Features
Sohan Weerasinghe Award-winning, Ever-green Musician
PLACES, PEOPLE & PASSIONS (3Ps)
Part 8
Dr. Chandana () Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
chandij@sympatico.ca
Profile
Sohan is a popular singer, entertainer, band leader, song composer, lyrics writer, and showbiz personality. He is an attorney at law but decided to make a career in the entertainment industry. After winning the Observer Talent contest in the mid-seventies, he formed his own band – Sohan & The X’Periments. Sohan did a five-year stint with his band at the Hotel Muscat InterContinental in Oman. His first English original composition – “Whispers in the sand” won the song of the year award at the 1993 Island Music awards. Today, Sohan is one of the most sought-after Sri Lankan singers for performances around the world.
First Meeting in 1972
When I was a first-year student at Ceylon Hotel School in 1972, the idea of celebrating the graduation of the third-year diploma students came up during a booze party at our hostel. We organized Graduation Ball 1972 at the Samudra Hotel with one of the most popular dance bands in Sri Lanka at that time – Gabo & the Breakaways.
That was the first time I met Sohan Weerasinghe, their lead singer. He was friendly and fully focused on entertaining the audience, most of whom were in their late teens and early twenties. With a charming smile, he accommodated a few songs requested by the Australian teenage girl who was my dance partner.
Making Colombo 2000 the # 1 Night Club
When I joined Le Galadari Meridien Hotel in 1986, as the Director of Food & Beverage, I was responsible for hiring musicians and signing their contracts. Just before I joined this five-star 500 room hotel, Sohan had negotiated a good contract with my French predecessor. Sohan & The X’Periments with Estelle performed three days a week at what was then the trendiest night club in Sri Lanka – Le Meridien’s Colombo 2000.
One day I had a business chat with Sohan to renegotiate the contract with a revenue-based payment per night. After a long negotiation, Sohan eventually accepted my proposal. Sohan was shrewd, diplomatic, intelligent, and funny. He also had a good business sense and practical ideas. We quickly became good friends. After that I felt that I should meet all hotel entertainers under contract at the hotel for a brainstorming session, which was productive with some great ideas for the year 1987.
Most of the night clubs in Sri Lanka at that time had a limited operation of three or four nights, focusing on the weekend business. We took a chance on making Colombo 2000 a seven-day operation with live bands every day and opening at the same time (9:30 pm). We used ‘the seven-day’ operation as the unique selling proposition in our ad campaigns.
We found it useful to check night club themes and special effects in Asian countries more advanced than Sri Lanka, such as Singapore (which was around two years ahead of nightclub trends in Sri Lanka). I did a couple of trips to Singapore and Thailand with Sohan to check night club trends. Our two wives joined us on these trips, mainly to keep a close eye on us! We also played lot of 304 card games during our trips. The ladies were annoyed to lose every time and accused Sohan and I of cheating. They never found out how!
One of the many awards won by Sohan.
Late 1980s were the heyday of the nightclub business in Colombo, and with the support of Sohan and many other leading musicians, my team at Le Meridien made Colombo 2000 the king of nightclubs in Sri Lanka from 1986 for a long time… Thank you Sohan!
Hospitality and Showbiz
I gradually concluded that hospitality and showbusiness which go hand in hand and have many similarities, are really one industry focusing on entertaining customers, while making profits. Entertainment was an essential element of our total food and beverage operation. Usually, in the evening, we had live music in three locations of the hotel. I learnt to treat entertainers as very important members of the hotel family. That orientation proved to be mutually beneficial.
Le Galadari Meridien provided me an opportunity to develop a new hobby, as part of my work. I gradually learnt a lot from Sohan and other hotel entertainers and I became a busy showbiz producer. I regularly used images of Sohan and other leading entertainers to promote events, such as New Year’s Eve dinner dances, which eventually established new records in Sri Lanka.
Mastering Show Biz Productions
During a brainstorming session with musicians, after explaining my objective of improving the ballroom occupancy during the slow months, I encouraged the musicians to suggest solutions. They came with a few great ideas and we decided to organize a series of weekly shows under the theme ‘Musical Stars of 1986’ in the ballroom. A key aim was to promote young musicians who had performed in western bands around the country during the year. All musicians under contract at Le Meridien contributed on an honorary basis as judges for these new, weekly contests and as performers for the gala final show.
