“Bad laws are the worst form of tyranny” – Edmund Burke

The latest economic data released by the State statistics office last week point to a 11.5% contraction of Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year. While the agriculture sector has expanded by a miserly 0.8% from last year’s low base when the fertiliser issue was at its peak, the real bad news is the significant shrinking of the critically-important industry and services sectors by 24.4% and 5% respectively, continuing the downward trend reported during the same period last year.

Given these less-than-desirable statistics almost one year after the advent of the current leadership, it is yet not too late for the regime to focus all its energy on the one thing on which everything else is dependent upon – the economy, at least for the sake of the nation and its people. 

However, in order to do this, it must set aside its vindictive agenda, which unfortunately has so far consumed all of its energies, and focus on the issues that actually matter, like addressing the reasons as to why there is no inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) yet, issues surrounding the ease of doing business, continuing corruption, growing unemployment and migration – the latter two being a result of the severe contraction in the industry and services sector – all of which will have a profound and long-lasting impact on the economy. 

The regime must set aside domestic political compulsions notwithstanding the imminent possibility of elections of some sort and singularly focus on what the people are demanding, which, tellingly enough, is also what the IMF has prescribed to a large extent, and stop wasting its time and that of the nation on debating unwanted, nonsensical laws that in the end will only delay and negatively impact the desperately-needed economic revival.

The larger consequence of the ongoing vindictive agenda is the irreparable damage it is causing to the credibility and good standing of the nation in the eyes of the international donor community thanks to the greater majority of our ruling party legislators, many of whom do not possess even basic educational qualifications and are oblivious to the harm they are needlessly inflicting on brand Sri Lanka.

The untold story behind the latest statistics is the growing issue of unemployment in the labour-intensive industry and services sectors, which, in the current socioeconomic context, will only make a bad case worse and inevitably lead to public agitation. It is probably in anticipation of such an outcome that the regime has resorted to repressive measures crudely camouflaged in the guise of well-meaning new legislation, none of which the people have a need for or asked for. 

The other day, the President, speaking at an event to inaugurate the issuing of passports through the long-awaited online mechanism, stated that the controversy and suspicion surrounding the proposed new media laws which specifically target the electronic media were largely unfounded. By way of reassurance to the contrary, he reminded the media that it was he who had abolished the criminal defamation laws and also introduced progressive legislation such as the Right to Information Act. 

There is no argument that these are indeed major milestones in Sri Lanka’s evolving media landscape, accruing to the credit of the President in his previous avatar as Prime Minister of the Yahapalana regime. However, as in most cases, circumstances change people and the incumbent Executive, much like his predecessors, seems to be overwhelmed by the all-powerful nature of the office he holds. An inevitable outcome of that is for the Executive to assume that he or she alone is what constitutes government, while the rest simply exist to make up the numbers. 

Unfortunately, however, while that operative model may have applied to almost all of his predecessors, it is not so for the incumbent as he is bound to learn sooner than later, if he insists on continuing to play the leading role. This is because Wickremesinghe is the sole member of his party in Parliament and is the first president to be appointed through a parliamentary poll and is therefore beholden to his 134 electors to stay in office. Therefore, he has no other option but to play by their copybook.

Wickremesinghe will have to at some point come to terms with the fact that those who elected him and are continuing to prop him up are those who have been diametrically opposed to his policies, principles, and liberal outlook, especially on the subject of media freedom. The reprehensible record of the pre-2015 era speaks for itself, with every one of the dozens of attacks on media personnel and institutions during that period remaining yet unresolved.

So, while Wickremesinghe may in all probability be sincere in his intention to maintain the current media status quo, the million dollar question is whether those whom he is dependent on for survival and have a dismal record in ensuring media freedom share the same sentiments, especially given their seething anger over media coverage of the people’s struggle of last year that effectively destroyed their once-powerful political edifice.

At the end of the day, it is all too clear that it is these petty motivations that inform the legislative process in this country, over and above those things that require urgent and unfettered attention. This is why laws are made, done away with, or bent, simply to appease those in power and their henchmen at the cost of the national interest. For how much longer can the suffering people who are losing employment and livelihoods permit these politicians with agendas to hold the nation to ransom?

To add insult to injury, the justification for the introduction of these new rules and regulations, as proffered by some apologists for the regime, is to make our laws consistent and on par with those in countries such as the US and the UK. It is unfortunate that these individuals, who do not hesitate to bring up the examples of these two First World nations to justify their actions, are completely blind to the current goings-on in those two countries. 

Over in the US, its former President was placed under arrest just last week for mishandling classified documents, while across the Atlantic, the former British PM was found guilty of lying to Parliament, warranting disciplinary action. This is despite the fact that the former PM had already voluntarily resigned from his position. If we were to equate those twin scenarios to our own right here in this nation, where far worse takes place on a daily basis, it is as good as comparing chalk and cheese. 

Therefore, if the incumbent President decides to do what politicians usually do in this part of the world and go with the flow for the sake of longevity in office, then the nation is as good as doomed, but if he has the will to extricate himself from the hostage situation created by his support group by deciding to go directly to the people in order to secure himself a fresh support group in Parliament, then there is nothing to stop the sun from shining on Sri Lanka once again.

It appears that the Executive is already toying with the idea, which in turn has led to the rumour mill working overtime over the possibility of a snap General Election, which incidentally the President is constitutionally empowered to hold at a time of his choosing, with the current Parliament having completed the mandatory two-and-a-half-year period in office.