Delicious comestibles and unpalatable truth

Saturday 12th March, 2022

SJB MP Chaminda Wijesiri has proved that the current Parliament is not without members who feel for the public and have the courage to speak the truth however unpalatable it may be. He struck a discordant note in the House, on Thursday, while several others were inveighing against the newspapers that had reported an incident where some MPs allegedly found fault with the parliament canteen staff for the non-availability of dairy products.

Leading the charge against the press, SLPP MP Jayantha Ketagoda accused the media of trying to bring Parliament into disrepute. Some Opposition MPs also spoke in support of Ketagoda, who requested the Speaker to summon the newspaper editors concerned and reprimand them. The Speaker undertook to hold an inquiry. The MPs have a right to protest if they think their privileges have been violated, and similarly the media cannot be denied their right to publish reports in the public interest.

The manner in which government and Opposition politicians sink their differences and form a united front when they feel their interests are threatened reminds us of something Ranjan Ramanayake once said of them to a journalist: “Mung okkoma yaluwo, malli—all of them are friends, bro!”

Newspaper editors, or all journalists for that matter, have better things to do than to conspire to denigrate the national legislature, whose dignity must be preserved for the sake of democracy. It is the unruly MPs who tarnish the image of Parliament irreparably. It may be recalled that some of the present-day ruling party MPs unleashed terror in the House, when they were in the Opposition, following a failed power grab in 2018. They even tried to gherao the then Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, set upon the then ruling party MPs, overturned the Speakers’ chair, damaged microphones on his desk, assaulted the police and carried out chilli powder attacks.

MP Wijesiri said: “People know the cost of maintaining this parliament. Those who are languishing in queues question the way we spend their money here. There is a gas shortage in the country, but it has not affected the parliament kitchen, which has enough gas to cook food for 225 MPs. We must try to find solutions to their problems.” It is heartening that there is at least a single MP who is willing to put the country before perks and parliamentary privileges and take up the cudgels on behalf of the hapless public. Let MP Wijesiri be commended for his courage to do so. Unfortunately, he was shouted down by those who are out for editors’ scalps.

MP Ketagoda said it was not food that attracted the MPs to Parliament, and they were ready to bring their meals from home and the parliament canteen could be closed down if the Speaker was willing. Nobody is asking for the closure of the parliament canteen, but thousands of eateries and even restaurants that cater to foreign tourists who bring in much-needed dollars have put up the shutters for want of cooking gas.

Sri Lankans are a generous lot. They feed even strangers and stray animals despite their economic woes. So, they never make an issue of food served at the parliament canteen, and there is no need for the MPs to bring meals from home. But there are other ways in which they could express empathy for the suffering masses. They could leave their super luxury vehicles at home and travel in crowded buses and trains at least occasionally, and join winding queues where the ordinary people wait for hours, if not days, to buy fuel, gas, etc., and see how it is like to be an ordinary citizen. They should also discontinue the practice of seeking medical treatment in private hospitals or overseas and visit the state-run overcrowded hospitals, instead. If they do so, they will feel the need to make a serious effort to improve the people’s lot.