Susil Premajayantha has opened up a can of worms. He says he is trying to correct an errant Government and that he is setting things right, but he has dredged up questions which should be answered about his past. He has also raised some issues about constitution-making and law-making in this country, which may have in some instances a tinge of truth to them, even though it appears he is making his claims purely for self-aggrandisement.
This is a man who backed Mahinda Rajapaksa to the hilt at the 2015 general election and functioned as his right-hand man, organising the campaign and getting the party apparatus ready. The election, however, was lost, though somewhat narrowly.
As Judas did, Premajayantha betrayed his leader thrice before the cock crowed, just as Judas is said to have. To be factual, he betrayed him more than thrice; that was a mere literary device about the hat-trick of backstabbings. He betrayed him comprehensively and was the key force in selecting party men to cross over to the other side. Premajayantha was handsomely rewarded with a ministerial post.
It will be fair to say that nobody would be sad for him today on either side of the political divide. On the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) side, they know now that he can just as easily betray them as he betrayed his leader. When the tide was obviously turning, he had no compunctions returning to the Rajapaksa fold to contest the election on the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ticket.
Of course, the SLPP had to play ball with him, as the former SLFP MPs were necessary players in the battle to return to power. But he could not be rewarded with a ministerial post without incurring the wrath of the party faithful, who had been with Mahinda Rajapaksa in the bitter days of defeat and throughout after that, through thick and thin until the elections.
Premajayantha must be rather optimistic to expect to be made a minister after his betrayal during the time the Rajapaksas were subject to relentless persecution. It is hilarious to see his actions from some of the Opposition ranks in the expectation that he would initiate a mass exodus, a floodgate situation that would promote the collapse of the Government.
People can be that cynical when they want power, but politics does not necessarily reward those who have been so cynical with their loyalties as Premajayantha has been. The Opposition may try to use him now, but there is bad blood there, and nobody trusts him on either side.
It seems, without doubt, that Premajayantha’s criticisms are due to an abundance of self-aggrandisement and are in no way motivated by genuine concern for the people or the country.
But criticisms can be valid either way if there is some justification for them. His most recent critique has been that there is a Committee appointed outside of Parliament to draft the constitution and that as legislators, they are expected to raise their hands for whatever the Committee comes up with. That makes MPs such as himself redundant, he says, and asks what is the purpose of an elected legislator being there when he or she is totally bypassed in matters of Constitution drafting.
He may be able to answer that himself. With MPs like him, it is not hard to imagine that people have lost confidence entirely in their representatives in the legislature. It is true that he was re-elected, but he would remember that the people have for long been saying that all 225 should be rejected, or better still, banished.
If that was the reality, there should be a case for constitutional drafting outside the realm of the legislature. Also, if he knows anything about constitutions he would know that a great many of the modern day documents the world over were drafted after public hearings, etc., by independent draftsmen.
After that process, the draft was put to the legislature, or better still, was subject to a referendum. Who is he to complain, if the people were to ratify the proposed new draft of the Constitution at a referendum?
Premajayantha staged a piece of theatre after his virulent attack on the regime in Parliament ending by saying that he would revert to his legal practice, as he is a practicing lawyer. It is very much disingenuous for him to say that he would revert to a practice as if he is an accomplished practitioner. What’s worse is that the gentleman thinks there are people who are fooled by such theatrics.
Be that as it may, it is very unlikely that Premajayantha can make any significant impact. He has had too many political contortions in the last few years, and has been left in a state that makes him totally untrustworthy, as far as most political actors of significance who can engage him are concerned.
Losing anyone may be disadvantageous for the Government at this stage, but then it is extremely unlikely that Premajayantha could command a following, at this stage anyhow. He never was an inspirational figure, but his current political stateless status is what he has brought upon himself.
But to get back to the matter of the Constitution, it is possibly correct to say that the Committee that was appointed to draft the new Constitution was not the result of a well thought out decision. This is a bunch of lawyers who essentially have no background in politics, political science, or the social sciences. This is with the exception of one or two of its members.
