Upali Wijewardene: Sri Lanka’s immensely popular indigenous tycoon

Sri Lanka known earlier as Ceylon has produced several businessmen and industrialists of great repute over the years. There were however only a few who captured the popular imagination of the people. One such person was the industrial tycoon and media magnate Upali Wijewardene known widely as Upali. One could even say that there was none quite like him in the realm of Sri Lankan commerce. The dynamic Upali Wijewardene was truly an icon of his times. 

Upali interacted on a higher plane with transnational captains of industry and commerce on equal terms. Yet, he retained the loyalty and affection of his employees and workers who simply adored him. More importantly, the Sri Lankan masses despite being exposed to left wing rhetoric for decades, loved this high-profile capitalist. Upali was indeed a beloved homegrown businessman.

It was my privilege to be associated with Upali slightly and briefly during the years 1978-1983. As a journalist on the Tamil Daily “Virakesari”, I covered the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) or “Free Trade Zone” from 1978-1981. Upali was the first Director General of the GCEC. Later in 1981, I began working as a staff reporter on the English Daily “The Island” published by Upali Newspapers Ltd. of which he was the proprietor. It was in 1983 that Upali went missing. I was then working at “The Island”.

If Upali Wijewardene was among the living now, he would have reached the age of 87 this year on 17 February. Alas, this was not to be, as he disappeared 42 years ago on 13 February 1983, just four days before his 45th birthday. 

I intend focusing on this remarkable personality in these columns to honour and pay tribute to his memory in this eventful week of two significant anniversaries in the life of Upali Wijewardene. I have written about Upali on earlier occasions too and would be drawing from such writings in penning this article. 

Philip Upali Wijewardene was born on 17 February1938 as the son of Don Walter and Anula Kalyanawathie Wijewardene. He studied initially at Ladies’ College and then Royal College, where he captained the Cricket Second XI. He then went to England and graduated from Cambridge University. Upon his return, he began working at Lever Brothers as a management trainee. He quit in disgust when his expatriate boss accused him unfairly of lies and deception in preparing a report.  

Upali started out on his own with Rs. 15,000 as capital and an old house as assets. That was the time of a State-controlled economy but incentives were provided in some areas, including confectioneries. Upali ventured into what was derisively referred to as the ‘seeni bola’ industry. He began manufacturing candy and sweets. Legendary General Manager of Bank of Ceylon Chelliah Loganathan was very helpful in financing Upali’s ventures.  

One man who stood by Upali loyally in those pioneering days was R. Murugaiah, a hill country Tamil from Nuwara-Eliya district. It is said that the name ‘Delta’ was adopted for Upali’s toffee because Murugaiah was born on Delta Estate, Pussellawa. Murugaiah was responsible for marketing the products then. Years later, Upali was to quip publicly, “Behind every successful man there is a woman. But behind every successful Sinhala businessman there is a Tamil man,” and point laughingly to Murugaiah walking behind him.

Never looked back

Embarking on a career as industrialist, Upali Wijewardene never looked back. The confectioneries developed and soon he acquired ‘Kandos’ chocolates from his maternal uncle, Sarath Wijesinghe. Then came consumer products like ‘Sikuru’ and ‘Crystal’ soap. Upali also pioneered the assembling of radios, clocks and TVs under the ‘UNIC’ brand name. 

He also went into automobiles. The UMC Mazda and Upali Fiat were assembled locally. In those days, the import duty for cars was 300% but 100% for motor spares. He brought in automobile parts as motor spares paying lesser duty and assembled them here. Later in an interview he was asked about this. Upali replied that he wandered to the edge of legal limits but never crossed them.

Upali Wijewardene also went into aviation and began domestic helicopter and airline services. He also bought up estates in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. He also had many business concerns in Singapore and Malaysia. The ‘Kandos Man’ was hugely popular in Singapore. During his heyday, more than 33,000 people were employed in Upali’s worldwide enterprises.  

