News
Govt. on the back foot amid allegations of mishandling Malini’s funeral
View(s):- Public criticism mounts as state honours for the funeral are downgraded to state sponsorship
- Local council inaugurations likely delayed as major parties continue talks with smaller parties and independent groups
- SJB hit by resignations as calls for reforms grow; UNP celebrates what it sees as gains in local council polls, Ravi K claims party leader is hostage to two people
By our Political Desk
The final rites of legendary actress Malini Fonseka, oft-referred to as the Queen of Sinhala cinema, took place at Independence Square in Colombo on Monday (26) evening amid a large crowd of mourners braving the inclement weather. She had passed away the previous Saturday at the age of 78, leading to an outpouring of grief for a cinematic icon beloved by millions of Sri Lankans. Many politicians were also among those who paid their final respects, including President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who did so at the Tharangani Theatre Hall of the National Film Corporation, where her remains had lain in state.
In the hours after her death, the government was quick to announce that the actress would be accorded a ‘state funeral’. This was later clarified to mean a ‘state-sponsored’ funeral, which is different from a state funeral, which is normally accorded to state leaders and religious dignitaries, etc. A ‘state-sponsored’ funeral would mean the state bears all costs and makes all the arrangements. A discussion regarding her funeral arrangements was held that Saturday afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Minister H.M. Sunil Senevi, and Presidential Secretary Nandika Sanath Kumanayake. The meeting was attended by a number of other senior government officials, members of Ms Fonseka’s family and fellow artistes. The statement issued by the President’s Media Division (PMD) afterwards specifically mentioned that the final rites of the screen legend will be held with “State Honours”.
Government accused of insulting the ‘Queen of Sinhala Cinema’
The government, though, came under severe criticism almost immediately after the funeral because some parties alleged that Malini Fonseka’s funeral was only given “state patronage” rather than the “state honours” the PMD had said she would receive. Some of the elements that had been seen in previous funerals that were accorded state honours were missing from her funeral. For example, when Maestro Pandit W.D. Amaradewa passed away in November 2016, the then ‘Yahapalana’ government declared a week of national mourning, while the funeral at Independence Square was given full military honours, complete with a 17-gun salute.
The National People’s Power (NPP) government’s critics claimed that this was the government’s final insult to the iconic actress, and it followed her being publicly named in a list of politicians who had obtained money from the President’s Fund. That list was read out in Parliament last December by Chief Government Whip and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, who infamously referred to her name using its initials as W.M.S. Fonseka, twice clarifying that the person named was “not Sarath Fonseka”, though he did not mention the first name Malini. It was, however, obvious to most Sri Lankans as to who he was referring to, given that Malini Fonseka had served as a national list MP of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) from 2010 to 2015. According to the list read out by Dr. Jayatissa, Rs. 5.5 million had been released to Ms Fonseka from the President’s Fund. What was not mentioned at the time and only became clear in the days following her death was that the money had been released for her treatment from a serious illness for which she required hospital treatment and surgery in India. Some of the actors, actresses and film directors who spoke to the media while remembering the late actress claimed that Malini had been in hospital at the time the revelations were made in Parliament and was highly distressed at the turn of events. The incident came back to haunt both Dr. Jayatissa and the entire NPP government this week as the clip of the Chief Government Whip reading out her name in Parliament was replayed on several private television channels and on social media.
Opposition politicians seized on the issue. “The day Malini Fonseka truly died was the day she witnessed her character being assassinated in Parliament,” claimed Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila at a press conference, accusing the NPP leadership of harbouring a grudge against the late actress due to her being appointed to Parliament on the UPFA ticket under then President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, meanwhile, accused the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which leads the NPP, of assassinating the soul of Malini Fonseka while she still lived. He said the SLPP condemned the government’s move to accord only state patronage to her funeral after announcing it would be accorded state honours.
The funeral ceremony of Sri Lankan cinema icon and veteran actress Malini Fonseka being held at Independence Square in Colombo with state sponsorship on May 26. Pic by Indiaka Handuwala
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian Mujibur Rahman called on Dr. Jayatissa to publicly apologise for his comments. During Tuesday’s Cabinet media briefing, journalists questioned Dr. Jayatissa over the state patronage versus state honours controversy. The minister insisted the government had accorded Ms. Fonseka honours that go beyond those given during a funeral held under state patronage. He also claimed that the funeral arrangements were made with the agreement of Ms. Fonseka’s family. When asked what he had to say about criticism from the late actress’s fans that she had not been granted the honours that were due to her at the funeral, the minister replied that while various people may have their own opinions on the matter, “the government believes it accorded her the highest possible honours it could.”
