{"id":239777,"date":"2024-11-11T23:59:27","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T18:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=239777"},"modified":"2024-11-20T03:46:14","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T22:16:14","slug":"an-appeal-to-muslim-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/an-appeal-to-muslim-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"An Appeal To Muslim Voters"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ameer Ali<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Dr. Ameer Ali<\/p><\/div>\n

The post-Aragalaya <\/em>political awakening resulting in the victory of Anura Kumara Dissanayake<\/a><\/span> (AKD) as the country\u2019s new president was an endorsement for system change, the core demand of Aragalaya <\/em><\/a><\/span>youth and promised by AKD. The fact that he was elected only with less than fifty percent of total votes polled does not invalidate his victory, because that election was conducted under the rules and regulations laid down by the existing system and followed accordingly by the Commissioner of Elections. However, the new president needs a parliament in which his political party, the National Peoples Power (NPP) secures a comfortable majority to materialize deliver his promises. The forthcoming General Election is an opportunity to secure that majority. It is in that context the following observations are made on the voting behaviour of Muslims with an appeal for change.<\/p>\n

In all parliamentary elections held in this country since 1947 it was identity politics based on ethnicity and language that played a key role in making, unmaking and remaking governments. In this identity politics while the Sinhalese and Tamils were able to form their own political parties to advance their community interests, the Muslims, being a small minority living ubiquitously among the Sinhalese and Tamils and concentratedly in certain enclaves along the eastern coast, were pragmatic or shrewd enough to avoid creating a separate party to do the same. This was true at least until late 1980s when the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) was born. As an alternative and being experts in the art of commercial bargaining, many of their leaders hopped allegiance from one party to another on the basis which party promised more privileges and positions to their community. No doubt, that tactic adopted by Muslim politicians individually, when combined with certain other factors, yielded more benefits to the Muslim community than after SLMC came to the scene and decided to take control of that practice. Political scientists and historians had ennobled this business politics as politics of pragmatism.<\/p>\n

The overall objective of this politics is to put communal interest before national interest. Muslim leaders rarely talked about or participated in debates in parliament over policies and strategies to develop the country and its economy.\u00a0<\/span>Unless the size of the cake is enlarged each one could share a larger piece. In fact, that argument was downplayed in identity politics. Given the nature of the system in operation one may argue that there was no other alternative. As a result, not only Muslims but every community including the Sinhalese suffered.\u00a0 <\/span>This is why there is now a realization, thanks to the aragalaya awakening, that that system should be thrown out and a new system be introduced.\u00a0<\/span>When a new generation from the majority community has decided to go for a new order should Muslims remain stuck with the old?<\/p>\n

The election in two days presents the voters with a choice between continuing the old order with smoothening its rough edges as advocated by Ranil Wickremaeinghe and Sajit Premadasa or create a new order championed by AKD and his NPP. Muslims should realize that unless NPP wins with a comfortable majority the patrons of old order would try every trick in the trade to sabotage the efforts of AKD Presidency. This is why an appeal is made to the community not to swim against the aragalaya <\/i>tide but to go along with it to reach the shore of communal harmony, economic prosperity and justice.<\/p>\n

In concluding this observation and on a personal note let me report to the readers what happened in Melbourne, Australia three days ago. The Sri Lankan community of expatriate Muslims in Melbourne held a convention to inaugurate the opening of the Australian chapter of the Sri Lankan Muslim World Forum started five years ago. I was invited to address that assembly and on the second day there was a small group discussion on the plan of action. What really came out of that discussion was heartening.\u00a0<\/span>Instead of the usual focus on finding solutions to the problems of Muslims alone at home and searching for finance to solve those problems there was a realization to share the burden of the new government in its task of furthering national development. The idea is to increase the size of the national cake before clamouring for a larger share. This approach is commendable because it demonstrated the expatriate Muslims love for their mother country first and readiness to work with the government in power to find solutions to their own community\u2019s problems.\u00a0 <\/span>This burden sharing is completely different from the narrow objectives of identity politics.<\/p>\n

The NPP government will usher in a new era and its readiness to introduce a new system is certain to gather support from Sri Lankan expatriates.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

*Dr. Ameer Ali, Murdoch Business School, Murdoch University, W. Australia<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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