Upali had a wide range of interests including race horses, pedigreed dogs and motor racing. His horses ran at Aston and Derby winning laurels. Ace jockey Lester Piggot rode some of his winners. His ribbon winning canines were Labradors and retrievers. As a young man, Upali raced his mother’s Opel Kapitan at the Katukurunda Races in early 60s. Later he imported an MGA Sports Twin Cam, which he raced at the Mahagastota Hill Climb.  

He also bought a Mitsubishi Lancer to be raced at the Nuwara Eliya Road Races and Mahagastota Hill Climb in 1980. He had a luxury S-Class Mercedes Benz 126 from Malaysia. This was the first car of this type in Sri Lanka.There were also his private Lear Jet and Helicopter. He would conduct a business meeting in the afternoon in Colombo, helicopter to Nuwara Eliya in the evening for golf and return to Colombo again for dinner. 

Horse racing 

Horse racing was once regarded as the sport of kings and the king of sports. Upali was avidly fond of racing. Some of the earliest horses he had raced in Singapore. Upali would fly by Singapore Airlines to the Lion city and watch his equines run. Once the Singapore Airlines flight got delayed and Upali reached Singapore to find the races were over. He was disappointed.

Upali then bought a Citation Cessna plane to fly to Singapore and back to watch his horses race on time. Later he bought racehorses in Australia. When flying to Australia and back, the Cessna had to re-fuel in Singapore or Malaysia. This irritated him. So Upali bought his Learjet and flew non-stop to Australia and back. That Learjet was to play a fateful role in his life. 

Upali had a permanent suite in a prestigious London Hotel. He maintained a flamboyant lifestyle that his countrymen relished. The people were proud that one of their countrymen had really made it and was on par with the best of ‘Suddhas.’ 

Upali was married on 7 November 1975, to Lakmini, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Seevali Ratwatte. Dr. Seevali, being Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike’s brother and Wijewardena being JR’s nephew, the marriage was seen then as a dynastic union. They had no children, but Upali had two nieces and six nephews through his two sisters, Anoka Wijeysundara and Kalyani Attygalle. 

The GCEC

The name Upali Wijewardene became familiar to the country in the early ‘70s of the previous century. Yet, it was in the late ‘70s that he became really well-known when he assumed duties as Director General of Sri Lanka’s first ‘Free Trade Zone,’ the popular name for the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC). The GCEC has transformed into Board of Investment (BOI) nowadays. 

The GCEC was something new and controversial. The ‘Shannon’ experiment of Ireland was catching on in many parts of the world. The leftists were firmly opposed to the concept. The idea of providing massive tax concessions and financial incentives to foreign ‘capitalists’ to come and invest in Sri Lanka was a novel project at that time. 

One of the key attractions was our skilled yet cheap labour. “Exploitation,” thundered the left. JR’s famous comment, “Let the robber barons come,” did not help either. The fact that a well known ‘dhanapathi’ (capitalist) was heading the GCEC aided the ‘vahamanse sahodharayo’ (leftist comrades) to attack the project. 

The much-travelled Upali undertook many foreign trips to promote the FTZ. On one such occasion, he was in Singapore. At a press conference he was asked about the Tamil minority being discriminated against in Sri Lanka. He responded to the query in his inimitable style. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” he said, “Seated on my right is my Deputy Director General Raju Coomaraswamy. On my left is Treasury Secretary Chandi Chanmugam. Further down is our High Commissioner to Singapore, C. Gunasingham. Gentlemen, I am the minority here.” Everyone present laughed. The question was deflected neatly. That was Upali Wijewardene! 

It was a difficult time for the pioneering venture. Looking back, I think Wijewardena was the ideal man for the job at that time. The GCEC went about its task methodically and diligently. It was my duty then to record its progress regularly in the columns of the “Virakesari.”

