A time for reckoning

 President Ranil Wickremesinghe

•  Open letter to the President 

Dear Excellency,

This letter comes to you when you have made a call to the nation to build a country free from bankruptcy. We should support you in every endeavour to save this country that is overwhelmed with all the complex problems that a country could have ever faced. However, Your Excellency seems to have missed out on a very pertinent problem central to all the problems that we are challenged with. Unless and until this issue is addressed, all efforts to fix this country will be in vain.

Seriously, your call to the nation is very hollow and empty given the gross disregard for the real problem.

A very recent editorial in the Daily FT highlighted the involvement of a certain minister in the cabinet in a shady deal and how nepotism has encroached on our systems diluting the quality of the country’s administration and as a result contributing to our downfall. This of course is not only about that particular minister but an accepted norm in our way of governance. The catastrophic part of all this is the lack of any sort of action taken by the institutions with powers to deal with such issues. There is also the case of an attack on an Omani businessman apparently at the behest of a politician in power. Then there is a Minister who has a judgment in court against him for which he should have been disqualified (at least morally) to sit in Parliament. He may not be the only one. Quite recently, media reports of favoured status to political allies – attempts to write off huge bank loans while others are struggling from high interest costs and amidst business downturn. We pray that all these accounts are not true, but we do not see or hear anything to the contrary.

The list is endless. But how did we get into this mess? Your call to fix our economy needs to begin with a cleanup of the existing corrupt systems starting from the top.

Unfortunately, any aspersions due to such conduct would regrettably affect the reputation of the honest and dedicated members of Parliament as well. People view them as one and the same. But on the other hand, when such good people keep quiet, they too become part of the problem. As your Excellency will appreciate, a seat in Parliament represents the epitome of good governance and justice, not to be occupied by morally corrupt individuals.

All this shows an absolute disregard to the rule of law and governance and consequently a nod or encouragement to plunder at will, resulting in the country’s destruction and in the process depriving the people of legitimate economic as well as other rights. Those who have been elected to serve the people are concerned with serving themselves and not the people according to the editorial. We see a class of people who are immune to the country’s laws while it is only enforced against the common man. How could we justify this absurd, paradoxical treatment given to these politicians against the very oath they have taken to serve the people? What is it that makes them special? In fact they should be subjected to a harsher treatment. As long as this kind of discrimination exists, a truly peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka will be a distant call.

People are wise enough to know that you are not oblivious to what’s happening. But what have you done so far? It is not in your stature to encourage or condone the corrupt practices prevailing here. However, the inaction of the institutions under your command would reflect otherwise. Needless to say, these institutions do not need your nod each time, if they are doing their job as they should.

Your Excellency has come to this position by a twist of fate ironically. My own view is that this has been a God given responsibility to a person who has the credentials to put this country right. We have of course had our leaders elected by the people which hardly had a happy ending. The difference that you could make will be lasting – if you chose to do so and brave enough to face the challenges that come. 

Your Excellency has been given a huge responsibility despite all odds. Your foremost obligation demands a clean-up of the corrupt system. The nation has waited too long and will lose patience. As a mature politician you should understand more than many others the pulse of the people.

You have very decisively taken action against protests in the country, some of them peaceful. This may have been done to protect and preserve the system of governance in the country. You may have had justification for this. But such justification becomes meaningless when vital institutions have members of questionable backgrounds. What good is there in an institution that has members lacking the moral authority to function? These peaceful protests were, in fact, against corrupt governance and by a turnaround brought your Excellency to this position. If it was a hidden hand that brought you here, do not also forget to pay gratitude by delivering the work of the untiring protestors whose only demand was for good governance. In this your Excellency will find yourself on the same page as these protestors and the nation’s call for good governance. 

The ball is in your Excellency’s court, and despite the strength of the corrupt forces that you probably fear, your positive actions to clean up this mess could rally the people behind you. The few good men in the august assembly will surely support you. You might not have the numbers but surely the right quality of backing will overcome any obstacles. On the contrary any weak-kneed inaction will take us backwards and of course cast you to the dustbin of history among the lost but not forgotten. A double-edged sword!

Mismanagement, poor economic choices, racism, and the drug menace are some of the causes of this mess. The latest emerging story of the ‘X-Press Pearl’ case being filed in the wrong court in Singapore is case in point. All of them quite obviously may have links to corruption in one form or another. Your Excellency should know better.

To see is to believe. Show us at least that you sincerely tried. Your battle is not with the people or protestors but against the many layers of the corrupt systems that are threatening the nation. It will make no difference with a change of guard if the right corrections are not made now. 

It is inconsistent for a country blessed with such natural resources and highly skilled people to fail. This country deserves something much better. In the end it’s not about Your Excellency or anyone else, but about a nation that has been waiting for a very long 75 years. 

Thank you,

One among the million fools – waiting in anticipation