What would you like Sri Lanka to be remembered for? Its natural beauty – the whole sun, sand, sea and sky business; to say nothing of misty mountains and spreading plains set amidst verdant villages? Its friendly people and their sense of hospitality? Or its tea? Gems? Value additions to the economy such as a thriving apparel sector?
It doesn’t have to be joyless exports, folks! There’s the sporting arena to be considered as well… But given the way we went last-one-down’s-a-dead-duck in the 2-1 series which we won Down Under, I’m going to keep cricket under wraps for the nonce – and the less said about being boxed-in by boxing the better, methinks.
But you get the picture, don’t you, dears? The Caribbean has nothing on us when it comes to the true, diehard, and gritty “island spirit”. You can knock us down, but you can’t knock us out – unless we choose to disqualify ourselves on a TKO (that’s ‘technical knockout’, for you un-athletic types out there). And do or die, we almost always give as good as we get – especially with skippers like Ranatunga and Sangakkara at the helm then and now. In arenas as diverse as the ship of state and the moveable boatload of willow-wielding boys who bring a tear to our eye wherever they go, whichever way they do so, whatever you may think of them from time to time…
By the way, it now appears the powers that be have an entirely different concept about the games that are proper and apposite for our people to play. Not ellé or volleyball, the so-called national sports – the latter for the formal-minded, the former for lateral thinkers. No, sports fans! It’s, er, poker and roulette and blackjack. At least that’s what anyone ‘fortunate’ enough to be given admittance into the rash of casinos which are scheduled to be set up under the proposed (revised) Gaming Act will play. Did someone say the chips are down… or that the fat’s in the fire?
Consider that political players at opposite ends of the spectrum – like the UNP and the JHU – have declared their opposition to it. Think not long and hard about why the religious establishment, across our country’s kaleidoscopic clutch of faiths, will sooner than later get in on the act (pun intended). Should the public also decide to critique it – on the grounds of our culture, civilization, etc, we will have a right royal lot of people opposed to the Gambling Regulations Act. Possibly the only parties of the third part (and you can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll come ready to party) who will welcome the Gaming Levy Special Provisions Bill with open arms and greasy palms will be our lads from the Treasury – for all the right reasons, of course! A narrow-minded philosopher may call it the highest treason – this business of doing the right thing for the wrong reason – but we will not go so far as angels fear to tread.
Be that as it may, the question for you and I to answer is this…
Given the state of play in our nation-state today, would you rather Sri Lanka became the next mini-Macao; or a smaller, less glamorous, version of Monte Carlo; or even a Las Vegas a la Lanka – Or, on the other, the next Bali; a smaller, less clinical, version of Singapore; or maybe a Malaysia a la Myanmar? (Not much of a choice, some of these, I know… especially the last of these – but beggars can’t be choosers, no?). Is an island-wide ‘gaming zone’ preferable to Colombo as South Asia’s next gambling capital? Or will some other ways and means rake in the shekels that better suit our sociopolitical milieu? Will culture win – or the kind of culture that brings to mind a Petri-dish crawling with slime and bacteria in their glad rags and with petro-dollars being thrown about as if it was Monopoly money?
The point is what’s best in the national interest. The poser is whether any political, religious, or public-spirited party of the first or second parts can change the course of Casino Sri Lanka through protest, parliamentary debates, or lobbying in the corridors of power. The die may already be cast… no matter what may transpire at the Committee Stage of the proposed amendment to long-standing legislation in respect to gambling. Our next national icon may not be a colourful cricketer, tea-sipping tycoon, or sari-clad stewardess – but a one-armed bandit whose motto is: “Your money AND your life…” |
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