K. B. Ratnayake - gentleman-politician par excellence

BY ARAMPOLA M. Karunaratne

K. B. RATNAYAKE, former speaker to the House of Parliament from 1994-2000 died on the 30th of April 2004 after a prolonged illness.

He entered politics in 1960 and had served the country for as long as 40 years. None has criticised his career as a government servant; as a politician or as a SLFP member. His was a life outstanding achievement and more importantly of noble conduct.

K. B. Ratnayake, popularly known as 'KB', sprung from a small hamlet in Rajarata. Since his mother passed away at the age of 10, Mr. Ratnayake as well as his younger brother and sister had to be brought up by their elder sister.

His father, Mudalihamy Ratnayake, who was a village headman was a man of great foresight and would predict that 'my son would do great things in time to come'.

Mudalihamy wanted to groom his son to become a great statesman and ensured that his son got a good education by sending him to Hartley College in Point Pedro where KB excelled in his studies.

An outstanding all-rounder, K. B. Ratnayake was the first Sinhala student who captained the cricket team in that college. Moreover, he excelled in the field of sports playing cricket, tennis, and football.

He was equally good in all these three sports. He not only played these games, but also served as a referee when his services were required. He played numerous matches and earned prestige and honour for his alma-mater. Even today Hartley College recognises him as a distinguished Hartleyite.

As a Sinhalese boy in Jaffna, he had to first learn Tamil language and through Tamil, he had to learn English. Later he mastered both languages equally. Yet he spoke English without any Tamil accent. He spoke in Tamil with a fluent Tamil accent.

Nobody could say he was a Sinhalese when he spoke in Tamil. He was so fluent. On the contrary, when he goes to his village, he was a real villager who spoke rural Sinhala with the typical rural accent.

In 1943, he started his career as a Village Cultivation Officer. He served in Medawachchiya and then in Kahatagasdigiliya. As a young officer he faced problems from the 'aristocrats' of the North Central Province.

Once his brother-in-law (sister's husband) was murdered in broad daylight in an effort to cripple the family. While he was a Village Cultivation Officer, he had applied for the post of Sub-Inspector in the Police Department.

He was virtually selected on his academic qualifications, his fluency in all three languages and his outstanding sportsmanship.

But the so-called 'aristocrats' saw to it that they was not selected. He endured all such setbacks. Yet the thought of revenge never crossed the mind of this great statesman to be. He waited patiently until his turn came.

Those who penalised him received severe punishments not by the law of the land, but by the universal law of cause and effect. Despite these drawbacks, in 1945, Mr. Ratnayake was promoted as Cultivation Officer City Tanks (COCT).

Later he joined the Survey Department as a kachcheri surveyor and served in the districts of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. When the Anuradhapura Preservation Board was established, he applied to the post of Land Officer and was selected.

Mr. Ratnayake and Maithripala Senanayake had their secondary education in Jaffna. While Mr. Ratnayake was studying in Hartley College, Mr. Senanayake studied at St. Patrick's College in Jaffna.

Both were good friends from the student days. This friendship grew while they were serving as Village Cultivation Officers. Mr. Senanayake, entered politics in 1948.

He contested the Medawachchiya seat and won. In 1956, he was re-elected and was appointed as the Minister in Charge of Transport and Works. Mr. Ratnayake was a government servant then.

Mr. Senanayake always sought Mr. Ratnayake's cooperation in land alienation programs and in settlement of land disputes.

In 1958, Minister Senanayake hand-picked Mr. Ratnayake as his private secretary. In 1962, with the demise of Sirimevan Godage, MP for Anuradhapura, Mr. Senanayake proposed to Mrs. Bandaranaike to give nomination to Mr. Ratnayake to contest this seat. Amid objections from the party supporters, Mr. Ratnayake was allowed to contest the Anuradhapura by-election in 1962.

Even in 1965 when the UNP came to power, due to his objective and impartial conduct that helped to narrow the differences between the dominant political parties; there were requests from Dudley Senanayake, M. D. Banda and other UNP stalwarts, warmly inviting Mr. Ratnayake to join the UNP.

But he very politely refused such requests and conformed to one coherent vision. He was so loyal to his party (SLFP) and to its leader the late Mrs. Bandaranaike.

Mr. Ratnayake rose above party politics to show to the world the value of mutual respect and appreciation of common dignity within political circles. Even his opponents who contested him became his close friend after the election.

