21^st October 2022

Open Letter to Hon. Sajith Premadasa

& Members of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)

 

Kanthar Balanathan Australia

DipEE(UK), Grad.Cert.(Rel. Eng-Monash) DipBusAdm(Finance-Massey), C.Eng., MIEE

Retired Director & Specialist Engineer Power & Control Systems

 

Native Sri Lankans

This letter may open the judgements of a significant number of politicians relative to the cockeyed politicians who can only see one side of the assessment. I viewed your visit to the Veddas community and had a conversation with the senior Vedda. It is a great accomplishment of visiting a Vedda community that has been neglected for 74 years. You must agree with me that the Vedda community looked after themselves with no government assistance of funding or any healthcare etc. My latest article quoted that the island belonged to the Vedda, Yakkas and the Naga community, however, all the Sinhala politicians addressed their kith and kin welfare but not that of the Vedda and the rest. Has GOSL appointed a Minister for Veddas health & welfare activities like that of some of the countries of the world? Has GOSL provided any social, welfare, education, economic, or industrial assistance, or healthcare facilities to the natives in SL? How about sports or recreation? They were left alone and looked after themselves, hunting and managing their life. For the last 74 years, SL gave no support to the natives. How about creating a ministry and minister for the affairs, rather than thinking to create a ministry for “Public Toilets”.? It’s disturbing and demoralizing to see the Sri Lankan act of treating the natives of their country. It’s infamy. This proves that SL is backwards.

Tamils think that the North belongs to them. Not at all. North belongs to the Nagas. Tamils came into the picture only after the 15^th century. Nagas may have spoken Tamil, however, it’s not Tamil. It’s Archaic Tamil. Nagas have been treated low in society. Most of them have migrated out of the North.

To mention another community is the Muslim community. Muslims are quite an honest and just society and an asset to the island. They mind their own business and produce wealth for the state. Some corrupt politicians use Muslims for their illegal and criminal activities with collaterals. Otherwise, Muslims are quite an honest race.

Mr Sugadadasa & Premadasa

My father was a police officer. He knew the late Mr Sugadadasa and Mr Premadasa (RP) in the late 40s. Mr Premadasa was an effective and efficient politician who addressed the needs of the people. Just go back and study how Maligawatha was developed. What was Maligawatha before? Whoever assassinated him did a serious criminal act. RP never wanted or attempted to create a new party for himself. That’s RPs courage.

You were educated at the London School of Economics (LSE), and a few have the honour of being a student of the LSE. Even if some people are educated with intelligence, they seem to forget the rest of the masses and become selfish and self-oriented with avidity for power and wealth. This is exactly what ensues in SL. You have been an honest politician to have visited the Vedda and had a discussion with them. It was prodigious of you Mr Premadasa.

Political Parties

Total population in SL is 21,618,152. Approximately 20-22 political party contests. What difference in vision and ideology can they achieve with the 22 parties? Can the 22+ political parties have 22+ ideologies? The political system in SL is a mess with mushroom parties created by people with no vision and education. E.g., Vasudeva Nanayakkara, a lawyer educated at Richmond College, had been sitting on four parties with no vision. Currently sitting on the Democratic Front. Does he understand what Democracy means? He is a waste to the democratic system. There are so many men who call them politicians who do not understand the meaning of political science, however, want to be part of the governance. There are over 90 people who have not received their GCE (O) level. Is this not a restraint? We have 225 politicians in parliament, and most of them may not understand what a London School of Economics return is trying to articulate.

Tamils have mushroom parties and have named the parties with the words: Revolutionary, Democratic, Tamil Eelam, United Front, People Liberation etc. What revolution are they trying to pioneer and what liberation are they aiming for? Sri Lanka was liberated on the 4^th of February 1948. Si Lankans have been liberated already. What we need is a technological, agricultural, and economic revolution for economic sustainability. A structural transformation:

Quote: Structural transformation is defined as the transition of an economy from low productivity and labour-intensive economic activities to higher productivity and skill-intensive activities.