The chief government whip was also asked if he regretted publicly exposing that the late actress had been granted Rs. 5.5 million from the President’s Fund and if he was willing to offer an apology. This is what he had to say: “I don’t wish to dwell on that matter here, but there has been some reporting in recent days that has deliberately distorted what I said in Parliament. What I presented to Parliament was a report containing information about MPs who had obtained money from the President’s Fund. Money from that fund has also been released for artistes, and that is allowed by law. We did not, however, present a report containing names of artistes who had obtained money from the fund.”
What Dr. Jayatissa said is technically correct. The report he presented to Parliament last December contained the names of 34, mostly former MPs, who had obtained money from the President’s Fund from 2005 to 2024. He also revealed just how much some of these politicians had obtained. Some had even obtained amounts ranging from as high as Rs. 10 million to Rs. 30 million. The minister also pointed out that the President’s Fund Act lists four specific criteria when monies can be approved from the fund. These are for the relief of poverty; for the advancement of education or knowledge; for the advancement of religion or the maintenance of religious rites and practices; or for other purposes, which, in the opinion of the President and the Board of Governors of the fund, is of benefit or interest to the public.
The minister quite rightly questioned whether the allocations to all these politicians came under any of these categories and observed that most ordinary Sri Lankans applying to have money released from the President’s Fund must submit extensive paperwork to prove their eligibility to even receive a few lakhs of rupees. Yet, politicians seemingly have had easy access to millions of rupees from the fund. There is no question that such injustices should be exposed.
The government’s argument is that Ms. Fonseka’s name figured in the list Dr. Jayatissa read out in Parliament because that report listed the names of politicians who had obtained money from the President’s Fund. Her name had been there in her capacity as a former MP. As the NPP government has repeatedly found out since assuming power, the problem is in the optics. In the days since her death, the video of Dr. Jayatissa referring to “W.M.S. Fonseka” in Parliament as having obtained Rs. 5.5 million and stressing, not once, but twice, that the person being referred to was “not Sarath Fonseka”, has been replayed time and again on television. The clip has also gone viral on social media, eliciting anger from fans of the screen legend. Revelations after her death that the money was for the serious illness she was suffering from and that she had been undergoing treatment in hospital even as her name was revealed in Parliament, causing her great emotional distress, have only heightened criticism. Regrettably, the NPP government seems to have a knack for making a bad situation worse, as shown by the failure to accord full state honours to the actress even after the PMD announced that the funeral will be held with state honours.
The incident comes hot on the heels of the controversy surrounding the national war heroes’ commemoration ceremony. There too, the government’s image took a beating from a controversy of its own making, where it had earlier been announced that Deputy Defence Minister Major General (Retd) Aruna Jayasekara would be representing the President at the ceremony. It took more than a day of public criticism for the government to clarify that the President would indeed attend the ceremony, with ministers putting the earlier announcement down to a “miscommunication”.
One of the concerns surrounding the NPP government has been its relative inexperience, and the recent controversies only serve to highlight the amateurish approach it has displayed at times towards governance-related issues. This has also led to critics in the opposition derisively referring to a government run by those wearing ‘L Boards’, but it has now been more than six months since an NPP government with a 2/3 parliamentary majority was elected to power. That is more than enough time to learn. The ‘L Boards’ should have been jettisoned a long time ago.
Battle for CMC control: NPP claims victory but SJB also confident
Given the recent controversies, as well as the brutal wakeup call it received from voters at the local government election, the government is naturally desperate for success stories. One area where it hopes to notch up a morale-boosting win is by setting up administrations in all local government bodies it won at the election. This includes councils where the NPP won an outright majority as well as those where it had the most number of members elected without obtaining 50 per cent or more needed to form administrations on its own. The past few weeks have seen intensive negotiations between NPP negotiators and representatives of independent groups and smaller political parties which had members elected to local councils.