I learned to produce music shows with 1,000+ audiences with help from Sohan and other musicians under contract at Le Galadari Meridien. The first three shows I produced in 1987: ‘Musical Stars of 1986’, ‘A Farewell to Priyanthi & Raja’ and ‘Noeline… a Celebration’, all were very successful in terms of production, audience satisfaction, ticket sales, profits, reviews, and publicity. I eventually produced a total of 16 stage music shows, with Sohan as a key member of my team, who provided sound, backing music to all singers and also performing as a leading vocalist.
Sohan and other performers at the finale of The Island Music Awards show in 1988.
More Creative Collaborations with Sohan
A Mega Festival in Oman – 1988
The experiences I gained in showbiz productions in Sri Lanka were memorable and useful in the next phase of my career as an expatriate hotelier. I was invited by Oman Sheraton to coordinate and lead the food and entertainment aspects of a mega Sri Lankan festival which included a versatile team of 54 Lankans flown to Oman. Sohan once again was my right-hand man in this initiative. During this trip in 1988, I became more interested and knowledgeable about fashion shows, and the concept of the first-ever ‘Fashion Model of the Year’ competition in Sri Lanka was born
After a short break from Sri Lanka, to work in the Middle East and the United Kingdom, I returned to Sri Lanka by the early 1990s for three years to work as the General Manager of Mount Lavinia Hotel. Although Sohan was not under contract to perform there, he collaborated with me in producing some more stage productions. Sohan always was a great team player.
‘Whispers in the Sand’ – 1991
One day I received a call from Sohan with an unusual request: “Mr. J, Just now I recorded a new English song with the band at my studio. I have themed it: ‘Whispers in the Sand’. If I send you the rough mix, can you kindly give me your comments?” I was surprised with that request. “Sohan, as you know, I am not a singer and have no musical talents. I am not qualified to give you any advice!”, but he sent me the rough mix anyway.
Soon after I listened to it a couple of times, Sohan called me to check what I felt about his composition. “Sohan, congratulations! ‘Whispers in the Sand’ is easily the most beautiful English song recorded in Sri Lanka. You should make a beautiful four and half minute video for it. If you are looking for a director and producer for it, I would love to give it a try.” Sohan immediately agreed to give me 100% free hand with the creation of the video.
Overnight I learnt to create a detailed storyboard for the video. I also consulted movie makers I knew from my acting days. Willie Blake, an award-winning cinematographer, movie director and my friend, was on a holiday in Sri Lanka and was staying at Mount Lavinia hotel at that time. He advice on camera angles and shooting were particularly helpful for me in planning the production. Mount Lavinia hotel was the location and sponsor of the production. ITN network provided the technical support and an excellent crew. We spent a whole day for the shoot and a full night in the editing rooms of ITN to create a video which was nominated for the Best Music Video of the Year award.
‘Fleeting Moments’ – 1992
During the night I spent with Sohan and the editing team at ITN, I learnt about song composing. I was surprised that Sohan created the tune for ‘Whispers in the Sand’ first, then wrote the lyrics, and finally allowed me to write a story for the video. I felt that the better process should be in the reverse: story – lyrics – music. Following that conceptual process, I created my first song composition that night, based on a personal experience I had at Bentota Beach Hotel in 1974.
Sohan did the arrangement for ‘Fleeting Moments’ and sang it. I wrote the story board and directed the video at Mount Lavinia Hotel during the 1992 New Year’s Eve dinner dance at the Empire Ballroom. It was an instant hit on the charts and motivated me to compose lyrics for more songs.
‘The Show’ – 1992
Having produced, annually, The Island Music Awards shows on three occasions, I did my largest show in Sri Lanka in 1992. It was The Island Music Awards 1991, staged at the largest hall in Sri Lanka – BMICH National Convention Centre. At that time, I was also the General Manager of Mount Lavinia Hotel Catering Services at BMICH. This was my last major production before I left Sri Lanka for good, and I was keen to do something spectacular and memorable. We called it ‘The Show.’
