Features
Diamonds, tears and tiaras
Marilyn Monroe’s genius and tragedy of her life
By Dahami P. Samarathunga
I remember watching “Blonde”, with a few of friends back in 2022 and finding its portrayal of Marilyn Monroe most unfair. Even though the film was dubbed a ‘fictional biopic’, it seemed as though it had failed to be even that presenting her story as an unending tragedy, with too much focus on the negatives. The director described the film as a representation of Marilyn captured through the lens of a camera, with her highlighted beauty, sensuality, and sex appeal saying it was an emphasis on “the idea of Marilyn Monroe” rather than the actual person herself ignoring the fact that she had fought hard to be taken seriously, instead of as some ‘sexual object’, through the major part of her career.
It is no secret that Marilyn was a symbol of Hollywood glitter and arguably the most recognizable movie star of her time. But her success and rise to stardom didn’t come easy as she had to overcome not only the politics behind the scenes in show business but also her own personal demons. In the midst of the multitude of tragedies she endured in her short time on earth, she was one of the hardest working women in show business, who was well aware of the ugly side of Hollywood and as actress Shelly Winters once revealed, “If she was dumber, she would’ve been happier.”
Marilyn was born “Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 and didn’t have a normal upbringing as her mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and she had never seen her father. Due to her illness, her mother was admitted to a mental institution, making Grace Goddard, a family friend, her guardian. But, due to her husband’s reluctance to keep the child, Norma was later sent back to an orphanage where she was abused and shunted through over a dozen foster homes within a few years greatly affecting her mental state. The orphanage staff believed Norma could thrive in a family setting resulting in Grace Goddard moving her back to her home. But Norma’s happiness was short lived as Grace’s husband, attempted to sexually molest her causing Norma to develop a stutter which she later tried to conceal by adopting to more breathy and softer speaking tone during her studio days.
Through out her school and teenage years, Norma was constantly moved to friends and relatives’ homes. Her foster parents often encouraged her to go out for movies as they didn’t like having her in the house all the time. This led to her becoming infatuated with the idea of being a movie star. To remove Norma out of their home state, Grace Goddard who remained her legal guardian and her husband decided to marry her off to their neighbour James Dougherty, five years her senior. Though she went along with their decision, she felt she was pressured into it and believed her destiny was elsewhere. She was only 16-years old at the time.
After Dougherty was shipped off to the Pacific during World War ll, Norma worked at a “Radioplane” factory where she was discovered by David Conover, a photographer working for the US military. Impressed by her good looks, he invited her to model for an Air Force calendar. This led her to quit her factory job in 1945 and sign up with a modelling agency where she was an instant success, being featured in magazines and advertising commercials. The agency considered her to be one of their most hardworking models.
Around this time Norma bleached her hair blonde, drawing inspiration from her childhood idol Jean Harlow. She signed a contract with a Fox Studio in 1946 and went on to take her iconic screen name Marilyn Monroe adding the ‘Monroe’ which was her mother’s maiden name. She divorced Dougherty in 1947 as he opposed her film career. Marilyn was dropped by Fox after her initial contract and was later signed on by Columbia Pictures. Both studios were hesitant to give her prominent roles as they deemed, ‘she was too timid and shy to be in front of camera’. However, due to her later appearances in a few Fox hits, she was offered a seven-year deal with 20th Century Fox in 1950 but was heartbroken after hearing her rumoured lover, talent agent Johnny Hyde, had died of a heart attack a few days later.
After going back to Fox, Marilyn began to work extensively with her acting coach Natasha Lytess and was determined to make a name for herself as an actress in show business. In 1953, she starred in three consecutive box office hits consolidating her status as one of the most sought-after stars in cinema. “Niagara” was a breakthrough for Marilyn as many believed her years of hard work had finally paid off. Her iconic walking scene in Niagara was considered the longest such scene in the history of cinema and was filmed in a one single take.