However, the Committee to its credit held public consultations. But yet, there should have been persons with the depth and background to analyse that input from a political perspective, and the lawyers in the Committee by and large have nowhere near that depth or background.
This is a ludicrous situation in a country that has so much talent in terms of politically engaged activists etc. President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva, who heads the Committee, can certainly contribute in terms of making superlative legal input, but that’s not what Constitution making is all about unfortunately.
To some extent, therefore, Premajayantha got that one half right at least. But that criticism does not make him especially astute. It is one observation many have made before him. The problem he has is that nobody believes him when he claims he is saying these things now to save the country. That’s what happens when a politician loses credibility so badly after cynical opportunism.
He may very soon have to face the reality that there are no takers willing to engage with such grandstanding. Of course, the Opposition will latch onto anybody now, but it will certainly not be with any enthusiasm, given Premajayantha’s record.
It is doubtful that he would make any impact from opposition ranks if he were to go there because he brings bad vibrations that even the Opposition would be wary of.
However, Premajayantha has been in politics for too long to be able to bide his time, and that’s his problem. He’s therefore necessarily a man in a hurry. He is in so much of a hurry that he doesn’t realise that he doesn’t have much sympathy anywhere he turns. But the Opposition, if it is totally politically bankrupt, would use him.
That is par for the course in Sri Lankan politics; but the people of this country have had enough of overt cynicism. Even if they really want to send this Government home, they are still wary of persons such as Premajayantha, who seem to be warming up to that cause.
(The writer is a former Editor-in-Chief of three national English language publications and a practicing Attorney-at-Law. He is an Editors’ Guild award-winning columnist, and contributing writer and columnist for the Nikkei Asian Review and South China Morning Post, while his editorials have been published in The Australian)
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The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.Those Premajayantha contortions are not funny
10 Jan 2022
Those Premajayantha contortions are not funny
10 Jan 2022
Susil Premajayantha has opened up a can of worms. He says he is trying to correct an errant Government and that he is setting things right, but he has dredged up questions which should be answered about his past. He has also raised some issues about constitution-making and law-making in this country, which may have in some instances a tinge of truth to them, even though it appears he is making his claims purely for self-aggrandisement.
This is a man who backed Mahinda Rajapaksa to the hilt at the 2015 general election and functioned as his right-hand man, organising the campaign and getting the party apparatus ready. The election, however, was lost, though somewhat narrowly.
As Judas did, Premajayantha betrayed his leader thrice before the cock crowed, just as Judas is said to have. To be factual, he betrayed him more than thrice; that was a mere literary device about the hat-trick of backstabbings. He betrayed him comprehensively and was the key force in selecting party men to cross over to the other side. Premajayantha was handsomely rewarded with a ministerial post.
It will be fair to say that nobody would be sad for him today on either side of the political divide. On the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) side, they know now that he can just as easily betray them as he betrayed his leader. When the tide was obviously turning, he had no compunctions returning to the Rajapaksa fold to contest the election on the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ticket.
Of course, the SLPP had to play ball with him, as the former SLFP MPs were necessary players in the battle to return to power. But he could not be rewarded with a ministerial post without incurring the wrath of the party faithful, who had been with Mahinda Rajapaksa in the bitter days of defeat and throughout after that, through thick and thin until the elections.
Premajayantha must be rather optimistic to expect to be made a minister after his betrayal during the time the Rajapaksas were subject to relentless persecution. It is hilarious to see his actions from some of the Opposition ranks in the expectation that he would initiate a mass exodus, a floodgate situation that would promote the collapse of the Government.
People can be that cynical when they want power, but politics does not necessarily reward those who have been so cynical with their loyalties as Premajayantha has been. The Opposition may try to use him now, but there is bad blood there, and nobody trusts him on either side.
