SLMC will support anything that lands them a portfolio.

I agree with TWOTD for once… the SLMC would even sell their own mother if it meant getting some position.

And these are the people you’re gonna have in power thanks to MR’s greed to stay in the throne! LOL…! Shows how well the ‘Yako’ class can think! :)

Bullshit Suresh, remember this the first person to cut a deal with SLMC wasn’t MR. it was SF & the UNP.

Amazing.
you dismiss nepotism, rampant corruption, blatant abuse of the legal system, and leaders who lack integrity as petty issues.
Sri Lanka has seen development.
But how does this really work, stupid-bird man?
We take loans. We get money. The Royal family controls around 75% of the budget of our country, if not more. They also take the decisions on who to award infrastructure development contracts to. The bidder to whom the tender is awarded (on occasions when there actually is some sort of tender process) is the one who makes the bid with the most favorable terms. I’m not referring to terms pertaining to any of the actual requirements of the infrastructure development projects here, of course.
This scenario is not restricted to infrastructure development projects.
The sun is shining, they make hay.
There have been recent instances where development contracts have been awarded to foreign companies, without any tenders being called for, and that company simply subcontracting out the entire project to a local company for a fraction of the initial value of the contract.
You know, if blogs existed and were allowed in Nazi Germany and someone posted a comment regarding his/her displeasure at the conduct of Hitler and his boys, and you were around, you’d dismiss those comments as well, and say the commenter was ignoring objective reality.

Well said sir!

Yes. Who would have thought the war could be ended so quickly by military means?
Not even Mahinda, according to the 2005 Presidential Elections Campaign. Sri Lanka owes a currently incarcerated man a great deal, methinks…

Sorry Shammi, have you actually asked me who I think should be President “out of the current lot”?

No Mahinda, that was for the anonymous one. We all know what your opinion is on that, and I seem to have provided you with plenty of opportunities to further enlighten us, and sadly he is out of the running for the moment. I was just curious to know what our other options were.

MR must have thought he would need SF’s particular talents when he offered Kottegoda the diplomatic posting. He must have had the foresight not to mention anything about a military solution in the election campaign.

What he did say in his last campaign was that he would be the most likely person to abolish the executive presidency since he would be ineligible for a third term, and I’d like our people’s representatives to remind him of this.

Forgive me, shammi, but what exactly are you talking about here, which you have taken SF out of the running from and instead request bids for “other options”?

Also, your reasoning “He must have had the foresight not to mention anything about a military solution in the election campaign” is incorrect.

OK Mahinda, I guess, technically the General is still in the running. But I don’t see too many people clamouring for his release other than the DNA. Ranil had suddenly surfaced to write a piece on the unfairness of the court martial in the Sunday Times, but it probably wouldn’t have got much attention, as there’s a juicier topic under discussion these days. Truth to tell even I merely glanced through it.

I think , the General should either forget politics for the moment and concentrate on getting released, (cut a deal with MR maybe – as long as he could be certain of the adequacy of his security) lie low for a period and then gradually build up a political image, or else he should conduct a much more aggressive campaign while in custody. Then he may just have a chance in 2016. As you know, our people forget too easily.

I think MR pledged a military solution to terror and a political solution for the Tamils. But he’s acting as if he thinks he has solved both issues by winning the war. ‘Course I don’t know yet what’s in the constitutional amendments, so I maybe wrong about him.

I must confess that I too am a believer that, now that terrorism has been eradicated, economic development to rural areas both in the north and south is the immediate need, and that political issues should be addressed thereafter. The UNP seems too engrossed in economic and political theory but not too bright on what is required for a contented populace. Sajith seems to have cottoned on, but is yet like a midget next to the image Mahinder has created for himself.

From the Present lot, who would I vote for the presidency: probably Mangala Samaraweera.

Really? Why?

Oooh Anon! that was really unexpected. Let me guess, he’s ESE through & through, except when he became a bit yakko when elections were close. There was that distasteful poster campaign against Ranil when the latter was contesting against Chandrika, I think. And I seem to remenber a little altercation with another total ESE of the UNP, Sagala Ratnayake. And then there was the Susanthika Jayasinghe incident.

