Daily News Editorial

Ranjan steals the show?

31 January 2017

The Yahapalanaya government has this penchant for walking from one crisis to another, scoring own goals and providing ammunition to its critics to haul it over the coals. Recently it was the Director Agriculture who recommended croton and Jak leaves to the people as an alternative diet to overcome the crop failure due to the drought. The Joint Opposition lost no time in seizing on the opportunity to ridicule the government. Prior to that it was the UNP’s muscle bound Palitha Thevarapperuma who, most said, had taken over the mantle from Mervyn Silva, clowning himself in front of the TV cameras. When it appeared that the Deputy Minister had been duly chastised and was at last behaving himself without causing further embarrassment to the government we have another macho man from the same party flexing his muscles being violently uncivil to a lady Divisional Secretary serving in his own constituency.

Film star turned politician and Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake by no stretch of the imagination would fall into the category of a Mervyn Silva or a Thevarapperuma. The flamboyant actor, though often in the news for his unorthodox ways in dealing with issues confronting the public, nevertheless, is a temperate individual not given to flying off the handle. But what the public witnessed on television the other day would have shocked even the ardent film fans of Ramanayake, not to mention his party supporters.

True, the ebullient politician is well known for his no nonsense attitude in dealing with matters that impinge on the interest of the public. He is commended in many quarters for his crusade against the hardships confronting the Lankan housemaids in the Middle East. He has also won laurels for his hard line stance against corruption even in government and openly expressed his views on the alleged Central Bank bond scam.

On this occasion too, the Deputy Minister was fighting on the side of the public against the large scale destruction to the environment as a result of indiscriminate and illegal sand mining carried out under political patronage in his Divulapitiya constituency. Television showed the Deputy Minister, surrounded by his supporters, arriving at the scene to view the scale of destruction and to ascertain the facts. In the melee a call was taken to the lady Divisional Secretary, who, obviously was the villain of the piece, for allegedly aiding and abetting the illegal operation, in the opinion of Ramanayake. Hot words were exchanged by both parties with the Deputy Minister going slightly overboard in a threatening vein.

The whole issue was obviously painted as a David and Goliath affair with a cornered and highly vulnerable lady state official at the receiving end of a bullying government minister. The bulging pectorals of the Deputy Minister did not help matters either. It is not clear if the lady Divisional Secretary had indeed been in cahoots with the culprits. But a bit of circumspection on the part of Ramanayake would have been in order given the fact that he was addressing a lady, known to be the weaker sex, though this assumption would be contested in this day and age.

All public servants in the Gampaha district, in solidarity with the lady DS, staged a walk out yesterday demanding an apology from the Deputy Minister. Ramanayake for his part is unrepentant insisting that no apology would be forthcoming from him unless steps are taken to halt the ongoing destruction. Whether such an incident would have a fall out on his political fortunes is too early yet to say. But Ramanayake, it is certain, would carry on his crusade against injustice, corruption and environmental destruction, come what may.

To begin with, the Deputy Minister need not have to depend on a political career for his financial stability, being in the film industry now for over three decades. He is also the first MP who declined the Rs. 100,000 special allowance granted to all parliamentarians. Some would even venture out to say that Ramanayake would be the ideal person to even keep the present government on its toes as regards corrupt deals. He has never held back on revelations against his fellow Ministers in the UNP and has taken to task a minister in the east for forest destruction, publicly.

Be that as it may, Ramanayake, a committed member of the UNP, should learn restraint without giving into precipitate action. Being a marked man of the Opposition, from the very inception, he would do well not to give ammunition to his opponents to cast himself as a bully, muscling his way through things. There are of course different schools of thought as regards the action taken by politicians of the kind Ramanayake took the other day. Some would say it is such action, unhampered officialdom, that would get work expedited and serve the well being of the people or as in the Divulapitiya case effectively prevent harm and destruction to the environment that would take a heavy toll on the people.

