From
cesspit to cesspit
(Where is it politicians lie, if not in muck?)
Editorial Courtesy The
Island 16-11-2007
The Diyawanna frogs must be wondering how on earth humans can match
their jumping skills and imitate their croaking. The past few days have
seen several frog-like jumps in politics. The best ones were in the
not-so-august assembly.
COPE Chairman Wijedasa Rajapakshe pole-vaulted to the Opposition on
Wednesday and yesterday UNP MP Mahinda Ratnathilake did likewise in
the opposite direction. Several more jumps are expected during the weekend.
Rajapkashe has thrown the COPE report at the government and asked President
Mahinda Rajapaksa to remove those named therein from his Cabinet and
sack some mandarins the COPE has named and shamed. He also wants the
Cabinet to be reduced to 30 ministers with an equal number of deputies
besides the publication of a detailed account of expenditure incurred
by the Department of National Budget.
The reaction of the government has been to throw a bucketful of mud
at him alleging that he has evaded income tax. A red faced Minister
Susil Premjayantha, hauling Rajapakshe over the coals immediately after
the latter’s crossover, wanted to know why he had not presented
his demands at the government group meeting. He said Rajapakshe’s
demands were mere hogwash and his jump was part of a well planned conspiracy.
Similarly, the government needs to be asked why it had waited till Rajapakshe’s
crossover to level that allegation against him. It should have told
the public about the alleged tax evasion while he was within the government
ranks.
We have backed the COPE chairman editorially to the hilt over his report.
But, the fact remains that no hangings are possible on the basis of
a parliamentary report. The law requires much more. The government erred
badly by resorting to dilatory tactics without referring the report
to the Bribery Commission immediately. At long last that was done but
the government had had egg on its face by that time. (Certain international
human rights groups, too, made the mistake of launching a vilification
campaign against former President Chandrika Kumaratunga—Rajapakshe’s
political mentor—and ruining her chances of securing a top UN post
on the basis of a book critical of her.)
Rajapakshe deserves praise for his demand that the Cabinet be reduced
to 30. The number could still be smaller. A tiny country like this can
manage with a Cabinet of just only ten or fifteen ministers. A jumbo
Cabinet means more expenditure and corruption besides all other forms
of malpractice and malfeasance. But, in making that demand at this juncture,
Rajapakshe has given the President, so to speak, a choice between suicide
and being murdered. It is like giving a man a sword and asking him at
gunpoint to commit harakiri or to be shot dead! What would happen if
the President reduced the size of his Cabinet? In trying to gain Rajapakshe’s
vote, he would in such an eventuality, lose over sixty or more MPs!
So long as we get weak governments desperate for mustering numbers
and preventing crossovers from their ranks, there will be jumbo Cabinets.
For, each and every political nincompoop wants to be a minister. Even
if the present government were to be toppled and a UNP government installed,
there would have to be a huge Cabinet. Else, the ambitious and the disgruntled
in the UNP would pole-vault to the UPFA. The fault, in the final analysis,
lies with the Proportional Representation (PR) system, which brings
about lame governments of rainbow coalitions. There has been a proposal
to replace the PR system with the German model consisting of the characteristics
of both the PR and the first-past-the-post systems. That system needs
to be adopted with adequate safeguards to ensure that the minority parties
won’t be affected.
Does Wijedasa Rajapakshe think a future UNP government will punish
those named the COPE report? If he does, he is sadly mistaken. For,
if those charges are proved, then it is not only those who are named
who will be in trouble but the UNP leadership as well because those
alleged deals couldn’t have been done without the blessings of
the top brass of the UNF government. Therefore, the UNP is naturally
wary of pressing for action against the renegades, though it is bellowing
out some noises in support of the COPE report for the public consumption.
It is doubtful that the discerning will fall for the reasons Rajapakshe
has given for his crossover hook, line and sinker. There is much more
to his jump than meets the eye, perhaps his allegiance to his former
boss, Chandrika. Or, is it due to a battle between Medamulana and Walasmulla
(which is Wijedasa Rajapakshe’s native place)?
The crossover of Mahinda Ratnathilake has aggravated the government’s
trouble. Minister Dilan Perera has resigned from the SLFP Central Committee
in protest against the entry of Ratnathilake, who is a suspect in the
Nalanda Ellawala murder case. Nalanda was Dilan’s best friend.
But, the fact remains that Dilan didn’t protest so vehemently when
Susantha Punchinilame joined the government. He, too, is a suspect in
that case. Minister Dallas Alahapperuma was also Nalanda’s bosom
pal but he has not reacted in that manner. Why? Dilan and Dallas were
in the forefront of a campaign to have the Punchinilame-Ratnathilake
duo arrested. They also put up a memorial for Nalanda near Parliament.
Now, we have Dilan, Dallas, Punchinilame and Ratnathilake in the same
government!
Something similar happened under President Kumaratunga. She joined
hands with the JVP, which had brutally killed her husband, Vijaya. She
also accused UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe of having blocked the admission
of her son Vimukthi to Royal College. But, today she has sided with
him. She sacked Ranil’s government in 2004 but today she is all
out to help him form a government!
President Rajapaksa went all out to sabotage a coming together of the
SLFP and the JVP in 2004 but in vain, when he was the Opposition Leader.
But, later he secured the JVP’s support to become President! The
JVP tried its best to prevent Mahinda Rajapaksa from becoming Prime
Minister in 2004 but one year later it helped him become President!
Mangala Samaraweera was UNP’s bête noire when he was a powerful
minister. It accused him of masterminding election rigging and violence
at the infamous Wayamba election, where some of the UNP’s female
activists were stripped naked and paraded along roads. That election
came to be dubbed chanda kollaya or ‘the grand vote robbery’.
But, today Mangala has become UNP’s hero. Adversity, it is said,
makes strange bedfellows!
The Saffron Brigade entered Parliament claiming to cleanse it. But,
the very first day of their entry, they plunged head first into the
cesspit where others were wallowing and suffered a split at the Speaker’s
election.
With two more days to go for the Budget vote, we will see several more
jumps from cesspit to cesspit splashing grime all over and giving out
a gut-wrenching stench. So, folks stay away and hold your noses!
As for the lame excuses that political frogs are croaking out for their
leaps, we say: Lies, damn lies and the reasons given by crossover politicos!
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