Of that apple-papol tussle

Thursday 17th November, 2022

President Ranil Wickremesinghe interspersed his budget speech with some quotations to bolster his argument for adopting unpopular measures to straighten up the economy. He referred to Lee Kuan Yew’s claim that Singapore had followed the hard yet right path, but Sri Lanka under Bandaranaike had chosen the popular path. SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera has taken exception to what he calls the President’s wrong interpretation of history. The Bandaranaikes, too, followed the hard path, he has said, citing economic hardships Sri Lankans had to face under the SLFP-led United Front (UF) government from 1970 to 1977.

Jayasekera has chosen to overlook the fact that Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) referred to the 1950s, and spoke of ‘Bandaranaike’ and not ‘the Bandaranaikes’. President Wickremesinghe has used the quotation at issue to support his position that there is no future for a country that chooses the popular path, and Sri Lanka cannot achieve prosperity by giving concessions while being in debt. Immediately after quoting LKY, the President extolled what he called ‘the 1977’ approach or the open economy introduced by his uncle, President J. R. Jayewardene, who, he said, had adopted economic policies that provided opportunities instead of concessions.

Thus, one may argue that LKY’s statement in question has been taken out of context, but some of the points the President and Jayasekera have sought to make could still be considered valid. The UF government under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike strove to overcome global challenges and strengthen the economy without increasing the country’s indebtedness, and the methods it employed were far from popular. It is also a valid argument that dirigisme is an anachronism in the modern world, and can exist only in North Korea, and Sri Lanka had to adopt economic reforms in 1977.

The problem, as we see it, is that both Sirimavo and Jayewardene did not adopt a via media. Their governments opted for extremes. The UF government should not have caused so much suffering to the public in the name of its economic experiment. Perhaps, its two-thirds majority made it impervious to public opinion. The Jayewardene administration turned the economy on its head, and resorted to reckless borrowing. It was also intoxicated with power; it had a five-sixths majority in Parliament.

Under the UF government, the people had to eat papol (papaya) because there were no apples, and the Jayewardene regime came to power, promising apples. People started eating apples and forgot papol. Today, there are no apples, and the people can hardly afford papol! Worse, the country is stuck in debt and bankrupt.

Let the present-day Sri Lankan politicians be urged to get their act together; they must make a concerted effort to hoist the country out of the present economic mire instead of fighting over what the late Singapore leader said.

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Bandara’s wisdom

Sri Lanka, which is experiencing various shortages, has never been short of holier-than-thou politicians given to pontificating about the virtues of meritocracy, among other things, to the point of queasiness. These worthies are found on both sides of the House.

State Minister of Media Shantha Bandara has told Parliament a home truth. What with the magnitude of the current economic crisis, everyone has to work hard, and the ministers and public officials who have failed to deliver must be removed forthwith, he has said. One could not agree with him more! It is hoped that Bandara has not incurred the wrath of the government leaders, whose incompetence as ministers has led to the country’s bankruptcy.

Bandara’s call must have struck a responsive chord with the resentful people, who are undergoing untold suffering owing to the remarkable ineptitude of the government leaders. What he has called for, if implemented, could also help solve the problem of the public being burdened with jumbo Cabinets. If all incompetent ministers are made to step down, we will have a very small Cabinet, for only a handful of MPs in the current Parliament are fit to hold ministerial posts.

Now that Bandara has talked the talk, he has to walk the walk. He should set an example to other incompetent ministers by stepping down himself. Example is said to be better than precept. Merit had nothing to do with his appointment as a State Minister. He secured a ministerial post by switching his allegiance to the SLPP-UNP combine, which has become a metaphor for ineptness.