The Island Editorial

Reminiscing of Old Parliament

24th October 2015

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s revelation on Wednesday that a single parliamentary sitting cost the taxpayers Rs. 4.6 mn hasn’t had the desired impact on the misbehaving parliamentarians. Some MPs ran riot on Thursday as well, and sittings had to be suspended for five to ten minutes. Cabinet Spokesman, Minister Rajitha Senaratne, has said that the Old Parliament by the sea provided better facilities to its members and they were even served liquor. (Were the MPs in good old days entitled to duty free vehicles, soft loans and pensions after completing five years in Parliament?)

 

What one should be lamenting about is not the non-availability of firewater at the present Parliament at subsidized rates, but the rapid deterioration of parliamentary standards as well as the absence of cut and thrust of political debate. The Old Parliament had men and women of substance who died paupers because of their integrity and altruism. They entered politics to serve the people. When legendary Daha of Galle left Temple Trees after a brief stint as Prime Minister, all he took with him was a suitcase containing some clothes and books!

 

Closing down the parliament liquor bar is one of the few sensible things the late President J. R. Jayewardene did. Perhaps, he may have made that decision because he had no need for liquor to get drunk with. He had the executive presidency for that purpose. He was intoxicated with power. So, were his ministers! However, we repeat, his was a very wise move. Else, it would have been impossible for Parliament to meet due to drunken brawls.

 

When a UPFA Minister assaulted an MP monk in Parliament a few years ago the former was fully sober. The victim spent several days in hospital. What would have been the situation if the assailant had been drunk is not difficult to imagine.

 

The mere mention of the Old Parliament evokes our fond memories of political greats of the calibre of DS, Dudley, SWRD, Sirimavo, Colvin and NM, to name only a few. They adorned the national legislature and did the country proud. The present Parliament, according to its honourable members themselves, is full of gigolos, pimps, buffaloes, old pumpkins etc. On Thursday, an otherwise good-mannered minister, lost his temper, and claimed there was also a hyena in the Opposition ranks! Tempers would fray and flare-ups occur in the Old Parliament as well, but, overall, the situation was much better than it is today.

 

Lawmakers, in other countries, may be enjoying better facilities, as the Cabinet Spokesman says. But, that is no reason why Sri Lanka should make its taxpaying public cough up more funds to pamper their MPs further. However, those nations can be emulated in some other ways; some of them have put in place robust constitutional mechanisms to ensure good governance. India has, for example, tough laws to curtail campaign finance and MPs are even unseated if they are found to have exceeded the ceiling on campaign expenditure.

 

In adopting foreign models our political pundits have mastered the art of throwing out the baby and retaining the dirty bath water! Hence, their efforts to justify living off the fat of the land at the expense of the ordinary people burdened with indirect taxes on even essential commodities. The MPs who speak of the facilities of their foreign counterparts should not lose sight of the dazzling qualifications of ministers in countries like Singapore, which is keeping pace with the developed world because it has its best brains at the levers of power.

 

It was when Sri Lanka was blessed with statesmen that Lee Kuan Yew considered Sri Lanka a role model. Today, Sri Lanka is emulating Singapore! This is the difference between the Old Parliament and the New Parliament.