Features
HOW THE GODS AND DEMONS LEARNED TO PLAY TOGETHER
by Ernest Macintyre
Derived from chapter one, six and seven of the Natyasashtra, on the origin of drama, and published in The Monkey King And Other Stories, Canada 1995 and in Scarless Face And Other Stories, India 2006.
The great god of the Hindus is Lord Brahma and in ancient times the great book of the Hindus made up of many parts was called the Vedas which told the Hindus about life, through artistic methods. India is a very large place, and people just moved across land from one place to another, meeting other, different kinds of people as they went. Lord Brahma and his Hindus who started in the North of India began moving to the South, carrying with them the great books of the Vedas. The people of Lord Brahma moved right across the whole of Southern India and into the country now called Sri Lanka, for in those days the narrow and shallow sea that divides Sri Lanka from India was all land.
In all these Southern parts that the Hindus had come to, there lived a great many tribes who behaved in different ways from the Hindus. The tribes of the Southern lands, in their own way, hunted, and gathered fruit. We know today that it is not true that the Egyptian people who built the great pyramids or the Sri Lankan people who built the wonderful tanks and temples of Anuradhapura or the Hindus of North India of the great Vedas were superior or better or more civilised than the tribal people .
They were not because we know today that civilised means to live happily with whatever you have in the land around you, and to please their demons whenever the tribal people needed help. But the Hindus did not see it that way. The Hindus thought they were more civilised, superior to the tribal people of the south.
And this story of ours began because God Indra, who worked under Lord Brahma, had been worried and angry for some time about strange noises coming from the direction of the forests where the tribal people of the southern lands lived. Not long after the sun had set he would hear, quite distinctly, long and piercing shrieks, the beating of drums, wailing, chanting and the stamping of feet. One night he decided to see for himself. Moving up silently to a large bush behind which he could hide, he peered through its leaves at the forest clearing beyond, and saw the tribal people behaving in a way that he had never seen before.
There was a woman seated on the ground looking very ill. About ten yards in front of her there were two pillars made of the trunks of banana trees and a third banana trunk was fixed to the top of the other two so that it looked like a kind of doorway. On both sides and on top of this doorway were tied great bundles of jungle leaves and branches so that you couldn’t see what was behind the floor. All the tribal people had come there and were standing on either side of the sick woman as well as behind her, but all of them were looking at the doorway made of banana trunks and jungle branches.
Between the woman and the doorway two men were leaping into the air as they danced with large flaming torches held in their hands. Another man sat close to the doorway beating a drum for the dancers. A fourth man, dressed in jungle leaves like all the others, moved about near the doorway shouting and singing something that Indra couldn’t understand. And then, all of a sudden, as this man shouted very loud, and the drum was beaten louder than ever and the dancers leapt in the air higher than ever, a terrible shriek was heard from behind the doorway.
Everyone stopped what they were doing. In the silence the shriek was heard again and through the door there leapt a huge and terrible looking demon with the head of a bear and the body of a human being. The man who had been chanting and singing shouted “Mahasona! Mahasona!” and hearing this Indra knew that the name of the demon was Mahasona.
Immediately the singing man asked the demon Mahasona:
“What do you want to make this woman well again?”
Mahasona replied, “I want a baby to take away, and I will make this woman well again.”
“No! No! A baby human cannot be given to you,” said the singing man, with great feeling.
“Then what will you give?” asked the demon Mahasona.
“I can give you a small chicken that is already dead,” said the man.
“Then give me the small chicken that is already dead,” agreed Mahasona the demon.
The singing man then walked up to a small basket lying on the ground close to where people were standing. From the basket he took up a little dead chicken. But as he held it up to show Mahasona the demon, Indra struck. Indra had been getting angrier and angrier as he watched these things that the tribal people were doing. Being a god of the Hindus, he thought that these things were evil and uncivilised.
Indra rushed forward with his famous staff. Indra always carried a tall staff and he used it on his enemies. He attacked the demon Mahasona who then ran back through the door to enter the jungle again. All the people and dancers started screaming and running in all directions. Inside the jungle Indra caught up with the demon Mahasona and gave him such a beating that he fell to the ground, screaming. But Indra did not stop there.
