Upali: Mighty magnate with Midas touch

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By
D.B.S. Jeyaraj

40 years ago on February 13, 1983, a privately owned Lear jet flew out of Malaysia’s Subang Airport at 8.41 p.m. with six on board. It was expected to reach Colombo by 9.45 p.m. that night. 15 minutes after taking off, the plane lost radio contact with the airport. The final message received said the plane was flying at an altitude of 27,000 ft over the straits of Malacca. The Learjet never arrived in Colombo that Sunday as scheduled. The plane went missing.   

 

Upali Wijewardene

News of the missing plane began spreading on Monday, which was also Valentine’s Day. Sri Lankans from all walks of life were shocked when they heard that the missing plane belonged to Upali Wijewardene and that the beloved homegrown tycoon was among the six persons, who disappeared along with the aircraft.   

Apart from Upali Wijewardene, the others who went missing were Upali’s most trusted Lieutenant Ananda Pelimuhandiram, Financial Director of the Upali Group S. M. Ratnam, a Malaysian lawyer of Jaffna Tamil origin and A. Senanayake, the Steward. 

The other two were the Pilot Capt. Noel Anandappa and Co-Pilot Sidney de Zoysa.   

I was then a staff reporter at The Island owned by Upali Wijewardene. The Editor then was Vijitha Yapa. The Deputy Editor was Gamini Weerakoon. The Island of Tuesday, February 15 broke the sad news with a banner headline Plane carrying Upali Wijewardene feared lost.   

Whatever information that was available then was provided in the copy.   

The paper continued to publish all the news about the ongoing search for the missing plane and related matters. Those were stressful days of anxiety, especially for Editor Vijitha Yapa.   

There were many false leads and rumours. Finally, we realised the painful truth. Upali and others along with the plane had vanished forever!   

Legally, Upali Wijewardene is presumed dead now though his body was never discovered. No debris from the missing plane was also found.   

The disappearance of Upali Wijewardene continues to linger in the collective memory of the nation as an unresolved mystery. Some people ask me even now:   

“I say, what really happened to Upali? Don’t know, no?”   
If Philip Upali Wijewardene was among the living now he would have reached the age of Eighty-five this year on February 17.   

Alas, this was not to be as he disappeared 40 years ago on February 13, 1983, just four days before his 45th birthday.   

Upali Learjet

 

Two Significant Anniversaries
I intend to focus on this remarkable personality in these columns to honour and pay tribute to his memory in this eventful week of two significant anniversaries in the life and times of Upali Wijewardene. 

I have written about Upali on earlier occasions too and will be drawing from such writings in penning this article.   
It was my privilege to be associated with Upali Wijewardene slightly and briefly during the years 1978 to 1983.   
As a journalist for the Tamil Daily Virakesari, I covered the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) or “Free Trade Zone” from 1978 to 1981. Upali was the first Director -General of the GCEC.   

Later in 1981, I began working as a staff reporter on the English daily The Island published by Upali Newspapers Ltd of which he was the proprietor.   

As stated earlier I was at The Island in 1983 when Upali went missing.   

Upali Wijewardene known widely as Upali was a much-loved business magnate. He was a tycoon who captured the popular imagination of the people at large.   

The Island nation has produced several indigenous business magnates and industrialists of great repute but there was none quite like Upali Wijewardene.   

He interacted on a higher plane with transnational captains of industry and commerce on equal terms. Yet Upali retained the loyalty and affection of his employees and workers who simply adored him. More importantly, the Sri Lankan masses despite being exposed to Left-wing rhetoric for decades loved this high-profile Capitalist. 

 
The popular business magnate was, to many, a symbol of success and a role model to be emulated. The people on that side of the Bentara river loved Upali and regarded him as a true son of the southern soil. After all, Southerners are known for their entrepreneurial acumen and success.   

 

Upali with his Helicopter  

 

Free Trade Zone 
The name Upali Wijewardene became familiar to the country in the early 1970s of the previous century.   

Yet, it was in the late 1970s that he was really well-known when he assumed duties as Director-General of Sri Lanka’s first Free Trade Zone, the popular name for the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC). The GCEC has transformed into the Board of Investment (BOI) nowadays.   

The GCEC was something new and controversial. The Shannon Experiment of Ireland was catching on in many parts of the world.   

The Leftists were firmly opposed to the concept. The idea of providing massive tax concessions and financial incentives to foreign Capitalists to come and invest in Sri Lanka was a novel project at that time.   

One of the key attractions was our skilled yet cheap labour.   

‘Exploitation,’ thundered the Left. J.R. Jayawardene’s famous comment, Let the robber barons come, did not help either.   

The fact that a well-known Dhanapathi (Capitalist) was heading the GCEC aided the Vahamanse Sahodharayo (Leftist comrades) to attack the project.   

It was a difficult time for the pioneering venture. Looking back I think Wijewardena was the ideal man for the job at that time. The GCEC went about its task methodically and diligently. It was my duty then to record its progress regularly in the columns of Virakesari.   

The much-travelled Wijewardene undertook many foreign trips to promote the FTZ. On one such occasion, he was in Singapore. At a press conference, Upali was asked about the Tamil minority being discriminated against in Sri Lanka.   

Wijewardene responded to the query in his inimitable style.   

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” he said   
“Seated on my right is my Deputy Director General Raju Coomaraswamy. On my left is Treasury Secretary Chandi Chanmugam. Further down is our High Commissioner to Singapore, C. Gunasingham. Gentlemen, I am the minority here.” 

 
Everyone present laughed. The question was deflected neatly. That was Upali Wijewardene!   

 

The Island Newspaper
It was through The Island that I entered the realm of English journalism.   

The Island burst upon the media scene in 1981 like a gust of fresh air. Upali had undertaken a market survey which indicated there was no room for a new English paper. But Wijewardene being Wijewardene, he simply went ahead disregarding the survey results.   

