A Lankan investor laments; reveals monster called MML

If we can have provincial grids in addition to the national grid, then all renewable energy produced within a province can be fed into a provincial grid first and power be supplied to full capacity to the respective province

The Harmony page of the Weekend FT as part of its campaign to promote awareness on different vicissitudes pertaining to rescuing Sri Lanka from the dismal state it is in, and as part of an initiative towards a comprehensive 

renewable energy policy, is featuring a discussion with Sri Lankan diaspora investor Vasudevan Rasiah. Rasiah who has lived out of Sri Lanka for around four decades had settled in a village in Uva Wellassa six years ago having constructed a resort there while being involved in several other philanthropic 

and business projects 

around the country. 

An engineer and expert in global tourism resorts, having been involved in many such projects in Indonesia and elsewhere, 

Vasudevan Rasiah opens up about a range of concerns from national identity, integrity and reveals the curse of the 

nation – MML. MML is the 

abbreviation for the monster called Mata Mokada Lebenne syndrome (what will I get – as read in Sinhala) that has its despicable seal on every development project of this nation, resulting in the chasing away of investors. 

He describes himself as a ‘Sri Lankan diaspora member’ and thus eradicating the psychology of insinuation that is associated with the term ‘diaspora’ often linked with separatism or terrorism. Rasiah who is currently working out a practical system that could be part of a sensible national policy to promote 

renewable energy around the country shares his views on this aspect.Following are excerpts of the interview: 

By Surya Vishwa

Q: When did you leave Sri Lanka?

A: In 1977. 

Q:The country was very different then, was it not? How do you compare Sri Lanka then and now?

A: I left Sri Lanka in 1977 and returned back fulltime in 2016. From 2010 to 2016, I started visiting Sri Lanka with my foreign team to investigate the possibilities of investments.

Yes, 1977 was very different to 2016 when I returned to my motherland.

In 1977, my friends from mixed race, religion and ethnicity came to the airport to send off a fellow Sri Lankan.

In the 1970s surnames in Sri Lanka were associated with integrity, values, achievements, friendships, etc.

In 2010 surnames of Sri Lankans in Sri Lanka were mainly associated with suspicion, hatred, fear, ethnicity, contempt etc… all the way down to the levels of primary school children.

Today, it is not important to seek accountability from the ones who were/are responsible for this disastrous change but it is of paramount importance to our beloved nation to seek ways and means to reverse this situation to the older system. 

Q:You are a member of the diaspora – could you clarify largely for the understanding of the Sinhala readership the dynamics of the term ‘Tamil Diaspora’?

A: Sri Lanka functions under a majoritarian based political system (learned from the British “Divide & Rule” policy) since independence and with little room for minorities. Based on this system every governing political party further divided the nation to suit their political party success. This was not for the welfare and success of the country or its people. This practice has been supported by the majority for the past seven decades and to change this system towards peoples’ welfare and success of the country may take one more decade.

Every Sri Lankan or Ceylonese who has migrated to another country should be termed a “Diaspora”, not only the Tamils.

Thus every migrated Sri Lankan is a ‘Diaspora’ member.

However, in the ’80s every majoritarian government termed only the Tamil migrants as ‘Diaspora’ and attached a terrible stigma to the term ‘Diaspora’ as LTTE or LTTE supporters. 

Q: As a member of the Sri Lankan Diaspora, could you introduce yourself and your work?

A: By profession I am a Civil Engineer and a Legal Advisor in Contract and Business Law. I have worked globally in the fields of Civil Engineering, Contract Law and Business. I have been part of projects building tourist resorts, golf resorts and building plans of diverse State and non-State ventures in Iran, Singapore, UK, Australia and Indonesia. I am a member of the Institute of Engineers in the UK and Australia, a member of the Queensland Master Builders Association as well as the Housing Industry Association of Queensland, Australia. I have wanted to support several Sri Lankan resort building projects but the MML always gets in the way. I have built a beautiful boutique resort in Haldummulla in Uva Wellassa that is a successful tourism venture.  

Q: What is MML?

A: Oh, it is a monster that gobbles up a lot of meaningful development projects in Sri Lanka. It is invisible and underground – the ‘Mata Monawade Lebenneh’ ministry that controls all other ministries! 

Q: A ministry called MML?

A: Yes, that exists in the minds of Sri Lankan VIPs and their agents. 

Q:How would you describe Sri Lanka’s current economic crisis?

A: It is a culmination of seven decades of total majoritarianism, corruption, nepotism, greed, absolute lack of meritocracy and practices of MML (Mata Monawade Lebenneh)

Whenever one gets to the mid-level of discussions about an investment project this underground mechanism of MML comes into play. We experienced it first hand when attempting to start a global golfing hub in the picturesque Uva Wellassa. After everything was done and finalised, the long and insidious arm of MML put a final stop to it as the foreign investors refused to dole out the percentage requested. It was an absolute shame to showcase this reality to foreign investors. 