But otherwise he’s always been scrupulus about being politically correct, hasn’t he? At least in his proclamations. Oh! and he refreshingly truthful about his sexual preference too. These are the things I remember about him. I wish I could remember whether he ran his ministries well or not.

Whatever else he may be he’s always entertaining. Good choice!

Mangala is definitely a capable man. And a superb administrator from what I’ve heard. He’s definitely up there in my list. Given the choices, I won’t mind him replacing MR. Definitely a far better choice than SF or Ranil.

Wow, really? I wonder if even Mangala knows how popular he is! I’m going to follow any news items about him more keenly in future.

I don’t think mangala will ever become the president or prime minister of this country. So no point paying too much attention to him

Thanks Shammi, there was a very good interview in the Nation a few years back that opened my eyes to him.

Think he did a fair job at the port and according to reports did not take a large “grant” that was in the offing.

Agree with Dodo that Mangala’s chances of getting elected at the moment look pretty slip.

Hey Anon, Mangala has been printing defamatory posters again!

White elephant are so called because they do not provide much benefit in comparison to cost spent. The Hambantota port has no container terminal (that comes in phase 2, once we cough up funds for that, in a few years time) and limited bunkering capacity. Therefore it can only handle bulk cargo and do a bit of bukering which limits its benefits. We do not know what it cost to build, if it was very low then perhaps the return will be adequate but given the secrecy in which it was shrouded and the general increase in corruption we can expect that the cost was pretty high.

Botanical garden is fine but is it a priority? And at to build one in the dry zone is very odd, how much water is it going to consume? Why not try and improve Peradeniya instead?

Roads themselves are ok, some of them are tsunami funded, others ADB funded so should be relatively cheap. The Chinese ones, provided properly built (and not have collapsing bridges like the Southern highway) should be ok.

Anon, I thought one of the primary purposes of the port was to supply bunker fuel for all the Chinese ships that are coming from Africa. All the stuff i’ve read about the port says that there will be a massive bunkering facility there. My argument for the port being beneficial for sri lanka is a fairly simple one, Chinese need more and more fuel they’re planning on getting it from Africa. This port is the ideal midway hub. Infact, it’s probably the only midway hub.

If that is the case W-o-D, then you may be right.

But I have to agree with you on the botanical garden & the flyover. Both of those seem wasteful. The dehiwala flyover seems like a major flop to me.

Why do you think the Dehiwala flyover is a flop?
Just to use two examples of recently built flyovers, the Nugegoda flyover and the Dehiwala flyover in question, they both decrease congestion at busy junctions, and effectively mean that there is at least one lane permanently open on two main routes, the A1 and the A4.
I do however disagree with how the two projects were implemented and the type of bridge used – I personally think it would have been considerably cheaper and just as quick to build if they used pre-fabricated sections of pre-stressed concrete, which could have been manufactured locally. But lower cost and increased transparency is not always considered to be a good thing by certain decision makers…
Experienced/Budding Civil Engineers, feel free to jump in with your views and opinions.

It’s a flop because as someone who uses that flyover almost daily I see no improvement in congestion. The problem is that the dehiwala flyover creates a bottle neck. They should have bulldozed all the pavement shops on either and made galle road a little wider there. and then made the flyover three lanes, with the center lane being offered the direction where traffic is highest.

I see.
I don’t really use the flyovers that much, But whenever I have used the A1/A4 across these junctions, I have found them to be quite useful – for example I always hated the pre-flyover Dehiwala junction and its traffic lights…
Perhaps you would see an improvement if they made the existing 2 lane structure one-way during the morning and evening “rush hour” with the flow being towards Colombo in the morning and away during the evening… Then there would effectively be 3 lanes in the direction of the heavy traffic, counting the standard lane on the left.

To add to what Dodo say, before the fly-over there was stop-go traffic at the Dehiwala junction. After the flyover there is a continuous, but slow flow of traffic.

Although I use that road only rarely in my limited experience the length of the queue and the time taken to travel is no better after the flyover, and may be slightly worse.

Moving the bus stand would be an improvement at Dehiwala, think Nugegoda is somewhat more effective.

