News
Lokubandara: Mr Speaker and Orator
Former Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara
It is a tragic coincidence that two emblematic figures of J.R. Jayewardene’s historic 1977 victory – Neville Fernando and WJM Lokubandara — should succumb to the Covid virus within two weeks. Both were over eighty years, having entered UNP politics over half a century ago. JRJ recruited many popular regional personalities who could stand up to the powerful United Front veterans who had been in politics for a long time.
Neville Fernando was a popular medical practitioner who had his dispensary in the heart of Panadura town. He had hundreds of patients who believed in his ‘Ath Gune’ and the care and commitment he brought to his profession. His rival was Leslie Goonewardene – the Secretary and unostentatious financier of the LSSP. He was the Minister of Transport till he was dismissed by Sirimavo Bandaranaike when N.M. Perera refused to retract his sarcastic comments about Mr Bandaranaike’s credentials as a leftist leader. In the 1977 general election, Leslie lost to Neville Fernando by over ten thousand votes. Not only Leslie but all the then leaders of the LSSP lost their seats and did not enter Parliament ever again.
The four fifth majority of the UNP in 1977 turned out to be a disaster.There were no Parliamentary fetters imposed on the President in his new De Gaullist constitution which was waved through by his newly elected throng of first time MPs. JRJ’s blunder was to use his majority to disenfranchise Mrs B on a charge sheet which was virtually written by NM and Colvin in their vote of no-confidence in her after they were summarily dismissed from their ministerial positions on the instigation of Felix Bandaranaike.
The departure of Mrs B opened the way for the JVP which aimed at filling that vacuum.The enmity which resulted prevented the possibility of a joint Pan-Sinhala approach to solving the ethnic crisis. Mrs B and the SLFP were driven to extremist Pro-Sinhala positions which were not visible during the United Front regime. The Sinhala electorate could not accept Amirthalingam as the Leader of the Opposition and made it hark back to the strong image of Mrs B in the country and internationally at an earlier time. It did not do much for Amirthalingam either. The militant Tamil Youth looked on it as an act of collaboration and a betrayal of their militant activites. By accepting the post of Leader of the Opposition at JRJ’s urging, Amirthalingam literally signed his death warrant, and the death warrants of his senior party colleagues who were later massacred in their homes and offices.
Neville Fernando with his personal affluence and reputation as a political giant killer openly clashed with the President on this issue and was kicked out by JRJ, who scrupulously followed resignation protocols regarding the departure of others like MDH Jayawardene and Gamini Jayasuriya. He regretted their decision and thanked them for their services. Neville Fernando did not receive any such ‘send off’.
I remember that Gamini Dissanayake and Ananda Tissa de Alwis were also against this move but had to remain silent as they were cabinet ministers. Gamini had visited Hector Kobbekaduwa at his Aloe Avenue residence. This had been seen by Gamini Athukorale who had sneaked to JRJ and the President was furious, even telling some of his confidants that he was thinking of removing him from the Cabinet. At Gemini’s urging, I convinced my Minister Ananda Tissa to support him and together they were able to abate the President’s fury. Gamini D and Athukorale remained enemies till the end. Ranasinghe Premadasa as President encouraged this vendetta by appointing Athukorale to succeed Gamini in the Land and Mahaveli Ministry.
When Lokubandara was made the UNP organiser for Haputale many of the old guard sent petitions. JRJ asked Gamini D to look into them. He rightly decided that Uva needed ‘Bhumiputra’ representation and supported WJM. Even now many of the Uva MPS are outsiders who have established links there. The estate voter block does not care about the origins of the candidates. I saw in the YouTube that one of Lokubandara’s last speeches was a passionate appeal to his voters in Haputale to remember that his son was an authentic Kandyan. His rise in the political firmament was a tribute to the social welfare measures undertaken in our country after the introduction of adult universal franchise.
