usually do.
Rajapaksa, the former Lieutenant Colonel of the Army, has set a style of his own and is not being presidential in the way his predecessors did. He has opted for open bush shirt and slacks, instead of the ‘national’ which was considered de rigueur for all Sri Lankan presidents. This is indeed sensible dress at a time when some politicians — even from the backwoods — are wearing well-cut foreign lounge suits in the heat of Colombo’s 30 degrees Centigrade and 90 percent humidity. The tie-coat culture is spreading fast and even journalists, particularly of the TV variety, have adopted it as their uniform.
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa got off to a flying start when he restricted his cabinet to 17 — only 15 ministers with the prime minister and himself as the president. Even the ranks of Siri Kotha could ‘scarcely forbear a cheer’. Cabinets which had ballooned to cover the great majority in parliament had been reduced to just 15! An odd ball or two in the 15 should not have been there but that is excusable. But in cricketing terms — much of the shine on the ball was lost — when the list of 38 ministers of state was released soon after. No new blood was evident; it was the same old arrack in a 2020 bottle. The choice was indeed limited for it had to be from the same Pohottuwa Opposition that was in the House.
Meanwhile, after the new cabinet was announced radical changes in the educational system, particularly on university admissions, have been announced although the details are not yet known to the public. We will refrain from expressing our opinion on the move, not being aware of the proposed system but as an observer of the changes in the educational sphere for the past five decades we view such instant changes with trepidation. Way back in the 70s, Badiuddin Mahmud was considered a great educationist and is still revered by some people. The changes he brought about were hotly debated at that time by professional educationists and hailed by the socialists who dominated the political scene for being progressive — giving better opportunities for students in less privileged areas. It was called ‘Standardisation’. Whether Mahmud’s policy achieved its objectives or not, a prime reason given by Velupillai Prabakaran for his rebellion was ‘Standardisation’ which he alleged was aimed at discriminating against Tamil students. There will be those particularly in the South who would still argue till the cows come home that there was no such discrimination.
The government of the day had the best think tank in situ — in the Cabinet — NM-Colvin-Leslie-Bernard and Felix Dias Bandaranaike — that failed to realise that the fallout would be a 30-year-long bloody insurrection, the consequences of which are still with us and will be there for quite some time. Thus new brooms though backed by think tanks should be regarded with circumspection.
New brooms no doubt sweep well, particularly after elections. The tradition here is that new ministers embark on voyages of discovery of the ministries and government departments they have been assigned along with press gangs and camera crews to discover horrendous corruption, wastage and inefficiency that have taken place under their predecessors. Some ministers who were in the dock a full moon or two ago are now the Praetorian Guard of the new regime against corruption, wastage and enforcement of discipline. Those leaders who staged the ‘Kotte Rebellion’ on the banks of the Diyawanna Oya, a year ago hurling chairs, waste paper baskets and bottles of water laced with chilli powder are now calling for a disciplined society and asking their opponents to behave. All this is not new. This is history repeating itself.
There are positive developments. New Year resolutions are being declared in public. And the media are awash with wishes for a bright, prosperous and peaceful New Year. Keep the wishes going. Wishing you all a Wishful New Year.