A sinister move

Saturday 10th July, 2021

A sinister attempt is being made in certain quarters to trigger a run on banks if some social media posts are anything to go by. Several self-appointed financial experts have urged the public to withdraw their money in local banks immediately as there is the likelihood of all accounts being frozen. Thankfully, their efforts have not yielded the intended results because the public has not taken their claim seriously. This may be the reason why the government has not reacted yet, but there is no guarantee that the people will continue to act rationally.

The Sri Lankan public is literate but notorious for whipping itself into collective hysteria, and, therefore those who are striving to cause a bank run might succeed in their endeavour. It may be recalled that there have been several instances of people responding to false tsunami alarms and running away. They no longer panic in that manner because reliable information about seaquakes is made available to them. Some years ago, thousands of people gathered near Buddha statues, believing in a rumour that rays were emanating from them. Then there was the much-publicised claim that juice made from the leaves of a certain fruit tree was a surefire cure for dengue. Many were the poor dengue patients who were made to swallow it, but their recovery was due to medical science. Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans fell for a carpenter turned native physician’s claim that he had found a cure for Covid-19 with the help of a goddess. Among them were the Health Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, several Cabinet ministers, and even some doctors. A national university granted the herbal concoction ethical clearance, and the quack made a killing. He is no longer in the news.

The public recently fell hook, line and sinker for a social media claim, and resorted to panic buying of salt in the aftermath of the X-Press Pearl disaster. That was their reaction to someone’s warning that there would be a shortage of salt. Now, the people have stocked up salt sufficient for many more months!

Thus, it may be seen that the attempts being made on social media to cause mass withdrawals from banks should not be taken lightly. The disruptive netizens base their claims about the banking system, on the condition of the national economy. Some independent economists have assessed the situation dispassionately and accurately, but their views are not widely known to the ordinary people, who know only what the ruling party politicians and their Opposition counterparts say about the economy.

Both the government and doomsayers are not telling the truth about the country’s economic situation. The latter would have the public believe that the collapse of the economy is imminent, and the former is making light of the situation. The truth is equidistant from these two extreme positions; the economy is in bad shape, but it can be revived if a serious attempt is made.

As for the irresponsible members of the public and the anarchical elements who love chaos, social media have become something like a straight razor in the hands of a mad monkey. They are all out to dupe the people, most of whom easily work themselves up into a lather. Social media have also become a weapon for certain external forces bent on destabilising countries, as evident from the manner in which the Arab Spring was engineered with leaderless mass protests sweeping across some states. The Arab Spring has turned out to be a winter of despair.

It is hoped that some decisive official action will be taken to counter the false claims being made on social media about the local banking system. What needs to be done is to educate the public on the real economic situation and the action being taken to overcome the problem, so as to allay their fears, before it is too late.