By Skandha Gunasekara
Businessman and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar A.S.P. Liyanage said he believed alternative political candidates would have a better chance of faring well at the upcoming presidential election as they would garner a larger percentage of the floating vote than before.
Below are excerpts of his interview with The Sunday Morning:
What made you decide to contest the presidential election?
Actually, I contested the last two presidential elections. But this time, I felt that it was even more apt for me to contest. I believe that this time, the people are unhappy with both the two major presidential candidates. This means that there will be a larger percentage of the floating vote up for grabs. Therefore, I believe that an alternative candidate would have the best opportunity this time round.
How are you different from the other candidates?
Honestly, the other candidates are good people, but people do not have faith in the other candidates. The current Government saw both major parties come together to form a government, but it imploded and the country went further downhill. The economy collapsed and there were so many social issues that arose as a result. Corruption has never been as high as it is in Sri Lanka. So the people are expecting a proper change. They want a government that has good organisational skills which could manage the country properly.
What would be your main objectives if you are elected president?
The main thing is to make sure the people are looked after and their standard of living is uplifted. The common man is finding it hard to survive – it’s a daily struggle for them. Prices of goods and services have increased exponentially in the last decade. So, the foremost objective is to make sure people’s lives are improved by reducing the cost of living and ensuring more employment opportunities. Another goal is to ensure national security.
What can you tell us about the controversy in Qatar while you were posted their as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador?
The Stafford School in Qatar was established in tandem with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Qatar. It is a good initiative. However, none of the financial details of the school was ever shared with the Sri Lankan Embassy and the staff and management of the school disregarded the Embassy and the Ambassador.
Now, the Stafford Sri Lankan School in Qatar has been brought under the Embassy and its supervision.
This is a school mainly for children of Sri Lankan expatriates. Now, over Rs. 50 million is being allocated monthly for the maintenance and development of the school. I’m glad that I was able to bring this school under the Sri Lankan Embassy. It is a very successful school.
How do you hope to fund your election campaign?
At the moment, I’m still contemplating various options regarding this. This time around, all the candidates are finding it difficult to campaign because the Election Commission has asserted that it would be monitoring all campaign activities, including expenditures as well as funding.
The Election Commission has warned that it would be scrutinising how each candidate spends their money for the election. The Commission has also warned that no use of posters and cut-outs would be allowed.
This time, the campaigning will have to be done in a manner that does not use excess plastic or polythene. All campaigns must be environmentally friendly. In the past, the campaigning period of an election has always been a nuisance to the masses. Therefore, we must refrain from hindering the ordinary citizens and ensure that a peaceful election campaign is carried out.
Businessman and former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar A.S.P. Liyanage said he believed alternative political candidates would have a better chance of faring well at the upcoming presidential election as they would garner a larger percentage of the floating vote than before.
Below are excerpts of his interview with The Sunday Morning:
What made you decide to contest the presidential election?
Actually, I contested the last two presidential elections. But this time, I felt that it was even more apt for me to contest. I believe that this time, the people are unhappy with both the two major presidential candidates. This means that there will be a larger percentage of the floating vote up for grabs. Therefore, I believe that an alternative candidate would have the best opportunity this time round.
How are you different from the other candidates?
Honestly, the other candidates are good people, but people do not have faith in the other candidates. The current Government saw both major parties come together to form a government, but it imploded and the country went further downhill. The economy collapsed and there were so many social issues that arose as a result. Corruption has never been as high as it is in Sri Lanka. So the people are expecting a proper change. They want a government that has good organisational skills which could manage the country properly.
What would be your main objectives if you are elected president?
The main thing is to make sure the people are looked after and their standard of living is uplifted. The common man is finding it hard to survive – it’s a daily struggle for them. Prices of goods and services have increased exponentially in the last decade. So, the foremost objective is to make sure people’s lives are improved by reducing the cost of living and ensuring more employment opportunities. Another goal is to ensure national security.
What can you tell us about the controversy in Qatar while you were posted their as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador?
The Stafford School in Qatar was established in tandem with the Sri Lankan Embassy in Qatar. It is a good initiative. However, none of the financial details of the school was ever shared with the Sri Lankan Embassy and the staff and management of the school disregarded the Embassy and the Ambassador.
Now, the Stafford Sri Lankan School in Qatar has been brought under the Embassy and its supervision.
This is a school mainly for children of Sri Lankan expatriates. Now, over Rs. 50 million is being allocated monthly for the maintenance and development of the school. I’m glad that I was able to bring this school under the Sri Lankan Embassy. It is a very successful school.
How do you hope to fund your election campaign?
At the moment, I’m still contemplating various options regarding this. This time around, all the candidates are finding it difficult to campaign because the Election Commission has asserted that it would be monitoring all campaign activities, including expenditures as well as funding.
The Election Commission has warned that it would be scrutinising how each candidate spends their money for the election. The Commission has also warned that no use of posters and cut-outs would be allowed.
This time, the campaigning will have to be done in a manner that does not use excess plastic or polythene. All campaigns must be environmentally friendly. In the past, the campaigning period of an election has always been a nuisance to the masses. Therefore, we must refrain from hindering the ordinary citizens and ensure that a peaceful election campaign is carried out.