Is this the worst of all possible regimes? Let’s rate the Rajapakse Regime
Prof. Kumar David
What I do not want this to be is an occasion for venting my spleen at theRajapakse Regime (RR); I have many openings for that. I would like it to be an opportunity for framing a level headed response to the oft posed question: “Is RR the worst government Lanka has had in 65 years of self-government?” This is not an exercise in idleness as the query crops up at street corners, in three wheelers and in drawing rooms, and if not said, it is implicit in the gossip. To be rational, we have to be comparative and bear in mind that every previous government (or for that matter every government everywhere in the world) is hugely flawed. Governments are mammoth machines with joints out of kilter and loose nuts screwing around all over. Hence only a comparative viewpoint is reasonable.
I will choose six dimensions to make an appraisal; the first three are simpler to define: financial corruption (graft), abuse of power (curbing democracy, crushing dissent, interference with judiciary, independent statutory bodies and the police) and third, family patronage (nepotism, dynastic ambitions). The next three are more complex but cannot be shirked if the rating game is serious; clear policies, especially socio-economic (at issue is not whether one approves, but whether it visibly exists); fifth, the integrity of leadership (free of fraud and malevolence; the dichotomy often quoted is Lee Kwan Yew versus Ferdinand Marcos), and sixth, special to these times, we must give thought to the ability to sort out Lanka’s national question.
OK that’s enough for definitions; let’s get down to business.
