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| Sunday, 13 January 2002 |
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Monty fought for our Independence by Lloyd Fernando Few young men of today, except those who have read the political history of this country, know that Montague Jayewickrema or 'Monty' as he was endearingly referred to, who passed away last week, was a member of the Working committee of the Ceylon National Congress, the body that fought for Sri Lanka's independence. He was there in the days when Kandy's George E. de Silva, the Congress President and two precious young men bursting with ideas of socialism were the joint secretaries, they were former President J. R. Jayewardene and former Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake. That was the controversial period when Congress youth were asserting themselves against the conversation of old timers. Monty took to politics at the age of 23 when he ran a local body - he was Chairman of the Weligama Urban Council. From then onwards, it had been a question of Monty chasing politics as if it were some kind of Field Marshal's baton which he waved in the way of a houdini. The late Major Montague Jayewickrema was a grandson of the well known Southern philanthropist, the late Mudaliyar Samaraweera and a nephew of Sir Henry de Mel. But wealth and riches did not stand in the way of man a man who wanted to serve his people. Soon after the State Council era when elections were held for our first Parliament, the gallant Major from Weligama contested the Weligama Seat for the first time and won. D. S. Senanayake, now referred to as "The father of the nation" selected the major to propose the Address of Thanks to the Speech from the Throne. It was seconded by the late Mr. M. D. Banda. One year later, 'D.S.' made him Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour. The major got on to the job with the enthusiasm and exuberance of a man in the springtime of his life. He worked as if he had never worked before, under the shadow or 'D.S.' He became Chairman of the Colombo North Reclamation Scheme of which the Secretary was no less a person than the late Mr. Oliver Weerasinghe, the Government Town Planner and later Town Planning Consultant to the United Nations. Success came to Monty as fast as the Ruhunu Kumari which he started when he was Minister of Transport. When his friend, Dudley Senanayake first became Prime Minister over four decades ago, Monty was chosen for the important job of Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs. Dudley knew that no job was too difficult for the army officer so used to military precision. So he entrusted him with launching a big operation - a drive against illicit immigrants who were coming in from India. To the Major, it was something short of a war operation. He called it 'Operation Monty' and deployed forces and the police to apprehend and block all approaches to Sri Lanka for unwelcome visitors from Rameshwaran and Dhanuskodi. The gallant major from Weligama knew that with his record of hard work he would some day be a respected Minister of the Cabinet. His chance came when another soldier, the late General Sir John Kotelawala became Prime Minister. The General also an Infantry man, knew his men. He appointed Major Montague Jayewickrema Minister of Transport and Works. As Transport Minister, he focused much attention on the railway. He started the express trains like the 'Yal Devi' and 'Udarata Menike'. The national carrier Air Lanka (then Air Ceylon) which also came under his purview was subject to improvements. It was Monty Jayewickrema who initiated the Air Ceylon-KLM link. As a result of this link, many Air Ceylon aircraft crews were able to proceed to the Netherlands for specialised training. During the days of the National Government of Dudley Senanayake, the senior parliamentarian from Weligama was given the largest portfolio - He was made the Minister of Public Works. Posts and Telecommunications. It was during his term of office that he introduced direct dialling, which was only a novelty then in Colombo, spoken of by Sri Lankans in London returning to Colombo. The Major introduced the direct dialling system to the Southern, Western and Central Provinces. The Major was also the man behind the Ella-Wellawaya Road which is a short cut to the Southern Province from Uva. He also built the Galle By Pass, Balangoda By Pass, and he longest of them all - the Weligama Marine Drive. Monty Jayewickrema won the Weligama Seat with a large majority in the 1977 General Elections thus winning the home seat six out of seven times. President J. R. Jayewardene gave Monty one of the most prestigious portfolios, namely Public Administration and Home Affairs, and later another combination in keeping with his knowledge of planting and Agriculture in which subject he holds a Diploma from the School of Agriculture, Peradeniya. He then became the Minister of Public Administration and the Minister of Plantation Industries. He streamlined "Public Administration", and gave a new look to the rest houses that came under his purview. As Plantation Industries Minister, he gave smallholders a better deal and explored new overseas markets for our tea. In the evening of his life, Monty took over the Governorship of the North Western Province, and during his term of office here, he initiated to alleviate the living conditions of the poorest of the poor, that could well be a lasting monument to his services to the nation. The battle-scarred veteran of elections since 1947, the Major was a keen sportsman excelling in Tennis and Golf. He was the President of the Bandarawela Tennis Club for well over half a century - no doubt a record for the Guiness Book! While Major Jayewickrema had completed well over 25 years in Parliament, he had been the President of the United Nations Association of Sri Lanka for 14 years. He has led a number of delegations to Geneva, Rome, Canada, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Rumania, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Denmark. His wife Amara who predeceased him a few years ago, was the youngest of the famous philanthropic family of Amarasuriya of Galle. He had two daughters, Devika and Kisani who was married to that renowned thoracic surgeon, the late Dr. T. D. H. Perera. |
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