It is the pot calling the kettle black – accusing some SLFPers as criminals – courtesy of the general secretary of the party

The concurrence by the SLFP general secretary Mr Maithripala Sirisena, who is generally fed up with the MR government as the place given to him pales in comparison to the places taken by the jumpers like Duminda and Mervin, has said that there are criminal elements in the SLFP.

Of course that is not news, it is harder to point out who is not a criminal within the Government. Now his definition of criminal and mine may be very different. However as a senior politician with regal powers in Polonnaruwa district, it is generally known that his family, as he cleverly tries to avoid the finger pointed at him, and he has numerous siblings are engaged in all the criminal activity one can engage in the district as well as the even larger scale problem of the environmental degradation, which is a long term, long lasting irreversible, crime, closely attributed to his family. If the Mahaveli reverses from the sea to Polonnaruwa his name will forever be etched as the person responsible.

We know that errors of commission as well as errors of omission are no different. So when you can stop criminal and environmental degradation and do nothing about it you are as much or more culpable of the crime.

I have pointed out that behind every serious crime hides a people’s representative also known as an elected politician. Therefore they should all take some form of blame and make every effort to change the course of politics to reverse this trend if Sri Lanka is to prosper. The people know that politicians are crooks, so the word honest politician does not even enter their minds. An honest politician therefore has a tough time proving his honesty, not his a dishonest politician proving his dishonesty!

We must therefore change the culture, where the people expect the politician to be corrupt, and then make unreasonable demands from politicians, which can only be fulfilled by corrupt politicians. The clean one cannot compete in this playing field, so he becomes corrupt!

This is an appeal to the politicians to think of the country not of yourselves as you are representatives of the people, and represent their interests first and foremost. Do it with humility expecting nothing but some happiness in the next life, as what is life about anyway!!