One month has elapsed since the passing of a distinguished public servant who dedicated his lifetime to service to the country through his multi-faceted public service contributions. The history of the Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) is replete with honourable men who have dedicated their lives and services to the development and prosperity of our country. Mr. Kandekumara Hapudoragamage Jothiyaratna Wijayadasa (K.H.J. Wijayadasa)--Wije as affectionately known to his colleagues and friends--will remain as one of them. When the history of the CCS is written one day, a lot of hitherto untouched developmental episodes will be unearthed and those would relate to agriculture and rural development, land reform and estate development, urban and industrial development, tea, rubber, coconut and agrarian research, and a myriad of stories relating to port, aviation, irrigation, highways and small -scale industrial growth.
Little is known about how eminent civil servants silently changed the face of the country’s development scenario, admittedly within the overall executive and legislative framework, supervised and coordinated by the elected representatives. The history of public administration demonstrates that the upliftment of the country after independence was a colossal task that devolved on charismatic political leaders and public service personalities, the names of whom are too numerous to mention here.
Mr. Wijayadasa had a challenging public service career working in several sectors of the government, including broadcasting, local government, highways and road development but his main contributions were in the areas of agricultural development, land reform and estate development, and environmental policy planning and development. These preceded his active involvement in the larger field of socio-political management under the leadership of the late Premadasa, first as secretary to the Prime Minister when he served as PM, and later as secretary to the President when Mr. Premadasa served as the President. He had served in these two positions for a period of ten years (1984-1994) with dignity, grace and efficiency. Knowing the demanding qualities of the late president it was indeed a great achievement that he survived with his image untarnished for ten years. Several colleagues of his in the public service admired his courage, tenacity and hard work to deliver substantial outputs during those difficult days.
As the Government Agent of Polonnaruwa, Kegalle and Ampara districts he left behind demonstrable successes in development planning and agricultural development. He groomed a number of younger public servants who in their heyday attributed their success to Mr. Wijayadasa’s mentoring and guidance during their younger days. As Chairman of the Land Reform Commission and Janata Estate Development Board, he played a key role in implementing the provisions of the Land Reform Law which was subjected to intensive scrutiny and amendments. It was one of the most difficult times in his career with those opposed to land reform laying obstacles on his path to implementation. With excellent administrative skills, the controversial encounters he faced were admirably resolved to the satisfaction of the architects of the reform.
His contribution to environmental policy planning is well documented in various legislations and regulations. Being new to the subject of environmental policy planning he educated himself thoroughly and assisted considerably in the formulation of policies for environmental planning and management. His public service career was marked by a high sense of honesty, integrity, and discipline.
He produced several books which displayed his multi-faceted ability and competence. Wijayadasa devoted his retirement to initiating work on the restoration of Buddhist shrines, elucidating Buddhist scriptures and writing many spiritual articles on the central tenets of Buddhism.
Wijayadasa’s personality remained complex and comforting. His humour, wit, and dedication to details, and candid interactions with diverse cultural groups displayed a sense of intellectual maturity that rose above race, religion and positions of individuals.
The description and analysis of Wijayadasa as a personal and family friend evoke sentimental and emotive reactions that are difficult to quantify or illustrate. Wijayadasa and I entered the University of Peradeniya at the same time and joined the civil service in 1960 together. Although we parted ways in the late 1970s, a result of my decision to pursue a career with the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank in that order, not a single year passed without our getting together in Colombo, Manila, London or New York and exchanging notes on public sector developments.
Many among our friends, including his wife Nimalka and children, were not aware until very much later, that Wije took it upon himself to be present at my wedding in Jaffna. Since then our friendship grew further and was cemented by our working colleagues such as Mahinda Silva, then secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, the charismatic Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Mr. Hector Kobbekaduwa and several other colleagues in the ministry who worked as a team to deliver challenging programmes. I still remember Mr. Kobbekaduwa in one of his letters to me highlighting the respect and admiration he had for Mr. Mahinda Silva, Wijeyadasa and myself for the work done in the ministry during his tenure as Minister. In my view that was a golden period in the growth of agriculture with increased paddy production and expansion and production of subsidiary food crops which reached a peak at a time of scarcities. This was in addition to the establishment of the then Agrarian Research and Training Institute (now Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute) which was done in double quick time to meet international and local programmes priorities. I could witness the elation and happiness on Wije’s face when he congratulated me for the job well done at the opening of the building by the then Prime Minister Mrs. Srimavo Bandaranaike who congratulated the management for the efficient and expeditious manner in which the Institute was established. That kind of partnership, devotion and commitment to the delivery of anticipated outcomes is rare and hard to come by these days.
Wijayadasa was a close friend and an admirable associate with whom sharing life’s day-to-day problems resulted in greater mutual respect and understanding of each other’s needs and aspirations. From the heydays of the 1970s life became different due to my family commitments and international work obligations. Nevertheless, our friendship never faltered and Wije offered his full support when I launched my book, ‘Managing Development: People, Policies and Institutions’ in Colombo.
He not only reviewed the book but also participated as a guest speaker along with others such as Indrajit Coomaraswamy-the Chief Guest was the current President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wije touched my heart when my wife passed away in 2021. Unsolicited, he wrote a tribute citing my wife’s impeccable characteristics and presentation published in several papers that captured the attention of many who wondered at his intimate knowledge of her attributes.
I have lost an invaluable friend who can never be replaced. I will miss him dearly.
To his wonderful and courageous wife who stood by him in good and bad times and dutifully carried out all his wishes, and his children Charmalee, her adorable husband, Gihan, and Uditha and his wife Niru, who equally loved him to the hilt and did their best to give him the peace and solace he required all his life, I can assure them that he will continue to guide them even in death.
We salute you Wije for your dedication, commitment and standards of honesty and integrity you maintained in your public life. We had disagreements on issues of devolution of power, ethnic disharmony and discriminatory policies that had torn a nation apart but never held our individual opinions to distract or destroy our intimate liking and respect for each other. There lies our great friendship which even in death binds us together. May your soul attain peace and achieve immortal rest until you are born again if ever that happens.
