THE BIG PICTURE
WHO WANTS CHANGE? In this election year, a majority of our unfit politicians and people from all walks of life are calling for change – yes, again! And whether this is because we haven’t had enough of it or it’s merely a suicidal tendency, one will never know.
But the reality is that Sri Lankans have voted – in their millions – for change in two consecutive presidential elections in the last decade, only to see their dreams turn into a nightmare that has cost us (and them!) dearly, and exacerbated the dire consequences of the pandemic.
Change for the sake of change will get us nowhere from where we are: a dark tunnel with a flickering light at the end of it. And going back in time through this tunnel will take us to the dark ages of a nation held to ransom by not one but two insurrections.
Worse still, as we witnessed towards the business end of the (eventually infiltrated) aragalaya that so many of us supported, the spectre of violence will loom on the horizon if the change that some say must take place doesn’t – as we have seen, the greed and need to grab power is seemingly non-negotiable.
Whether Sri Lanka, its economy and ordinary people can afford to remain oblivious to the cost of another uprising in the name of change is not rocket science. To put it mildly, the turbulence could be disastrous and result in not only a bumpy ride but a crash landing for an economy that continues to be on a knife edge and ostensibly in the hands of policy makers who have their hands tied to the lender of last resort.
The irony however, is that if the status quo remains, so will the leapfrogging menace of corruption, which in turn will mean that we will continue to live with our seatbelts fastened amid the turbulence in mid-air… without any hope of landing!
Indeed, the choice is yours!
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