Dismal behaviour of people’s representatives

Any ordinary citizen of Sri Lanka that vandalises any building, let alone the parliamentary chamber, and physically attacks individuals and police officers, would face grave consequences. Yet we have seen absolutely no action taken against these MPs that not only took the law in to their own hands, but did so with such relish and reckless abandon

Tuesday, 7 July 2020 

The public witnessed in the recent past the dismal behaviour of some of our country’s representatives in the Parliament. We will soon have the opportunity to take these factors into consideration when we exercise our sovereign right to select our representatives.

The public will recall with much sadness how the Chair of the Speaker of Parliament was desecrated, how public property was vandalised and how expensive equipment purchased through tax revenue was thrown around within that hallowed institution.

Having experienced voting rights from the 1960s I am very sad to place on record that this was the worst behaviour I have seen in our most important institution. As a youth, I recall the respected personalities such as Robert, Lesley, Phillip Gunawardena, Colvin R. De Silva and Stanley Thilakaratne, who despite being very effective in their speeches and activities in the Parliament, never stooped to such low levels.

I note with great disappointment that all the major political parties are promoting candidates that have been in positions of power for many decades. Given that I have reached my 80th year, you can safely assume that I have witnessed some truly shocking developments in our political sphere. However, I have never been so saddened and disillusioned about the behaviour of our politicians, as I was at the behaviour of senior politicians during the constitutional crisis that occurred in December 2018.

People watched aghast at how parliamentary proceedings were allowed to deteriorate into a shambolic mess. Parliamentarians who were supposed to respect the institution and behave in a dignified manner in that most sacred of chambers, acted like a vile group of juvenile degenerates.

The way in which they denigrated parliamentary proceedings, destroyed public property and attacked the security and police forces that were in the chamber, left me disgusted beyond words. If we are to have real integrity, how can we ignore such a shameful period in our history? We must recognise that, to take no action, is to risk our own dignity as citizens.

Any ordinary citizen of Sri Lanka that vandalises any building, let alone the parliamentary chamber, and physically attacks individuals and police officers, would face grave consequences. Yet we have seen absolutely no action taken against these MPs that not only took the law in to their own hands, but did so with such relish and reckless abandon.

If the authorities are so feeble and powerless that they cannot use the ample video evidence that is available to take action against these individuals, then I urge the electorate to take matters in to their own hands. Use your ballot to ensure that these miscreants are never given the honour of stepping in to that chamber again. Send them packing to send a message that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated. Show them that they may be above the law, but they still answer to us, the people. Do this, so that we may hopefully never have to suffer the indignity of watching elected officials behave in such an undistinguished manner.

The SLPP, the SJB and even the UNP have many young politicians that are running for office. Why not give these candidates our preferential votes? We have nothing to lose, there is very little chance that the younger generation will be any worse than what came before. Certainly, the previous generation of MPs has set the bar so low, that this would be inconceivable.

Sri Lanka is a country that has a rich heritage of parliamentary decorum. Only in some countries in Africa and some Easter European countries, have we seen this kind of behaviour. We are much, much better than this. In fact, if the MPs were actually representative of the wider public in Sri Lanka, I do not believe that such behaviour would ever have occurred. As Sri Lankans we must project a positive image to the world, we must show how far we have come since independence, we must safeguard our institutions.

The electronic and television media should replay the videos of what happened during that constitutional crisis and replay them constantly, so that the people can remind themselves of who we vote for. The names and faces of those who behaved in such a low manner should be etched into our minds so that we may never forget. There is every chance that the electorate will see common sense and send an unequivocal message to MPs that nobody is above the law.

It is beyond my comprehension as to why we would ever entrust our most important institution to a bunch of undereducated hooligans who have done nothing but rape and pillage the national bounty through careers that span, three, four, even five decades.

We boast of being the miracle of Asia, of being the frontier in the region for foreign investment, of being a tourist haven, but who are we trying to fool? Why would anyone with any sense invest in a nation where there is a political class that is above the law?

You may be a leftist, you may be a nationalist, you may espouse conservative economic policies, but you must do so through officials that respect institutions.

The nation’s wealth has been destroyed, institutions weakened, law and order applied selectively, why should we not vote for fresh faces, what else is left for us to lose?