Our country is politically bankrupt; poised on the brink of presidential election, but who should the people vote for??? A million dollar question that has no answer!!! It is time now for the young ones to break away and form an alliance so they can appoint a worthy Presidential candidate!!! This horrendous business of family owned politics should be done away with; where kith and kin are appointed to key positions and legitimate appointees overlooked!!! You young ones are the only gentlemen politicians of this era; so stand up, not just for yourselves but for your country – your country needs you, she desperately needs you!!!   

The majority Sri Lankans feel that our Prime Minister is a loser – most of them fought hard to give him a second chance, but he does not seem to have learnt a lesson, it is almost as though he is content to plod along with no initiatives, no get up and go attitude and continues to point a finger at others!!! After all, it was he who originally appointed Ravi, Minister of Finance; it was he who brought in Arjun Mahendran, so does that not make him an accomplice??? Were you then not aware of who and what they were??? The people are disillusioned, dissatisfied with what is going on; they expected more from you but you seem to be either unaware of their expectations or immune to them – which is it Mr. Prime Minister???   

Who do the people turn to now, whom do they vote for, whom do we place our unqualified trust in with our precious vote??? It is time you took a stand, gave us a capable trustworthy candidate for the Presidency, the people of this country both rich and poor alike are waiting with bated breath!!! Why don’t you ask the old foggies to go home where they belong and encourage the young ones to prove their mettle??? Our country desperately needs new blood, new ideas, new people to lead them, to help them and the country in a forward thrust towards new horizons where we can all, in a spirit of togetherness watch our people reach out in joy, in hope and most importantly, in trust; knowing that their ambitions, their hopes and dreams are not misplaced!!! Enough of this divisive politics, what has it brought to the country and even to the politicians themselves???   

When will our politicians ever recognize that in all the years of this government, they have done nothing to merit the confidence of the people, they have taken no measures to relate to the burdens we are facing, only heaped more on us

We need politicians and more importantly, a President who will unreservedly lead the people, who will at all times function in the awareness of the people’s needs, who will grant a listening ear to their problems, who will endeavor to fulfill their basic needs; someone they can relate to, a President they can look up to and know they have chosen wisely!!! WE NEED A PRESIDENT WITH THE QUALITIES OF TRUE LEADERSHIP!!! WE HAVE POLITICIANS WHO ARE A DIME A DOZEN, WITH NOTHING UPSTAIRS – THEY CAN’T CLAIM LEADERSHIP QUALITIES!!! WE NEED A LEADER WHO CAN UNDERSTAND AND RELATE TO THE REAL ISSUES FACED BY THE PEOPLE IN THEIR EVERY DAY LIVES!!! TO PROPEL THE COUNTRY ON A FORWARD MARCH WITH A CRYSTAL CLEAR AWARENESS OF ITS NEEDS!!!   

Enough of the promises kept or broken, it is an unfinished symphony anyway; they can keep their promises, WHAT WE DESPERATELY NEED NOW IS LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE!!! So please go home where you belong and let our country get new blood, new young Ministers led by someone capable, who will put our country back on track!!! They have the brain power, the courage and the unflinching determination to do this!!! The present pernicious brand of hypocrites have to go, they just have to go, the country has had enough of them, we have suffered enough because of them!!! The old doddering fools must step aside now for the sake of COUNTRY, let new blood take over, let new ideas and schemes unravel, let the country be put first for a change!!!   

When will our politicians ever recognize that in all the years of this government, they have done nothing to merit the confidence of the people, they have taken no measures to relate to the burdens we are facing, only heaped more on us!!! It is the average middle class man that suffers, the rich have it all, the poor will somehow eke out an existence from their paddy fields or their meager vegetable cultivations, but it is the middle class who suffer!!! More often than not, they have a salary insufficient to meet the needs of their families, on the middle or low income bracket, so they are compelled to either go for bank loans, pawn their jewellery or even resort to borrowing in the black market!!! The end result being that they end up in jail unable to pay their loans, lose their jewellery because the interest on the pawned articles has accumulated considerably, and as for borrowing in the black, they would probably end up threatened, robbed of everything they possess or in some dire cases, even murdered!!! Can our politicians even begin to understand such penury, such destitution, the terrible burden of such poverty??? WOULD THAT THEY COULD!!!   

Transport and Housing are the other insurmountable problems!!! Whether it is transport to office, school, or travelling in general, it is a never ending hassle of how to get to and from!!! Besides the hassle, the cost of travelling is another escalating factor – three wheel owners are finding it difficult to get hires sufficient to pay their loans resulting in seizure by the Finance Companies!!! A never ending no win situation!!! The skyline of Colombo and even some of the other urban areas are so congested with high rise buildings with no respect either for the environment or the ground they stand on!!! Whether the ground can withstand the propinquity of weight is of no concern!!! SO WHAT OF THE POOR??? Well, they just have to make do with their humble thatched huts or, if they are lucky, get housing in one of the various GAMAS(VILLAGES) being built by Sajith!!! ONE CONCERNED HUMAN BEING!!!   

JOHNSON C. MAXWELL said: “A LACK OF REALISM IN THE VISION TODAY COSTS CREDIBILITY TOMORROW!!!”

 THE VOICE