Politicians shall focus on structural transformation and socio-economic-technological advancement.

NOT FILL THEIR POCKET THROUGH BRIBERY & CORRUPTION LIKE THE RAJAPAKSAS.

What makes politicians form parties and sometimes merge with new names? Did all these years’ new parties give positive economic growth? An example is a newly formed party by Basil Rajapaksa SLPP. After Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil came into the political picture, the Sri Lankan economy commenced to decline and in 2021 the foreign asset went down to Zero. SL Reserve Bank has been selling international bonds. How do they propose to settle the Bonds when they mature? Will they settle them with local fixed assets (collaterals)?

A political party needs to focus on its vision/goal and make the country grow. They shall not be selfish, and self-oriented to build their own assets. Our Tamil SriLankan politicians are a waste to the entire political system.

SLPP

Basil Rajapaksa is a thief demanding 20% of investment from Diasporas. He floated the SLPP with Rajapaksas and their culprit supporters. SLPP drove the country to beg from foreign countries. SLPP emptied the Sri Lankan treasury. Most of the politicians have their investments overseas with their Benami. They are Okay, however, are they interested in the people whom they govern. Can Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers transfer a few Billion dollars to the treasury to help the people? They now want the Rajapaksa back to govern to swindle some more into their coffer.

Namal: Namal is just a boy with lack of intelligence. How can he govern as a president? He is a boy who: නාමල්ට පිස්‌සු කිරීමට ලිංගය සිදුරු කිරීමට සිදුවේ

These are all greediness of the Mahinda neural system.

Ranil Wickremasinghe

President RW is endeavouring to make the country grow its economy. How many countries can RW go to and beg? The politicians shall give their support and give their proposals or ideas to the president rather than squabbling. People also shall understand and appreciate the value of the hard intelligent work of the president. Of course, the president and the state machinery shall not go against the democratic ethics, morals and rights and prerogatives that allow people to protest government harassment. People shall have the intelligence to assess what is right and wrong. The seven principles of Leonardo Da Vinci:

Quote: https://medium.com/curious/how-to-be-more-productive-by-using-da-vincis-7-principles-e38699a2337a

·        Curiosity: relentless curiosity and a willingness to learn new things.

·        Demonstration: being ready to test knowledge through experience and accepting failure.

·        Sensation: the consistent refinement of the senses.

·        Sfumato: “going up in smoke” — accepting ambiguity, uncertainty, and contradictions.

·        Arte/Scienza: balancing science and art.

·        Corporality: the cultivation of fitness and grace.

·        Connessione: understanding the interconnection of things — systems thinking.

 

Creativity, Innovation, and self-motivation will drive people to succeed in what they perceive. Humans perceive different effects about the same state, as perceptions vary from person to person. People assign different meanings to what they perceive which ends up in conflicts.

“Knowledge is power”

Root Cause of the problems

If the majority has a weakness in racial issues, with a superiority complex, there will be a conundrum in that country. The majority shall not endeavour to racially intimidate the minorities, except to live in cohesion. Sri Lanka is a typical example of racial intimidation from the perspective of language, religion, and region. The Sri Lankan majority is not interested OR does not understand economic principles and productivity.

What are the duties of a High Commissioner or Ambassador for SL in other countries? They are supposed to promote export from SL to their domicile country. Do they?

Structural Transformation, Tax Systems and Microenterprises.

AN excerpt of my writing to Harvard University in the USA.

[Fiscal Stability:  The government must adjust its spending levels and tax rates to influence the nation’s economy. The Central Bank influences its nation’s money supply in its monetary policy. To direct the country’s economic goals, the two policies are used in different combinations 

First Step: Let us consider the tax system in Sri Lanka.

