5th Column

My dear Anura sahodaraya,

I am writing to you as you are about to mark your first year in office which you will be spending overseas, addressing the UN. Some may see this as completing one year in office although I know you won’t be celebrating it as such. My suggestion to you is to see this as only four more years to go.

Your election a year ago came as no surprise, Anura sahodaraya. With all due respect to the hard work put in by you and your comrades, especially the rathu sahodarayas over the years, you must realise that one reason you won was because you happened to be in the right place at the right time.

The ‘aragalaya’ two years earlier diminished the faith people had in the two-party system. Besides, the two main parties the people used to vote for almost seven decades, the Greens and the Blues, were only shadows of their glory days, being replaced by the ‘telephone’ chaps and the ‘pohottuwa’.

Then, Uncle Ranil decided to run for a third time, doing you a big favour. Statistics of last year’s election show that if Sajith’s and Uncle Ranil’s votes were combined, they would have much more than you and more than 50 per cent. That maybe why Uncle Ranil was so upset when he was arrested!

What is important is that you got the top job. It was a historic moment in many ways. People were so desperate for change that they were willing to take a big leap of faith and vote for you, even though you represented a party that had tried to grab power with the bullet, not the ballot, not once but twice.

Converting the rathu sahodarayas to the broader maalimaawa team was a masterstroke. Just as their colours changed from the dangerous red to the softer pink, more people gathered around it. Your own ability to portray yourself as someone who sincerely wanted to make real change helped, no doubt.

Stil, Anura sahodaraya, all that is history now. Time flies when you are at the top, and a fifth of your time is done. Certainly, the honeymoon with voters is over. If you needed evidence of that just look at the local council election results. Your party vote dropped by a massive two million in a few months.

It is around this time that people wonder whether they made the right choice, based on what you have done – and not done – so far. You must listen to them because you still have four more years, so if you have made any early mistakes, there is time to make amends before you go before the people again.

That Ranwala chap was an early mistake. He said he was only resigning to save the government from embarrassment and that he would produce evidence of his PhD soon. We are still waiting. Given how holier-than-thou you are on most issues, you should have asked him to resign from Parliament too.

I won’t dwell too much on what you do well. There is a sense that laws are being enforced without discrimination and that those with you are not corrupt. Many feel you and your team are making an honest attempt to make government work. Your own standing remains high, Anura sahodaraya.

At this time, your priority appears to be catching criminals and the corrupt and putting them behind bars and pruning the privileges of our former leaders. The former must of course be done. The latter, maybe to some extent. Still, I am not sure whether these itself will win you the next election.

It was good, Anura sahodaraya, that you swallowed your pride and stuck to Uncle Ranil’s economic
formula. That alone is not enough. The masses who voted for you are waiting for what you promised, a ‘wealthy country, a beautiful tomorrow’, to become a reality. Soon, they will want to see results.

Meanwhile, you should see how your comrades act and speak. Some like Bimal behave as if they are in power for ever. The two Sunils would be a class comedy act, if not for the fact that they are ministers. You must also find more capable and dignified speakers to present your case at talk shows.

What we have seen so far, Anura sahodaraya, is that when there is an issue, you have to jump in and rescue the team yourself. Then, there are the ‘usual suspects’ in your camp – the likes of Nalin, Wasantha, Lakmali and even Harshana at times – who will reduce your votes when they speak.

Looking back at your first year at the top, you should be happy that you survived. If you must thank someone, look no further than Sajith and Namal. They haven’t put up much of a fight. Sajith is trying to decide what to do with the Greens. Namal is trying to ensure that his ‘suwanda’ is not a big stink.

Meanwhile, everyone speculates who the next presidential candidates to challenge you will be. They must all be mistaken. Correct me if I am wrong, Anura sahodaraya, but you solemnly promised you would scrap the Presidency, so we won’t need them, right? Or, should we all forget that promise now?

Yours truly,

Punchi Putha

PS: After attending to your official duties addressing the UN in New York, you must be careful, Anura sahodaraya. If you attend a meeting of your maalimaawa comrades, for instance, just make sure they pay for every cent of it. You don’t want to front the Colombo Fort Magistrate in a few years, do you?