Features
NUJ and the Sampath Bank and the passing of the old brigade
(Excerpted from volume ii of Sarath Amunugama autobiograph
Back in Colombo I decided to sever my connections with WIF and concentrate on my academic interests. Accordingly, I began working with the International Centre for Ethnic Studies on an irregular basis. The ambience at ICES was very congenial with colleagues like Reggie Siriwardene, Kingsley de Silva, Neelan Tiruchelvam, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Sunil Bastian and Sithy Tiruchelvam. The ICES library was well stocked with the latest international magazines and books thanks to an energetic librarian Tambirajah who had earlier worked at the USIS and was an old friend of mine.
We had discussions and seminars on a variety of subjects with the participation of visiting academia, university lecturers and other public personalities. I could also participate in many international conferences abroad on behalf of ICES. One memorable meeting was with leading American Indologists held in the Napa Valley. We met in a small village hotel in the wine county. After the meeting I spent some time with friends in San Francisco which was an unforgettable experience.
This was the time when I became close friends with N.U. Jayawardene who, near to ninety years of age, still was in top form as an innovative and brilliant economist. It was a pleasure to meet him at home of an evening when he held forth on reforming the Sri Lankan economy. He was a perfectionist from his well-cut clothes to his cut glass decanters and whiskey glasses. He served only the choicest wines and whiskeys. He rode in the latest Mercedes Benz and had built his house in the most exclusive part of Cinnamon Gardens.
He was a hard worker and thinker and was making sensible policy prescriptions till the end of his days. When I became an MP I would consult him before speaking on economic matters. Bernard Soysa who was a Minister in 1994 complimented me on my speeches little knowing that I had been inspired by his distant kinsman NUJ. In politics they were poles apart but had a very cordial personal relationship. I still believe that if we had followed NUJ’s economic policy prescriptions Sri Lanka would have grown into an `Asian Tiger’.
NUJ was in the process of setting up his long time brainchild-a new commercial and savings bank which would use latest digital technologies and cater to a new group of depositors who were not presently investing their savings in local banks. His research had shown that a large number of rich people in the country kept their money at home or lent it irregularly to a small circle of borrowers.
NUJ wanted to call his new bank the Industrial and Commercial Bank of Sri Lanka. He asked me to recommend a forward looking advertising company which would convey his path breaking ideas to a public which could be persuaded to entrust their savings to the new venture. I had no hesitation recommending Irvin Weerakkody’s Phoenix Advertising company for this task.
I had worked with this company in the early days of the JRJ administration when we successfully changed the practice of issuing rice ration books by substituting a “Salli Potha” for a select category of consumers below the poverty line following the first budget of Ronnie de Mel. My minister Anandatissa de Alwis was an advertising wizard and I had worked with him on a communication strategy for a family health programme together with an American company which was held up as a model advertising campaign.
It was this campaign that popularized the “Preeethi” and “Mithuri” contraceptives which changed the demographics of the country. When the Taj group wanted to open an initial public offering of forty percent for Sri Lankan investors I recommended Phoenix Advertising. They presented a very creative campaign and the Taj IPO was oversubscribed much to the satisfaction of the Hotels division of the Taj group which was having internal management problems as well as difficulties with the Reserve Bank of India. It was the only silver lining in the balance sheet of the Taj Hotels division which underwent restructuring as a part of the internal leadership struggle between Ratan Tata and Mistry.
A salutary aspect of NUJs management style was that once we agreed on the concept of a campaign he did not interfere as long as the results were satisfactory. This was seen as his approach to the all important marketing campaign. I joined Irvin in planning the advertising campaign for NUJs bank. Another characteristic of NUJ was that he did not stint on advertising budgets.
We found that NUJs terminology of `Industrial and Commercial Bank’ needed to be changed to a popular and easily recognizable brand name. In our research we found that a lot of money was in the hands of a new class of nationalist minded businessmen and other rich individuals. To attract this clientele we invented the tagline “A Bank for the Sons of the Soil” which was a milder version of “Bhumiputra”.
