Ceylon Today Editorial

Doom saying Development

10 January 2017

One could say that the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his devout followers in the Joint Opposition started the New Year with a bang by resolving to topple the current Sirisena- Wickremesinghe administration in order to secure a Sri Lanka Freedom Party-led Government in the country.

This was announced to foreign media in the previous week, when the former Commander-in-Chief Rajapaksa told foreign media that he intends to 'topple the government' and become Prime Minister. He was rather ambiguous in his statement, however, and didn't (obviously) reveal any crucial details of his 'Master Plan'. Be that as it may, to the laymen like ourselves, it seems like a farfetched idea – with all the controversies that surrounds him, we are not so sure if he's even able to topple an unbalanced chair, let alone his lackeys.

Comparatively, his goal borders on arrogant overachieving. When the rest of the country is resolved to adapt according to the harsh living system that has been manipulated by the current administration in order to address a cripplingly high national debt and a low national income, here we find one man and his ragtag band of 'Young Turks' resolving to create a new government.

The stupidity of this resolution cannot be told off enough. We believe that we caught a wee glimpse into the 'Master Plan' when the Joint Opposition led crowds descended upon the Sri Lanka-China Industrial Zone Development Project's inauguration ceremony last Saturday. This was a turning point for the government as well as the Joint Opposition where their true colours were shown.

The Joint Opposition-led protestors, opposing the government's plan to lease land and mega-development projects to foreign countries came down upon the inauguration ceremony like the hand of a vengeful god, everyone expected violence – and there was violence.

On one hand, we can't really blame the man and his followers, they are simply trying to retain and bring back a nuance of the power they once possessed. And regardless of Rajapaksa's saying the Premier should not hold irrational fears of leaving the country we know how he is capable of driving a wedge between two parties. And this is what he has said in his previous statements – that both the Sirisena faction and the Wickremesinghe faction of the government are struggling to keep peace between each other. Rajapaksa, in that way, is a shrewd political player who should not be underestimated.

But then again heckling the government's plans of development which intends to create more jobs – something the Rajapaksa administration rarely did – is rather small even for a character such as Rajapaksa. He's well known for hitting below the belt, but this might be his worst act ever.

According to the Prime Minister, the government has been able to create over 20,000 job opportunities in the local market in the first week of this month alone, from the development projects that were initiated. This is definitely a boom, if true and not a political statement, and Rajapaksa and his lackeys should be ashamed of themselves for opposing this development.

The government cannot be whitewashed in this matter either.

Alongside the incendiary incidents in Hambantota last week, we also observed the controversial exposure that was made with regard to the government's well boasted Volkswagen investment. The government's plan turned tails when it was revealed that it was not a Volkswagen assembly line that was established in Kuliyapitya earlier which obviously lead to many questions as to why it was advertised as such.

This alongside many other blunders, have led the current government to a dangerous precipice which has allowed individuals such as the Rajapaksa to take due advantage of it. The government's response to it is equally pathetic – "don't talk to us about our mistakes, look at what these people are doing to the country, let's all hate them and laugh at them!"

At the end of the day, it is not the politicians who suffer from the consequences of these events; it's the common citizen in this country that has to suffer through the turmoil. And this was worded almost perfectly by the President when he said that whoever hinders the development of the country is not going to hurt the President or the Prime Minister, but ultimately the country as a whole. And yet here we are, sitting on the white picket fence thinking, "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right and I'm stuck in the middle with you."