It was said that Marilyn had to walk about 35 meters in the shot, with the director, Henry Hathaway initially not planning to shoot a long scene. But, once the cameras started rolling, Marilyn’s graceful walk enthralled the entire film crew and hundreds of onlookers on the street with nobody daring to stop her. She next starred in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” alongside Jane Rusell who was an industry veteran. Jane described Marilyn as a ‘sweet individual’ and a ‘workaholic’, revealing how overly critical she was of her own work, “She did look to her coach a lot,” Rusell said. “She worked with her after a full day’s shooting, when I couldn’t think of anything but going home, eating and crashing into bed. “But she’d go on working. She was really determined.”
At the time of the movie’s release, it was revealed that Russell was paid over ten times more than Marilyn due to the contract she held. But despite their pay difference, the pair remained close. Marilyn later spoke of a time when the movie was being shot, she was upset over not having her own dressing room. “The public would be quite disillusioned with the way the industry treats its stars”, Marilyn said. “She (Russel) got $ 200,000 for the film, and I got my 500 a week. But to me it was considerable. The only thing was I couldn’t get my own dressing room. I said look, ‘after all I’m the blonde, and gentlemen prefer blondes!’ “.
Though the studios tried to downplay her acting talent, refusing to look past her beauty, critics believed Marilyn had outshone a cast of seasoned veterans with Russell revealing she didn’t mind playing second fiddle Marilyn as they had formed a bond and didn’t compete with each other. With the success of her movies, Marilyn was offered the same stereotypical “dumb blonde” characters which, she strictly refused. After rejecting series of such movies, she was sent on leave in January 1954 as the studio accused her breaching her contract.
However, Marilyn had the last laugh as she married the baseball star, Joe DiMaggio, at a hugely publicized event a few weeks later. They jetted off to Japan for their honeymoon with Marilyn later detouring to perform before thousands of US soldiers in Korea, creating a media frenzy that became one of the biggest news stories of the year. After this highly publicized tour, she was offered a new contract with Fox in March of 1954.
However, Marilyn’s marriage to DiMaggio ended in less than a year with speculation that their separation was triggered by an iconic scene during the shooting of “The Seven Year Itch.” Here, Marilyn’s skirt gets blown by the gust from a subway grate orchestrated by Fox for publicity reasons. DiMaggio was furious over seeing that photo and the excitement it created that he reportedly struck her later that night at St. Regis Hotel, where they stayed. Many believed Marilyn’s fame overwhelmed DiMaggio who eventually grew jealous.
Tired of being cast as a ‘sex symbol’ upset she couldn’t choose her own roles and conflicts with the studio, Marilyn was suspended from work. She countered by opening her own production company, “MMP” with her photographer Milton Green, in late 1954.
Green’s wife, Amy, a close friend of Marilyn, once said she loved strolling around the streets of New York with the actress hiding behind her glasses or a scarf. Nobody bothered her. Once when they were on such a walk, Marilyn asked, “Do you want to see me become her?” “I just said ‘Yes’, Amy revealed. “And then I saw it. I don’t know how to explain what she did because it was so very subtle. Suddenly cars were slowing and people were turning their heads and stopping to stare. They were recognizing Marilyn Monroe as if she pulled off a mask or something.”
Marilyn in every sense was a fine actress. She often made her movements and mannerisms appropriate for the camera and honed her speaking skills with the help of the books such as, ‘The Thinking Body’ by Mabel Elsworth Todd. This showed how hard she was willing to work to perfect every aspect her career and persona. By the late 1955 Fox was eager to work with her again and offered her a contract with provisions allowing her to pick movies, directors, and projects of her own.
She declared another victory against Fox in 1956 by legally changing her name to “Marilyn Monroe” which was seen as a clever entrepreneurial decision by the same media that once ridiculed her for leaving Fox and going independent. It also was considered a rare feat, as her superstars of her stature typically avoided legal conflicts with major studios fearing potential damage to their careers. She later married playwright Arthur Miller in 1956, seen as controversial by many.