It was indeed a great challenge then working for the paper. Those recruited from other newspapers had their previous salaries doubled. We were told that Upali would shut the paper if it did not break-even in a year.   
The new kid on the block achieved tremendous success within a short time. Two older kids on the block went out of business gradually.   

The paper’s plus point in one respect was the colour and modern printing technology. On another level, it was due to its editorial and news content.   

The paper covered events fearlessly and provided space for all points of view. One of its strong points then was its coverage of the ethnic crisis.   

This was both good journalism and good business. In this, the paper reflected the worldview of both Upali Wijewardene and Vijitha Yapa.   

The main reason for the paper’s editorial success was the free hand given to Vijitha Yapa. This was possible then only because Wijewardene owned the paper. A lesser man would have interfered unnecessarily with editorial matters during its formative phase.   

 

Golden Midas Touch
The incredible achievement of the newspaper was symptomatic of the much-loved magnate’s Midas touch.   
In Greek mythology whatever was touched by king Midas turned to gold. Likewise, whatever venture launched by the mighty magnate Upali became a roaring success within a short time due to his golden touch. The newspaper was no exception.   

Philip Upali Wijewardene, born on February 17, in 1938, was the son of Don Walter and Anula Kalyanawathie Wijewardene. He studied initially at Ladies’ College and then Royal College, where he captained the Cricket Second Eleven.   

He then went on to England and graduated from Cambridge. Upon his return, Wijewardene began working at Lever Brothers as a Management Trainee. He quit in disgust when his expatriate boss accused him unfairly of lies and deception over preparing a report.   

 

Seeni Bola Industry

Upali Fiat assembled in Sri Lanka

Wijewardene started out on his own with Rs. 15,000 as capital and an ancestral abode as an asset.   
That was the time of a State-controlled economy but incentives were provided in some areas, including confectioneries. Wijewardena ventured into what was derisively referred to as the Seeni bola industry.   
He began by manufacturing candy and toffee in the old house. Bank of Ceylon’s legendary General Manager Chelliah Loganathan was very helpful in financing Upali’s ventures.   

One man who stood by Upali loyally in those days was R. Murugaiah, an up-country Tamil. It is said that the name Delta was adopted for Wijewardene’s sweets because Murugaiah was born on a Delta Group Estate.   

Murugaiah was responsible for marketing the products then. Later he became Managing Director.   

Years later Wijewardene was to quip publicly, “Behind every successful man there is a woman but behind every successful Sinhala businessman there is a Tamil,” and point laughingly to Murugaiah walking behind him. 

 

 
Kandos Chocolates
Embarking on a career as an industrialist, Upali Wijewardene never looked back. The confectioneries developed and soon he acquired Kandos chocolates from his maternal uncle, Sarath Wijesinghe.   

Then came consumer products like Sikuru and Crystal soap. Wijewardene also pioneered the assembling of radios, clocks and TVs under the brand name UNIC.   

He also went into automobiles. The UMC Mazda and Upali Fiat were assembled here. In those days the import duty for cars was 300% but 100% for motor spares.   

Wijewardene brought in automobile parts under the motor spares category paying lesser duty and assembled them here.   

Later in an interview, he was asked about this. Upali replied that he wandered to the edge of legal limits but never crossed them.   

Wijewardene also went into aviation and began local helicopter and airline services. He also bought up estates in Sri Lanka and Malaysia.   

He also began expanding geographically and had many business concerns in Singapore and Malaysia.   

The Kandos Man was hugely popular in Singapore. During Wijewardene’s heyday, more than 33,000 people were employed in his worldwide enterprises.   

Upali was married on November 7, 1975, to Lakmini, daughter of Dr and Mrs Seevali Ratwatte. Dr Seevali, being Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike’s brother and Wijewardena being J.R. Jayewardene’s nephew, the marriage was seen then as a UNP-SLFP dynastic union.   

They had no children, but Upali had two nieces and six nephews through his two sisters, Anoka Wijeysundara and Kalyani Attygalle.   

 

Motor Racing
Upali had a wide range of interests including racehorses, pedigreed dogs and motor racing. His horses ran at Ascot and Derby winning laurels. Ace jockey Lester Piggott rode some of his winners.   

His ribbon-winning canines were Labradors and retrievers.   

As a young man, Wijewardene raced his mother’s Opel Kapitan at the Katukurunda Races in the early 60s. Later he imported an MGA Sports Twin Cam, which he raced at the Mahagastota Hill Climb.   

He also bought a Mitsubishi Lancer to be driven at the Nuwara Eliya Road Races and Mahagastota Hill Climb in 1980. Wijewardene had a luxury S-Class Mercedes Benz 126 from Malaysia. This was the first car of this type in Sri Lanka.   

There were also his private Learjet and helicopter. He would conduct a business meeting in the afternoon in Colombo, helicopter to Nuwara Eliya in the evening for golf and return to Colombo again for dinner.   

He would fly in his plane to England to engage in the sport of kings. Wijewardene had a permanent suite in a prestigious London Hotel. Upali maintained a flamboyant lifestyle that his countrymen relished.   

The people were proud that one of their countrymen had really made it and was on par with the best Suddhas.   

 

Upalee….. Wijeyawardena …………

When Upali Wijewardene disappeared, the nation was shocked. For many months people believed that he would return dramatically.   

A song composed in his honour was a popular favourite. Its chorus was ‘Upalee….. Wijeyawardena, Upalee …..Wijeyawardena.’   

Finally, the country realised that the mighty magnate with the Midas touch was not going to return and that Upali was gone forever. The mystery of the missing magnate however remains still. The Upali Wijewardene mystique will continue to linger in the popular imagination for many more years.
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