I interacted a lot with Upali while covering the GCEC. When working for a Tamil newspaper, I have come across many Sinhala persons who simply did not care a hoot about the Tamil media. I have also come across many Sinhalese who were extremely concerned about what appeared in the Tamil newspapers. Upali belonged to the latter category.Though he could not read Tamil he got one of his Tamil employees (Ponnambalam from Karaveddy) at Upali Group to inform him about what was appearing in Virakesari. Thus he was happy with my work and perhaps due to that made himself easily accessible. 

Political ambition 

For some reason, Upali Wijewardene used to talk freely on many matters with me when I was working at the “Virakesari”. Perhaps he was at ease with me, a young journalist on a Tamil newspaper without any hidden agenda or being linked to vested interests. There was much speculation then in the media about his political ambition. I thought then that he would focus on Kelaniya and asked him directly. But I was surprised when he said, “No, the South.” It was then that I came to know of his southern roots from his mother’s side and the Sarath Wijesinghe relationship. 

Later he earmarked the Kamburupitiya electoral division and began nursing it. He focused on improving the standard of English among Students in the area. I once went to a meeting in the South where Upali spoke. The cheers for him were loud, huge and spontaneous. The people on that side of the Bentara River loved Upali and regarded him as a true son of the southern soil. After all, Southerners are known for their entrepreneurial acumen and success. Though he hardly ever visited Jaffna, the people of the peninsula appreciated him greatly too. They admired his commercial success.

When I was working at Virakesari, I once asked Upali how he would resolve the ethnic crisis if he became Sri Lanka’s Head of State. Of course the problem then was not as bad as it became later. He thought a while and said that all people should be able to study and communicate with the Government in their own language, that official administration should be done in all three languages and that no person should be discriminated against on grounds of race or religion. He was of the view that all parts of the country should be developed evenly and access to jobs provided on merit basis. Upali opined that when the country prospered economically, the ethnic issue would lose its sting. 

In Greek mythology whatever was touched by king Midas turned to gold. Likewise, whatever venture launched by the mighty magnate Upali became a roaring success within a short time due to his golden touch. Upali’s newspaper venture was no exception.

“The Island”

The Island burst upon the media scene in 1981 like a gust of fresh air. Upali had undertaken a market survey which indicated there was no room for a new English paper. But Wijewardene being Wijewardene, he simply went ahead disregarding the survey results.

It was indeed a great challenge then working for the paper. Those recruited from other newspapers had their previous salaries doubled. We were told that Upali would shut the paper if it did not break-even in a year.

The new kid on the block achieved tremendous success within a short time. Two older kids on the block went out of business gradually.

The paper’s plus point in one respect was the colour and modern printing technology. On another level, it was due to its editorial and news content.

The paper covered events fearlessly and provided space for all points of view. One of its strong points then was its coverage of the ethnic crisis.

This was both good journalism and good business. In this, the paper reflected the worldview of both Upali Wijewardene and Editor Vijitha Yapa.

‘The Island’ was a runaway success in Jaffna then. One reason was that the Late City Edition was put on Upali Airlines and sent to Jaffna. The Colombo (City) edition was available in Jaffna before noon. I recall then Jaffna Government Agent (GA) Devanesan Nesiah telling me happily, “Thanks to ‘The Island’; we are able to read the latest sports news without delay.”  

The main reason for the paper’s editorial success was the free hand given to Vijitha Yapa. This was possible then only because Upali Wijewardene owned the paper. A lesser man would have interfered unnecessarily with editorial matters during its formative phase.

Ranasinghe Premadasa

In those days there was only one sacred cow – Upali Wijewardene’s uncle, President J.R. Jayewardene. All others were fair game. Open season was declared on Wijewardene’s political rivals, prime minister Ranasinghe Premadasa and Finance minister Ronnie de Mel.

Premadasa being prime minister had high hopes of succeeding JR Jayewardene as President. When Upali Wijewardene began flirting with politics, Premadasa resented it. He scented a rival for the presidency. Premadasa engaged in obstructionist tactics,Upali did not take it lying down. He hit back. For instance, it was “The Island” which exposed the fact that Dulanjalee Premadasa was a special student at the Colombo International school. 

