Ranasinghe Premadasa

President Ranasinghe Premadasa, whose 25th death anniversary is being commemorated today, was a legend in his own lifetime. A champion of the poor who hailed from the working class himself, Premadasa rose through the ranks of the United National Party (UNP) to become Prime Minister and later, Executive President. His rise to the top enabled the UNP to shed its earlier “Uncle Nephew Party” image and become a truly people’s political movement.

President Premadasa was a phenomenon in local politics which was dominated by politicians from the aristocratic class who were far removed the trials and tribulations of the working masses. The fact that President Premadasa was assassinated on May Day – a day dedicated to the working class – was no coincidence. Despite security concerns, he preferred to mingle with the masses at all times rather than ruling from an air-conditioned room. His assassin took advantage of this sterling quality to carry out the cowardly bomb explosion.

The people were at the centre of President Premadasa’s unique brand of politics. Having gained a firm foothold in people-centred politics at the Colombo Municipal Council, President Premadasa went on to reach greater heights, eventually becoming the country’s second Executive President. But well before achieving that ultimate milestone, Premadasa championed two programmes that are still primarily associated with him – Gam Udawa (the Village Re-Awakening Movement) and Jana Saviya (People’s Strength), the Poverty Alleviation Programme.

President Premadasa gained international recognition for the Gam Udawa concept, which aimed at providing housing for everyone who did not have a home. In fact, the United Nations declared 1987 as the Year of Shelter for the Homeless based on his proposal. This was a singular achievement for a Sri Lankan leader. President Premadasa’s avowed aim was to build one million houses. Although he could not fulfill this aim before his death, his son, Minister Sajith Premadasa, is successfully continuing the programme.

The main feature of Gam Udawa is that it relies mostly on the voluntary efforts of villagers. The Government supplies the funds, material and construction machinery, but it is up to the villagers to get together and help each other to build their houses. This was President Premadasa’s way of ensuring that bonds among villagers were strengthened. Janasaviya too followed a similar theme. The idea was not to give the poor families a dole or allowance for life, but rather to make them self-reliant. This way, they could eventually emerge out of poverty. Janasaviya and its successor “Samurdhi” (Prosperity) have drastically reduced poverty levels in Sri Lanka over the last 25 years.

President Premadasa also pioneered the concept of taking the Government to the villages through “Mobile Services” which continue to this day. He was aghast that poor villagers had to travel to Colombo or to the biggest city in their province to get even a simple document. He virtually took the entire Government machinery, from the Department of Registration of Persons to the RMV, to a selected village and attended to the villagers’ problems for a couple of days. He could usually be found in one of the kiosks personally supervising the whole operation. He also realised that some of his aims could not be achieved with the existing Government institutions, so he created entirely new ones such as the National Housing Development Authority, Urban Development Authority, Central Environmental Authority, the Janasaviya Trust Fund, the Housing Development Finance Corporation and the Institute for Construction Training and Development, among others.

President Premadasa was a perfectionist who demanded results, be it Gam Udawa, Janasaviya or a village development project. He had an ear to the ground and was known to read the day’s newspapers early in the morning. He always took note of news items that highlighted various shortcomings in villages, such as dilapidated roads and called ministers and officials demanding prompt remedial action. He would follow through a few days later and sometimes even visit the village in question to see the progress. He was very much a hands-on leader who never took “no” for an answer. He always had a positive attitude – in his book, nothing was impossible. This attitude pervaded through his life and politics.

The biggest challenge he faced in his chequered political life was the Impeachment Motion brought by a section of MPs in the latter part of 1991. Addressing the new session of Parliament on September 24, 1991, President Premadasa alluded to the Motion, saying “no misconduct on my part has been established. We all know that no person is considered guilty of any offence merely because a charge has been levelled against him. It is therefore necessary that the accused has to be considered innocent till he is proved guilty. I have not been found guilty of any offence.” The Speaker dismissed the Motion on October 8, 1991, citing a lack of valid signatures and the impeachment saga ended with the President firmly in the saddle. His assassination just two years later changed the political landscape virtually overnight, but his legacy and countless achievements will live on in the hearts and minds of all Sri Lankans.