The primary focus continues to be on the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), where the 48 seats won by the NPP still leave the party 11 seats shy of the 59 needed for an outright majority in the 117-member council. Though negotiations are ongoing, prominent government MPs have sounded increasingly upbeat in recent days. Agriculture Minister Lal Kantha told journalists on Wednesday that the NPP had already established power at the CMC. “All that’s left to do is to make an official announcement. We have already chosen our mayor and have only to complete the legal formalities,” he said, adding that Vraie Cally Balthazaar, who was announced as the NPP’s mayoral candidate prior to the election, will be the next mayor of Colombo.
He also insisted that the NPP had the democratic right to form the administration in all councils where it had the most number of members but where the combined number of opposition members outnumbered those of the NPP. “The people have given us the right to establish power in those councils. The others haven’t been given that right. If those who have only a few members try to join together and elect chairpersons or deputy chairpersons and try to establish power in those councils, it will be an undemocratic exercise,” he asserted.
The minister also said the election has given them an opportunity to expand the NPP and added that the party hopes to form administrations in local councils where it has the largest number of members with assistance from other elements.
Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala says the party is confident of forming the next CMC administration as it now has the necessary members. “The independent groups in the CMC have pledged their support to us. Not only that, but some elected members of political parties too have met us and pledged to offer their support,” he claimed.
The SJB too is trying hard to establish the CMC’s new administration with support from other opposition groups. There has been no agreement, however, though talks are continuing. Representatives of the United Peace Alliance (UPA), one of the smaller political parties in the CMC, met Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa earlier this week. The party has two members whose vote could ultimately prove pivotal in determining who wins control of the council. The meeting followed talks President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had last week with independent groups and smaller political parties to woo their support to form an NPP administration in the CMC. The UPA, however, deferred its decision because it had also received separate invitations to meet Mr. Premadasa and United National Party (UNP) leader and former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The meeting with Mr. Wickremesinghe is yet to take place, but UPA’s General Secretary Kaleelur Rahman said Mr. Premadasa, who had asked for their support for an SJB mayoral candidate when they met him, “did not tell us who their candidates for mayor or deputy mayor will be.” Mr. Rahman said his party has still not made a decision on who it will support at the CMC.
Addressing a media briefing, SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahman, who has been involved in negotiations in forming a possible SJB administration in the CMC, said the party would reveal its mayoral candidate in the next few days, adding that the person would be an experienced elected SJB member in the CMC who has been a councillor at the MC for more than 20 years.
SJB hit by internal dissension
The SJB, though, is also dealing with internal dissension in its own ranks stemming from the party’s poor showing at the recent local government polls and disagreements over the appointment of members to local council seats won by the party.
At least seven SJB organisers have resigned from their posts over the past few days. They include Bandarawela organiser and Badulla District MP Chaminda Wijesiri, Horowpathana organiser Anura Buddhika, Dambulla organiser Champika Wijeratne, Matale organiser Wasantha Aluwihare, Raththota organiser Ranjith Aluwihare, Nuwara Eliya District organiser Ashoka Sepala and Galle organiser Bandula Lal Bandarigoda. Their main complaint has been that the SJB leadership in Colombo has disregarded their views when appointing members to local councils after the recent elections. Since then, however, Wasantha Aluwihare, Ranjith Aluwihare and Bandula Lal Bandarigoda are known to have reversed their decisions following discussions with the party leadership.
MP Chaminda Wijesiri, however, has not changed his decision to resign as the party’s Bandarawela organiser. Nevertheless, he insisted he has no plans to leave the party and has asked to be appointed as an organiser for a different area. “I have failed to win in my electorate for years, and it is incumbent on the party to look into why this is happening and enact the necessary reforms. The reason for my resignation is that my proposals for reorganisation (of the party) were ignored,” he stressed.
Mr Wijesiri said reorganisation was the primary proposal he put to the party leadership after the last parliamentary election. He accused some elements within the party of working to undermine him. “If they have designs for this organiser post, they should be able to take over and show results by winning this seat.”
The MP added that he took the decision to step down for the betterment of the party but that he has yet to receive a response regarding his resignation letter. “The party must do a better job of building up its strength. This is a valuable political camp, and it includes a strong group capable of rebuilding this country’s economy and its future. We should not lose such people,” said Mr. Wijesiri, emphasising the urgent need for reforms to prevent capable politicians within the party from being disillusioned and opting to leave.
