Honesty, my best asset - Geetha Kumarasinghe

Geetha Kumarasinghe earned a reputation in the Sri Lankan film industry as a popular and talented actress and as a film producer after entering the film industry at the tender age of 16. Serving as the SLFP organiser for the Bentara Elpitiya electorate in the Galle district, she is now contesting the Southern Provincial Council election under UPFA ticket. Geetha Kumarasinghe shared her views with the Sunday Observer about her political career and the forthcoming election. Following are excerpts of the interview the Sunday Observer had with her.

Q:As a popular film actress you entered politics to make a change in the system and to serve the people. Do you think that you are now in the right place and position to do that?

A: When we take the women voters, 45 percent of women are voting in this country for any election. So majority of voters are Sri Lankan women. But they represent only five percent in the parliament and four percent in the Provincial Councils. That is not enough for the women to make a strong voice about the problems faced by them. Therefore somebody has to come forward to make that change. I came forward because my way of thinking is completely different to others.

Some people come to politics without any money and become millionaires in a couple of years. A few rich people also take to politics and end up as beggars because of politics after serving the people. I think I will be one of them very soon. I have not entered politics for any personal gains.

If someone can prove that I have taken anything from politics I will resign from my political career. So I think I have come to my home town to serve the people as a person from the South.

I entered the film industry at the tender year of 16 and came up with my talents. I am determined when I want to do something. I enter party politics specially because of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He is a person who understands people and who does a lot of things for the poor people and villagers, not only for the town people and rich people. I am only an organiser. But most of the things happen in Bentara Elpitiya. Lot of bridges, lot of roads, schools are constructed because of the President. I have never asked anything for my benefit.

If I have to make any request from the President that is only for a problem for my electorate. He knows that I am honest and he knows that I am working so hard to serve the people.

Q:There are critics who say that actresses without political knowledge should not enter politics. Do you agree with this?

A: Yes, actresses without any knowledge should not enter politics. This is not a place for them to pass their leisure time. This is a very serious job. I started my political career at the age of 19. I was doing politics at that time also as an actress because I had a very sound background for politics as my family members were deeply engaged in politics for many years.

But I choose my career as an actress and gave up my career to enter politics and serve the people. I did not do both together. If you are acting you have no time to do politics.

You can't do both at once. Politics is something that you have to commit hundred percent. In your leisure time you can't do politics and more than that you should know what is politics.

You must ask from yourself whether you want to honestly serve the people. After entering politics, I have not been to a beauty salon for the past three years. As an actress I wanted to be perfect from head to toe. Today I have to be more efficient to serve the people as a politician.

Q: It is a challenging task for women to engage in politics as they subjected to various mud-slinging campaigns. What do you think of this situation?

A: They are targeting feminism. They are insulting feminism. There are politicians who are insulting women.

As a woman I want to talk on behalf of them and find solution for their problems. In the whole electoral history of the Galle district I am the only woman who took part in a general election from the Galle district. I am the only woman who became a party organizer in the Galle district.

Today I am the only female candidate contesting the election from all political parties in the Galle district along with 24 men.

If all women in the Galle district cast one vote for me I can easily become the Chief Minister. I will take up that challenge on behalf of the women in Sri Lanka and the Galle district.

Q: In many occasions you have highlighted that much has not been done in the Southern Province by the Provincial Council. So what are the things you have identified in the province which have not been fulfilled by the Provincial Council system?

A: Ninety five percent of the schools in the province belong to the Provincial Council. There is a sharp deterioration in the education in the province. The central government is doing much for the development of the schools.

A large number of secondary schools were developed by the central government. Although steps have been taken to improve the schools nothing has been done to improve the pre-school education system in the province.

According to educationists, the most important and difficult thing in education is to put the children to the correct path.

If the pre-school education is not done properly the education of children will be like a house without a proper foundation.

According to my view all the pre-schools should be connected to the feeder schools in the area and all the pre-school teachers should be provided proper training and should provide a proper salary for their service. That should be our foundation. If we can start this now, we can have children with proper education background. That is much better than distributing sareers to pre-school teachers.Though Provincial Councils can do a better service to improve Sunday Dhamma schools at present, Dhamma Schools are being conducted under very difficult circumstances. We should remove all those difficulties and make Dhamma School education an important thing for the students.

