Please think, don’t miss this golden opportunity!

By Visvajit De Alwis

The only political activity I have indulged in is casting my vote from time to time in the past, which I regret in hindsight considering where our country is at this juncture. Seventy-six years since independence, the country is bankrupt not only economically but morally and ethically as well.

Every possible sphere of life has been politicised with rampant corruption and nepotism. This has been the bane of our country to varying degrees over the past number of years, which has gradually accentuated and reached the pinnacle of disaster more recently. The impact has been devastating, affecting the core fabric of our society.

If one thinks about it rationally, the country is poor, the public at large is poor, but the political elitist rulers and their henchmen are rich. What exists in our country is absolute cronyism in the guise of an open market economy or capitalism used as camouflage.

However, there is a ray of hope for a new beginning and possible reversal of the disastrous course we have been travelling on for many decades. The presidential election is scheduled for September 21, and it is the most consequential election of our lifetime, which may be our last chance for redemption. Hence, my earnest request to fellow citizens is to consider your options carefully and make a wise choice without squandering this opportunity, as the future of our beloved country is at stake and it is in your hands.

Those who are financially comfortable may think that maintaining the status quo will be better for them, and any drastic changes would be disruptive for them and their lifestyles. This line of thinking is shortsighted and far from reality, as even the wealthiest cannot continue to bask in their glory in an artificial bubble. Sooner than later, the bubble will burst as it partially did 2-3 years ago and is likely to get decimated the next time around if things are not corrected.

Moreover, what about the vast majority of the citizenry, and where do they stand? My interactions with many people from different strata of society point to one thing and one thing alone—they want a drastic change to the existing system. Why is that? Many reasons, depending on their status in life but there are common themes right across the board – basic needs such as food, health, and education for all; alleviation of poverty; restoring law and order where justice is meted out without fear or favor; independent public institutions without political interference; restore the credibility of the police to function with dignity; a more equitable economic system and reasonable opportunity for all; establishing a meritocracy and eliminating nepotism; drastically reducing the unconscionable perquisites to politicians; a completely new and modernized political culture with decency and humility; a level playing field for business instead of favorable status for a selected few through political patronage; elimination of government corruption and wastage; a fair tax system to bring in revenue and safeguarding the most vulnerable.

Are these not normal and standard things in the most successful and decent countries? Don’t we want these things in our country too? Should we not hold those who have governed us accountable for bringing this country to its knees owing to their brazen mismanagement, corruption, and abuse of power?

It is unfortunate that as the election season gets into full swing, unbridled false propaganda and misinformation have moved into overdrive. Evaluating the history and events of 1971 and 1988/89 in a reasonable balanced manner is fair enough, but distorting facts and presenting a highly biassed, one-sided description for pecuniary political ends only exposes their hollowness. Any such analysis would be meaningless without also mentioning state-sponsored violence and torture against political opponents, professionals, journalists, and a whole young generation of the time. Further, they have conveniently forgotten who was responsible for the shameful and egregious events such as the 1958 riots against innocent Tamils, the 1962 failed Coup, extension of parliament in 1975 without any mandate from the people, violence against political opponents in 1977, burning of the Jaffna public library in 1981, the Sri Lankan holocaust of July 1983 targeting Tamils, proscription of political parties under false pretexts in the early nineteen eighties, violence against political opponents in 1994, many disappearances of numerous activists and journalists between 1987 and 2015, thousands who surrendered to authorities not accounted for, gross violations of human rights bringing disrepute to the country and pariah status amongst the international community, the Easter Sunday attacks that killed so many innocent people and maimed numerous others, and the list goes on. If the debate is about the past, all these matters need to be brought into the discussion instead of cherrypicking to suit a particular narrative. 

The political ploy employed throughout history has been to keep the masses poor and merely temporarily satisfy them with false promises and the distribution of crumbs closer to elections. In addition, the ruling party of the time used the force of state machinery to push whatever advantage they could get, ignoring democratic principles practiced in civilised countries. Sadly, it appears that most parties have not changed their political strategy even in this era of the 21st century. Elected members of parliament are shamelessly crossing over from one party to another, breaking all jumping records, and are being accepted by political leaders without any principles. So, how will anything change for the better? Someone had said - that doing the same thing over and over again and to expect a different result is “insanity”. Only one main political party has stood by their principles and acted honourably by not entertaining crossovers.

Having lived on four continents, including eight countries, I see the vast potential we have in our people and as a country but also recognise the opportunities lost and the incompetence of our governments thus far. We need to question whether we have had proper governments running our country or families ruling our country? How is it that our people who work and live overseas are thriving virtually without exception in many professions and lines of work they have chosen? I have heard in affluent circles people saying that stopping corruption alone will not ensure development. While that is stating the obvious, for our country to have even a semblance of a chance to recover and for any meaningful development to take place, it is a prerequisite that corruption needs to be eradicated. Only one leader and one political party have professed zero tolerance for corruption. 

The options available to us have not been as stark in comparison ever before. We have 4 main candidates, 3 of them who were born with the proverbial silver spoon in their hands and one from a poor village family. Three attended two of the most recognised schools in the country and the other a very basic village school and then went to a school in a nearby town. Three had very privileged lives, while the village lad led a very difficult life laden with many obstacles. His journey had been an arduous one, with nothing presented on a silver platter. It is through his brilliance, dint of hard work, political tenacity, principles, integrity, and dedication that he has achieved the high level of acceptance in the country at large today. We should be proud of what he has achieved, starting life from such humble beginnings. It is a testimony to the value of free education and the necessity to provide a very good education system for every child in the country, irrespective of their economic situation. The choice we have is right versus wrong, honesty versus corruption, meritocracy versus nepotism, efficiency versus incompetence, prospective success versus repeated failures, justice versus abuse of power, and system changes versus failed systems. 

We celebrated Nelson Mandela’s journey dismantling apartheid and going from Robben Island prison to the president’s house in South Africa. We reminisce about Bill Clinton who from very humble beginnings ended up in the White House in the USA. It is often quoted that the great Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery, went from log cabin to the White House.  So, why not our own Sri Lankan solution – from Thambuthegama to the president’s house? This will be a humongous achievement indeed in the context of Sri Lanka, to be led by a “common man” which will revitalise the entire country to work together as one nation in harmony without petty divisions of ethnicity, race, or creed. Someone had said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing”. Over to you good people – please act wisely and do the right thing!

(visvajit_29@hotmail.com)