Social democrat, appointed Speaker

Dharman WICKREMARATNE

[Profile of people’s politician]
* Date of Birth: October 30, 1942
* Education: Little Flower Convent, Galle, Richmond College
* Entered politics in 1985 contesting from Mulkirigala
* In 1989 became MP for Hambantota
* Actively contributed to develop agriculture in the district
* Appointed Ports and Aviation Minister in 2004
* Appointed Speaker of Parliament in 2010

Chamal Rajapaksa was born on October 30, 1942. It was poet Panditharatna Amarasena of Beligalle who named the baby, Chamal. He entered ‘Little Flower’ Convent in Tangalle at the age of three and stayed there until he was taken to the convent at Matara. From a very young age he was trained to attend to his personal needs in an orderly manner, without depending on others.

In 1948 he entered the primary class at Richmond College, Galle. Having decided to strengthen his Buddhist upbringing in the village, Chamal’s father admitted him to a Dhamma School in Galketiya, Galle. It helped him get a good grasp of Buddhism, Buddhist ethics and thereby improve his moral stature.

Chamal Rajapaksa’s father D A Rajapaksa was a one-time Agriculture, Lands Minister and also Deputy Speaker. Mother was Dandina Samarasinghe Dissanayake. Six of their nine children are sons - Chamal, Mahinda, Chandra, Gotabhaya, Basil and Dudley. The three daughters are Jayanthi Hettiarachchi, Preethi Chandradasa and Gandhini Ranawaka. The Rajapaksa family enjoys the highest position among Sri Lanka’s 18 political families the world has recognized. Chamal’s paternal uncle was D M Rajapaksa who represented Hambantota in the State Council in 1936. It is the villagers of Giruwapattuwa who gave moral strength to Rajapaksas then as now.

Paternal guidance

From a very young age he was fortunate to be in the company of political leaders. Among them were D S Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake, Sir John Kotalawala and S W R D Bandaranaike. He gave straight answers to their questions. Since the time he was a child he helped his father D A Rajapaksa in his election campaigns. Chamal used to place his hand on pieces of paper and draw around it with a piece of charcoal to get the image of the hand which was his father’s election symbol. Chamal saw how his father conducted the election campaign. The experience he gained thereby was a guideline for his political future.

While continuing his studies at Richmond College he had the opportunity of cutting the second sod of soil after the then Prime Minister S W R D Bandaranaike cut the first sod for the construction of the Chandrika Wewa to develop the South Bank of the Walawe River. This gave him a vision of bringing prosperity to the rural sector through agricultural development.

As a Sub Inspector of Police he observed the law to the letter and did not get involved in politics while in Police Service. After the UNP came to power in 1977 he worked for Minister Lalith Athulathmudali. The latter ignored the many complaints made against Rajapaksa by UNP supporters, since the Minister knew his honesty and integrity.

He entered active politics by becoming a contestant in the Mulkirigala by-election in 1985. The election was held on September 12 that year and UNP thugs were engaged in robbing votes, making Rajapaksa lose the election by 1,329 votes. The UNP candidate got 26,037 votes while Rajapaksa received 24,708 votes.

People’s politician

The thousands of UNP hoodlums having come from Colombo hijacked the entire election. But it was a good experience for Chamal in his future political career and in 1989 he became MP for Hambantota. His knowledge in agriculture earned him the respect of even Opposition politicians. President R Premadasa appreciated Rajapaksa’s service. But the then government failed to meet the needs of the people of Hambantota. The wastage and corruption greatly depressed Rajapaksa.

On August 16, 1994 the United People’s Freedom Alliance came to power ending a 17-year UNP rule. Although Rajapaksa was not appointed to any position in the new Government he actively participated in a program to develop Hambantota. The main problem of the people there was water. The problem was there since the days of his father. Rajapaksa had a strong desire to solve the problem since he deeply felt the suffering of the farmers. Since he already had a plan in mind he decided to implement it at the first opportunity. It was the Mau Ara water supply scheme.

Chamal still recalls with pleasure how he with the help of his friend William of Walasmulla harvested a paddy land after building a dam at Andupelena across the Urubokka Oya. A number of dams and tanks throughout the district were repaired parallel to the launching of the Mau Ara project with the help of local engineers.

Capable and dedicated

In addition, the construction of a canal to divert the water from the Lunugam Vehera reservoir to Ikkapallama, repairing of nine tanks including Bogamara, Boondala, Udamalala, Katuwewa, Thammanawa, Palugaswewa, Attakkawa and Karambagahaara at a cost of Rs. 90 million under the National Irrigation Reconstruction Project, developing the Walawe left bank to develop 6,500 acres of land, reconstructing the Liyanagastota Dam which had not been repaired for 115 years and repairing altogether 60 odd ruined tanks throughout the district were tasks successfully accomplished. Funds received from Kuwait were utilized for the development work associated with the Uruboku Oya and the Kiramba Oya.

Rajapaksa took steps to introduce new agricultural techniques to farmers by establishing an Agricultural Centre at Weligatta. All over the district 5,000 commercial farms were established and six fishery villages in Tisamaharama at a cost of over Rs.60 million.

Chamal Rajapaksa does not believe in temporary expenses. He knows that such expenditure bring no real benefit. He sees far ahead and works on a long term plan. He provided the people of Tissamaharama with avenues for self-employment by forming people’s export companies. Seeing boxes made of Palmyra leaves in India he bought a few of them and introduced them to the people of Hambantota.

Writer is an environmental Journalist and can be reached at [email protected]

Today around 45,000 such boxes are made in Hambantota bringing benefits to a large number of people. After visiting vineyards in India he encouraged Hambantota farmers to do the same. He allocated funds for the purpose from the de-Centralized budget in 1998. Today the venture is highly successful and two groups of Sri Lankan farmers visit India annually for training in this connection. These projects have made a major contribution in strengthening the people’s economy.

He strongly believes that development should be based on national resources. The major irrigation projects throughout the country clearly reflect his efforts to develop the agricultural and irrigation sectors. Supplying water to the Lunugam Vehera reservoir via Kirindi Oya, the Hambantota Harbour the Udamattala International Airport, the Iranian-funded Uma Oya Project to boost the national grid, the Rambakum Oya project in the East and the Deduru Oya project covering Wayamba (North-Western Province) are examples of his dedication to the development of the country. The last mentioned projects will go in a long way in boosting the island’s agriculture and power generation.

A number of major development projects were launched following his appointment as Ports and Aviation Minister in the previous Government. Among them the first stage of the accelerated Hambantota Harbour project is expected to be completed by 2011. Work on the Colombo South, Galle, Trincomalee and Oluvil Harbours are already under way. These will undoubtedly lead to the realization of the people’s dream of a new Sri Lanka. He is a politician who has identified the nation’s needs and truly understands the sentiments of the rural masses.

He is not only keen on national development but also on the need to protect the environment and natural resources. A good example of this is his decision to move the international airport project (which was earlier scheduled to commence at Weerawila) to Udamattala in the interests of agricultural needs.

Rajapaksa performs an immense service for social, economic, cultural and spiritual progress of the masses. He is grateful to the humble villagers of Giruwapattuwa who spent their time and energy to help him in his political career.

As a humble politician and a giant of Ruhuna he has dedicated his future too for the well-being of these people. In the sandy plains of Hambantota he has been an oasis. There is no doubt he will bear his responsibility and perform his duties to the best of his ability as the Speaker of Parliament.