Promise of reforms from UNP leader
Meanwhile, energised by the May 6 local council election gains, which he credited to the work of a committee he set up prior to the polls, United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe could at last be looking seriously at revamping the once Grand Old Party of
Sri Lanka.
The committee that the UNP leader appointed to handle the election campaign included Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene, Assistant Leader Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Chairman Vajira Abeywardena, Deputy Chairman Navin Dissanayake and General Secretary Thalatha Athukorala.
Addressing UNP councillors elected in the recent elections as well as party seniors at UNP headquarters Sirikotha on Friday, Mr. Wickremesinghe said new faces were needed to steer the party in the future.
“I have entrusted the task of revamping the UNP to this same committee. They will create a new look UNP,” Mr. Wickremesinghe told the gathering at Sirikotha.
He praised the work of the committee, saying they had worked to increase the UNP votes in the local government elections. “They did it. Its members, along with others like Harin Fernando, Rajitha Senaratne, and Manusha Nanayakkara, worked with dedication. They shared that work and achieved this result. I wanted to hand over that responsibility to others. Now, we must form a new-look party based on those results. I will not do that either. I will hand it over to this committee. Then we will have to put in more and more new faces,” Mr. Wickremasinghe said.
His words will be welcomed by many who have been pushing for changes within the UNP in the hope the party regains at least some of its lost status as a major political player in the country.
While Mr. Wickremesinghe may be looking at party reforms, there is also disquiet within the party with ‘UNP MP’ Ravi Karunanayake publicly stating that Mr. Wickremesinghe is being held “hostage” by two individuals who are destroying the UNP and sidelining seniors, including himself.
His interpretation of the local government election results is vastly different from that of the UNP leader, with Mr. Karunanayake stating that the results are an indication of the party’s deteriorating grassroots strength.
“Let’s take Colombo as an example. In 2018, when I led the party’s efforts in the Colombo district, we won 67 out of 69 divisions. At that time, our councillors alone could have formed a local government body. Today, we are left with 13,” he said at a press conference this week.
Mr. Karunanayake complained he had not been invited for the function at Sirikotha this week where the newly elected councillors were sworn in. “I have no problem with the leader or others in the party except two individuals who are trying to control it,” he said without naming them.
It is common knowledge that his reference is to former MPs Sagala Ratnayake and Vajira Abeywardena, who have been the closest confidants of Mr. Wickremesinghe for years. While Mr. Karunanayake has questioned their role in the party publicly, there are others who privately question why the two individuals remain powerful within the party.
Mr. Wickremesinghe has been the leader of the UNP for over 30 years, and there have been pledges made in the past of party reforms and talks of infusing new blood into it. His pledge this week to do so again could be another attempt to sidestep urgently needed reforms if the UNP is to gain any public support in the future elections.
Mr. Wickremesinghe was headed to Singapore, where he is scheduled to make the keynote address at a closed-door session on the Indian Ocean. It has been organised by the National University of Singapore (NUS). If he is serious about reforming the UNP and handing it over to a younger set of office bearers, he will have to do so sooner than later, given that voters have distanced themselves from traditional political parties and are looking for new alternatives.
Delays in submitting names of
local council members to EC
While some parties are dealing with the fallout of the Local Authorities election result in this manner, the country’s Election Commission (EC) has been dealing with its own problems stemming from delays by political parties and independent groups in submitting the names of members, including women members to be elected to the local councils. In many cases, the delays have been owing to disagreements within these parties and independent groups on deciding who will be appointed. On Tuesday (27), the EC issued an extraordinary gazette notification noting that “although 21 days have now passed since the conclusion of the election, the prescribed number of members to be elected has not yet been nominated and submitted to the Election Commission.” Accordingly, the EC’s gazette directed political parties and groups to submit the names of all such members to the Returning Officer of the relevant Local Authority on or before midnight (12:00 a.m.) on 30.05.2025. The gazette notification containing the names of elected and nominated local council members was published yesterday based on the respective administrative districts. The EC has stressed that there are no issues surrounding the appointment of the chairperson and deputy chairperson of 161 local councils out of the 339 to which polls were held on May 6. The problem is with the other 178 councils where no one won an outright majority.
