Opinion

We don’t find the calibre of parliamentarians like before

16 Jul 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Mr. Rukman Senanayake former Chairman of the United National Party and cabinet minister who hails from a strong and celebrated political lineage spoke to the Daily Mirror on the upcoming general elections. He also provided his insight into current political developments.

Mr. Senanayake what prompted you to rejoin the political fray?
I have always been in politics since 1973 when I first became a member of parliament, in the by-election, when I was nominated by the party following the death of Mr. Dudley Senanayake. I was a member of parliament from 1994 to 2010 and I represented two Districts under the proportional representation system. First I contested Polonnaruwa and won two elections there after President Premadasa asked me to contest in the District. Then Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe the present leader asked me to contest in Kegalle and I contested and won two elections there as well. When I was not nominated I stayed away but I didn’t join another party. I was always a UNP supporter. I always believe that two conditions must be fulfilled for anyone to do politics. First the party must accept the fact that you are suitable to be nominated and the second is that decision must be endorsed by the people. It is when these criteria are met that you have the right to do public service. That is my view about the matter. So when I was not nominated by the party in 2010 I only stayed away. I didn’t look the other way, or look for alternatives, I always remained a strong UNPer.

Weren’t you left out of the UNP 2010 due to the internal power struggle?
No I think that is a misconception. Many other parties who joined the UNP wanted slots for their nominees and I think the leadership was under tremendous pressure. That may be why he took me out, but no it was not because of a power struggle.

Did it hurt you at the time?
Of course it did, its only natural. When the party you are in doesn’t nominate you. But there were reasons beyond his control and I didn’t ask for anything. There are no hard feelings at all.

Mr. Senanayake we are currently witnessing a political turn around of some sort. You come from a political lineage and have experienced political turnarounds. What is your personal view on what is happening in the political sphere today?

People wanted a change and the younger generation played a pivotal role for this. After a long period under President Rajapaksa people were getting fed up with the system. There was a lot of abuse of power, by certain members of Parliament and Ministers which alienated them from the people. Also the minorities felt very uncomfortable with the previous regime so they en-block supported the opposition. It was the Anti- Rajapaksa group which merged to defeat him, with different colours and political parties and that merging became a success story.

Do you believe that this was a good move? Were you against the previous regime?
Its not about me being personally against it. It was the general people’s belief. The general belief was that there should be a change. Being a UNPer my support was for this change. Fortunately there were different groups that converged together and this gave us the opportunity to topple them.

Can you draw historical parallels to this with the post independence history?
Not exactly. I don’t think we have experienced something of this kind before. The closest will be the loss of Sir John to Mr. Bandaranaike. There were huge groups that joined hands with Mr. Bandaranaike to defeat Mr. Kotelawala. Under Mr. Dudley Senanayake the UNP had won a two thirds majority for the first time in Sri Lanka during the 1953 elections. Then a year and a half later he chucked up politics because he was fed up of politics and was also sick. Sir John then took over from him. Thereafter there was a huge force that converged around Mr. Bandaranaike to defeat him. Sir John was identified as an autocrat, not that I am saying it was true or false, but there was a huge convergence of force against him. They joined hands and defeated Sir John and we were reduced to 8 seats. This is the party that had 2/3rd majority in parliament that was defeated in that fashion. I am not saying it is a parallel but that is the closest I could think of.

A general election has been called, what do you believe the ethos of the masses are today? The previous government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa triumphed at almost every election. Do you think there has been a shift towards the UNP now?
Yes of course. If you look at all the past elections which we lost for 20 odd years, the biggest issue the UNP faced was the fact that many of our members didn’t go to vote. There was a defeatist attitude prevalent among the UNPers, because of the belief that Mahinda Rajapaksa could not be defeated. So many didn’t go to vote. But following the emergence of Maithripala Sirisena as the candidate and the gathering of many forces around him the UNP voters went to the polling station. The younger generation also played a very big role in this and they managed to defeat Rajapaksa. After the election the UNPers are now in a very victorious and positive mode. They feel that a government will be formed under the leadership of the UNP. They are in top form. On the other hand the UPFA supporters seem confused because they aren’t sure which camp will emerge victorious. They aren’t sure if it’s the Rajapaksa camp or the Maithripala camp that will win the power struggle. They have a number of groups and are fighting among each other. Their party membership is demoralized and this will certainly pave the way for a UNP victory.

What is the general mood of the people in the electorate you have been given?
I have been appointed organizer for the Kegalle district. The UNP will win and we are going to form a government and there is no doubt about that. But my target is to ensure that the Kegalle district is won by the UNP. There is a small difference of about 25,000 votes which we would have to break away from the SLFP. We will have to break some votes which went to Mahinda Rajapaksa during the last election. I am quite confident that this will be done.

You said that you were confident that the UNP will form a government. Looking at the numbers, do you think the UNP will obtain the required 113 to form a government?
I am not sure if we will win an absolute majority but the Prime Minister has clearly indicated that he is willing to work with all groups and will form a national government. This will happen even if we do end up with a majority, and that is how we intend working.

One of the main issues that plagued the UNP during the past decade or so is its move away from the nationalist mindset. The perception has been that it is more an arm of imperialist and western policies. What is your view about this perception?
This was the allegation against Sir John as well. The UNP has always been a right of centre party. Even during Sir John’s time the accusation was that we were pro-west. This is something that we must counter. We should inform the masses about our roots, which has always been steadfastly the village. Once that is done I think the notion would not prevail. Also now Sinhala Buddhist nationalist elements are supporting this party. These allegations therefore wont work anymore.

There is a notion that
Sri Lanka has always lacked a statesman, although politicians are found in numbers since independence. Do you agree?
No I think we have had many great statesmen starting from D. S. Senanayake. There were many great leaders including Sirimavo Banadaranaike who were giant towers. So I don’t think that has been an issue.

But this country has faced two youth uprisings, a thirty year long civil war and economic deprivation..
Yes but that is not due to the lack of statesmen. The emergence of the terrorism of the LTTE was a major factor. I agree that after 1956 there has been a rise in communal politics and now it has become a potent force. But we have to retrace our roots back and identify ourselves with the ‘ Sri Lankan’ identity instead of dividing ourselves on racial or religious lines. D. S. Senanayake’s concept was one country and one nation and this is what we have to propagate.

What is your view on the current electoral system?
Earlier each person was responsible to his electorate and was elected from it. You represented an area and it was easier to campaign. The voters chose a representative responsible to them. The proportional representation system gave that away, and instead tilted in favour of those with the financial wherewithal. I think even though the old system had flaws it gave a better parliament. There were fantastic leaders that came out during that time. I don’t think we can even think of having that calibre of people now. It changed towards money oriented politics and it is a curse we have to change.

In the event the UNP comes into government what role do you see it playing, and what do you personally envision yourself doing?
I think a UNP government will bring about a lot of stability. All parties and breakaway factions will come together and this is very important for development. A line of corporation will emerge which is very important for the country.

And finally again, are you confident of a UNP victory
Yes of course. There is no doubt about it.

Opinion

We don’t find the calibre of parliamentarians like before

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