A Cabinet without Muslims is not meritocratic but discriminatory

Muslims, among other communities, have overwhelmingly voted for this government. It is an injustice for them not to be represented in the Cabinet

For the first time in recent memory, Sri Lanka now has a Cabinet devoid of Muslim representation. That is a grave error which should be rectified.

At first, it appeared as an oversight, considering that the appointments to the Cabinet must have come through deliberations between the JVP and its partners in the NPP, which claims to represent a multitude of professional and civil society groups, and each lobbying on behalf of their members.

But not any longer. The government is now defending the indefensible, claiming that the composition of the new Cabinet is guided by meritocracy. 

That is nonsense! Meritocracy is untenable in the exclusion of one core ethnic group that accounts for one-tenth of the Sri Lankan populace in its Cabinet of Ministers, who are, under the Constitution, charged with the direction and control of the Government of the Republic and collectively responsible and answerable to the Parliament.

Meritocracy as an Excuse

Instead, it is blatantly discriminatory. Those who cite meritocracy as an excuse should look into how countries such as Singapore, which in many ways,  are meritocratic  go the extra mile to accommodate its Malays and Tamils in the Cabinet. That  is notwithstanding the fact that its elections have long been highly choreographed.

The government’s continued defence of the indefensible and refusal to make amends with an erroneous and unfortunate decision smack of a strain of arrogance, which reminds me of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s trademark ego-fuelled stupidity and shallowness.This is a dangerous combination of twin follies that could destroy many good things that are capable of delivering to the people of this country.

Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Nalinda Jayathissa told the media, “We did not form the Cabinet based on race, religion or caste. We selected individuals who are highly capable of handling Ministerial portfolios.” 

They are not Rhodes Scholars

That gives the impression that there was not a single competent representative of the Muslim community to be placed among that highly capable assemble of people. That itself is an insult, probably unintentional, to the Muslim community. While I do not wish to comment on the credentials of the Cabinet of Ministers, this is surely not made of Rhodes Scholars, Ivy League PhDs and top-tier tech executives, the generally the types we call gifted minds and technocrats. 

This is a Cabinet comprising of what one would call indigenous intelligentsia, a mixture of 1956 and Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Viyath Maga. It is hard to believe that there was not a single competent Muslim representative to be part of this illustrious group. Instead, their unfortunate omission reveals a great degree of intellectual and ethical void in the process that guided the selection.

NPP and JVP leaders tell the Muslim community not to view the Cabinet through the ethnic or racial lens. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath, when visited a constituency of Muslims, was asked to appoint a Muslim into the Cabinet. And he replied with a self-righteous,non-racial sermon. 

 That again is hallow. You can not rise above the race when you relegate one community to insignificance. 
It is hard to understand why it is so difficult for the government to acknowledge the error of its judgment and make amends with it.This is the type of arrogance manifested in the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime, which, when unchecked, led to its demise. The government has defended its decision, citing that it had appointed a Muslim businessman as the Governor of the Western Province and that members of the Muslim community hold positions such as Deputy Speaker and Deputy Minister. Those are all fine and salutary deeds, though this is not the first government to have Muslims in high positions. Muslims have held high political positions in this country, from Bakeer Markar  M.H. Mohammed, Maulana, Fawzie, and Ashroff to Hakeem. This is probably the first government that had to remind the public that it has also appointed Muslims to high positions and used it as an excuse not to have a Muslim representative in the Cabinet.

The Cabinet Spokesman is quoted saying: “We are focused on serving the Sri Lankan nation as a whole, not specific races, religions or castes.”

That is exactly why a Cabinet of Ministers should be representative of all its communities.The omission of one core community simply fails that mission even before it starts.

The representation of one’s own ethnic and religious group within the country’s highest body gives the members of that particular community a special sense of belonging;  that is truer for the ethnic minorities, who, as much as they share much with the rest, also face unique challenges, which could better be addressed through the representation of their own members. That, by extension, is the very idea of universal suffrage, where every man and woman is entrusted with a vote to elect their own representatives.

Probably, a meritocratic cabal like Pinochet’s Chicago boys could well more efficiently achieve long-term prosperity for all people, but that is not participatory democracy and is shunned upon.

Represent and Exclude at the same time

When a government excludes one community from its Cabinet, it fails in its duty to represent the country as a whole of all its communities. You can not both represent and exclude at the same time.

The sense of exclusion itself is mutually reinforcing, and it would not be long before the Muslim community would notice that their representatives are absent from the foremost governing body of the government. That sets off a sense of disenchantment not only with the government but also with the Sri Lankan state. 

 
Muslims, among other communities, have overwhelmingly voted for this government. It is an injustice for them not to be represented in the Cabinet.  

This is when the government should strive to glue all Sri Lankans together to a unified Sri Lankan identity. But that mission would be a failure if it refuses to have a fair representation of Muslims in its Cabinet of ministers.

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