Courtesy - Daily News
carried out are not things that were received from the leaders of some other countries. During the years of war he implemented many huge development projects. In order to relieve the nation he implemented power projects, such as, Kerawalapitiya, Norochchalai and Kotmale,
Ariya RUBASINGHE
The people of Giruwapattuwa, call President Mahinda Rajapaksa ‘Mahinda Mahattaya’. People of the South, including those in the Magampattuwa, associated with the Rajapaksas since 1930s. Mahinda Mahattaya’s grand uncle D. M. Rajapaksa, well known as the ‘Lion of the Ruhuna’ and his brother D. A. Rajapaksa (Mahinda Mahattaya’s father) are not strangers to the people of Ruhuna, since the State Council era.
The elders of Ruhuna are well aware that it was the Rajapaksas who liberated them from the oppression of Mudali Muhandirams who did not permit them even to wear a dress covering the upper portion of their bodies and to travel on the pole of a cart. Therefore, Rajapaksas won their elections sometimes uncontested and sometimes while serving jail terms.
After D. M. and D. A., George and Lakshman and after them Mahinda, Chamal, Basil and Nirupama dedicated themselves to serve the people. When D.M. passed away suddenly, several hundred acres of coconut land and his residence Kondagala Bangalow had been mortgaged to the Kulatilleke Mudalali of Matara. Until the time they passed away there were no corruption charges against D.M. or D.A.
Talented lawyer
Presently it is the era of Mahinda Mahattaya. Those who are well aware about Mahinda Rajapaksa know that he is a person who is not greedy for wealth, property and other luxuries. He never uses a purse and if he wanted wealth he could have easily earned it as a lawyer since he was a very popular and talented lawyer. I have seen him returning the fees given by clients and have heard him telling the clients to give him only Rs. 100 for refueling his vehicle.
It is a truth that there were no corruption charges against him during the period he functioned as the Fisheries Minister, Labour Minister, Leader of Opposition and as Prime Minister of this country.
It was Mahinda Mahattaya who made it possible for anyone to freely and fearlessly travel from Point Pedro to the Point of Dondra, and from Colombo to Trincomalee, Mullativu and Batticaloa. It was Mahinda Mahattaya who stopped large scale bombs being blasted every month or once a week and killing thousands of people and colossal destruction of millions worth of properties.
It was Mahinda Mahattaya who created the environment to undertake a journey without any form of fear, to send the children to school, to return home alive after attending to work or other business, and to have a hope for tomorrow, after several decades. It was Mahinda Mahattaya who made it possible for people who spend the night in jungles to spend the night in their residences with their kith and kin, and to go to their lands for cultivation purposes without any fear of death threats. It was Mahinda Mahattaya who eliminated the atrocious terrorism from this country and liberated this country from the terrorists who made blood baths at the Sri Maha Bodhiya, Sri Dalada Maligawa, murdered 30 innocent Buddhist monks at Arantalawa and hacked to death several thousand people including women and children.
Were all these done merely in anticipation of a forthcoming election? If these things were done for such a petty purpose he could have halted the war half way and could have asked for a new mandate to finish the work. It is clear that all these were done because of the determination, honest objective, and the resolute characteristics of the Mahinda Mahattaya. If he did not complete this task, the liberation of this country could have got postponed for several centuries. Sometimes it may never have occurred.
Development
The things provided to the people of this country by Mahinda Mahattaya while the war for the liberation of the motherland was being carried out are not things that were received from the leaders of some other countries. During the years of war he implemented many huge development projects. In order to relieve the nation he implemented power projects, such as, Kerawalapitiya, Norochchalai and Kotmale. He started large scale irrigation projects, such as, Moragahakanda, Rambakan Oya, Weheragala, and Walawe. Mahinda Mahattaya who built new ports, such as, Hambantota and Oluvil also developed Colombo, Galle, Trincomalee enabling them to meet the requirements of the next century.
He initiated work on the Colombo-Matara, and Colombo-Katunayake Expressways, Colombo-Kandy elevated expressway and the outer circle roundabout at Kottawa. It was Mahinda Mahattaya who carpeted several kilometres of roads in the country and laid concrete to over 9,000 kilometres, providing transport access to the village people. It was Mahinda Mahattaya who made it possible to take a patient to a hospital at least by a three wheeler when in the past that such a patient had to be taken on a chair or in a bed held at least by two persons, similar to taking the privileged in a palanquin.