Ceylon Today Editorial

Mixing Entertainment with Business

31 January 2017

For Sri Lanka, when it comes to politics and public entertainment, lines blur quiet a lot.

Several politicians – most of them, rather – excel at entertaining the masses instead what they should be doing: being public representatives. These public comedians tend to create news every now and then with their misadventures and when it does, it's nothing but entertainment.

Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare Ranjan Ramanayake pulled off such one slapstick stunts recently where he scolded a government worker, accusing her for incompetent behaviour in her jurisdiction.

The Deputy Minister who made himself present at a public protest at Ihala Madampella in the Divulapitiya Divisional Secretariat Division against soil excavation had then visited the area where sand excavation was allegedly taking place. During that inspection, the Deputy Minister who had been told that the Divulapitiya Divisional Secretary had allegedly been involved in the illegal excavation had called her to confront him on the matter.

The ensuing telephone conversation had been a rather gruesome one, where the Deputy Minister had used harsh and obscene language to prosecute her of apparently allegedly misplaced accusations. The telephone conversation that took place on the Deputy Minister's personal phone's loud speaker was broadcasted on all news programmes that night, which led to an obvious public outcry.

As a protest against Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake's verbally abusing the Divulapitiya Divisional Secretary in public recently, the Gampaha District Administrative Services Association (GDASA) decided to boycott their official duties on Monday.

They demanded the withdrawal of the malicious statement allegedly made by the Deputy Minister. The Association's Vice President and Secretary has written to the President, Prime Minister, Speaker and Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister with copies to the Ministry Secretaries, District Secretaries and heads of all public institutions in the Gampaha District.

The Association has said the Deputy Minister had undermined the entire public service and demanded that he publicly apologizes to the Secretary and would keep away from duty on Monday in case he does not do so.

MP Indika Anuruddha, who was allegedly also accused by the Deputy Minister for the soil scandal, filed a Rs 500 million defamation lawsuit. In the turmoil, Ramanayake standing his ground, refused to apologize for his actions. Addressing the media he has said that, even if he is to die or relinquish his ministerial portfolio, he will not apologize to the Divulapitiya District Secretary for anything in connection with the telephone argument with him yesterday while at the Madiwela Housing Complex.

Ramanayaka has said his distressful concern at the clandestine Akaragama, Divulapitiya illicit earth-fill led to the stoppage of that illicit operation and he would continue with his campaign in the future too.

The minister has noted that President Maithripala Sirisena also spoke to him about it and told him that there was no need for him to apologize to anyone as he had done no wrong.

He has argued that there has been a serious financial fraud pertaining to the Central Bank Bond issues and also Minister Rishad Bathiudeen has encroached into the Wilpattu Forest, the minister added. He has stressed that he would in no way hesitate to criticize those wrongdoings, and if that would mean that he would have to quit the Party, he can always seek re-election as an independent.

Leaving aside his melodrama, if taken the entire situation as a whole, one could two opinions. One is that, the Deputy Minister Ramanayake should not have used obscenities in this endeavour but should have gone about it in a gentlemanly manner. He should have shown some humility where it is due, harshness where it is due and some, most of all, sense when it's most necessary. None of this happened, but his ultimate goal was achieved – stopping the illegal excavation – and none can argue with that.

Secondly, it should be noted that the Deputy Minister took what seemed like desperate measures in order to obtain his goals and indirectly, do what public representatives are responsible for. Many public representatives are hindered by incompetent and corrupt government sector State employees, who follow their own agenda instead of working for the benefit of the country. When that happens, a duly elected public representative has the responsibility, let alone the authority, to change the course and put it back in the right path.

This is what Deputy Minister Ramanayake intended to do, we believe. Even though he went about it in an absolutely horrendous manner, he had grounds for his actions. We also believe that this might have been a result of his acting career getting mixed up with his politics. But nevertheless, we are led to believe that his cause was good and that the only thing bad about it was the way he went about it.