That night he went full speed through the whole jungle attacking and beating all the demons with his staff, hundreds of them. By morning all the demons had been well beaten and Indra’s victory over the demons became famous with all the Hindu gods and with the Lord of all gods, Brahma.
The next morning after Lord Brahma had eaten his breakfast he called up Indra to say thank you for his great defeat of the demons of the southern tribal lands. But the moment he saw Indra he knew that Indra was not fully happy with what had happened. Indra had a thoughtful look on his face. Brahma asked him, “What is the matter?”
Indra, speaking slowly, said, “We will never be able to live with these people happily simply by defeating their demons, because their demons belong to them. We must win the hearts and minds of the tribal people and their demons.”
“Yes, I know that,” said Brahma.
“But how do we win their hearts and minds?” asked Indra.
Brahma gave a deep sigh, waited a moment and then spoke.
“Ah, if only they could listen to our great Vedas. If they listened to our holy books they would surely give up their evil ways.” Brahma sighed again: “But these are Sudras, and you know that Sudras are not allowed to listen to the Vedas.
Because Brahma spoke slowly Indra had time to think while he was listening, and suddenly he got an idea from what Brahma was saying. Indra was very excited.
“Yes, Lord Brahma, but that rule is only for the Vedas that we now have!” Brahma looked curiously at Indra. “So what do you mean? “Indra spoke quickly. “If we make another, new Veda especially for the tribals, then they can learn our good ways from this new Veda! They are not allowed to listen only to the first great Vedas. They can listen to a new one.”
Brahma turned his head to look more closely at Indra. It looked as if Indra was right, for Brahma said a slow “Hmmm.” And then he asked, “But how do we do this? You see, Indra, we must know more about these tribals before we can make a new Veda for them. Now tell me, last night when you watched them from behind the bush, what were they doing?”
Indra then told Brahma all about the sick woman, the crowds around her looking at the doorway of banana trunks and jungle branches, the dancing men with torches in their hands, the music of the drum, the singing of the man who offered a little chicken to the demon Mahasona, the shrieking demon and how it suddenly entered from behind the door. Brahma then thought for a long time about what Indra had described to him, keeping his head up to the sky, using his left hand to hold his chin. The fingers of his right hand kept tapping on his stomach. Finally he turned his head back to Indra with a very knowing look in the small eyes inside his face. He spoke:
“So you say that these Sudras can actually sing?”
Indra nodded.
“You also saw them dancing?”
Indra nodded again.
“And they made music with the drum?”
“Oh yes!” said Indra.
“Hmmm – and from what you have told me I can see that these people have feelings, like our Hindu people.”
“Very much more, I think,” Indra said. “They don’t think carefully like us, they show too much feeling. I saw it last night from behind the bushes.”
Brahma now rose very slowly, and stood a little while longer in silence and then said, “I think I have an idea.” He thought a little again and said, “And you say that the sick woman and the people watching this were on one side and the dancing men, the singing man, the drummer and the demon Mahasona were on the other side?”
“Something like that,” said Indra.
Brahma went on, “And then the demon entered from the door on his side?”
“Yes,” said Indra, wondering why Brahma was so interested in the way things had happened that night.
After another long silence, Brahma said, “Come and see me tomorrow at this same time.” As Indra bowed and went away Brahma sat down again. But now he crossed his legs in a special way and folded his arms over his chest also in a special way, which helped him to think very, very deeply. The Hindus call this Yoga. He remained like this for many, many hours.
When Indra went the next morning Brahma was standing up, waiting for him. As soon as he saw Indra he said, “I have done it!”
“What?” asked Indra as his eye fell on a large book in Brahma’s right hand.
“I have made a new Veda from which the Sudras can learn our good ways,” said Brahma waving the big book.
Brahma and Indra then excitedly spoke these lines:
Indra: Tell me about it.
Brahma: They will learn things, not by listening to the new Veda as we did with the old Vedas, but by playing with the help of the new Veda.
Indra: By playing?
Brahma: Yes, the new Veda tells them how to play, and when they play people will learn wise and good things.
Indra: What is the meaning of to play?
