Sajith, Sannasgala and large trees

• Sannasgala has predicted in his book ‘Gemba’ that Premadasa would not grow to become an accomplished politician

Much is said about Sajith Premadasa that he should be UNP Leader, but questions are raised whether the UNP Deputy Leader is hungry enough to lead the ‘Green Party’. 

Some time back there was an offer made to Premadasa to even take up the post of Prime Minister, but he turned it down. Right now the buzz within the UNP is that Premadasa would be UNP’s next Presidential candidate. 

Premadasa has maintained that there is no hesitation on his part to accept any post. However he adds that he wants to do everything the proper way. 
In this context it is interesting to note that Sinhala teacher and author Upul Shantha Sannasgala has predicted in his book ‘Gemba’ that Premadasa would not grow to become an accomplished politician. Sannasgala writes that Premadasa has made the mistake of focusing on paying tribute to his late father, Ranasinghe Premadasa, on political platforms rather promoting his cause. The book was published in 2014, a year before Mahinda Rajapaksa was ousted from power. 

Demi Gods

Sannagala focuses on Premadasa in the chapter titled ‘Fingers were made before folks’ where he stresses that small trees don’t have a chance of growing when they are placed under large trees. This is because large trees absorb the nutrients from the soil and also the water, thus denying the smaller trees an opportunity to grow, Sannasgala likens Premadasa to a small tree and his late father to a large tree. 

Sannasgala goes on to write that accomplished leaders or individuals like JR.Jayewardene, SWRD Bandaranaike, Abraham Lincoln, Carl Marx, Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud, failed to see their sons achieve anything significant in life. He reasons that this is because that these fathers had reached the status of demi gods or in other words had achieved celebrity status hence there was no chance for another from the same family to emulate or better that feat. 

But Sannasgala singles out an offspring in the equation in Namal Rajapaksa who he states is an exception. The author points out that young Namal has not been destroyed despite his father being an individual who is virtually being worshiped in the political scene. Sannasgala writes that whether or not Namal would grow to become a large tree like his dad would be decided upon the education he receives to grow as an individual. 

But here the focus of this article is on Premadasa and not on Namal. Parliamentarian Rohitha Abeygunasekere has critisised Premadasa by saying that though he (Premadasa) likes to be the prime minister, he is afraid to take up the coveted post.  Premadasa has already answered his critics by stating that he will come to power the proper way. 

Premadasa, unlike most other parliamentarians, is educated. He received his education at Royal College Colombo and completed degrees at London School of Economics and the University of London. His education and upbringing have made him a wonderful statesman and an ideal candidate to serve the public. But whether he has the burning ambition to propel himself to be the leader of the country is left to be seen. 

There is one thing in Sri Lankan politics that the UNP has to understand. Politicians like Rajapaksa always made sure to portray themselves as heroes and their opponents as villains. Rajapaksa always focused on portraying opponents like Sarath Fonseka and Ranil Wickremesinghe as something bad that should be eliminated. For those who need a stronger interpretation, Rajapaksa termed them as viruses which needed to be destroyed politically. 

Premadasa and the UNP need to learn the art of making heroes of themselves and naming the opponents as villains. The ‘Green Party’ which promotes democracy shows no interest in learning the art of making heroes and villains. This all boils down to their lack of skills in doing so. 

Premadasa and the UNP prefer to have a powerful prime minister in Parliament instead of a hero who promotes the executive presidency. This is why the UNP is strong within the parliament, but would be crushed at an election if it has to go in front of the people seeking their mandate. 

There are concerns about whether the UNP’s economic policies would suffocate the downtrodden masses. Former premier Mahinda Rajapaksa has warned that the UNP should be more people friendly when taking economic decisions. Rajapaksa made these comments in parliament when during the debate which was held regarding the ‘Vote on Account’. Rajapaksa believes that Sri Lanka can progress economically and defend itself against international and external threats only if there is a single highly empowered leader. 

Premadasa has over the years settled down to play the deputy’s role to Wickremesinghe. There is only talk that Premadasa would be UNP’s next candidate at a future election. Wickremesinghe is yet to confirm this news that’s circulating. 

strengths and weaknesses

Premadasa assumed duties the other day as the Minister of Housing Construction and Cultural Affairs. He is reported to have said that his staff should create a roster so that this would ensure that work continues in this ministry throughout 24 hours of the day. This is because Premadasa wishes to achieve what can be done in 10 years within a short period of 10 months. This is possible if the mindset of government workers can be changed overnight to adopt a healthy work culture where employees work as if they are share holders of a company and not as paid workers. 

We have seen the strengths and weaknesses of Premadasa. His strengths like having wisdom, maturity and the ability to honour dignity are sure to be included in a biography penned about him and titled ‘Sajith Premadasa-The People’s Leader like Legacy of Ranasinghe Premadasa’. The book penned by Telli C. Rajaratnam will be launched in January 2019. 

The book again, going by the previews written, suggests that there are going to be chapters dedicated to his late father; a figure who despite not living today, can dwarf him by the very mention of his name. 

Premadasa must take a cue from young Namal regarding his future. He must observe how Namal promotes his cause by speaking the least about his much accomplished dad (Mahinda) and virtually nothing about his uncle Gotabaya who could block his path in politics.

• Sannasgala likens Premadasa to a small tree and his late father to a large tree
• But Sannasgala singles out Namal Rajapaksa who he states is an exception