One well documented aspect of Marilyn’s life was how understood and loved she was by fellow female stars. Joan Collins revealed how Marilyn was the first to warn her about the vultures in Hollywood saying, “Beware of the wolves in Hollywood honey. If the studio bosses don’t get what they want from you, they’ll drop your contract”.
Marilyn also had an endearing relationship with Jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald. ‘She’s my very favourite person and I love her as a person as well as a singer; I think she’s the greatest,” she once said of Fitzgerald. Ella later recalled how Marilyn came to her rescue when many venue owners did not let her perform at important theatres and nightclubs because she was black. “I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt,” She revealed. “She personally called the owner of the Mocambo and told him she wanted me booked immediately. The owner agreed and Marilyn was at the front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play at a small jazz club again.”
Marilyn was diagnosed with endometriosis and suffered a few miscarriages in late 1950’s which made her self medicate to cope with depression. She was later admitted to a hospital after an overdose. With her personal heartaches and career frustrations, she started using alcohol, narcotics, and stimulants to cope with chronic insomnia and stress. But she eventually made a comeback in 1958 with the box office hit “Some like it hot”, which won her the Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1960.
In 1961 Marilyn starred in the movie “The Misfits”, written by Arthur Miller, who had promised her to write a script where she could fully showcase her talent as a dramatic actor. Marilyn later discovered an entry in his notebook, where he allegedly called their marriage “disappointing”, insinuating she was a threat to his creative image. This eventually strained their relationship. She was distraught after seeing his remarks and noticed he had rewritten and changed the movie script persistently making it difficult for her to memorise the dialogues. ‘He was supposed to be writing this for me”, she told a friend, “He could have written me anything, but he comes up with this”.
Following a difficult shooting due to Marilyn’s health and severe prescription drug abuse, Miller and she decided to part in 1961, signifying the culmination of Marilyn’s final released movie.
On August 5, 1962, Marilyn was found unresponsive in her bedroom and her death was ruled as an overdose and “a probable suicide”. It was revealed that she had ingested a lethal dose of Nembutal, which is often associated with treating anxiety. Some believed there was a government involvement in her demise due to rumoured ties between her and the Kennedy brothers in her final days. However, when investigators reopened the case decades later, they failed to find any evidence strong enough to suggest any foul play. Yet, some in the industry still refused to believe that Marilyn had taken her own life, with the likes of Jane Russell opining that there were certainly some “dirty tricks” involved in her death.
Joe DiMaggio was devastated upon hearing of Marilyn’s untimely death and felt guilty as he believed he partly contributed to her demise. They had reconciled shortly before her death. He organized her funeral and barred anyone from Hollywood attending as he believed they all played a part in her tragic end. Arthur Miller didn’t attend the funeral, but criticized the public mourners writing, “glad that it is not you going into the earth, glad that it is this lovely girl who at last you killed”.
In a way “Marilyn”, was Norma Jeane Mortensen’s greatest creation; but that identity slowly became a burden as Marilyn often felt trapped in the image of a sex goddess. Unfortunately, for her there was no turning back as her stardom had hit heights beyond her control. She wasn’t naive, but understood the nature of fame, “‘Fame is also a burden,”, Marilyn once said. She had masterfully built the image of “Marilyn” and played it so effortlessly that the studios wanted her to believe in that image.
“Well, I hope you got something here” she said to Richard Meryman as he was wrapping up the recording of her final interview. “But please don’t make me look like a joke”. It’s no secret that Marilyn despised how superficial the studios painted her to be and hated the media’s guts for pushing that narrative and running along with it. But she also sensed what she deemed as a fantasy was slowly becoming her reality and this left her fragmented and losing control.
(The writer is a Canadian of Sri Lankan descent living in Toronto. She may be contacted at dahamisamarathunga44@gmail.com)
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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