“Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot see a future beyond himself” -Sajith Premadasa

• We went to court against the medicine scam, we went to court against VFS and got an interim stay order. We went to court against those responsible for the economic crisis and got a guilty verdict. We went to court against IGP appointment and secured an interim stay order. Has the NPP claiming to be the crusaders against corruption taken any legal action?
• The 13th Amendment is in the constitution. It is one of the ways, but unfortunately not the only way to solve the ethnic issue. Many more measures are required. At the root of the problem, is that economic security and social mobility should be equally accessible to everyone. If we can make that happen, we will be closer to a solution
• We have provided relief to certain sections of the society, to certain sectors and very selectively reduced the burden to improve quality of life for people. To support the relief program of course we have included ways we can maximise revenue and cut spends
• The 2020 election results were a clear rejection of him (Wickremesinghe) by the people; not a rejection by me. I understand it is inconvenient for some people especially when they can’t decide on their careers, but the world has bigger challenges, and we should not shy away from taking them on
• There is no country in the world that has prospered on a foundation of hate or fear. As a campaign, we have never resorted to sensationalism. We have told the truth, shared the plan, and presented our team. I hope that when you walk into the booth you will not succumb to hate or fear

Entering the second Presidential fray Sajith Premadasa is one of the key contenders for the post of the 9th Executive President in Sri Lanka. Being the Leader of the Opposition, Premadasa has fought vehemently against the government run by his rival Rajapaksas and his former leader Ranil Wickremesinghe from whose United National Party (UNP) Premadasa broke away to commence a new political journey with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya or United People’s Power. 

Premadasa was forced to take up politics while he was still undergoing his higher studies at the University of Maryland when his father was assassinated on May Day in 1993. Elected to the Parliament from Hambantota District- the bastion of the Rajapaksas- in 2000 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Health in the 2001 UNP government. Moving up in a clear and a straight forward journey towards political leadership in 2011 Premadasa was appointed the Deputy Leader of the Sri Lanka’s one single powerful party which is popularly called the Grand Old party of Sri Lanka or the UNP. Giving way for common candidates at both Presidential Elections in 2010 (Sarath Fonseka) and 2015 (Maithripala Sirisena), the UNP didn’t field its own candidate, but the decision was heavily criticised within the party when Maithripala Sirisena defected and betrayed the support extended to him by the UNP and handed over power to the Rajapaksas in 2018; paving the way for a constitutional crisis. Determined to field a candidate from the Green Party at the next Presidential election in 2019, against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Premadasa broke away from the party with the support of the majority MPs. In his maiden Presidential election, in 2019, Premadasa received only1.36 million votes which was 42% of the total votes as against the then popular Gotabaya, who garnered 6.9 million votes (52.2 % of the total votes). 

Armed with nearly 24 years of experience as an MP, Minister and Opposition Leader, Premadasa is contesting against his former leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and  National People’s Power (NPP) representative Anura Kumara Dissanayake at next Saturday’s election to occupy Sri Lanka’s top political seat. On the final day for the campaign, Sajith Premadasa joined with interview with the Daily Mirror detailing his plan for Sri Lanka and how he is going to overcome the challenges ahead of the country. 

Excerpts: 

Q: At the end of a great campaign trail how confident are you of becoming the next Executive President of Sri Lanka?

 I feel confident that Sri Lankans will reject hate and fear mongering and will choose to build a Sri Lanka where everyone wins and not just a few. 

Q: One of the long-broken promises by several Presidents has been the abolition of the Executive Presidency. Will you give a guarantee that you will abolish the Executive Presidential system once you are elected President?

A parliamentary system of Government requires many constitutional reforms. The reason it has not happened before is because it requires the majority consensus and it is not an executive decision, but I believe I can bring the different stakeholders together with differing views to make that happen.

Q: President Ranil Wickremesinghe is repeatedly warning that if the path that he has introduced with the International Monitory Fund (IMF) is not be followed, Sri Lanka would experience a worse economic crisis than that of 2021. If elected, would you start the Debt Structuring programme from where it was stopped?

The President will obviously take that position because his election campaign is based on that. He has had a 45-year career and the only credential he owns at the end of 45 + years is his ability to negotiate with the IMF. The IMF does not care for individuals and their confidence on the strength of our economy is based on how credible our plan is and our ability to execute that plan. We have not even started to repay our loans. When loans become due in 2028, where do you think the President will be and who do you think will be in the parliament?  Whether we like it or not, we must consider ground realities, but it is not in the interest of the President to draw attention to the future. As for IMF negotiations we will do what it takes to get the best deal for Sri Lankans and ensure IMF parameters are met and assurance are provided. 