On that occasion, I came with my vision for the show and then requested input from the musicians in the organizing team. It worked well. I accepted most of their suggestions and fine-tuned the concept. With that, we were able to take this show to a much higher level, in terms of production, than all the previous shows that I had produced in Sri Lanka.
In addition to employees of the hotel and BMICH, our production team for that show consisted of 153 professionals: musicians, dancers, choreographers, set designers, sound engineers, lighting engineers, special effects professionals, make-up artists, photographers, video recorders and my favourite stage manager – Kenneth Honter.
We added two new features to this show – a complete dress rehearsal the day before the show, and the show video launched on TV a week after the show. We commenced the show exactly at 7:00 pm with a full attendance of 1,506.
As written on my concept document and the detailed production plan, we had two segments with contrasting sub-themes. For each segment, we used contrasting music, choreographed dance acts, special effects, lighting, and sound. It had two major ‘ambitious’ set changes with unprecedented special effects, to enhance the two segments of the show.
‘Nature’ – 1992
The first half of ‘The Show’ was themed: ‘Nature’ with waterfalls, large trees, mist and 34 little ballerinas performing as butterflies, birds, blossoming flowers in a rainforest waking up early in the morning. A gentle ray of the morning sun gradually made the lead singer of the first song (Noeline) visible to the audience. It was slow moving and misty, using greens and blues in the backdrops with subtle lighting. It was a gentle and happy celebration of our beautiful nature.
‘Future’ – 1992
The second half was themed ‘Future’ depicting humankind advancing with science and flying rockets, but destroying our planet with short sighted policies, human greed, unwanted wars, and disruptions. It was fast moving, with sounds of explosions and smoke, using red and orange in the backdrops with flashing lighting. In one scene a rocket landed on the stage, militants came out of the rocket and took a performing singer (Sohan) as a prisoner before flying away from the BMICH stage. It was a warning that we are selfishly destroying our planet.
Sohan, after recording the song ‘Dream Woman’ composed by Gamini Fonseka in 1998.
With Noeline and Sohan, I co-wrote two new songs aligned with the two segment themes of the show (they did most of the work!). The song, ‘Nature’ dominated the top of the pop charts in Sri Lanka for several weeks, and a year later, Noeline and I jointly won The Island Music Award for the ‘Composer of the Year.’
‘Am I guilty?’ – 1993
My next song was the most popular. I followed my process of ‘story – lyrics – music’ and Sohan became my co-composer and did the arrangements. I chose Dalrene Suby for vocals with Sohan for supporting vocals. We filmed the music video at the Colombo Airport and Airport Garden Hotel. “Am I guilty?” dominated the pop charts for eight weeks at the most popular English song in Sri Lanka. Concurrently I composed another song titled ‘Faithful’ which was arranged by Chandralal Fonseka, who also did vocals with Crystal Williams. I did not make a video for it.
‘Fitness Fever’ – 1993
My sixth and the last song composition was ‘Fitness Fever’. With 20 top Sri Lankan western musicians providing vocals and 16 semi-professional actors appearing in the video, it was my most ambitious song and music video undertaking. We filmed it over a day at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel. It dominated the pop charts for three weeks as the most popular English song in Sri Lanka. Later I produced a cassette with the same name and included four of the songs I was involved in creating. All the participating singers, actors and technicians worked free of charge and we donated all proceeds to Ranvirusevana (fund to rehabilitate soldiers wounded in the civil war). We held a grand launch of the cassette at the Little Hut night club of Mount Lavinia Hotel.
Re-connecting in 2023
After meeting Sohan in January 2020 on the day he paid last respects to his dear wife, Lali, we did not see each other for three years mainly due to the global pandemic. I was happy to re-connect with Sohan in Colombo in 2023, when he sang at my elder son Marlon’s wedding. In the groom’s speech, Sohan’s family was identified as Marlon’s extended family.
Recently, for the first time in my life I sang. I recorded five video covers of old popular Sinhala songs and posted those on social media over five weeks. I was happy to receive thousands of positive reactions but did not see any comments from my friend Sohan. Finally, I heard from him. “Chandi I was not impressed at all! Singing in not your forte. Don’t believe these people who just praise your singing. Your sense of rhythm was bad and your pitching was way out. Please stick to many other things you are extremely good at. This is from the heart of a genuine friend.”
