Time for honest young people to step in

Needless to say politics is a dirty game and it is said no one gets to be otherwise in today’s political world – especially in Sri Lanka. Every time we think it cannot get any worse, it seems to be getting worse and worse. Yahapalanaya was brought in to clean the existing dirty politics of that time, but it has not only not cleaned up anything, it has made it even worse by absorbing all the dirt with a false semblance of superficial cleanliness but corrupt through and through exactly like the earlier regime. How sad!

Even honest, God-fearing, good intentioned youngsters wanting to get into the field and clean it up are often demotivated by the advice given, even by seasoned politicians, “If you want to get corrupted, get into politics.”

But is it true? Is there no way politics can be a meritorious service to people? It can be. If there is a will there is always a way. It is time the intellectuals and social leaders and the disgusted youngsters thought of this seriously and started acting on it to change the situation.

The basis of corruption in our country is, of course, party politics. Both the leaders and the common man are steeped in party loyalties which is the absolute antithesis of true democracy. If only our president who was expected to set a trend towards clean politics, did not take the two legs in two boats attitude because of his party affiliation, the history of his presidency would have been written in glorious golden letters. It is not to be. What a pity!

This has to change. It must. If not we are all doomed towards a failed state forever and more so, we will leave a chaotic, immoral, corrupt political culture to our future generations.

How do we change? Train and educate a substantial number of youngsters to become honest, sincere leaders with a proper goal of building a morally sound society. Let us set our hearts on training them to be social minded, self-sacrificing, well behaved leaders with excellent manners and impeccable character. Let us train them to become perfect leaders, if not within the next few years, at least in the foreseeable future.

If we, the country men and women do not do it, no one is going to do it. After all Allah Himself says in the Quran “Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition;” Sura 13:verse 11

Let the “honest politician” not be an oxymoron any more. Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai Dehiwela