A village boy born in a remote village near Diyatalawa, he was taken by an idealistic teacher who saw his potential to Bandarawela Central College where he excelled in his studies. As a schoolboy he won an all island oratorical contest and that became his metier. He graduated as an external student of London University — a sure sign in our day that the candidate was serious about his education and was upwardly mobile. This was confirmed by his passing out as a lawyer from our Law College and mastering the English language.T
Then he joined the Legal Draftsman’s Department which was woefully short of staff proficient in Sinhala, English and the Law. He made a distinctive contribution by translating legislation available in English to Sinhala, even by coining new Sinhala words — a speciality of the Hela Hawula’ which he was a distinguished member as a Sinhala purist.
Professor K.N.O. Dharmadasa has paid a tribute to WJM as a Sinhala scholar of the highest rank. His numerous books and articles attest to his eminence. I would pick out his book interpreting some of the verses inscribed on the mirror wall of Sigirya titled ‘Sigiri Gee Siri’ as one of his best. All ‘’Hela Hawula’ enthusiasts are marked by their fascination with the evolution of what they believe to be the ‘’Pure ‘’Sinhala in contrast to mixed or ‘’Misra’’Sinhala which show the influence of Sanskrit and Pali.
Though some ‘Hela’ fanatics are stimulated by their jigsaw puzzle approach, WJM belonged to a less orthodox school and retained good relations with the Peradeniya school linguists who were acolytes of Sugathapala de Silva, the father of modern Sinhala structural linguistics. This obsession with the history of the evolution of Sinhala words can be an advantage in the appreciation of period poetry of the type found on the mirror wall. Since Paranavitarne had copied, deciphered, translated to English and published this graffiti in his truly monumental work entitled ‘Sigiri Graffiti’ scholars had easy access to the poems.
Lokubandara with his knowledge of the evolution of words does a brilliant analysis of some of the verses which, Iam sure, would have drawn the approval of Paranavitarne if he was alive.
WJM was a brilliant orator. In my opinion he was the best orator that the UNP ever had. He was even better than Premadasa who was no mean speaker.
WJM had a total command of the language and brought a folksy humour and sarcasm which had the audience in fits of laughter. Ranil Wickremesinghe made a bad mistake in immobilising his chief attack orator by making him Speaker of the House. During Ranil’s leadership, the UNP’s frontline speakers were boring, badly briefed and lacking in magnetism. When he and other leaders came up to the microphone, the audience started to head for home uninspired and uneducated. What a debacle for a party platform that had the likes of Premadasa, Gamini, Lalith, Ronnie de Mel, Ananda Tissa and G.M. Premachandra.
If Lokubandara had continued in active UNP politics, in a few years he would have been a strong contender for the leadership of the UNP which was losing votes day by day ending up with no elected representatives — a fate none could envisage in the pre-Ranil age.
I had a good personal rapport with WJM because of our common interests. We had many mutual friends. I may be one of the few alive today who attended his wedding and the party afterwards in Araliya Gardens in Nugegoda. The Weerasekeras — Malathi’s uncles — were my friends from Peradeniya days. Her uncle P. Weerasekera of the SLAS, read Sociology at the University when we were a small group on Campus. He later became the DRO of Hiniduma and I used to frequent his quarters in Tawalama when researching in the villages in the vicinity with Gananath Obeyesekere. I was invited as a guest from Malathi’s side. Since then I belonged to his group of close friends whom he invariably addressed as ‘Macho’. As Speaker he was exceedingly kind to me when I was on my feet in the House.
The circumstances of WJM’s death is tragic and leaves us in dismay. If he had been vaccinated he would not have died. SWRD Bandaranaike was assassinated by Somarama, a Buddhist monk and a self proclaimed Ayurvedic Physician. He was being promoted by the then Minister of Health Wimala Wijewardene. In our time too the Health Ministry was unfortunately side tracked by faith healers and snake oil salesmen when it should have been on the lookout for an early procuring of the vaccine. The Irony and tragedy is that in both cases —Bandaranaike and Lokubandara — dysfunctional nativism has taken the lives of two of its most dynamic advocates.