The Buzz Word “Corruption”

By Lasanthasiri

With a lot of Euphoria, the Sri Lankans were looking forward to a major change in our society in terms of being Just and Honest post the NPP victory. The President AKD did not win the popular vote but the NPP government entered the bastion at Jayawardenepura in style. All on a promise to Eliminate Corruption, and Public Sector Waste bring Justice to all and to conduct a witch hunt on past injustices. These include the Easter Sunday carnage, Lasantha and Thajudeen murders, Cleaning out national coffers, and more. The list of past criminal activity which was swept under the carpet in the past and the people numbed into silence is unimaginable, is this trend to continue? We are at crossroads. The writer is well aware that all Facts and Figures have to be positioned to prosecute past offenders fairly in a court of law, but were the people duped into thinking that all Facts and Figures were in the hands of the NPP hierarchy before the Elections? What happened to all those Files that were supposed to be in safe hands, have they vanished into thin air? Other than for one or two frivolous prosecutions on possession of illegal vehicles or purchasing of property etc, the people are still waiting for the bigger fish to be in the net of justice. Nothing is heard about the Murders, the Powers behind the carnage of Easter Sunday, the Bond Scam, and much more. If the people were not promised this clean-up exercise would the NPP be in power today, food for thought? The longer you wait the possibility is greater that numbness creeps back to the populace.  However the Aragalaya showed us that the people also have tolerance levels, they don’t go numb all the time. Hope the NPP government do understand that promises have to be met, let's give them credit, maybe they need a bit more time.

The story above is only the build-up to the author's main concern. The promised land of the future. A Just and Honest society comes way before dreaming of Singapore. What is the GOSL doing about eliminating Corruption at grass root levels and making Public Servants understand that they are there to Serve the public and not themselves. Serving themselves is rampant and going on unabated. Do not see any machinery from the GOSL to counter this menace as of now. Neither has the average citizen's mind set changed, get a job done sans any bribes! If the state machinery works as it should efficiently then this two-way unethical practice ceases to a great extent.  This is the author's main purpose in writing this article.  A perfect example is the blatant request for payouts for school entry at all grades. This possibly happens more in smaller government schools than the established bigger Institutions. The crooks thrive on people's innocence and the inability to fight the corrupt system.  Recently a very poor estate-type family was re-locating to the suburbs of Colombo for economic reasons and the 2 kids had to be re-positioned in a suitable school. The kids were accepted at a price of Rs 50k each!  These funds go to private accounts, not that of the school. Our very committed lady PM has banned such contributions to schools as the subject minister but the private channels are still wide open. This is an example only, the culture is ingrained.  To eliminate corruption at this level there has to be a dedicated unit ( linked to the Police ) with relevant powers to go behind the culprits ( both giver and taker) and prosecute with evidence where required. It has to be a NAME AND SHAME campaign.  The people must start fearing taking that wrong turn to be corrupt and dishonest. This also can be part of the CLEAN campaign. The Digitalise SL project can eliminate and shut the door on many such corrupt practices, but somebody needs to wield a stick that hurts. Honesty and Integrity must become the accepted norm and a culture all Sri Lankans would be proud of in the near future.

Onto another concern, recently a census form was distributed in my neighborhood ( which possibly went island-wide )  and it was in Sinhala only. What happens to the Tamil speaker? Before politicians go to the north to woo the Tamil populace, simple actions like positioning national forms in all three languages will help. This small observation tells me that there is so much to be done to make a multi-lingual society meaningful.  Or are we going to make SWRD’s misdirected dream a reality? Saying that it’s encouraging to see all three languages spoken freely in Parliament now. The influence of the madam PM must be lauded on this front. The National Digitalisation program also should help foster a multi-lingual society.

 As an ardent lover of my country, I took the time to pen this article for the GOSL to look at the future with hope for all. If no corrective surgery is done sooner than later, the patient in this case the NPP government could go the way of past regimes. I sincerely hope that will be avoided. We need a rich and prosperous SL, the war cry of the President, where rich should mean richness of the quality of its people and society at large. And that quality should bring prosperity based on a sound social foundation.

Mr President please do not let us down, we live in hope. This possibly is our last chance.

Good Luck SRILANKA.

Lasanthasiri , Kotte . Feb 2025.