Namal levitates on water in idyllic Maldivian isles
Sunday punch 2
It might seem somewhat out of touch with the present Lankan pulse beat for Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa to be giving a public exhibition of gliding on water with the aid of a futuristic jetfly water pack in idyllic Maldives when his fellow countrymen can hardly move about on roads for want of fuel. Yet, duty is duty, however unpleasant the task.
But according to a report in the Daily Mirror on Friday, social media hasn’t quite taken a sunshine to the story but apparently has, in the worst possible taste, sought to vilify and condemn him for his levitational feat. Envy, nothing but pure envy.
But sporty Namal remained nonchalant. It was part of the job, one of those chores one has to do for king and country.
He told the newspaper: “I’m in the Maldives for a day for the Maldives national sports awards. We cannot face a crisis by hiding. We have to go to the people also and need to promote Sri Lanka secure tourism. We cannot hide inside a shell and complain. We need to look for solutions. We understand the frustration of the people but we need to work hard to get out of this situation. Positive engagement is the way forward.’’
Couldn’t agree more. Positivism to beat negativism and all that blah, blah. Spot on.
Only one thing puzzles. If he was striking a blow for tourism in Lanka, what on earth was he doing promoting ‘jetskiing’ and ‘jetflying’ in the coral, crystal clear blue waters of the Maldives?
And if levitating on the hydro highlife in Maldives is the hard work needed to pull Lanka out of this mess, no doubt, Lanka’s youth generation will gladly volunteer to do hard labour in the Maldivian isles.