Actor or politician, what difference?

By Helasingha Banadara

(February 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The trend of actors aspiring to be politicians has to be viewed in the context of their current employment status, popularity and the ability to act. It is reported that Sri Lanka cinema industry is struggling to survive at present. The main reason for the one-time popular industry to decline so rapidly is the prevailing poverty level among the masses. The poor have to be content with the cheapest and easily accessible entertainment sources. In Sri Lanka the cheapest and easily accessible source of entertainment is the TV. Every house has a TV set. If the cinema industry has been bankrupt, the easy way out for the old and less popular actors in Sri Lanka is to become politicians. Politics in Sri Lanka bring money, provide the limelight, accommodate politicians with foreign travels and perhaps grant enough power to be elusive in their clandestine social lives. Many years ago not many actors would risk their acting career to become a politician. Even the great Gamini Fonseka lost popularity after his political career although he was credited as a principled politician. Perhaps the crisis in the cinema industry may have caused many actors to choose a political path.

There is rising criticism that many of those actors do not have the necessary qualifications or experience to be statesmen. Then how many current politicians have the necessary qualifications and experience to be statesmen? Do the few who are supposed to have such qualifications and experience use them to change the unhealthy political trends in the country? Are they not just scarecrows who raise their hands to whatever the party leadership decides to carry out? In fact, actors have the best qualification that a would-be Sri Lanka politician needs, i.e. acting. If one can act well he/she could be a powerful politician in Sri Lanka. Mahinda Rajapaksha himself, S.B.Dissanayaka and Wimal Weerawansa are anything but good actors. In Sri Lanka politics mean acting. In that sense, there is no difference between an actor and a politician.

Actors are human beings and they have every right to aspire to be politicians. However, the number of actors, sports people and retired law enforcement and military officers who are keen to become politicians leave us with some doubt about their good intentions. The question is that how many of them have a good understanding about the real issues of this country and how many of them have sincere intentions to sacrifice their time, energy and wealth for the betterment of the poor people of this country? Geeta Kumarasingha has said that her intentions are sincere. Despite earning a lot of money through her business and being able to fly to the USA on a given day, conduct a conference (the subject has not been revealed) and be back the next day, she has come to politics to serve the nation. We had over one hundred well intended Ministers serving in a jumbo cabinet for 5 years. Many people may say that there is nothing conspicuous about their achievements for the country and its people. Sri Lanka still remains the same with potholed roads, stinking city centres, roadside garbage heaps and ill mannered suicidal drivers. The list is not exhaustive. With the stars declaring intention to develop the country and help the nation, a new phenomenon, we can only hope for a better country without potholes in the middle of town centres of even the major towns like Kurunegala and Anurdhapura, with a good public toilet system in major towns, and a disciplined nation. Being a natural pessimist I am very optimistic in this instance that we will be fortunate to see at least a parliament full of healthy and good looking people, a much better option than to see the house full of pot bellied, fat arsed, sunburnt, ill mannered and unprincipled crooks.

Politicians in Sri Lanka come to power through lies, deception, intimidation and false promises. This trend has to be changed. Actors or not, if they understand that they have the moral responsibility to help improve the quality of life of the poor people of this country, that would make them suitable applicants to be politicians. Paper qualifications may help but are not indispensable. To do good is to leave a legacy. You only live once!