By Asoka S. Seneviratne –

Prof. Asoka.S. Seneviratne

“The doctor should be the opaque glass of a lamp; he should be a light in the house of the sick.” — Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Physician.

In the hallowed halls of Sri Lanka’s state hospitals, where the scent of antiseptic usually mingles with hope, a darker, more pungent atmosphere has taken hold: the stench of betrayal. As the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) initiates yet another round of industrial action in January 2026, the question on every citizen’s lips is no longer about “demands” or “allowances.” It is a question of basic survival: Have our healers become our primary predators?

The Great Class Divorce: From Farmer’s Son to Arrogant Elite

There is a profound irony in the current medical strikes that often escapes the ivory towers of the GMOA headquarters. A vast majority of Sri Lankan doctors are the products of rural struggle. They are the sons and daughters of the soil—children of paddy farmers, schoolteachers, and laborers who clawed their way out of poverty through the miracle of the free education system.

Yet, the moment the “Dr.” prefix is earned, a psychological amnesia sets in. The “white coat” becomes a cloak of artificial elitism. We are witnessing a tragic “class divorce” where doctors, once part of the struggling masses, now gaze down upon them with the cold eyes of an entitled oligarchy. When they strike, they aren’t just fighting a government; they are punishing the very “sisters, brothers, and parents” who mirror the families they left behind in the villages. This is not professional advancement; it is social desertion.

Scapegoating the Sick: The Ethics of the Butcher

To take a stethoscope away from a gasping patient is not “industrial action.” It is a crime. The ongoing strike has caused massive inconvenience, preventable deaths, and lifelong trauma to thousands of patients. These “gods in white” have turned into butchers of the poor. While they claim to be fighting for “standards,” they are effectively taking the most vulnerable citizens as ransom.

Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has been transparent: the government has granted an array of reasons and fulfilled major demands, including salary increases and the creation of a special Health Service category. Yet, the stethoscopes remain down. This is no longer about medicine; it is about power. It is an injustice to the very gods they claim to serve and a curse upon the profession.

The “Medical Mafia” and the Puppet Strings of Politics

The GMOA has devolved from a trade union into a political mercenary group. It is no secret that a few scoundrels have seized power within the union to execute a political agenda designed to destabilize the current administration. By aligning with the opposition, they seek a “lawless country” where their private medical businesses can thrive without regulation.

Evidence suggests that some doctors prefer corrupt former ministers over the current leadership because it is easier to protect their private interests under a regime that ignores transparency. They are playing “dirty work” under the guise of hypocritical politics, using media appearances to stage a mass drama while patients die in the corridors of the National Hospital.

The Myth of the “Unmet Demand”

Let us look at the ledger. In 2025 and early 2026, the government moved mountains to accommodate the medical sector despite the Dithway disaster and a crippled economy. From DAT allowance increases to transport solutions, the demands were met.

The public sees the truth: the GMOA is a “political agenda” dressed in a lab coat. They are “good butchers” who refused to provide relief services during national crises but are the first to demand car permits. Why is the government being so patient? The people are demanding that the Minister stop making “kind requests” and start making “tough decisions.”

The Public Ledger: Reclaiming Taxpayer Money

The Sri Lankan taxpayer is the silent financier of every doctor’s prestige. From the primary school desk to the medical faculty laboratory, the public has paid the bill. This creates a moral and financial debt. When doctors strike, they are effectively “playing tricks” on the very people who bought their stethoscopes.

The sentiment on the street is clear: if you want to strike, pay back the cost. If you want to leave the country, settle the debt first. The public is tired of being the “ransom” in a game of political chess. We must stop paying salaries with public money for those who refuse to work.

The “Essential Service” Hammer: Banning the Strike

Healthcare must be permanently declared an Essential Service with a total ban on strikes. The public suggests a “No-Strike” covenant: before receiving a permanent license to practice, every prospective doctor must sign a legally binding commitment never to engage in strikes. Any violation should result in the permanent cancellation of their registration.

Registration should not be a right; it should be a conditional privilege based on the duty to preserve life. If a doctor violates this, they should be barred from practice forever. All issues and grievances must be settled amicably through arbitration, not by closing OPDs.

Biometric Accountability: Stopping the “Time Wasters”

It is an absurdity that in 2026, fingerprint machines are still being resisted by the medical unions. The practice of “marking duty books” while attending private clinics or dispensaries is a sign of deep-rooted corruption.

Reports from Ayagama and other peripheral hospitals show doctors arriving as late as 9:30 AM after completing their private rounds. This is a theft of public time. The Minister must install fingerprint printers immediately and dock the pay of every doctor who prioritizes their “private dispensary” over the government ward.

Financial Indemnity and “Exit Taxes”

We can no longer afford to be a “free training ground” for those who then turn around and punish us. If a doctor chooses to leave the government service or the country, they must be required to pay back the total cost of their free education.

Until this debt is cleared, they should be barred from leaving. This “National Debt” is not just financial; it is a moral obligation to the poor who funded their rise to the elite. If they choose to be “Shylocks,” then the state must demand its pound of flesh in return.

The Radical Alternative: Importing Healers

If the GMOA refuses to serve, the government must look elsewhere. There is a growing demand to bring in doctors from India on a temporary basis to break the strike. If our local doctors want to act like “arrogant scoundrels,” let them be replaced by those willing to serve.

Furthermore, the government should consider a national health insurance system that gradually phases out reliance on state-run hospitals in favor of private-public partnerships where the union has no power to cripple the system.

Conclusion: The Curse of the Helpless

The public is no longer just asking for medicine; they are asking for justice. They are “cursing” the arrogance of a profession that has lost its heart. The government must decide: will it protect a few thousand “arrogant” professionals, or will it protect 22 million citizens?

The current strike is causing unnecessary deaths, and as many citizens have noted, “punishments will be meted out,” if not by the law, then by the very nature of the suffering they have caused. To the doctors who still remember their roots: Stand up. Break the “mafia” within your union. Your honor does not lie in a strike ballot; it lies in the hands of the patient you save. If you continue down this path, you will not prosper; you will be remembered only as the generation of healers who chose to be butchers.

*The writer, among many, served as the Special Adviser to the Office of the President of Namibia from 2006 to 2012 and was a Senior Consultant with the UNDP for 20 years, and a Senior Economist with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (1972-1993). He can be reached at asoka.seneviratne@gmail.com