MA Sumanthiran MP – Flays the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) for its cowardice

At the just concluded Sri Lanka Economic Summit hosted by the CCC at the Cinnamon Grand, MA Sumanthiran MP was quite scathing in his remarks about the inaction of the CCC to the threats of Ghotabaya Rajapakse towards the Editor of the Sunday Leader as published by the Sunday Leader last Sunday.(July 8^th 2012)

He suggested that if that threat to a journalist in words unbecoming of a civilized human being should have elicited a response from a reputable chamber such as the CCC. It was a matter that they should have issued a statement denouncing such action by arguably the most powerful person in the Government, who is liable to prosecution. (The President has immunity from prosecution while in office including for murder)

So it was under that shameful cloud that the prestigious CCC Economic Summit ended a few hours ago. It is shameful that the members and especially the attendees who represented the cream of the Sri Lanka Business Community could only sit and listen and would not even DARE GIVE HIM A CLAP for that statement.

Does it show the fear of our business community for the power of revenge the Govt. can exact from them? Or rather does it show that the Business Community is in cahoots with the Govt. engaging in nefarious activities and bribery themselves, as it is also a crime to give a bribe as much as take one?

It is an important lesson to people who constantly preach good governance to be exposed, NAKED by a young and professional MP from Colombo, to show their true colors. I hope it is a challenge matched by a reasonable response by the CCC collectively or at least in the private capacity by individuals in a mea culpa, bemoaning the Chamber’s impotence when faced by constant harassment by the Government to come clean and express their honest opinion in the presence of the breakdown of law and order.

Let it be a lesson to civil society that the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce representing all the important private sector businesses in Sri Lanka, is inept in expressing an opinion on subjects they constantly theorize about, but fail to practically castigate the State when their trust is broken. It is enough of badgering by the State to get the Private sector act together saying that the State has done their bit. Has the State really kept their side of the bargain?