It seems, without doubt, that Premajayantha’s criticisms are due to an abundance of self-aggrandisement and are in no way motivated by genuine concern for the people or the country.
But criticisms can be valid either way if there is some justification for them. His most recent critique has been that there is a Committee appointed outside of Parliament to draft the constitution and that as legislators, they are expected to raise their hands for whatever the Committee comes up with. That makes MPs such as himself redundant, he says, and asks what is the purpose of an elected legislator being there when he or she is totally bypassed in matters of Constitution drafting.
He may be able to answer that himself. With MPs like him, it is not hard to imagine that people have lost confidence entirely in their representatives in the legislature. It is true that he was re-elected, but he would remember that the people have for long been saying that all 225 should be rejected, or better still, banished.
If that was the reality, there should be a case for constitutional drafting outside the realm of the legislature. Also, if he knows anything about constitutions he would know that a great many of the modern day documents the world over were drafted after public hearings, etc., by independent draftsmen.
After that process, the draft was put to the legislature, or better still, was subject to a referendum. Who is he to complain, if the people were to ratify the proposed new draft of the Constitution at a referendum?
Premajayantha staged a piece of theatre after his virulent attack on the regime in Parliament ending by saying that he would revert to his legal practice, as he is a practicing lawyer. It is very much disingenuous for him to say that he would revert to a practice as if he is an accomplished practitioner. What’s worse is that the gentleman thinks there are people who are fooled by such theatrics.
Be that as it may, it is very unlikely that Premajayantha can make any significant impact. He has had too many political contortions in the last few years, and has been left in a state that makes him totally untrustworthy, as far as most political actors of significance who can engage him are concerned.
Losing anyone may be disadvantageous for the Government at this stage, but then it is extremely unlikely that Premajayantha could command a following, at this stage anyhow. He never was an inspirational figure, but his current political stateless status is what he has brought upon himself.
But to get back to the matter of the Constitution, it is possibly correct to say that the Committee that was appointed to draft the new Constitution was not the result of a well thought out decision. This is a bunch of lawyers who essentially have no background in politics, political science, or the social sciences. This is with the exception of one or two of its members.
However, the Committee to its credit held public consultations. But yet, there should have been persons with the depth and background to analyse that input from a political perspective, and the lawyers in the Committee by and large have nowhere near that depth or background.
This is a ludicrous situation in a country that has so much talent in terms of politically engaged activists etc. President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva, who heads the Committee, can certainly contribute in terms of making superlative legal input, but that’s not what Constitution making is all about unfortunately.
To some extent, therefore, Premajayantha got that one half right at least. But that criticism does not make him especially astute. It is one observation many have made before him. The problem he has is that nobody believes him when he claims he is saying these things now to save the country. That’s what happens when a politician loses credibility so badly after cynical opportunism.
He may very soon have to face the reality that there are no takers willing to engage with such grandstanding. Of course, the Opposition will latch onto anybody now, but it will certainly not be with any enthusiasm, given Premajayantha’s record.
It is doubtful that he would make any impact from opposition ranks if he were to go there because he brings bad vibrations that even the Opposition would be wary of.
However, Premajayantha has been in politics for too long to be able to bide his time, and that’s his problem. He’s therefore necessarily a man in a hurry. He is in so much of a hurry that he doesn’t realise that he doesn’t have much sympathy anywhere he turns. But the Opposition, if it is totally politically bankrupt, would use him.
That is par for the course in Sri Lankan politics; but the people of this country have had enough of overt cynicism. Even if they really want to send this Government home, they are still wary of persons such as Premajayantha, who seem to be warming up to that cause.
(The writer is a former Editor-in-Chief of three national English language publications and a practicing Attorney-at-Law. He is an Editors’ Guild award-winning columnist, and contributing writer and columnist for the Nikkei Asian Review and South China Morning Post, while his editorials have been published in The Australian)
……………………………………………………………………
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!