By Upatissa Pethiyagoda –

Dr. Upatissa Pethiyagoda

If the “Aragalaya” had any lesson to offer, it was the dominant demand for a “System change.” The Presidential and Parliamentary elections showed emphatic support. Although the “Throw out all 225” did not (thankfully) materialize, the never in a life-time experience, saw large numbers resigning/retiring. This was suggestive of a large scale abandonment of a sinking ship, or of lobsters sensing the warming of the pot. “No progress without change, but all change is not necessarily progress”.

All eyes are on the performance of the NPP, and the sincerity of their electoral promises. The public enthusiasm is not unlike that of 1956, and the enthronement of the newly minted SLFP’s “Common Man”.

Just as Singapore summarized its goal as MPH – Meritocracy, Pragmatism, Honesty, which heralded its spectacular rise, could our “Compass” guide us on a similar path? Consistency is of the essence. As the founding father, Lee Kuan Yew put it, “One can claim true honesty only when members of one’s family, friends and supporters are behind bars, if they have done wrong”. We could paraphrase that to cover elimination of bribery as “when potential bribers will not even dare to offer”.

The political front has many questions and paradoxes, which persist with little appetite for change. To what extent do the changes of prevailing processes and practices, reflect the lofty pre-election slogan of “listening to the voice of the people”. Does this match reality? Change does not mean subservience, but a readiness to heed frank and worthy criticism.

Leaving aside the several weaknesses of the electoral system, and the procedures within which Parliament functions, which are often the antithesis of what it is intended to be. This is a vast subject, needing much more space and thought. The present contribution is deceptively simple, but cannot be ignored.

Democracy is said to rest on four pillars. These are defined as the Legislative, Executive, Judiciary and Media. The Legislature designs laws and rules. The “Executive” implements or carries out what the Legislature has passed down. This is what is popularly called “The Administration”. This has been muddled to mean the “Presidency”. The judiciary is meant primarily to rectify any events bought to its notice by aggrieved citizens. The architects of the 1978 Constitution, perhaps saw a need to create an all- powerful institution called “The Executive Presidency” with its first occupant being Mr JR Jayewardene. The fact that nearly all of its subsequent holders pledged its abolition, speaks for itself All promised, but none did. If one looked at it dispassionately, it seems clear that none of the incumbents was truly deserving of the great power of this office. One hopes that President AKD has the moral and ethical strength to “walk the talk,” on which his opponents persist in challenging him to do. One feels confident that he will. He has the required numbers in Parliament.

Where then should the President be? Functionally, it should be in the Legislature as its Head. This is logical, as he will retain the position to Lead the members of his party. He should preferably (as now) be elected by a countrywide poll, or by Parliament.

The Judiciary could continue in its present form. The recognition of the media among the four pillars is interesting and healthy, especially because the public has been led to have no confidence in the State Media, and is thus increasingly reliant on the alternative, the Social media, as being more trustworthy than the biased State releases.

The Executive, which means the administrative apparatus which has the closest interaction with the public, and requires the most correction. At the moment it is the most expensive to maintain. A great proportion of its cadre (maybe as high as 85%) is preoccupied with routine tasks, (of regulating and controlling), while only a very small proportion (say 10 to 15%) can be considered as being involved in truly developmental tasks. This imbalance warrants the closest attention.

These should be the priorities necessary for any meaningful and purposeful, “Changes” in “system”.