Brahma: To play is to pretend, to imitate.
Indra: How do they pretend?
Brahma: They will play or pretend in a way that they are already used to.
Indra: What is that?
Brahma: Like what you saw that night when you were hiding behind the bushed. That is why I wanted you to tell me what they were doing that night. You see, Indra, they are used to having people on one side of the ground watching something going on the other side with dancing, music, singing, chanting and speaking.
Indra: Yes.
Brahma: What you saw that night was real, but my new Veda is going to use the same way of doing things for playing or pretending.
Indra: What will they pretend or play? I hope it will not be the things I saw that night. Even pretending those things will be terrible.
Brahma: Ah no, it won’t be those things.
Indra: Then what?
Brahma: What they will pretend and play are the stories from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana and otherwise, and good books of us Hindus. And they will be happy to play these stories because they already know a little of how to play.
Indra: They already know how to play?
Brahma: Sometimes you don’t listen to me carefully enough. I told you a moment ago that what you saw that night was real but I am going to ask them to do it the same way for playing the stories of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
Indra: Is that the new Veda in your hand?
Brahma: Yes. ,
Indra: May I please look at it, Lord Brahma?
Brahma: Yes, in a moment.
Indra: Why is the book so big, Lord Brahma?
Brahma: Because there is a lot in it for dancers to learn, for musicians to learn, for actors to learn.
Indra: Actors?
Brahma: Yes, because when they play these stories they will only pretend or act as if they are real, they will be called actors.
And so the first book in the world about how to make a play was given by Lord Brahma to Indra about two thousand years ago. It was called the Natyasastra. “Natya” means play and “sastra” means the art, in the ancient Sanskrit language of the Hindus.
Now Indra had the book in his hand, and Brahma could see that he was very excited by the way he thanked Brahma.
“Oh, Lord Brahma, thank you for the Natyasastra. Now the Sudras, have a way of leaning our good ways, just by playing.”
But Lord Brahma had some advice for Indra when he said:
“But the Natyasastra can be used by everybody. It teaches us Hindus as well as the Sudras why and how to play.
And now you have work to do, because I have given you only the book on how to do a play. You will now have to go and do a play to see how it works. So go now and do the first play in the world for all to see.”
Indra hesitated, asking, “But what shall this world’s first play be about?”
“Ah! I have thought about that too,” said Brahma. “Because all this began when you peeped through the bushes, saw their ways and attacked the demon Mahasona and all the other demons that night, let the world’s first play be about Indra’s defeat of the demons!”
Indra was very pleased. He got the help of a famous wise and learned old Hindu by the name of Bharata Muni to select actors, train them and do the play. So the day of the world’s first play came and it was performed at a big open place on a moonlit night. But when the play began, a very strange thing happened. All the demons who had been beaten by Indra, except Mahasona, had got well again and were at the play. Mahasona, who was still very sore, remained at home. And only one of the other demons knew that Mahasona was not at the play.
His name was Hiranya Kassipu, like Mahasona a famous Lankan demon. In those days when Lanka and India were not separated by sea, these two demons roamed the entire subcontinent. On the way to the play Kassipu had stopped at the home of Mahasona and seen him in bed. When the first scene of the play began, an actor dressed like Mahasona came shrieking in and an actor dressed like Indra rushed forward and acted as if beating the actor dressed like Mahasona.
Mahasona
At this moment the hundreds of demons who had come to see the play got very angry and excited because they thought that the whole thing was real. They had looked around, and seeing that Mahasona was not with them in the audience, thought that it was the real Mahasona, their pal, who was being beaten by the real Indra. They thought that the defeat of the demons was happening again, a second time! So all the demons except Kassipu rushed forward and beat up the man playing Indra and smashed up the whole play.
Only Kassipu remained calm, seated on the grass. He knew it was not real. But strangely, though he knew it was a play, he felt very sad to see even an actor dressed like Mahasona beaten up.
Indra, very upset that the world’s first play had been smashed up, rushed to Lord Brahma that very night and asked what should be done. This time Brahma did not have to go deep in thought. The answer was very clear.
“Protect the actors,” he said.
“How?” asked Indra.