Flyovers, if effectively used, are an excellent method of improving the flow of traffic and congestion. Since you guys don’t think the ones that have been built work terribly well towards that objective, lets just blame Mahinda and the Government for this and move on :)

Ok. That was just a little joke, but on a serious note, I think development should be well thought out and also implemented in the most cost effective manner. Which is why we need scrupulously honest people in charge and on the ground. Or if that’s too idealistic, then at least a scrupulously honest, conscientious fellow in charge, with the people on the ground unwilling to mess around and fill their pockets too much in case they incur the wrath of the scrupulously honest, conscientious fellow in charge. Sort of like the SL Army under SF…

Yes there is a will to improve things. However in my view they lack the capacity to do so.

Actually the pics look lovely. Hope the natural vegetation on either side remains as is ‘cos there’s no need for any development, and hope they’ve maintained good standards in the construction.

Those look superb, comparable to the roads abroad.

The nice thing is they don’t run on as far as the roads abroad, do they?

Shammi, I’ve heard that the standards of construction were poor in places, but that they made up for these deficiencies by increasing the standards of corruption of the overall project…

That’s not all.

This is what Reuters has to say:

————————–

Sri Lanka stocks at new peak on long term stability hopes

Friday Sep 3, 2010

>> Investors banking on stability after new constitution

COLOMBO, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s benchmark share index hit a new high on Friday for the third straight day on hopes that proposed constitutional changes would boost political stability and energise the economy, analysts said.

Sri Lanka’s main share index .CSE closed 1.65 percent or 95.32 points firmer at a new peak of 5,880.49, after hitting a new intraday high of 5,888.30 points.

The index is Asia’s best performer in 2010 with a 73.7 percent gain.

[[Best performing Asian stocks for almost two years running now - topped Asia in 2009]]

The market has gained 5 percent since the cabinet of ministers backed constitutional amendments that would free President Mahinda Rajapaksa to run for a third term after his present one expires in 2017.

Analysts said the amendments could bring to Sri Lanka the consistent economic policies it has been lacking during the course of a 25-year civil war that ended last year.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE6820FB20100903

——–

Seriously, those peeps whining and moaning and having a heart attack about Rajapakse getting another chance to lead Sri Lanka should go and suck on a big fat BEEP.

The development efforts are good. The investor confidence is good too.
But we sh0uld not blind ourselves to the greed behind MR’s desire to seek sanction for a third term without relinquishing any of the excessive powers of the present post.
The unprincipled yes men and turncoats in the parliament will be responsible for the consequences.

What’s wrong in seeking a third term?

And why wasn’t any of the “excessive powers of the present post” relinquished by previous presidents?

Checkout this thread on Sri Lanka’s ports:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=422725&page=24

Some nice pics of Hambantota Port

Rookie, as a part of your continued defense of the president and the government, how do you deal with the accusations that the president is a liar and a hypocrite?
For instance, prior to both the 2005 and 2010 presidential elections, he promised to abolish the executive presidency. He failed to deliver. As a part of his 2005 campaign, he pledged to ensure that the National Media Networks were freed from political influence, to make them independent and credible. He very clearly forgot that one straight after being elected. During the campaigning for the pe 2010, he also said he would never engage in “vaireeya deshapalanaya,” which you could loosely translate to politics motivated by revenge, in the context it was used. His recent actions with regards to SF clearly demonstrate that he is also a hypocrite – specially in view of the fact that the alleged charge on which the 1st cm verdict was delivered, and which he seemed so eager to ratify, was equally applicable to his son Yoshitha.

What’s wrong with seeking a third term is that, after that long a time in an extremely powerful position one’s tentacles are comfortably entrenched in to the system, making any opposition useless, effectively leading to a dictatorship. Even if MR was an angel now, the temptation would be too great to resist. I wouldn’t trust myself!
That’s why all ex-presidents were reluctant to scrap it, though they too had criticised it.

With the spineless and ineffectual opposition that we’re cursed with, one might as well wish Mahinda well, and do as you say and go suck on a big fat something. :)

The Hambantoato port pics. look a little naked still. I heard that the Colombo port was doing rather well though.

