Politicians as rogues and rogues as politicians

by Gamini Weerakoon

(September 28, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Transport Minister Dulles Alahapperuma's recent statement about politicians and state institutions being corrupt is not news. Sri Lankan politicians being corrupt is now accepted as a fact of life as sex and what the birds and the bees do. But this comment coming from an aspiring politician is quite a surprise.

Of course the Minister has stressed that all politicians and state institutions are not corrupt. Had he not qualified the statement he would have been as foolish as Ruhuna dancer performing on landmines because it would have been tantamount to his political bosses and patrons too falling into the category of rogues.

But this southern politician is smart. By saying 'not all are rogues' he has excluded not only his bosses but himself as well and placed himself alongside the good guys.

What's the product?

The Minister has been inspired to make this statement at a ceremony held to felicitate the Motor Traffic Department coming under his Ministry being declared the winner in the Western Province National Productivity Award competition. The Motor Traffic Department (MTD) has been notorious for its inefficiency and corruption since living memory.

But the award and the Minister's voyage of discovery following inspections of the various departments of the MTD, had inspired him to say that this department is an example to be followed.

We don't know the specific achievement for which the award has been made. But if the 'product' is considered to be the riders and drivers of vehicles on our roads, the award should have been made for Production of Outstanding Highway Terrorists.

It is this award winning department that gives certificates of competence to those scoundrels behind the wheels of all categories of vehicles - from heavy trailers, buses, three wheelers and motorcycles.

It is also this department that also certifies the jalopies emitting clouds of diesel fumes as well as ramshackle buses, state and private owned. It could be that the award has been made for production of computerised driving licences which we are told is still slow in being issued.

Whatever it is, the two main products of the MTD should be the quality of drivers produced and the quality of vehicles certified to be on the highways. We would advise Minister Alahapperuma, who can still be considered new in office, to judge the performance of the MTD on the quality of drivers and vehicles on our roads.

Rogues and politicians

The statement about politicians being rogues - be it all politicians, some of them or only a few - raises the dialectical question of whether politicians are rogues or that rogues are becoming politicians.

This is the trend of evolutionary politics in this happy isle. Some politicians even in those halcyon days were rogues but most of them were not. There are two politicians, at least, unscathed of any accusations of roguery being made against them. One was S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who lost most of his wealth in politics and did not earn a cent from it. The other was Dudley Senanayake, also the scion of a wealthy family who had at the time of his death only a few hundred rupees in his bank account.

Perhaps most of the former politicians had enough of what they desired and need not have descended into roguery. But now enough and more rogues have become politicians and it is hard to tell a politician from a rogue and perhaps professional rogues in time to come may object to being described as politicians!

But right now there is the symbiotic relationship and it does appear that the line of separation is fast disappearing. Robbing, particularly the state is now considered the done thing and those who have made illegal piles are society's lions.

Sex and roguery

Two main topics among the chattering classes of Colombo today are sex and massive illegal deals. Sexual escapades are comparatively few and far between. There are rumours of young bucks - gays as they are called - being caught in compromising positions and among bi-sexuals business trips to Singapore or Bangkok, when the legal wife finds out that the hubby's secretary is answering his phone from the bedroom.

Juicy gossip no doubt but the shady deals, the billions of bucks made and purchase of magnificent buildings including embassies through dummies by newly arrived politicos who two to three years ago did not even have a red cent, is the talk that draws the oohs, aahs and aney true? Ah!

The amnesia of Sri Lankans contributes much to the benefit of politicians turned rogues and vice versa. Today there is a rich and affluent young generation of politicians who have inherited fabulous wealth from their fathers.

The public however have forgotten that these political fathers commenced their political careers from the bottom rung and had very modest beginnings. They had not done an honest day's work in their lives to earn a living nor did they have any businesses to speak of. Yet these fortunate young bucks are the top dogs with their papas' ill-gotten gains, now taking their straight and narrow path. Corruption pays, if not for one generation, in the next.

Amnesia

Collective amnesia of the nation is such that roguery on a massive scale even in one generation is conveniently forgotten. Businessmen making money is to be expected but what happens when businessmen become powerful bureaucrats or have powerful politicians in their pockets to make more money? Some have turned out to be rapacious corporate raiders under state patronage.

To conclude if a young man asks us what profession he should choose, our advice would be: be a politician. You can't advise him to be a rogue, but with luck and courage he could become a successful rogue. - Sri Lanka Guardian