I was reading an Indian magazine on economic activities and came across a reference to a small “Sampath” Bank in an obscure province. Something clicked and we persuaded NUJ to change the name of his Bank to Sampath Bank while retaining his original designation as a sub heading. This change worked wonders and the title of “Sampath Bank – a Bank for the sons of the soil” entered the marketing and economic landscape of the country.
We knew that we had scored an advertising “hit” when a large number of rich Buddhist monks who had up to then hoarded their considerable amounts of cash in their “Awasas” turned up in their posh vehicles to open deposits in the “Bhumiputra” Bank. So did many Christian clerics. Thus Sampath bank could open its business with substantial assets by way of savings deposits generated from a new breed of clients.
This interest in advertising rubbed off on my daughter Varuni who had entered the Law faculty of Colombo University of which GL Peiris was then the Vice Chancellor. Due to JVP violence the Colombo Campus was closed and the students had to languish for several years. I had enrolled Varuni for a course on advertising in Paris, which had a reputation for “frontier” advertising concepts. So with Irwin’s assistance she joined Phoenix advertising company and learnt the rudiments of marketing and advertising there in the heyday of that legendary institution.
Her close friends at that time were Dilith Jayaweera and Ishini Wickremesinghe. Dilith was a firebrand in the University and was once abducted by a rival student organization. This was no laughing matter then as some students had been roughed up and even murdered over University politics. I remember that Dilith’s friends came home to see me and got me to contact the IGP and the Minister of Higher Education of the time, Hameed, to take a personal interest in getting Dilith back from his abductors.
The following morning he was blindfolded and left near the Kanatte cemetery and we were all relieved that his life had been spared. Some time after ,since the University was as good as closed Dilith, Ishini and Varuni decided to set up an advertising company .It was a good move since they were short of capital to start a capital intensive company but had the advantage of accessing young “free lance” specialists like photographers, layout artists and copywriters which gave a new angle to their product unlike the work of full timers in the big advertising companies. That little acorn which was called Triad has now grown into a big oak and is the leading advertising company in the country with its own brand value and work ethic.
As we drifted towards the end of the 1990s Sri Lanka had ended the JVP violence after a horrendous bloodbath. The top leadership were almost all subjected to extra judicial killings. The armed forces were encouraged by Ranjan Wijeratne to eliminate them unlike in the case of 1971 when they were subjected to judicial proceedings through a Criminal Justice Commission. President Premadasa had once again shown that it was dangerous to cross his path.
This tendency was to be seen again in the near future when Lalith and Gamini, then in an uneasy alliance with him, began to challenge him openly and was kicked out of the UNP for their pains. But that was further down the road and will be described in the next volume of my memoirs. After passing the 1990s, Premadasa had to grapple with the LTTE which too, like the JVP, spurned his overtures for a settlement. But we could look to the future.
A journalist asked Pieter Keuneman, then in retirement from Parliamentary politics, what he now wished for. Keuneman, droll as ever, replied that he wanted to survive to see the new millennium. We all, now into middle age, could look forward to the coming decade with some hope. But how wrong we were. Most of the leaders of my time were brutally assassinated. This wave of violence engulfed all parties and all leaders. Many of the close friends I have described so far in my autobiography were cut down in their prime.
The hopes of many had resided with them and now they were all gone. Only JRJ remained to mourn the loss of his closest comrades and even note the demise of many who had opposed him tooth and nail. When some party stalwarts wanted him to come back after the assassination of Premadasa he refused to do so and backed Wijetunga’s claims to that office in terms of the UNP constitution. JRJ died of cancer in his 93rd year and was cremated, as he wished, by the Kelani river within sight of the famous temple with which his family was linked.
Kelaniya was his electorate when he entered politics and he always considered Kelaniya to be his home ground. JRJ too could not make it to the new millennium which displayed a very different type of politics. That will be the subject of the forthcoming third and last volume of my autobiography which will be entitled “In the Political Arena”.
(Concluded)
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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