Just had a quick flick thru yesterday’s Sunday Leader. Apparently the big “filling of the port with water” was just more government bs.

Also read somewhere (I think Indi had written this as well) that prior to the commencement of the planning of the port that was going to be helping Hambantota, our King had asked all expert advisers who didn’t think the port was a good idea to just leave the room.

That’s a good idea, no? Just asking the so called “experts” who have actually some knowledge and experience on the subject to just go away if they don’t like the King’s ideas? What the hell does he think this is? A realistic version of the game Caesar, where he can put schools, baths and ports wherever he wants, just because he feels like it, for his own enjoyment and benefit?

Oh fuck. Sorry. That IS exactly what’s going on, no?

I take this opportunity to reiterate something I’ve said in a previous post – development needs to be well thought out, by someone who clearly and demonstrably places the interest of the country before those of his own. A mata pera rata type… ;)

On the topic of change No. 18, I must say I quite liked the piece of the front of the Leader, in white text on a black background. Idly wondered if indi had written it, cos there seemed to be some parallels in that piece and indi’s piece inside, in terms of the sentiments contained therein, as well as the format…

I particularly liked the bit where the piece tried to placate the king in an obvious effort to preventing a ‘knee jerk’ call being placed to the white van squad… “you might be the greatest since dutugemunu but what about future kings…” rofl

Speaking of what a dangerous profession journalism is in sl, I’ve disliked the current editor of this particular rag (who is so unlike the one who valued his profession more than his life) for some time now, and was very amused to see the icon which she had chosen to use in one of her pieces – this hot chick with a great figure dressed in a blue lycra suit with a tail and wings… Is that how she sees herself??! rofl again!

The East Coast of Sri Lanka is Ripe for Investment

The East Coast of Sri Lanka which runs from Arugam Bay, past Trincomalee and up to Nilaveli beach has finally come of age with a surge in interest from holiday makers and investors. Boasting some of the most beautiful beaches on the island, rich coral reefs and what some consider being one of the top ten surf spots in the world, the East Coast stands out from the crowd.

http://www.property-report.com/site/the-east-coast-of-sri-lanka-is-ripe-for-investment-8950

Ah rookie…
So when someone asks you where you are going, you tell them whats in your bag, eh?

Hey Mahinda, how’s Fonny doing in jail? Is he eating breadcrumbs off the floor? Bwahahahaha!!

“What’s wrong with seeking a third term is that, after that long a time in an extremely powerful position one’s tentacles are comfortably entrenched in to the system, making any opposition useless”

Lame argument. It’s not the president’s fault the opposition is a completely fucked up in the ass. Perhaps if they got rid of Ranil and his bootlickers they might have a chance. The people still get to vote in or vote out who they want. The only difference is that Mahinda can stand for office again, and lets face it, with with opposition we have now it will be a cakewalk for Mahinda (and that’s good for the country too… the current pace of development and political stability need to be maintained for a good 20 years or more).

He’s not too bad at all, I hear.

His wife takes him meals 3 times a day and he doesn’t eat or drink anything provided by those who hold him captive, so there’s no reason for him to be eating breadcrumbs off the floor or foraging in the Maharagama kunu wala like you probably do every morning.

Mahinda, your noise to signal ratio .99..

LOL good one! You fancied a bit of the action, did you dodo?

So Mahinda, does he get nuptial visits with Mrs Fonny? Or does he have a tug when the guards aren’t watching?

And come, Mahinda, we all know it’s your amma who forages for food. And oh, next time you see her could you please tell her to stop changing her lipstick? My cock looks like a rainbow.

LOL that’s real mature, Rookie!
Now fuck off.

When you get back to the rock you crawled out from under, rookie, look up ‘nuptial’ in your dictionary. You might find it has a slightly different meaning to ‘conjugal’.
Dumbass.

By the way dodo, I notice that I seem to have given you too much credit for the noise/signal crack – I didn’t know it was a commonly used analogy to describe off topic comments on comment threads… I thought you were just in a really witty mood this morning…

Lame come back there Mahinda…. and in the midst of enjoying her tea bagging your amma told me she wished she had aborted you. Just thought you should know.

