Truly welcome verbal knuckle sandwich

Tuesday 3rd January, 2023

President of the South Korean Disaster Relief Foundation (SKDRF) Cho Sung Lea continues to be in the news—for the right reasons. He has told Sri Lankans, especially their political leaders, some home truths, which, in our book, are as precious as the much-needed foreign exchange. He has asked them to go all out to unleash their potential by working hard, eliminating waste and corruption and managing the economy properly. He has told the so-called Sri Lankan leaders, who are living high life while pretending to play a messianic role, that they do not have to sell national assets at fire-sale prices to save the battered economy, which, he says, could be turned around if they get their act together.

One may argue that Lea is casting pearls before swine, but truth must be spoken to power, and he deserves praise for trying to knock some sense into the Sri Lankan politicians, who are full of themselves.

Political power and the power of reasoning are mutually exclusive where Sri Lankan leaders are concerned. Hence, it is said that bale thiyanakota mole ne, mole thiyanakota bale ne—’when they have power, they have no brains, and when they have brains, they have no power’. That is why they ought to have capable advisors to help them rationally assess things, especially risks, based on logical thinking and proper analysis of data, in solving problems and making crucial decisions that affect the country.

A knowledgeable, intelligent, honest advisor who dares to be brutally frank in expressing his or her views is an asset to a leader. We suggest that SKDRF Chief Lea be invited to serve as an advisor to the government.

If the leaders of the incumbent government had cared to appoint good advisors instead of providing their hangers-on with sinecures, the latter would have advised that example is better than precept. A circular has reportedly been sent to all state institutions, asking them to stop unnecessary expenditure on ceremonies, etc., in view of the crippling economic crisis. This is a step in the right direction, but those in the upper echelons of government have to set an example to others. Have the government leaders spent public funds on banquets for horizontally-gifted ruling party politicians and others, and if so, how much? What the ordinary people have got from the government is only a Barmecide feast.

Many VVIP vehicles are seen near places of religious worship in faraway places. Politicians and senior state officials often go there to receive blessings and attract media attention. If they waste public money in this manner while many children are starving and fainting in schools; the sick are languishing in government hospitals without life-saving medicines, and parents are struggling to feed, clothe and educate their children, no amount of blessings will help protect them against the torments in hell, where they are bound to end up.

Perhaps, President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed the highest number of presidential advisors, in the world, so much so that it was popularly said that if one kicked a wayside bush at random at least a dozen presidential advisors would leap out of it. Those advisors took Rajapaksa for a ride by singing hosannas and telling him what he loved to hear. His painful electoral pratfall in 2015 came as no surprise. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to do a Usain Bolt when protesters were at the gate mainly because his advisors had given him the wrong advice. They misled him into cancelling a metro project, banning agrochemicals overnight, refraining from seeking IMF assistance to tackle the economic crisis before it went out of control, slashing taxes, printing money excessively and allowing pro-SLPP racketeers to carry out various scams. None of his advisors dared tell him that he made blunders, which were legion. When he wanted to telescope his organic farming project into a few weeks, no one around him objected; in fact, all his advisors agreed. Thus, the ‘agree-culture’ led to the ruination of agriculture, triggering mass protests.

One wonders whether all those who have served as presidential advisors over the years are descendants of Mahadena Mutta, the self-proclaimed pundit, who, according to legend, once ‘saved’ a clay pot in which a goat’s head had got stuck by having the poor animal beheaded, and then smashed the earthen container to remove the caprine caput. Some of them may also be of royal lineage; they seem to have descended from King Kekille, the legendary cretin, who always punished the innocent parties in cases heard before him, and set the culprits free.

In this country, things have come to a pretty pass, and it is not only humans that are vulnerable; animals are also frightened and unsafe. Even if a pet dog happens to show signs of abuse, everyone’s finger is pointed at presidential advisors who have besmirched their names under successive governments. Therefore, it is hoped that SKDRF chief Lea will not consider our suggestion that he be appointed a government advisor as an affront to his dignity.