Q:Sri Lanka has many opportunities to weave its tourism initiatives on authentic intangible cultural heritage areas such as traditional medicine, especially the Deshiya Chikitsa which was the ancient medicine of the island. We also have the Siddha, Ayurveda and Unani systems. Yet we used none of these formally as part of a national policy to get over the COVID pandemic when the Western world was floundering in the only synthetic but unsustainable solutions such as vaccines which can make the human body immune to it. Your views?

A: We clearly missed the biggest chance we have ever been given in our recent post-colonial history for making our traditional medicines known worldwide. We could not have ever got such a chance and probably never will. But for us to use it, we must have respect and confidence in it. If we have neither of these as Sri Lankans how can we promote it for Westerners who may question why we have not used this option for COVID, especially when many traditional physicians were researching and coming up with different medications which they said were successful in curing patients within less than two days. They also said that several of these medications were successfully exported.

If the Sinhala/Tamil Wedakam system, Siddha and Unani were tested through a recognised State initiative and promoted through a consistent and well thought of policy to combat COVID and other diseases, it would also have created cohesion among the traditional medicine practitioners around the country belonging to different cultures. 

Q:What is your focus now in Sri Lanka?

A: The main focus is to enhance sustainable economic growth in the fields where USD revenue can be obtained.

In order to achieve this we have to support growth in tourism, agriculture, fisheries, manufacture, industries, value added trade, etc.

For all these areas to function and grow, fuel and adequate sustainable energy are paramount because to operate the above industries and earn USD we need fuel and power. To purchase fuel we need USD. This is the Catch 22 situation we are in. 

Our existing system is to import fuel through the CPC and to achieve this, USD payments must be paid in advance. 

Should there be delays in collecting USD by the treasury, then activities in all nine provinces will suffer.

Whereas, if financial autonomy for all nine provinces can be administered, each province will have to seek USDs to purchase an adequate amount of fuel with respect to their provincial needs, import independently and pay the taxes to the Central Government and Provincial Government accordingly. 

Thus, we are focusing, promoting and concentrating on encouraging FDI investment from our diaspora communities.

The diaspora community is very concerned about the security for their FDI investment, prevailing government red tapes, interference from political elements and of course the MML. 

Q: Renewable energy is a goldmine that we Sri Lankans are sitting on while spending money we don’t have on the import of fossil fuel from far flung countries. As an investor, how do you see promoting investment that will encompass a macro renewable energy policy?

A: Yes, renewable energy is the ultimate solution to fossil fuel.

Currently we are talking about sun and wind based renewable energy.

If we take renewable solar energy, the components other than sunlight are solar panels, battery systems, invertors, wiring accessories, etc. which are not produced in Sri Lanka to the required standard. Therefore adequate research and development need to be achieved for manufacturing the components before going into production.

Once all the required components are locally produced for costs lower than the imported components, then renewable energy will be the better solution to fossil fuel. 

Q: In our overall conversation, I understood that you were advocating a policy for renewable energy centred grid segmentation for the nine provinces. Could you explain further?

A: Currently, renewable solar and wind based power is fed into the national grid system and distributed throughout the island and yet we experience power shortages affecting all foreign exchange earning industries.

If we can have provincial grids in addition to the national grid, then all renewable energy produced within a province can be fed into a provincial grid first and power be supplied to full capacity to the respective province. The extra power produced can be fed into the national grid or sold to the adjoining province.

This way, each province can be accountable to producing their needed power without being a burden to the central system.

This will also create healthy competition and increase renewable energy projects in each province. 

Q:Could you give a description of all what you faced in trying to assist this nation to prosper in areas such as tourism?

A: The tourism sector is also the lifeline of those who are affiliated to sectors encompassing traditional knowledge, agriculture, fisheries, farming, food producers, cottage industries, horticulture, cultural performers, tour guides, street vendors and transport, to name a few.

The tourism industry is heavily dependent on three phase power, fuel, gas and other commodities

Our Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) investments are based on a 70:30 or 80:20 financing program. This means 70 or 80% from the investor and the balance from the local banks.

Although, in theory the Government promotes the ‘one stop shop’ of BOI and SLTDA, they come with heavy baggage. 

Non-existing hurdles are created by almost all government departments, at all levels and to solve these, extra payments (non-budgeted) need to be made.

The entire country and all government departments are laced with MML practices and not on what the country or the people need.

To obtain a simple acceptance or recommendation letter from the DS office or Pradeshiya Sabha is a never ending story with this MML system.

I think that only in Sri Lanka with a comprehensive SLTDA, places such as ‘Cinnamon Grand’, ‘Kingsbury’, ‘Taj Samudra’ and ‘Shangri-La’ are all called ‘hotel’ and the street ‘thosai kadai’ is also called a ‘hotel’ and not a restaurant. 

Now about the banking system we have here; in most foreign countries when one proposes an investment project on a 70:30 system, the investor invites three to five banks, presents the project and then the banks prepare an investment package, compete with other banks to win the project financing according to the investor’s requirements. In Sri Lanka this rule is reversed. The investor has to go with a begging bowl to the lord and master... the bank. This is how ridiculous it is here.