Seventh death anniversary today

M.H.M.Ashraff: Man of the masses

By Lionel Yodhasinghe

One sunny morning in February 1998, I was on an assignment for the Daily News to report on the former Minister of Ports Development and Eastern Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Minister's feasibility study tour to develop the neglected Digamadulla district. A powerful minister of the then People's Alliance Government, a mighty leader of two political parties, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the National Unity Alliance and scholar, I least expected him to comb through a crowd, walk up to me and say good morning to a simple newspaper reporter. "Hey, you came all this long way to see the penury of these people, experience their grievances and help to do justice to them," he said humbly.

Mr. Ashraff who hailed from the Eastern coastal town of Kalmunai, realised that Colombo based Muslims would never sympathise with the suffering Muslim masses in Samanthurai, Nintavur, Addalachchenai, Akkaraipattu and Tamils in Irakkamam, Tirukkovil and Sinhalese in Maha Oya, Pottuvil, Lahugala and Panampattuwa in the Ampara district. To remedy this situation, he founded the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and organised people in the Digamadulla to win their rights.

Many other politicians did not tolerate his endeavour as the majority of the people including Sinhalese in Ampara were rallying round him at that time. His close relationship with the ordinary people in the periphery won him popularity in the province and the mandate he received from such people, he used to raise a voice for them in and out of parliament which enabled him to win some rights for his people, which were denied them for decades.

This dynamic leader's political shrewdness and skills made him a 'king maker' which antagonised many of his rivals. Some issues like the Dighavapiya sacred site, the demand for a separate Muslim Council etc. were misinterpreted by his rivals and the false propaganda by extremists put him in trouble especially during his tenure as a minister under the PA Government.

Mr. Ashraff never hesitated to trek through shrub jungles to inspect abandoned tanks in remote villages such as Hulannuge, ancient temple ruins in Tarulengala caves in Lahugala and some isolated Sinhala families in Pottuvil. Despite terrorist threats, he was the first minister to walk up to the doorstep of neglected people living in wattle and daub huts in Ampara and took initiatives to fulfil their hopes and aspirations.

While opening 17 vocational training centres in the district, he stressed the need of rural children to learn English and acquire computer skills to obtain well paid jobs and equal benefits enjoyed by their town counterparts. Thus he provided computers and other facilities to rural schools in the district and encouraged the rural youth to improve themselves.

Once he heard that the indigenous people who left Dambana and settled in Mahaweli system were deprived of a livelihood, he took time to visit them on his way to Colombo and granted instant initial relief of Rs. 10,000 to each family to enable them to start setting up decent houses.

Allegations were made against him for allocating rehabilitation funds to this kind of work but such criticism did not deter him to do his good work. "Do they ask me to keep silent and wait until terrorists attack people, to provide relief, was his reply.

'I use my ministerial power to do what should be done to redress my peoples' grievances despite red tape and other officialdom," he emphasised. He challenged those who made allegations against him to take legal action. "I am happy to serve even a jail term for my commitment to wipe out the tears of the downtrodden", he said.

An appearance of a minister in the parched lands of Panampattuwa was a rare sight and many thronged him, irrespective communal and other petty differences. His oratorical skills in all three languages attracted large crowds wherever he went.

Minister Ashraff often emphasised the need of learning the language to promote ethnic harmony. He believed one should learn all three local languages to become a 'full Sri Lankan'. Otherwise at every national occasion valuable time was wasted to translate speeches, he said.

He fought for the just rights of the Eastern province Muslims but later he realised that the grievances of the Sinhalese in the area were more serious than those of their Muslim and Tamil counterparts. Later he was determined to attend to the grievances of the Sinhalese in the Ampara district and formed the National Unity Alliance inviting Sinhalese and Tamils to support his untiring task of changing the socio economic plight of people in the rural Digamadulla.

Minister Ashraff was a devout Muslim; a salient feature in him was to quote Allah before his speech. Bismullahu Brahman Rahim, thus he believed that the divine forces would protect him from all evils.

He did not heed threats to his life when moving with people. While touring in Kalmunai, Tirukkovil, or Irakkaamam and Mutur amidst LTTE threats, he forgot the risk he faced. One day, at a public rally in Mutur, the LTTE blasted bombs in the vicinity of the meeting ground and the security personnel had to take him to safe places twice in the day. He continued his speech for two hours and he was late for the ferry in the evening. As he reached the ferry, he apologised to the Navy Officer in charge of the escort for his delay and the officer explained him the danger of crossing the bay at night. Risking his life was the order of the day, so he drove to Kalmunai in the dead of night to visit his mother. He did not boast about himself nor did he have any pretensions. He went to the paddy fields, chenas, village fairs and factories to see how his followers eke out a living and discussed with the employers as to how he could help them to improve the income of the people.

Not like many typical politicians today who take time to spend a moment with his or her constituents, Mr.Ashraff had been humble enough to shake hands with the poorest man who met him in a beeline at Kalmunai and chat with him at his doorstep to listen to his grievances and he did not confine this habit to during election time only as many others do.

Journalists were true friends to him. He respected the dignity of newspapermen; so he never tried to influence me on what I should write or avoid but left me alone to do my job independently during my close rapport with him while covering the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the East or during the controversial Wayamba Province Council elections.

He did not suspect people those who showed loyalty to him. Such people were able to reach to him easily. Such mild qualities of a person could bring him disaster, and it is still a mystery whether some suicide killer got on board on that doomsday.

Minister Ashraff, at his late stage realised that the organising people on communal grounds especially in the South Western province was a mistake because divisions among people in the province would prevent politicians to fight for the rights of the people at national level. Therefore, he formed the NUA, to unite people belonging to all communities under one umbrella. The intention of Minister Ashraff was to replace the SLMC with the NUA expecting the new party to have multi-ethnic representation and serve people irrespective petty differences.

He championed this cause with full commitment. 'My effort is to wipe out the tears of people irrespective of their ethnic or political differences living amidst abject poverty and terrorist threats in the Ampara district' was the slogan of Minister M.H.M.Ashraff. After seven years of his untimely death when his helicopter crashed into Urakanda in Kegalle district, it is the prime duty of the SLMC followers to evaluate the performance of the party whether the ideas and polices, objectives and strategies of its Founder were respected and implemented to achieve the set targets.