Politico takes the bull by the horns

GALLANTRY: Who says politicians abandon their voters once elected to office? Not if one were to read a recent news report in the vernacular press where the public rapport and empathy of a local politico was demonstrated to the hilt.

There couldn't have been a better example of a more public spirited politician than what was witnessed at Ratnapura recently.

According to the report the opposition leader of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council personally joined a mob of villagers giving chase to two snatch thieves.What is more he himself apprehends one of the thieves.

The news item says that the politico was travelling in his pajero when he came upon a scene where a crowd was chasing after two men who had just snatched a gold chain off a woman's neck.

Not stopping to ask questions the man used the added speed of his pajero to race ahead of the pursuers and grab one of the thieves. Not stopping there he had bundled the thief in the same pajero and driven to the local police to hand over the suspect.

Wheels of justice

This is one instance where the public can be certain there would be no political interference with the due process of the law.

They can be assured that there will be no telephone call to the OIC to release a political supporter who has had a brush with the law. Nay the public can be certain that the law will be implemented to the letter and that the wheels of justice will move with lightening speed.

Here is one politician who had striven to erase the popular belief about most politicians who are known to insulate themselves from the public once elected to office. Unlike some of his colleagues who breathe fire and thunder on political stages promising to get rid of criminals of their constituencies here is a man who believes in the hands on approach.

He has taken the bull by the horns so to speak, a shining example to politicians who only pay lip service to their pledges once in the seats of power.

Here is an act of criminality committed before his own eyes and his electors are persuing the desperados. There is no time for protocol. If he is going to be taken seriously on his utterances of combatting crime here is the ideal opportunity to demonstrate his bona fides.

Never mind that he was travelling in a pajero while the rest were hot footing it after their prey. This was too good an opportunity to be missed for displaying his gallantry.

This is his moment of glory.He would prove to his voters that he was a man of action when it comes to honouring his pledges. He would raise the battered image of his colleagues in the political spectrum several notches higher.

Think twice

Now the public would change their view about politicians as parasites living on the fat of land. Instead they would be looked on as paragons of virtue henceforth.

Snatch thieves would now think twice before getting into action. Because they will not want to tangle with a politician who will suddenly descend on the scene unannounced. Some would say that this is the essence of grassroots politics where people's representatives join with the hoi polloi to rid the electorate of villains and make it a habitable land.There could also be a downside to this whole episode. More and more politicians at all levels would demand duty free pajeros and intercoolers now. They only have to point to the Ratnapura incident to justify their claim.

They are bound to raise their voice in unison on the efficacy of a fast moving four wheeler to track down criminals and rid society of undesirable .

The Ratnapura incident could also spawn many enterprising people's representatives who may get emboldened to venture into hitherto unchartered territory of crime busting which would earn for them the eternal gratitude of a much harried public.

There would be no end to the possibilities this would open up. There will be many politicos who will demand combat training where they would be inducted into the finer points in karate or jututsu to bring down a fleeing bandit.

This could also prove to be a valid asset during the hustings where muscle power reigns. It would be interesting though to observe if this same enthusiasm displayed by the Sabaragamuwa politico in apprehending a snatch thief will be shown to rid the Government of corrupt members of his own tribe.

This certainly would be the acid test.

Rambler

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The ten rupee cheque that made history in Parliament

Edward Arambewala

PARLIAMENT: This happened in Sri Lanka's Parliament on November 21, 1986. It was the last day of the Budget, and the Minister of Finance was Mr. Ronnie de Mel.

I was in the Daily News staff then covering the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Colombo Hospitals.

It was J.R. Jayewardene Government and he had split the Health Ministry into two, giving Colombo Hospitals to Mrs. Sunethra Ranasinghe under the Ministry of Colombo Hospitals, and the rest to Dr. Ranjith Atapattu under the Ministry of Health.

I was keenly following the budget debate, and was really concerned about the heavy budget deficit in that year. And I was thinking to myself, why can't the Parliament set a tradition on the last day of the Budget, just before the vote is taken after the Finance Minister's reply in the Budget debate, where all members make a voluntary contribution in cash or by cheque of whatever amount each would like to offer as a token contribution from them to the Finance Minister to reduce the Budget deficit then and there. I thought if this is done the people will also definitely make a contribution.

This would mean that the entire country would have meaningfully participated in this most important aspect of Parliamentary Government the annual Budget debate. I wanted to see how far thinking our Parliamentarians were an a matter like this, and what I did was, to write a letter to the Minister of Finance expressing my idea of the Budget deficit and offer a ten Rupee cheque to the Minister of Finance as my contribution to bring down the Budget deficit.

I wrote this letter, enclosing a Rs. 10 cheque, and sent it to the Minister of Finance Ronnie de Mel, the day before the last day of the Budget debate.

I never thought then that this letter and cheque was going into Parliament history in budgeting and thus create a record.

But it really happened that way for Minister Ronnie de Mel that evening had started off his speech by reading my letter from top to bottom, and he had accepted my cheque, thus cutting the Budget deficit down by Rs. 10, the very day it was passed in Parliament. It is reported in the Hanzard.

Mr. De Mel in his letter to me dated 26 November, 1986 states:

"Dear Mr. Arambewala,

Your letter of 19th November was a pleasant surprise to me. Thank you very much for your kind sentiments and your patriotic gesture of sending me Rs. 10 towards meeting the unprecedented budget deficit.

I referred to this patriotic gesture on your part in Parliament.

The copy of my speech from Hanzard is attached for your information. With my warm personal regards and best wishes.

Ronnie de Mel

Minister of Finance and Planning.

So as an ANCL journalist I think I have created an unprecedented history in Budget debates in Sri Lanka Parliament.

A ten Rupee budgetary history in Parliament.

My only regret is that Minister Ronnie de Mel at that time while praising me to the hilt for my action did not think getting a hat from somewhere putting some money to it by himself and send it around for a hat collection on the spot from members in the House, and visitors in the gallery also for a token reduction in the Budget deficit. This would have created a new budgetary tradition in Parliament.

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Flying Tortoise
A new version

FABLE: As the tortoise who went flying and then crashed to its death in the past another member of the same family was stuck in a dried up and desolate area.

He too had wanted to find new fresh pastures but to no avail as there were no storks to lift him and carry afar.

But not for long. Two white storks who were roaming around saw the tortoise's flight and wanted to help.

Although the tortoise appealed to them to take him away to a better place with water and greenery, the storks were refusing to help him.

"We can help you, but like your ancestor we can't trust you big mouth. If something happens we'll be blamed as in the earlier story of your ancestor," the storks told the tortoise.

But the tortoise was trying and pleading with them.

"I am not like my stupid ancestor I will lock my mouth to the pole and wait till you drop me at a better place," the tortoise promised. Believing him and also pitying his flight the storks agreed to carry the tortoise on a pole.

As in the earlier episode the two storks were holding the pole from two sides and the tortoise was hanging in the middle.

The storks were carrying him into the open skies and flying over valley, rivers and mountains. Then it happened as in the earlier story.

Some naughty boys who were playing cricket saw this spectacle started hurling insulting words at the tortoise as well as the storks.

The tortoise was tight lipped and locked his teeth to the pole.

But this time the storks got angry and abandoning the pole and the tortoise then started shouting at the boys.

The unfortunate tortoise was falling to his death.

At that moment the storks realised their folly and swooped down and caught the pole from two sides and held it tightly.

The tortoise was relieved and as he was from a good breed he opened his mouth and said, "thank you".

The tortoise came tumbling down to his death and the two storks flew away abandoning the pole.