Towards a corruption free Sri Lanka

By Sathyani Fernando

So now we Sri Lankans have set a new precedent — we would jail any public official or politician who has been proved to be corrupt.

From my very limited knowledge of the law, my understanding is that General Sarath Fonseka has been found guilty and now is in jail on proven charges of corruption with regard to a tender procedure carried out during his tenure as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army.

Despite the many pleas being made on his behalf to spare him, the President has gone on record saying that all citizens are equal before the law and would therefore have to be meted out the same punishment.

It is indeed a healthy thing for a country to espouse the cause of a clean and transparent bureaucracy devoid of corruption and to deal with the guilty through severe punishment. Sri Lanka has turned over a new leaf in dealing with State corruption as it truly should be dealt with.

Justice for all

The question which begs an answer here is, however, whether all similar allegations of corruption and irregularity have been dealt with the kind of swift expediency this case received.

My memory goes back to the 1990s as we recount the many cases of corruption brought before the public of this country – Channel 9, Navy tenders for new ships, Waters Edge, damning COPE reports, Mig deals, tsunami relief and VAT scams (it took less than five minutes to write the list).

Almost all, if not all, the accused parties in these incidents, today walk the streets freely while one solitary man has been singled out for brutal punishment. Justice must not only be done, but it must be seen to be done.

In our quest for a clean nation, where any form of corruption is considered intolerable, then my contention is that quite a few Members of Parliament today should actually be languishing behind bars.

An exemplary opposition

People, they say, get the government they deserve; and indeed it seems the opposition they deserve too. The people of this country rejoiced recently when their elected representatives, who promised them the abolition of the executive presidency, actually voted for its strengthening in an apparent reversal of sentiment.

Worse, some shameless MPs who went into Parliament on the votes of the people, turned traitor to entire constituencies and crossed political parties to vote in favour of exactly the opposite of what they campaigned for less than six months back. Never has democracy made such a mockery of the rights of the people it is supposed to safeguard.

And never has the law been so helpless as in dealing with truant MPs who continue to hold their parliamentary seats after blatantly crossing sides and violating the wishes of the people who elected them.

We only hope that our sensible and educated youth do not follow the cheap and opportunistic examples set by the younger generation of unprincipled MPs like Upeksha Swarnamali, K. Sri Ranga and Manusha Nanayakkara, on whom many people had much hope.

The kind of whimpering opposition we have today in Sri Lanka has virtually ended the high principles of free thought, free speech and freedom of action rights that have over the years been taken away from us slowly.

It is the same whimpering opposition that encouraged General Fonseka to contest for President to hide its own inadequacies and lack of a presidential contender and later abandoned him when he no longer played to their agenda.

Global acceptance of good governance

In our recent rapid march towards global pariah status, Sri Lanka has chosen to imprison its four star general and widely acknowledged best Army Commander in the world, at a time even when the military junta in the outcaste state of Myanmar is readying to hold elections and promising to free the world’s most famous political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Human rights violations and the holding of political prisoners would rarely earn tick marks of approval amongst analysts evaluating global financial markets or foreign investors who invariably look for good governance and law and order in the places where they invest.

In our sudden enthusiasm to be the wonder, or miracle or whatever of Asia, good governance coupled with strong development strategies are what investors would look for. Other Asian countries which are working on such models of excellence would beat us in the race for securing high quality foreign investment and partnerships.

Today we know that even in the corporate world investors would pay a premium to invest in companies that are well governed and also have good strategies for growth and expansion. Good governance has become an imperative and not just a frill in the world of investment and business. As a developing nation Sri Lanka must take such hardnosed realities into account.

Freedom of expression

In conclusion I can only say that today we are a reluctant nation, afraid to express ourselves and stand up for what we believe in. We are imparting the same sets of values to our kids who grow up thinking it’s alright to change your principles, your values and suppress your beliefs if that’s what suits the opportunity at hand. We are denied our copies of the Economist magazine when they carry articles critical of the Government.

Who are we trying to fool? I don’t think we encourage debate or creativity because we fear to say what we think in public — the lack of a good opposition has robbed us of our speech.

In any case, today amidst the abundance of peace we enjoy, there lurks an uneasy sense of disquiet because the four things I have highlighted in this article —justice for all, an exemplary opposition, good governance and freedom of expression — have been lost to us and sacrificed by us in the name of “material economic development”.

In the same vein, I too am hoping that my article goes unnoticed because I don’t want to end up being questioned about why I wrote this. For that General Fonseka, I beg your forgiveness, because I don’t have the courage that you had... to confront the forces that I know I can’t fight against.