It is now highly likely that the term of the new local councils where no party or group has obtained 50 per cent or more of the vote will not commence tomorrow (2) as earlier scheduled. This was the date that the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government had designated as the date for the commencement of office of the councils in its gazette dated February 17, 2025. The likely date for the first meeting of those local councils is now set to be put off at least by a week to June 9.
According to the law, the Local Government Commissioners need seven days to call for the meeting of the councils. They have to publish the announcement calling the meeting in the newspaper and have to also send the notice to the members through registered post at least seven days prior to the date,” said Rohana Hettiarachchi, Executive Director of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), adding as such, it looks as if the first meeting of the councils where no one won 50 per cent or more of the vote will now be held on June 9 or another date of that week. The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government will have to issue a fresh gazette notification in the next few days notifying the new date on which the term of office of the councils will commence. However, Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Prof. Chandana Abeyrathne told the Sunday Times yesterday that no decision had yet been made on a postponement of the date for the first meeting of the local councils.
Progress in battle against
bribery and corruption
One area where the government can claim progress over the past six months is in the fight against bribery and corruption. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption has been extremely active, and there is more positive progress in initiating investigations as well as prosecutions of wrongdoers. Several high-profile arrests of those allegedly connected to corruption under previous governments have been made in recent months. The government has also worked to actively discourage bribery and corruption in state institutions.
Meanwhile, the courts have also handed down stern sentences for those found guilty of bribery or corruption. Notwithstanding allegations that the government was witch-hunting vociferous opposition members, there is no question that the freedom given to state agencies to conduct investigations and prosecutions without political interference has gone a long way in being able to prove their cases beyond reasonable doubt in court.
On Thursday (29), the Colombo Permanent High Court-at-Bar sentenced former ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Nalin Fernando to lengthy prison terms after they were found guilty of causing a financial loss of Rs. 53 million to the state over the procurement of 14,000 carrom and 11,000 checkers boards in 2014. The game boards had then been distributed to sports clubs as part of the 2015 presidential election campaign, and the case against them had been filed by the Bribery Commission in 2019.
The three-judge bench comprising High Court Judges Mahesh Weeraman, Pradeep Abeyratne, and Amali Ranawera sentenced Mr. Aluthgamage, who was then the Minister of Sports, and Mr. Fernando, then Chairman of Lanka Sathosa, to 20 and 25 years of rigorous imprisonment, respectively. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 400,000 on Mr. Fernando and Rs. 200,000 for Mr. Aluthgamage. The two former MPs have since been moved to the Welikada Prison, where they have been housed in the prison’s general ward after a medical checkup.
Foreign dignitaries lining up
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath were busy this week with several high-profile visits by foreign dignitaries, including New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
While the New Zealand Deputy PM’s visit focused on trade and investment, agriculture, education, connectivity, tourism and sports, the visit by the Polish foreign minister carried more weight given that Poland holds the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) from January to June 30 this year.
The EU mission to Sri Lanka and the Maldives said Mr. Sikorski’s four-day visit, which ended yesterday, was on behalf of the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and the agenda for the visit reflects the broad and close relations between the EU and Sri Lanka in many areas, such as trade and development, democracy, rule of law and human rights, environment and climate change, maritime security and safety, and multilateralism. The EU single market is Sri Lanka’s second-largest export destination, with exports of EUR 2.7 billion in 2024.
To underscore the importance of this relationship, President Dissanayake said on his X handle after meeting with Mr. Sikorski that he had thanked the EU representative for the group’s support in maintaining the GSP+ trade concession for Sri Lanka. “Celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations and 30 years of development cooperation, we agreed on the need to strengthen our ties further,” he said.
The President also met this week with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who is leading a 115-member delegation from 77 Chinese companies to explore investment opportunities in Sri Lanka. “In light of global economic instability, the Chinese Minister of Commerce reiterated China’s commitment to providing the necessary support to Sri Lanka,” the President’s Media Division said after the meeting.
After meeting with visiting foreign dignitaries this week, the President is slated to undertake an official visit to Germany in early June. No details of the visit have been released so far. It’ll be his fifth overseas visit after taking office in September.
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