Yes very mature, rookie, very classy as well.
The quality of your wit and character is very apparent, and I’m sure all sri lankans will be very impressed with you, your views and your comments.

Cry me a fucking river, wimp!

LOL

BTW Dodo, I realize you’re a bit of a stickler when it comes to blog etiquette and seem to intensely dislike the fact that a lot of people (myself included) post comments which have little or no relevance to the actual blog post, but I personally think it makes things interesting and turns these pages into a sort of organic discussion board…. Also, it’s Indi’s blog and he doesn’t seem to mind (even though he does seem to have been very protective of it in the past) so far, so I think its all good. If he decides to kick some of us out, then so be it, that’s his prerogative.
I’ve actually found it quite interesting in the past to start something, and once a a few people become quite inspired by/involved with it, take a step back and let other people do what they will with it, just to see what happens, where they take it and what they manage to achieve through it.
I think Indi may feel the same about this blog sometimes (when he’s not feeling offended by the fact that some of us are using his blog to air our own views or when he’s thinking wtf after reading some of the comments).
:)

Ruki, you must be right about this bill to speak with such conviction, and I guess the only reason for the secrecy, the rush and a referendum not being called, must be to save public funds.

LOL. Sure. That’s exactly right!
So Shammi, you now believe the 18th amendment is a good idea, do you?

What would you suggest I do? Join the Black Day protestors?

Shammi, an referendum would be a waste of time, we all know the out come. As for the resolution itself I know very little. Although there is some dilution of power here. For example, earlier the president, PM & shadow PM had to come to an consensus on who get to sit in the constitutional councils. But now the president has no say in the matter. Nor does he get a representative there. Personally I would have preferred for the to be abolished altogether. But one can only wish.

what’s the black day protest

Doesn’t look as if most people know much about it and we know the outcome only because there has been no dialogue on the matter. But yes, we can only wish.

Didn’t Colombian call it the ‘black day’ protest? I saw Wickremabahu Karunaratne looking like a clown today on TV wearing his black headband.

Oh! you’re probably not based here. The forces opposing the amendment had planned to call a general strike and urged people to dress in black on 8th Sep. as a sign of protest. Not sure whether it’s still on, ‘cos there’s talk of a fast unto death by someone near the parliament today, : ) Yeah, another one of those!

No I live in Sri Lanka. I just haven’t heard of the black day rally outside of the black july one

They must have abandoned the original plan for fear of not being able to muster enough support. Most people wouldn’t fancy a beating up by the riot police and a night out in the cooler. So it was just a protest by a few opposition UNP MPs dressed in black, sitting outside the parliament somewhere. The few who are left, that is. Tragic!

If he was straight, and you seem pretty convinced of that, then hats off to him.

They took away the land that was allocated to him, or tried to anyway. Believe it was invaded by certain squatters, if I recall.

Yeah as if corruption is only a problem in the third world. It’s a carefully controlled perception, me thinks.

Hello Dodo

It honestly wasn’t a mistake. Perhaps I wasn’t being clear enough, but I did mean 3 million rupees as a 10% cut. The deals were worth aprrox. 30 million. If it was a mistake, I’d just say sorry – add a zero to that. No big deal. And since I was not clear in what I meant, I apologize.

“Where do commissions come in on hicorp. The hicorp accusations are very different from merely his accepting of commissions.”

Please clarify this statement, dodo.

The hicorp allegations are all about commissions. They are accusing him of abusing his role as commander and chairman of the tender board and approving tenders in a way that benefited his son in law. Even though his son in law is not a director, shareholder or officer of the said company, and never has been. I have personally seen the form 43 of Hicorp Pvt Ltd (I think its form 43 – the one that lists all directors past and present) and can confirm that this D Tillakaratne has no involvement with hicorp. There is even a document signed by the 2 directors of hicorp that state that D Tillakaratne has nothing to do with Hicorp, issued at the request of D Tillakaratne when all these allegation started flying about – this document was tabled in parliament (the hansard?) just before the PE.