Q: If you are planning a different programme with regard to the debt crisis, can you please explain?

A lot of misinformation exists with regard to the IMF Programme. Before I explain, please be aware that the IMF themselves have clarified that it is perfectly natural for a new Government to reconsider certain conditions. 
To simplify, we will tweak certain parameters of the ongoing IMF programme, while remaining within the contours of the already conducted debt sustainability analysis (DSA). 

I wish to emphasise that we will not seek an alternate DSA as some parties have suggested – this is a reckless course of action with disastrous consequences. 

Instead, we will hold discussions with the IMF and mutually agree on certain amendments that will ensure economy is tilted towards exports while offering relief to people. 

Q: Presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake has already said that he would stop some of the projects planned under this regime if he is elected to power. For example, he has already said that India’s wind power project by the Adani group would be stopped. Do you also maintain the same position about projects by various countries?

Anura Kumara has worked diligently to have many projects cancelled in the past and he will probably continue to do the same driven by some Marxist ideology. I have no such reputation.

Q: There was a series of major financial scams that had been openly spoken about in public and political arenas. Some of them included the Greek bond scam, sugar scam, Treasury bond scam and now an alleged scam related to the VFS issue. Would you ensure that you would press on taking legal actions against those responsible however powerful the culprits be?

We already have taken legal action. The fact that you are asking me this question means very little credit goes to the opposition team for acting against corruption. We went to court against the medicine scam, we went to court against VFS and got an interim stay order. We went to court against those responsible for the economic crisis and got a guilty verdict. We went to court against IGP appointment and secured an interim stay order. Has the NPP claiming to be the crusaders against corruption taken any legal action? Recently when accusations were made about the alleged fraud at the Foreign Employment Bureau why didn’t the President initiate an inquiry? 

Q: In case former leaders of the county for example someone like Ranil Wickremesinghe is found to have allegedly aided and abetted questionable acts would you take proper action?

I will 100%. 

Q: In your manifesto “A Win for All” you specifically mentioned of the implementation of the 13th amendment and dissolving power. Even though the war ended militarily, even after 15 years, some of the issues of Tamils have not been solved. Can you give a guarantee that the ethnic issue will be solved once and for all under your government?

The 13th Amendment is in the constitution. It is one of the ways, but unfortunately not the only way to solve the ethnic issue. Many more measures are required. At the root of the problem, is that economic security and social mobility should be equally accessible to everyone. If we can make that happen, we will be closer to a solution.

Q: You have promised to provide so many reliefs, build houses, increase salaries, reduce taxes, etc. How can you practically do all these in a bankrupt economy?

If you refer to our economic blueprint, you will see we have not promised en masse relief haphazardly. We have provided relief to certain sections of the society, to certain sectors and very selectively reduced the burden to improve quality of life for people. To support the relief programme of course we have included ways we can maximise revenue and cut spends.

Q: While a number of politicians from different parties have joined you, leading politicians from your party like Thalatha Athukorala and Sarath Fonseka left you. What do you think went wrong?

They left for reasons best known to them and I wish them the best. 

Q: One of the major allegations from some of these people who are leaving you was your unwillingness to join with Ranil Wickremesinghe and strengthen the grand old party which is the UNP. What is the main issue that prevents you from getting together with Wickremesinghe?

As much as I would like to build the grand old party of UNP, I cannot do it until the UNP remains a party for the few and no new leaders are groomed for the future. Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot see a future beyond himself, and I am determined to look beyond that narrow vision. The 2020 election results were a clear rejection of him (Wickremesinghe) by the people; not a rejection by me. I understand it is inconvenient for some people especially when they can’t decide on their careers, but the world has bigger challenges, and we should not shy away from taking them on. 

Q: The issue of political crossovers has become one of the most criticised subjects by both voters and political analysts and politicians are blamed for not maintaining required ethical standards. However, once the Presidential election is over, there will be many more crossovers prior to the General Election. Are you willing to entertain any of the crossovers that didn’t take place prior to your Presidential Election, but prior to a general election?

We are working within the political system that we have inherited. Instead of considering ethical dilemmas, we want to enact the right reforms that will end ‘horse trading’.

Q: What is your message to undecided voters of Sri Lanka?

There is no country in the world that has prospered on a foundation of hate or fear. As a campaign, we have never resorted to sensationalism. We have told the truth, shared the plan, and presented our team. I hope that when you walk into the booth you will not succumb to hate or fear but make a rational decision thinking about the next few years and the task at hand.