Economic crises
It was Mahinda Mahattaya who bravely faced the global financial crisis and the situation that emerged which saw the price of crude oil rise from 34 US Dollars to 145 US Dollars. Despite the collapse of the global economy and the world facing the economic crises he protected our banks from facing acute problems. He did not intentionally increase the price of any product in this country despite making a slight increase in fuel prices since the international prices were so high. Due to action taken by him with foresight the rate of price increases has fallen today to just 1 percent. It was Mahinda Mahattaya who expanded the public service from 650,000 to 1.2 million. It was Mahinda Mahattaya who increased public service salaries and cost of living allowance by double fold. It is indeed a wonder that amidst all these difficulties that the economic growth recorded an eight percent increase.
It is quite clear that Mahinda Mahattaya who was brought up in the village and who knows the heart beat of the villagers very well did not take any decisions during the last six years that were against the people and that created hardships for the people. It has not been reported that during the past several years he has condoned any decision that could affect the people.
He was always with the common man. He was always in the stance that public properties should be protected. Therefore, building an opinion against him is a very difficult task. There was no other President in this country who had rendered this much of service to the people in a short period of time.
Rajapaksa brothers
It is no secret that Rajapaksas were tied to each other on the basis of brotherhood since ancient times. With the end of the D. M. era his brother D.A became the saviour of the people of Ruhuna. Similarly when D. M’s son Lakshman was representing the Tissamaharama electorate, his brother George represented people of the Mulkirigala electorate. When Mahinda Mahattaya was representing the people of the Beliatta electorate, his cousin George represented the people of the Mulkirigala electorate.
Mahinda Mahattaya’s elder brother became of the MP of the Tissamaharama electorate. Mahinda Mahattaya’s brother Basil Rajapaksa is holding a very important ministerial portfolio today. But it is not merely because of family links. It was so in the past as well. D. A. Rajapaksa did not win elections because of D. M. Rajapaksa. Similarly Mahinda Mahattaya did not win elections because of D. A. Rajapaksa. George and Lakshman also did not win elections because of D. M. Rajapaksa. It is not a secret that each and every one of them came to the forefront because they convinced the masses about their capabilities.
They came to the forefront according to the aspirations of the people.
With the implementation of the preferential voting system, the will of the people falling on three Rajapaksas is just an ordinary matter. It was Mahinda Mahattaya who for the first time established the fact that people’s admiration of Rajapaksas is not confined to the Ruhuna alone. Mahinda Mahattaya getting elected as the President of this country for two consecutive terms, Basil Rajapaksa getting elected from the Gampaha District with over 300,000 preferential votes and Shashindra Rajapaksa getting elected as the Chief Minister of the Uva Province with a mandate of over 82 percent of votes are fine examples in this regard.
It is not for fun that D.M. and D.A., the beginners of the Rajapaksa family, and the contemporary members of the family of Mahinda Mahattaya and other Rajapaksas loved the land of their birth, Sri Lanka, and the people of Sri Lanka. Due to that true love sometimes not only Mahinda Mahattaya but even George Rajapaksa and Lakshman Rajapaksa scolded the arrogant persons who came to see them and even those persons were well aware that they were scolded to get their mistakes corrected. Similarly such persons also knew that their grievances will be solved. It is a sign of honest politics.
Public property
It is true that the Rajapaksas since ancient times upheld the policy of protecting state resources and state properties as they were the people’s wealth. Therefore they loathed sale of public properties and vesting them with others. One day when Mahinda Mahattaya was on his way home soon after taking charge of the fisheries portfolio he visited for a private matter the Galle Fisheries Harbour which was established and made to contribute to the nation by his cousin brother. During that visit he came to know that the United National Party government has sold a large portion of the harbour to a private company at a very much undervalued price. Immediately after he returned to the ministry he enquired about that sale and re-vested it with the people by cancelling that sale.
What has happened today also is something similar to that. Who can say that 37 state institutions sold to their political affiliates at very cheap prices by the then United National Party government should not be re-acquired by the government and these institutions should not be developed for the benefit of the people? It was Mahinda Mahattaya and his brother Basil who revealed to the country that some of the procurers of these institutions claimed making profits by reducing the workforce from 2,000 to 150 and importing spirits from foreign countries and producing spirits instead of producing sugar as agreed under the procurement conditions.
The massive development activities that have been carried out in the Hambantota District and the Weeraketiya area are indeed amazing.
There are some criticisms on this from people who cannot stomach this massive development of that area. I am very well aware that these Rajapaksas had to beg of the ministers and officials some time ago to get a road constructed for the village, to get an anicut built, to get a school building constructed, to get school equipment and to get a graduate teacher to the village schools.
They had a practice of filling the boot of their vehicles with textbooks and school items every Friday before proceeding to Weeraketiya from Colombo and distributing them to the schools that required these items. Since they engaged in politics under such difficulties, development of Hambantota being expedited during Mahinda Mahattaya’s period is something that can be expected and there is no reason to wonder about it.
May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with Mahinda Mahattaya for a long life.