The major shortfall in the economic framework of Sri Lanka is tax revenue. I would like to refer to the informal system in the North. Except for the government, corporations, and large registered company workers, likely, at least 90% of the breadwinners (informal) do not pay tax. However, they are engaged in full-time work generating income to meet purchasing movable and immovable assets. The owners of such enterprises can be classified under microenterprises as informal.

 I like to give a few examples.

Masons who claim they are builders in the North, start with low capital and a few workers in their team. The so-called team may not have a business name but operate with its leader’s name. There are a significant number of such building teams. They do not take liability for what they build and complete, have no insurance, and further none of the workers of the business pay tax.

 

1.      Farmers growing vegetables, paddy, etc. No tax is paid to the government on the yield or any profit.

2.      Fishermen do not declare what they catch, sell, and collect as revenue. No tax is paid.

3.      Small-scalable tea boutiques, and shops, operate with maybe, two tax receipts books. One for the tax department and, the other, for the actual.

4.      The major portion of individual (microenterprise) revenue is generated from smuggling. The smugglers also employ a few people in their team. They are the richest in the North. 

The state machinery (Income Tax dept.) does not have a system to cross-check and value the assets owned by these culprits.

GOSL provide free medical service and medicine to its people, Free education, subsidized travel, etc.

1.      Every breadwinner in a family should have a tax file number, and a simple system of tax returns should be in place. The tax framework could have a ceiling below which tax need not be paid, however, tax returns should be made.

2.      Every microenterprise should request and operate with a business number allocated by the Tax department or the Provincial Council. (In some countries such informal business is known as Sole Traders)

3.      Every Province is to have a tax department provincial headquarters to manage the tax system. 

4.      It is a belief that with the current technological advancement, Sri Lanka could have a complex computerized system to manage the tax system.

 

Conclusion:

1.     You and your team have been with the UNP for a long period and as such the entire team should join the UNP party ASAP to consolidate the political system and build the economy. Focus on being abreast of socio-economic and technological advancement.

2.     SLPP shall not be allowed to govern as they have no vision and mission except, they are champions of bribery and corruption. Most members are corrupt and racially motivated. Most of them are fundamentalists.

3.     Most mushroom parties should dissolve into the thin air and forget politics and allow intelligent and competent people to govern.

4.     The Tamil political parties shall dissolve into the thin air and all Tamil politicians shall join the UNP as they are Sri Lankans.

5.     The Old fowls shall leave politics and allow the younger generation to enter politics. However, they shall be qualified not like Wimal Weerawansa.

6.     Schools and Colleges shall teach and make English a compulsory language.

7.     RW was thought to be an accomplice to the Rajapaksas. However, if RW is patriotic and intelligent he should have his own vision and mission for growth.

8.     If you address the educated Sri Lankan Diaspora you may change your mind as the Diaspora are highly intelligent, professional, and dynamic.

9.     Reduce the nine provinces to five provinces.

10.  Have the Provincial elections and settle the abrasions.

11.  Some of the Sri Lankan diasporas are confused overseas. Yapping, Howling, and Growling and not at all interested in the growth of the island.

12.  Who is promoting drugs in the North? India (Malabar) or the Sri Lankan military.

13.  Why not hand over the encroached land to the people?

14.  Let the Diaspora and the Local Sri Lankan be patriotic Sri Lankans with no racial, religious, or linguistic differences. Let us all be not fundamentalists.

15.  The Rajapaksas shall not be allowed to be back in parliament. If they come back, then the Sri Lankan people are wild buffaloes and not intelligent humans.

16.  Have the PC elections and have smooth governance.

17.  Punish the liability on Bribery & Corruption targets. Bring them to the Rule of Law.

18.  Release the Political prisoners.

19.  Let MPs and politicians not scream and yell that an armed struggle will erupt.

20.  Our country had enough armed conflicts and deaths. No more!!

21.  All fundamentalists shall abandon their thoughts of Fundamentalism and racism and become clean humans with intellectual thoughts.

 

Have a good Deepavali and a happy Merry Christmas.