Deshamanya Al Haj Bakeer Markar

It gives me great pleasure to write a few words regarding the gentleman whom I had the pleasure of serving when he adored the highest seat of Parliament as the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for a considerable period of time. The late Al Haj Bakeer Markar was the first Speaker who had the distinct privilege of serving as the Speaker in the new Parliament at the time it was ceremonially opened in 1982.

I knew that the late Al Haj Bakeer Markar was truly a Sri Lankan in all respects and he enjoyed serving the masses with dedication having started his political career as a Member of the Beruwela Urban Council where he had implemented various programmes for the uplift of the community where he was committedly serving both Sinhala and Muslim communities equally. He was a humble, kind hearted, deeply religious minded leader who wanted to do the utmost to the people since he was truly a people's representative.

According to the records available the late Al Haj Bakeer Markar entered Parliament for the first time in 1960 having won the Beruwela electorate.

Thereafter in 1965 he was re-elected to Parliament for the second time. Subsequently, he was elected as a Member of Parliament back again in 1977 when the UNP Government got a massive landslide. On this occasion, the late Mr. Bakeer Markar was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker and became the Speaker when the late Anandatissa de Alwis relinquished his post to take up a Ministerial post in the Government under the Mr. J. R. Jayewardene.

It was my privilege to come to know him very closely when I was called upon to attend to various duties entrusted to me personally by him in my early twenties. At that time, I was lucky that I enjoyed unique privilege of working for the then Speaker one of the most renowned sons of Sri Lanka who was also a great humanist and a gentleman of par excellence. In my view, as a politician his only ambition was to serve the country with sincerity to the best of his ability which he did with dedication. He attended to his duties with a deep sense of responsibility and a commitment.

I must very sincerely state that his traits have been a great inspiration for all those who worked under him including me. His simplicity and down-to-earth outlook, I have no doubt, made him an affable politician having won the hearts of everyone from all walks of life.

Furthermore I have been very fortunate to serve him even very closely when he was the Chairman on Public Petitions as I was the Head of the relevant secretariat at that time. The Al Haj Bakeer Markar enjoyed performing his duties as its Chairman in order to ensure justice and the welfare of the petitioners who came before the Committee seeking redress. I could recall very well instances when he was personally overjoyed to grant redress for those deserving cases who came before the Committee on Public Petitions seeking necessary relief.

The late Al Haj Bakeer Markar similarly took no time in turning down appeals when there were grounds that an appeal could be rejected. I believe this was because he was a true disciplinarian who upheld the values, who regarded the rules and regulations with utmost respect. This is the man who taught me to be firm for reasons and to be courageous when you need to seek justice. He took great pains to explain matters and showed us the path in order to be efficient so that petitioners could be granted expeditious relief. He added that justice delayed is justice denied. Due to this kind of training I have no doubt the petition secretariat at that time earned the highest respect, appreciation and the recognition from everyone.

It reminds me of a few words of "Rudyad Kipling" which goes as" if you can walk with Kings and Queens and not lose the common touch" and Al Haj Bakeer Markar was a shining example who did not lose the common touch and was able to move with masses with admirable humility. This quality I suppose stood very well in him as a politician who was loved by all communities in our motherland.

I must add that he served the Supreme Legislature for 16 years and more than 5 years as the Speaker and another 5-year-term as a Minister. However, he enjoyed very much being the Chairman of Public Petitions Committee since he was able to do an enormous service to the petitioners through the Committee to his heart's satisfaction. The Petition Committee at that time met on every working day including all Sitting days in Parliament. As I have stated above, he was overjoyed when he was able to deal with difficult cases and grant redress because he was a true Muslim and he always said that he was proud to serve the people and he truly enjoyed serving the mankind.

The late Al Haj Bakeer Markar had a distinct advantage of being able to be fluent in all 03 languages. He associated people of all classes, religions, races and was able to move happily with the rich and the poor, the educated, the uneducated, etc. with ease.

As a lover of human beings he enjoyed advising them perhaps again due to his desire to ensure the uplift of his fellowbeing. I have seen how he exchanged views even with Heads of States. I was able to witness the contributions he made in several International Conferences both here and abroad.

He was a respected Speaker in the Sri Lanka Parliament. His simplicity, sincerity and affectionate ways were the characteristics in the man who was endeared by all who came in contact with him.

I may be failng in my duty, if I do not mention his ambition towards providing the necessary facilities, welfare activities etc, for the staff under him. He relentlessly fought for the introduction of trousers for the minor staff along with the courage and support he received from Mr. Sam Wijesinha, the then Secretary-General of Parliament.

Al Haj Bakeer Markar was full of sympathy for those who deserved sympathy of the Hon. Speaker. In my view, he developed the quality of leadership not only among the Muslim community, but also the Sinhala and Tamil communities as well. His desire to do his duties towards the people with perfection had no barriers and had nurtured these qualities to be a perfect politician with a dedication for social work.

He was always prepared to serve the mankind. I have associated him very closely, even after he left politics having completed the term in the Southern Provincial Council as the Governor. He enjoyed our presence in his Beruwela residence and treated us with hospitality, who is typically a Sri Lankan. As I myself comes from down south, he insisted that I should drop in his residence at Beruwala on my way home when time permits. He enjoyed my visits so much and we happily discussed various issues including what he did in order to uplift the quality of the staff of Parliament. I must mention that I had the feeling and the respect I had for my own father to the late Al Haj Bakeer Markar.

He may have had enemies, but he never carried vengeance. He was full of humour and he enjoyed helping people and his style of benevolence had no limitations. I was able to see him as a true party man which he always said that he was proud of being an UNPer. He stood firmly and never hesitated to standby despite odds which stood against him when there were hardships that befell on him.I must also mention that I have the highest respect and affection to his eldest son Al Haj Imtiyaz Bakeer Markar, the former Minister of Mass Communication who is also ably carrying forward the vision while following the noble steps of a legendary father in order to fill the immense vaccum created by the late Al Haj Bakeer Markar.

Lacille de Silva,Director (Administration), Parliament of Sri Lanka.