If you must fear anything, fear the law and nothing else!

Sri Lanka is an island which has one main law and several customised ‘laws’ or regulations to suit certain communities and religions. The latter are unofficial, l but have clout in their respective societies.

The law must have clout and the ability to drive in fear to the public. This is now happening in this island after a change of regime. In the recent past we saw many politicians being found guilty of crime in a court of law. At least two ‘big fish’ were caught in Sri Lanka’s legal net and one was made to serve a sentence specified by the court. 

This is not a country where moral practice has been very high. Even during the times of the kings, punishment was severe on the wrongdoer. Then we had the British governing us, with punishment ranging from death at the gallows to whipping or corporal punishment. The British tried to abolish crude ways of punishment and replace them with modes of punishment that could be termed as civilised. However,  punishment wasn’t a deterrent against theft. That’s why we saw the emergence of a bandit named Saradiel (1832-1864) during British rule of Ceylon. 

The late President Ranasinghe Premadasa tried his best to stop wasteful spending and steer the country on to a path which supported economic growth. He managed to achieve that goal to a great extent. Still when he made his last journey in life, there was much unfinished businesses in his agenda. 

Then from the times of Chandrika Kumarathunga to the reign of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka experienced the worst of regimes where accountability for finances and crimes were concerned. Circumstances didn’t improve much during the times of Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe till Anura Kumara Dissanayke emerged as the victor at the last presidential elections. 

Now the present president states that he is taking the country on a path where its citizens fear to misuse the wealth of the state. A president must start a clean-up campaign somewhere and the state sector is the best place for that. 

President Dissanayake is making the best use of the presidency and making his rounds in other countries as a statesman. This travelling is essential to observe how other models of governance are operating. The Present President mustn’t miss out on visiting an accomplished nation like Singapore. Many moons ago, Sri Lankans were cock-a-hoop when Singapore president Lee kuan Yew praised Sri Lanka’s economic growth and affirmed that Singapore should emulate the island nation in terms of economic success. Apart from the economic growth part, and the cherished words of Yew, Sri Lanka never bothered to watch Singapore’s rise as a nation. 

This is a time when President Dissanayake should consider visiting Singapore and see how much they have accomplished with what little they have. And for that to happen, apart from hard work and honesty, Singapore as a nation strengthened its laws. This is why Singapore is a disciplined nation. Did you know that when visiting Singapore, you have to strictly obey road rules to the letter, patiently await for your turn at the queues in shopping malls, meet the cultural expectations of that country and not indulge in smoking tobacco in public? The penalty for smoking a cigarette in public places will see you being slapped with a fine of 1000 Singapore Dollars. If Singapore can ban chewing of gum, Sri Lanka must consider banning chewing of betel nut and spitting it in public places. 

There is a lot that ‘little’ Singapore can teach us in terms of strengthening the country’ laws. 

When we were small, we were made to read Les Miserables, a novel which makes you reflect on the enduring human spirit, the importance of compassion and forgiveness and the struggle against social injustice. There was a part in the book where we read how Jean Valjean is sent to prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed starving children. He later steals a silver goblet from the Bishop, but the clergyman forgives him. We learn about compassion in that chapter, but can we practise compassion in Sri Lanka? 

After the era of books came the television era; and later,  the internet era. And we learned at the speed of clicking a finger, that Afghanistan’s elected government was overrun in 2021 by the Islamic Fundamentalist Group Taliban. It is quite sickening to know that in Afghanistan, it’s the caliphate mode of governance that operates. The interpretation of the Quran according to the whims and fancies of the Taliban has replaced the rule by traditional law in that country. The result? Malnutrition soars in the country, the economy has crashed and there is severe restricting of women’s rights. 

We don’t have to go that far, in a geographical sense, where the law is concerned. We saw, right here in this island, how ruthless  terrorists ruled a battered minority community in the north and the east with the power of the bullet. History teaches us that nowhere in the world has any nation progressed in the absence of the law being implemented to the letter. 

The Sri Lanka president and his cabinet are the law makers of this country. They have a responsibility in strengthening certain laws and doing away with what’s not necessary to make this island ‘the place where one wishes to go and live’.