“Build a house and do the plays inside, a playhouse, a theatre!” replied Brahma.
Vishvakarman, the architect of the gods was summoned and told the story. And so the world’s first playhouse was built with four strong walls and a very safe roof. At one end on a raised platform the actors acted, coming in and going out through a door on the stage that led, at the back, to a resting room. At the other end of the room the people sat and watched the play.
But Indra and the other gods were still unhappy. By protecting the actors they were also keeping the demons and the Sudras out of the theatre. So they all went to Lord Brahma and explained, “Oh, Lord Brahma, you gave us the Natyasastra and from it we have learned the art of acting and how to do a play. And you did all this in the first place to teach our good ways to the Sudras and their demons. But they are now being kept out of the theatre. We can see them hanging around suspiciously outside the walls, wondering what is going on inside. It is all very sad.”
From the way Brahma looked at them they could see that he had been thinking in the same way.
“Yes,” he said, “and that is why I have asked all the demons to meet me tonight. All of you must come. I have asked the wise old Bharata Muni who trained the actors to explain to the demons what a play is.”
That night when all the gods and demons met, Bharata Muni began by saying, “You demons attacked the play last night because you thought it was real. Plays are not real, they are acted.”
Immediately the demon Kassipu said, “But I knew that Mahasona did not come for the play. I knew that two people dressed up like Mahasona and Indra were acting, and yet I felt too sad to see the demons being defeated.”
“So did you also attack the play as the other demons did?” asked Bharata Muni.
“No, I did not. I felt sad but did not do anything,” said Kassipu.
“Ah! So you behaved differently from the other demons who thought it was real, and I will tell you why. Listen, O demons! It is because of you that people will always think that they feel real feelings whenever they see a play,” exclaimed Bharata Muni.
“Why is that?” asked the demon Kassipu. “What have we got to do with it?”
“To make this new thing called a play, to make drama, Lord Brahma took something from you demons and something else from the gods,” explained Bharata Muni.
Kassipu then asked, “What did Lord Brahma take from us?”
“Feelings, emotions” said Bharata Muni.
“How is that?” inquired Kassipu.
Bharata Muni had to explain carefully. “Lord Brahma heard from Indra about the woman who was ill that night. How the tribal people called you demons to make her well. How there was such a lot of feeling when you asked for a little takeaway baby but the people refused and offered you a dead takeaway chicken instead. Lord Brahma saw that the tribal people and their demons were full of feelings in a way that the gods are not, and he knew that a play must have a lot of feeling and that will come from you, not from the gods.”
GOD BRAHMA
“Then what have the gods given to this new thing called a play?” asked the demon Kassipu.
“They have given something as important as feelings,” said Bharata Muni. “The gods have done something to stop people from letting their feelings make them think that these plays are real, and get excited, and do things such as you all did when you smashed up the world’s first play.”
“How did the gods do that?” inquired Kassipu.
“By beautiful music, beautiful songs, beautiful dances, beautiful words, all taken from their great books the Vedas,” said Bharata Muni, smiling.
“I do not understand,” Kassipu complained.
Bharata Muni explained again carefully. “You see, demons, in real life if I am going to kill someone I will not do a beautiful dance and do it. I will not sing a beautiful song and do it, I will not use beautiful
words when I am doing it. And so, when I do it this way in a play you will have strong feelings but will not get excited and get up and try to stop the actor from acting in a way as if he is killing the other actor. Do you understand?”
All the demons smiled, and said together, “Yes, now we understand.”
The next night they all got together and did another play, also about gods and demons and this time there was no disturbance. They knew that the great feeling in the play came from the demons and the beauty in the play came from the gods. They learned to play together. And now they could play together out in the open spaces or inside theatres.
EXTRACT FROM REVIEW IN THE INDIAN EXPRESS.
Scarless Face & Other Stories: review Sunday, December 25, 2005, Indian Express
Ernest MacIntyre’s “How the Gods and Demons Learned to Play Together”, my pick for the best story in this collection, comes from the Natyasastra’s myth about the birth of theatre – but it is equally about empathy and perception, about how quick we are to pass judgement on those who are different from us.
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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