“That’s what friends are for…” I never sang again.
Questions & Answers
Q: Out of all the places you have visited in Sri Lanka and overseas, what is your favourite and most interesting place?
A: My favourite place is Australia. There are so many Lankans who have migrated to Australia, but they still have a special place in their hearts for Sri Lanka. Whenever I perform there, I do get a very warm reception and tremendous crowd support especially in Melbourne. Most musicians will agree with me that Australia is the place for us!
Q: Out of all the inspiring people you have met, who inspired you most to do well in the entertainment industry?
A: I have been inspired by many including Elvis, Humperdinck, Tom Jones, the Beatles, and Bee Gees. In the local music scene by people like Desmond De Silva, Raj Seneviratne, Mignonne Fernando, Dalrene Suby, Victor Ratnayake, Pandith Amaradeva, and Clarence Wijewardena.
Q: At the present time, apart from music, what is your key passion in life?
A: I love spending a lot of time with my only granddaughter Sienna who means the world to me. I also keep in touch with my son Darshan (fitness trainer) and my daughter Erandika who lives and works in New York. I am also an avid filmgoer and love going out for movies.
Q: After dreaming of practising as an attorney, what made you change your mind about a career in music?
A:Music was my passion, as I come from a very musical family. Although I passed out from Law College with first class honours, when I had to decide between law and music, I opted to make music my full-time career. I have no regrets. I have met so many interesting people and loved doing overseas tours entertaining friends and fans abroad.
Q: You also worked for few years as the General Manager of Finco Group of Companies. At that time, how did you balance your work, hobbies, and family?
A:Yes, it was tough, as I had to spend time with my family, with my band the “X’Periments” and try to pursue my career as a legal officer. The best thing I did was to quit my office job and then concentrate on my music and my family and try to balance it out. Initially it was difficult but eventually it turned out OK.
Q: Before forming Sohan & The X’Periments, what key lessons did you learn from bands you served as the lead singer?
A:I worked with the Moonstones with Annesley Malewana, with Esquire set with Ralph Menezies and with Gabo & the Breakaways with Priyanthi. I realized you had to put in a lot of effort to get to the top. Learn a nice repertoire of songs that were catchy and current at the time. Desist from drinking and smoking and breaking too much rest. Also, I learnt a lot about being a good band leader from both Annesley Malewana and Gabo Pieries.
Q: How successful was your first English original – ‘Whispers in the Sand’ in terms of popularity?
A: ‘Whispers in the Sand’ was an amazing hit for me. It ended up getting the award for the song of the year and was the most popular song in the top of the pops list for a few weeks based on votes to the ‘Teen Page’ of The Island newspaper. Thanks to Chandana Jayawardena who was the General Manager of Mount Lavinia hotel and the ITN network I was able to put out a nice video of the song with Brian Kerkoven and Shani J, playing the lead roles in the music video. That was nominated for the 1992 Best Music Video of the Year award by Sunday Observer newspaper.
Q: Out of many awards you have won during your long career in music, which single award made you most proud ?
A: Yes, I have won many awards during my musical journey but the award I liked most was winning the ‘Showbiz personality of the Year’ at The Island Music Awards show at the BMICH, produced by Chandana Jayawardena of Mount Lavinia Hotel.
Q: You are certainly an ever-green musician, who continues to grow in popularity among Sri Lankans in many countries, resulting in a hectic global travel schedule. What is your secret of success?
A: I have made it a point to “read” the crowd and have constant eye contact with my audience. Do the songs they like and not do advanced stuff just to show them one’s high class. Bringing in humour wherever possible helps you to get the audience on your side. Also being simple, flexible, and down to earth has helped my career immensely.
Q: What is your advice to aspiring young western musicians?
A: My message to young musicians is simple – There is no short cut to success. Hard work pays off in the end. If you choose music as your career, make sure you have the “passion” for it. You also need an element of luck. There will be many ups and downs in your career, but you have to put it aside and have a positive attitude. At least have one or two originals to your credit so that you have your own identity. Be focused and give it your 100 percent and eventually you will succeed. Most importantly, try to get on with your fellow musicians and treat them with a bit of love, respect and understanding.
Next week, 3Ps will feature a doctor turned award-winning portrait artist.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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