Former premier, Dudley Senanayake who loved to play cricket was one time the captain of the government party while Mr. Ratnayake was the captain of the opposition team. Despite the friendly competition, Dudley Senanayake never forgot to accompany Mr. Ratnayake on his Rajarata tours. He knew that Mr. Ratnayake was much closer to the peasantry and had through understanding of their problems.

In 1970 when the SLFP again came to power, Mr. Ratnayake was appointed Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Sports. In 1972, a new organisation called the Department of Rehabilitation came under his purview.

Here, he was entrusted with the Herculean task of rehabilitating nearly ten thousand youths who were taken into custody during the 1971 insurrection. Mr. Ratnayake opened several rehabilitation camps and launched program that ensured the return of youths to society as dignified, peace loving and the law abiding citizens.

In 1975, when the LSSP left the coalition, Lesley Gunawardene resigned from the post of Minister of Transport. Thereafter, Mrs. Bandaranaike appointed Mr. Ratnayake as the Minister of Transport as he was one of the most trusted persons that Mrs. Bandaranaike had.

While he was Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Sports and Transport, he was the political authority in charge of Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, and Mannar districts. He was also the Chief Government Whip. Further, he was the Vice President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

In 1977, the UNP came to power with an overwhelming majority. At this juncture, when the civic rights of Mrs. Bandaranaike were removed some SLFP stalwarts left the party seeking other avenues to gain future power.

But Mr. Ratnayake stood by his party. This was one of the darkest periods in the political history of Sri Lanka, where a former Prime Minister, a reputed world figure, a party leader and a noble and respectable lady was harassed by removing her civic rights.

Since Mr. Ratnayake was loyal to her during her time of need; there were those who thought that he too would be trapped by some means since Mr. Ratnayake was not even a MP during the period 1977-1989.

However, this true statesman attracted no such animosity even during these turbulent times. Yet ironically, at the political meetings held in Anuradhapura, Mr. Ratnayake was accused and humiliated by those who left the SLFP. Mr. Ratnayake never retaliated.

In 1994, the SLFP came to power and Mr. Ratnayake was elected Speaker of Parliament. In 1995, the World Interparliamentary Speakers' Conference was held in Colombo and Mr. Ratnayake was the chairman of this event. He conducted the conference with such grandeur that most of the Speakers started inviting him to visit their parliaments.

Although the invitations were numerous, he only visited a few selected countries. He ensured that Sri Lanka gained by such visits. He never took any family members with him during such visits.

Furthermore, it was with great difficulty that the authorities convinced the Speaker to accept his official luxury vehicle, as this great statesman refused to burden the tax payer, yet reluctantly gave way to protocol.

Mr. Ratnayake set a rare example by steering clear from petty self cantered party politics and was a pillar of stability among a handful of other such a pure breed of politicians of yester years.

He was a man of peace and a man of thorough understanding of the world around him and of peoples of different backgrounds. He was a politician who was sensitive to the heart beat of the peasants as well as the needs and fears of the social elites.

As Speaker, being a far-sighted man who appreciated the value of higher education, Mr. Ratnayake was the pioneer in establishing the Rajarata University in Mihintale.

In recognition of his service, the university conferred him the Degree of Doctor of Literature - Honoris Causa. Despite being bestowed with such recognition both in Sri Lanka and abroad, and having high profile friends of international repute, Mr. Ratnayake never forgot the peasantry who lived in remote villages in Rajarata.

Mr. Ratnayake served for six years in this distinguished position until he retired in the year 2000. Yet, the President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga invited the former Speaker to continue to serve the country in the capacity of the Governor of the Central Province.

Mr. Ratnayake took on his responsibility and served for two more years and later retired from the governorship due to ill-health.

Having closely associated with Mr. Ratnayake from his childhood during the best of times and more recent worst of times, the President followed with great empathy the fading away of this pillar of stability and resilience. The President took a personal interest to ensure the well-being of this close family.

A man of simple sophistication, Mr. Ratnayake spent the latter part of his life in the same old bungalow in Anuradhapura where he had raised his family of two sons and two daughters together with his loving wife.

Inheriting their father's noble values all four children looked after Mr. Ratnayake with great respect and care. As his health faded away all four children looked after their loving father with great devotion.

Even when Mr. Ratnayake was residing at his youngest daughter's residence, on numerous occasions he would insist on visiting his dear elder sister who had looked after him when he was a child and ensured her well-being despite his own worsening health. Such was the compassion of this gentle giant of a politician.

Let us all be thankful to K. B. Ratnayake for the special way he touched our lives. May we have the courage to live up to his example of serving the country: so noble, so gentle, yet... so upright...