Politics is big business

At a funeral oration of the late Daya T. Pasqual, a former Minister in the SLFP government, the Minister of Transport, Kumara Welgama was honest and bold enough to admit that today politics has become business and revealed SLFP and UNP are big companies. Nothing is further from the truth.

There is bitter rivalry not only among different political parties but also among the members of the same political party, sometimes leading to fisticuffs and violence. Illgotten wealth is squandered to harvest many votes as possible so as to reach the pinnacle of the preferential list. Politicians of the calibre of DS, Pasqual, Dahanayake, Dudley, SWRD, Sir Razick and some others were a different breed and a different class. They took to politics with the sole objective of serving the people unlike today’s politicos whose motto is to serve themselves first and leave the crumbs for others.

Everyone wants to get on to the political bandwagon. They know this path is paved with gold. They strike rich next to no time since they need the essential wherewithal for the next election. First of all they see to the stability of their “Treasury”. This is necessary to launch campaigns against their adversaries. Our so-called representatives have become victims of greed and avarice.

We know the blue chip companies promoting their flagship brands, with directorial expertise and professional acumen and setting about their tasks to harvest profits in their transactions, besides selling duty free permits.