Politicians ready to commit suicide for their pensions

However, the practical situation on the ground is that  no poor man who did not have a house to live in or any income source ever became the President of this country. It is the members of the elite  who have so far been elected as Presidents until the election held last year

Gunathilaka, a former companion of many leaders of the current JVP led National People’s Power government and the JVP’s candidate for the 1999 Presidential election,  had threatened in a Facebook post to launch a suicide attack in case the government goes ahead with its plan to abolish MP pensions

Among the various responses to the government’s move to scrap pension and other perks provided to the former Presidents and Parliamentarians,  the reaction of Nandana Gunathilaka,  former provincial council member and member of parliament of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has gone viral. 

Gunathilaka, a former companion of many leaders of the current JVP led National People’s Power government and the JVP’s candidate for the 1999 Presidential election,  had threatened in a Facebook post to launch a suicide attack in case the government goes ahead with its plan to abolish MP pensions.

He did not use the words ‘suicide’ or ‘attack’ in his post, but implied them. “Will die, not alone, I am a guerilla,” he said after explaining the possible predicament he would find himself in if he is deprived of his pension. However, he did not indicate who  would accompany him   when he dies. 

Gunathilaka stated: “It is with that Rs. 68,000 Parliament pension I am just making ends meet. After paying for house rental, utility  and medical bills, I am left with only Rs. 700 to Rs.800 for  daily meals and other expenses.” One would  hardly have any reason to doubt his statement. The situation  he describes is the lot  of many 63-year-olds and pensioners  who cannot find a job at that late stage of life. 

However, his problem cannot be solved through a suicide attack. There are millions of people in this country who are  left destitute during their twilight years such as agricultural labourers, masons, carpenters, barbers, pavement hawkers, fishermen and those who are employed in eateries and shops. They have to  depend on their children who are also sometimes struggling to make ends meet. Yet, they do not resort to suicide attacks. 

Gunathilaka’s Facebook post comes in the wake of the government’s move to scrap pension and other perks provided for  former Presidents and the Members of Parliament, in line with a pledge given by the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) during the last Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Accordingly, the President’s Entitlement (Repeal) Bill was gazette on July 31 and presented in Parliament on last Thursday (August 7). 

The Bill provides for the abolition of official residences, monthly allowances, secretarial allowances, transport and other facilities provided for  former Presidents and their widows and the pension for those widows. Since the pension paid to former Presidents is one of their Constitutional rights, it is not included in this Bill. Nevertheless, they are expected to be deprived of that right as well at a later stage, as it is NPP’s another election pledge and the party has the Parliamentary majority necessary to amend the Constitution. 

The argument by  Manoj Gamage, the spokesman of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa that the government is targetting his leader through this Bill is illogical since the JVP has been demanding the abolition of pensions for former Presidents and the MPs for decades. The JVP and later the NPP has been insisting on a new political culture for the country where politics is not a means for money making or for enjoying perks and privileges. 

However, one would naturally see a link between this Bill and the recent controversy over the 30,000 square foot state-owned mansion in Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo where the former President lives in with his wife. The government and especially President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently demanded that Rajapaksa leave the house which the Valuation Department had estimated to be worth Rs. 3.5 billion, promising to provide him an alternative and  appropriate house.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reported that former Presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe were contemplating legal action against the Presidents’ Entitlement (repeal) Bill. However, they would not need to take legal action as the Bill anyway would go through a Supreme Court scrutiny as any other Bill would when they could intervene. 

There are groups who argue that the former Presidents must be provided with a pension and an appropriate house as they should have a decent life after retirement while some other groups counter it stating that politicians should not expect any perks or privileges as they boast at top of their voices on political platforms that they are selfless and entered politics to uplift the lives of the people. 

However, the practical situation on the ground is that  no poor man who did not have a house to live in or any income source ever became the President of this country. It is the members of the elite  who have so far been elected as Presidents until the election held last year. Although Ranasinghe Premadasa and Maithripala Sirisena were born into ordinary families, they too, were part of that elite  when they contested the Presidential election. 

None of the former Presidents  have ever been homeless. J. R. Jayewardene had a mansion called Breamer in Ward Place while Ranasinghe  Premadasa’s ‘Sucharitha’ house had welcomed even foreign dignitaries. Chandrika Kumaratunga had leased out her ancestral house at Rosmead Place to a hotel and is living in a state-owned official residence. Mahinda Rajapaksa himself told the media this week that his Medamulana Walawwa is better than the controversial official residence at Wijerama Mawatha. 

Maithripala Sirisena, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe all have their own houses in Polonnaruwa, Mirihana and Kollupitiya.  Hence, no former Presidents would be homeless if the Presidents’ Entitlement (Repeal) Bill is passed. They would not resort to ‘suicide attacks’ either, if they are deprived of their pension which is a meagre amount (Rs. 97,000), given their current lavish lifestyles compared to that of the ordinary people. 

In Sri Lanka, apart from rare exceptions like the case with Nandana Gunathilaka, political parties select candidates for Parliamentary elections from the ranks of well-off supporters who can spend millions for electioneering. They too would not commit suicide just for losing a monthly pension of about Rs.68, 000. 

Interestingly, nobody protested when the NPP pledged to abolish the pension for MPs. Neither when Hesha Withanage of the Samagi Jana Balawgaya (SJB) vowed to present a private members motion in Parliament for the same purpose in November nor when Ravi Karunanayake of the UNP/NDF in fact presented such a motion in February anybody criticized them. Then, why now?

Politics should not be a money-making device, it should be a committed public service, as our politicians claim during elections.