Ronnie de Mel

The tussle with Ronnie de Mel was also interesting. Apparently relations between Ronnie and Upali were amicable until the latter evinced interest in entering politics. Ronnie felt Upali was eying the finance ministry portfolio as a stepping stone to the executive presidency. Soon there was no love lost between both.

When JR appointed Upali as Director -General of the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) with the responsibility of setting up free trade zones (FTZ), Ronnie did not like it. The finance minister created an alternative structure the Foreign Investment Advisory Committee (FIAC) and provided incentives like tax holidays to potential investors outside the FTZs. Both the GCEC and FIAC competed for foreign investment separately.

Another bone of contention was the envisaged Ruhuna University. Upali wanted it located in Kamburupitiya electorate which he was nursing as his future constituency. Ronnie wanted it in Matara. Ultimately De Mel had his way. Upali utilised his publications to irritate Ronnie. The cartoon paper “Chitra Mithra” featured a canine character named Ronnie. 

Events took a serious turn when “The Island” edited then by Vijitha Yapa scooped details of the Budget on Budget day morning. JR was furious. The Finance Minister had to alter some of his proposals in a hurry and was seen reading from Xerox copies in Parliament. Later Ronnie allegedly motivated the CID into launching a prosecution of Vijitha Yapa under the official secrets act.

Shenanigans exposed

It is important to note that Upali did not interfere with editorial content despite his political ambition. The newspaper started at a time when Wijewardene was building a circle of supporters in the ranks of the UNP to further his political prospects .But when The Island began its fearless journalism crusade, many shenanigans were exposed. 

Several of these news story “scoops” were about Wijewardene’s supporters or potential supporters. Since the journalists were not told to lay off, we went about our reporting without fear or favour. Those affected complained to Wijewardene. But to Wijewardene’s credit, he never instructed the editorial to adopt a “hands off” approach on any such “crony”.

One exciting night was when Upali himself became a ‘reporter’ for The Island. One day President Jayewardene had taken an important decision about evolving suitable criteria for staging by-elections. Urged by the Editor, we the reporters contacted all our sources to find out the details. We failed. A desperate Vijitha Yapa appealed to Wijewardene himself.

The Upali Newspapers Chairman then went to see his uncle, the President. He got the information from the horse’s mouth about the formula to be adopted for by-elections. It was a scoop. Upali was pleased with himself, and joked with the Editor that his reporters were useless because he had to personally get the story.

Missing Learjet

42 years ago on 13 February 1983, a privately owned Lear jet flew out of Malaysia’s Subang Airport at 8:41 p.m. with six on board. It was expected to reach Colombo by 9:45 p.m. that night. 15 minutes after taking off, the plane lost radio contact with the airport. The final message received said the plane was flying at an altitude of 27,000 ft. over the straits of Malacca. The Learjet never arrived in Colombo that Sunday as scheduled. The plane went missing.  

News of the missing plane began spreading. Sri Lankans from all walks of life were shocked when they heard that the missing plane belonged to Upali Wijewardene and that he was among the six persons, who disappeared along with the aircraft.  

Apart from Upali Wijewardene, the others who went missing were Upali’s most trusted Lieutenant Ananda Pelimuhandiram, Financial Director of the Upali Group S.M. Ratnam, a Malaysian lawyer of Jaffna Tamil origin and A. Senanayake, the Steward. The other two were the Pilot Capt. Noel Anandappa and Co-Pilot Sidney de Zoysa. 

Unresolved mystery 

Legally, Upali is presumed dead though his body was never found. The disappearance continues to linger in the collective memory of the nation as an unresolved mystery. There are people who ask me even now, “What really happened to Upali? Don’t know, no?” A song composed in Upali’s honour and memory was a popular favourite then. The chorus was ‘Upalee... Wijeyawardena,… Upalee... Wijeyawardena’. 

(The writer can be reached at [email protected].)