When you have nothing useful to say keep mum

By Neville de Silva

The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once famously said: "Whereof one cannot speak thereon one must be silent." Crudely put it translated into this - if you have nothing useful to say shut your mouth.

How many of our representatives who attend -- temporarily one hopes -- that House by the Diyawanna Oya have heard of Wittgenstein, leave alone his words of wisdom.

Sadly not many one would imagine. That is unfortunate for these wise words should be permanently etched in the minds of every politician, budding and budded.

Had this been done very early in the political life of those who claim to represent the people and even more disastrously claim they do so for the love of the nation, we would have been spared the embarrassment of seeing politicians who approach every subject with an open mouth.

If this basic lesson had been imbibed and digested we would probably not have such arrant nonsense spoken on platform and screen. Nor would we have to spend many a rueful night wondering at the fast deteriorating quality of those we choose to run our country.

Had it been so we could have easily ignored Faizer Musthapha, the acting minister of tourism.

President Rajapaksa elevated him to this position in the absence of Minister Anura Bandaranaike who tends to take residence in Los Angeles this time of the year. Readers will recall that Mr. Bandaranaike was sojourning in that part of the United States when the tsunami hit Sri Lanka two years ago.

Since the tourism ministry is rather depleted with no deputy minister, Arjuna Ranatunga who held the position having been lured from it with the promise of a job elsewhere in the playing fields of Colombo, Musthapha was pulled out of obscurity and presented with a portfolio, albeit temporary by the looks of it.

But given the tortuous and insidious nature of Sri Lankan politics and Bandaranaike's habit of firing from the lip and shooting himself in the foot, who could tell whether Musthapha has found himself a more permanent niche?

If media reports of an impending cabinet reshuffle are true Bandaranaike might find himself sidelined, the price he has to pay for his presence in Horagolle trying to resurrect the dying fortunes of his sister and ex-president Chandrika.

Media reports of a meeting Musthapha had with the press states that he is "armed with a three month new tactical action plan expected to attract 150,000 tourists next year."

Hardly the action of a temporary occupant of the ministerial chair, one would think. An acting minister making such long term moves must surely raise a few eyebrows if not a few hackles.

Musthapha is relatively new to politics having cut his teeth in the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) though what he was doing there in the first place does tend to strain one's imagination.

One might have expected to see him in one of the mainstream Muslim parties or even the UNP or the SLFP. Perhaps some intra or inter Muslim-group dissension saw him gravitate to the CWC led by Arumugam Thondaman which itself should have been sufficient reason to keep away from it.

But that is Musthapha's business though one is reminded of an old saying about people being judged by the company they keep.
Unfortunately Faizer Musthapha appears to have been flirting with higher office before he was really ready to take it on.

He seems like a man in a hurry. That is bad for a political novice whose sudden rise inevitably creates enemies on the way up.
But if Musthapha wants to remain on the political perch he has climbed on or been catapulted to, he should know to guard his tongue.

This is not the first time he has met up with the press if my memory serves me correct. You don't call the media in if you have nothing substantial to say. Musthapha's mistake was that he ventured into an area that was a veritable minefield.

If the media reports of his comments are correct then the acting minister has accused both the local and foreign media of misleading reports that have distorted our conflict situation "compelling certain countries to issue travel advisories on Sri Lanka." He blames the travel advisories based on distorted media reports for the drop in tourism arrivals.

If Musthapha had learned anything from Musthapha senior who was high commissioner here for close upon three years, he would have learnt that foreign diplomatic missions send regular political reports to their capitals.

Since the travel advisories are issued by governments and not travel agencies or some tourism organisations, they are not based on media reports as Musthapha is intent on underscoring but principally on the reports submitted by their own diplomats.

Media reports might buttress diplomatic assessments but to suggest that negative travel advisories are the product of media reportage shows incredible ignorance in a person dealing with tourism.

Perhaps Musthapha is trying to strengthen his standing with the powers that be by singing from the same hymn sheet as it were.
It is the constant refrain of most politicians who cannot face the facts and do not want to accept the simple truth that strategic mistakes and bad policy judgments have landed the country in this mess.

Unable to confront their demons, they turn to the regular whipping boy, the media, to vent their spleen. If the media, local or foreign, have distorted then there are adequate remedial measures. Under our editorial code of conduct, individuals and organisations have a right of reply.

But how often do we see government institutions or state ministries trying to correct these so-called distorted reports. They cannot mainly because the reports are substantially correct.

How many media reports have there been about the high jinks in that premier banking institutions, the Bank of Ceylon or the shenanigans over Mihin Air.

Are they all false or distorted reports?

Let's put a different question to Musthapha. Did he actually read the cabinet paper on Mihin Air before he voted for it?
If the foreign media have also distorted the situation in the country, then there is always the opportunity to summon the journalists concerned and point out the errors of their ways and warn them of the consequences of false or distorted reporting.
After all these journalists are in the country on a working visa.

Have either the foreign ministry or that curious animal called the media ministry which continues to put out hilarious press releases, done so?

A couple of months back President Rajapaksa addressing our envoys urged them to meet with the presidents or prime ministers of the countries in which they serve and tell them all about that beautiful place Sri Lanka and how the big bad media and others paint a dismal picture of the country.

Perhaps President Rajapaksa is unaware that besides meeting presidents or prime ministers of major countries, it would be small wonder if they could get beyond a director of a division in a foreign ministry, unless of course they run into a minister by chance at a reception or some other event.

That is how strict protocol is in most capitals unlike in Colombo where "Temple Trees" is almost like a dansala on Wesak day where every parachuting foreigner is treated like royalty in the hope, perhaps, of receiving glowing reports.

It is time that such naivety was ended and the president maintains a dignified presence, leaving ministers and officials to handle visiting lowly diplomats or bureaucrats.

Whatever our diplomats might tell a prime minister or president if they ever get to meet either, it would be naïve to imagine that they would be swayed by what is said at a chance meeting, or even an official one.

Major countries, and even some of the smaller ones that take foreign policy and diplomatic protocol and conduct seriously, surely rely on the reports and assessments of their own diplomats rather than those of foreign diplomats trying to paint a rosy picture of their own nation or plaster over all the warts.

If Faizer Musthapha wishes to talk to the media let him say something sensible and credible. Otherwise let him do what the dads of Britain did during the last world war- keep mum. And the more he does so the better.