The only “evidence” they present about this purported link is the ‘evidence’ given by Wellington Trent De Hoedt, who has been in custody since January and has probably learned to sing the song they want him to sing perfectly by now. Its all a part of a plan to tarnish SF’s “Mr. Clean” image.

I can guarantee that even if his son in law had anything to do with this, SF did not.

You don’t care whether he took 3 million. Fact is, he did not. You may remember that he declared his assets before the PE while another leading candidate at that same election chose not to. SF also pledged to make a full declaration of his assets every year if he became President. This man really is as honest as he says he is.

You say you’re more concerned with indolence than corruption. Fair enough. But I think even you would be truly surprised at the scale of the corruption in our country. Not everything in the comments posted here are idle speculation.

You’ve also pointed out that corruption is systemic in public offices. It is. Fair point. Which is why I said somewhere that corruption would have seriously reduced if SF was in charge, and I did not say it would stop. I remember you also commented sometime ago that the picture you had in your head was of SF running around with a cane like a headmaster or something. That’s not far from what would have happened if he was the President. Its how he ran the army – do you know how many soldiers and officers he interdicted for corruption? That’s all a part of what he did to change the army and turn it into the outfit that destroyed the LTTE. Corruption was virtually weeded out. People who tried to make money through procurements, people who tried to or did make money supplying information to the enemy, most of them were identified and thrown out or punished. Promotions and appointments were given on merit and performance, not seniority. However, the first things that Lt. Gen. J Jayasuriya did as commander was to change everything back to how it used to be, so that’s all gone now. Will anyone stand up and say that Jayasuriya would have achieved the same result if he had been appointed commander instead of SF?

In my opinion, we need someone like SF to come and clean this place up. Someone capable of formulating a strategy to achieve a complex and difficult objective and successfully implementing it. Someone who would never be influenced or distracted by money or act to in his interest rather than the country’s.

I also think that if someone is like most people and is easily influenced by money, and lusts after money, then however much they have, it is never enough, they just want more. And if they have unlimited powers to give themselves more, they will just continue to do so.

Unlike you, I think corruption is a serious problem, our biggest problem. I guess we’ll just have to disagree on this.

I have known SF’s family for a long time, so I would obviously be a supporter, but the actual reason I supported him at the PE and still continue to do so is because I know what this great man can do for our country if he was in a position to make a difference.

Hello again dodo,
Your point about the shitty salaries that government servant get reminded me of a story about SF.
When he was on a visit to China as Commander (towards the end of the war, although the trip had been scheduled for quite some time before) together with his family, they were accorded VVIP treatment, that included closing of shopping malls for him and his family to do some shopping, like they do for celebrities.
So SF walks in to a shop selling luxury goods, and does not really seem interested but out of politeness, looks at a pair of shoes and asks the price. When informed they cost well over $1000, he told the salesman that that was more than he earned in a month and put them back. The liaisons had been like WTF??!
Seriously. This is true.
You’re right about government servants getting crap pay, but I still don’t think that’s a reason to condone corruption.

“You’re right about government servants getting crap pay, but I still don’t think that’s a reason to condone corruption.”

Agreed 100%

The civil servants of old received below market pay, yet were virtually incorruptible.

You’re right.

In this sense, SF is old school – he takes his job and responsibilities entrusted to him very seriously, is not motivated by money, and does not have a need to show off to others by having designer watches and shoes or whatever. He received all sorts of gifts when he was the Commander from well wishers, and I know he gave most of these away – including a really nice Omega Seamaster.

These are some of the qualities which really I admire about him – everyone knows he is an extremely capable, bold and innovative leader and someone who can get a job done, however impossible most people think the job actually is. What most people doubt about him (largely due to false propaganda, but also because Sri Lankans have become so cynical, and take it as a given that everyone is motivated by money and does everything with an ulterior motive) is that he is extremely honest and would never ever take 1 cent that he was not entitled to. But he is, which is why he pledged to make a declaration of assets every year if he became the President.

I truly believe this great man can really help to improve our country (as President or even in some other executive capacity) and will continue to support SF 100%, even though even some of his most ardent fans have given up on him.

Your honesty is commendable.
I don’t think anyone will admit to having voted for paba anymore, even inadvertently.