The other important thing is, we should provide technology and the English education for the children to absorb the latest knowledge in the world.

Q: So what has gone wrong with the Provincial Council system according to your opinion?

A: The main reason for this situation is that there are people who have elected to the Chief Ministers posts without any challenge from any person twice. What will they do next time ? As soon as they win the election they will start working for the next election.

They are doing degrading things to increase their vote base. They will distribute sarees and dictionaries to increase their vote base spending the funds allocated for the education in the province without doing a proper service as a whole to the education system in the province.We are targeting 2.4 million tourist arrivals in the country by 2016.

Apart from what has been done by the central government the Southern Provincial Council has not done anything towards that end.

They have not done anything to improve the traditional dancing in the Southern Province and craft industries in the province. There are many cultural heritages in the province and nothing has been done to preserve them.

At the same time they have not done anything to encourage entrepreneurs and businessmen in Galle district. By electing a person who has not done any of these things can we develop the Southern Province?

Have they done anything for the benefit of the woman who have been subjected to various injustices in the middle East . When I was in Qatar I saw so many such Sri Lankan women there in that country.

I am totally miserable in this endeavour. I could not raise a voice about them. I am not in the parliament or in the provincial council and I do not have the power to do anything for the benefit of those women. That is why I am seeking a mandate from the people to do the service for the people.

Q: You are campaigning to become the Chief Minister in the Southern Province. Do you think that you have the capacity to become Chief Minister?

A: I would like to ask what are the things I am lacking to become the Chief Minister. What are the qualifications I am lacking, compared to those who have become Chief Ministers in the Provincial Council. I am a person who has seen the world.

I am capable of addressing any international forum and get assistance to improve our health sector. I can do many more things than those who have served as Chief Ministers. I have seen what is happening in developed countries such as Switzerland because I am a citizen of Switzerland.

Why cannot I become a Chief Minister ? Is it because my father was not a Minister in the country? If you take all the Chief Ministers in the country have they all been educated in Oxford University. I am more capable than them. I am qualified for that post because I am honest.

That is the number one qualification I am having and I honestly want to do something for this country. I honestly want to make change in the provincial council system.

Q: What are the changes you are expecting to do if you get an opportunity to become a Chief Minister?

A: One major change I would like to change is, changing the teacher transfer system in the province. There is no proper teacher transfer system in the province. Some teachers are serving in the wrong place when some schools are having a teacher shortage.

We should also change school admission system and give priority for the students those who are living around the schools.

There should not be political involvement in the school admission process. The other thing we should improve is the health sector. We should equip the hospitals with the required drugs and equipment because all people in this country cannot go to private hospitals for treatment.

The other thing we should pay our attention to the fallow paddy lands in the province. We should have a proper system to cultivate other crops in those fallow paddy lands if we are having excess paddy harvest.

Q: What is the main theme of your election campaign?

A: I will conduct my election campaign according to the election law enforced by the election commissioner. I am a law abiding person and I will make sure that no election law will be broken in my election campaign. I am running my election campaign with a low cost.

I am not trying to get the votes of the people by offering them goodies. Some people are conducting Dansalas to increase their vote base. The franchise of the people is a very important thing.

What I am doing is educating the people about my policies for them to take their decision in a democratic manner.

Honesty is the main slogan in my campaign. I will not misuse any government properties or funds. I would commit myself hundred percent to serve the people because I do not have a clan to protect.

Q: Do you think the opposition as a challenge for the UPFA in the Southern Province?

A: Not at all. They are in the lowest position in the province. Whatever they say, they are not united.

They don't have a proper leader. The leader who has been there for so many years has not shown any progress so far.

You can't see any special thing happening in their party. So the voters are very disappointed. UNPers are joining us. So we can't expect any challenge from them.

Q: But the Opposition says that this will be a decisive election and it will mark the beginning of toppling the UPFA Government?

A: They are saying this for the past so many years and refuting it again and again.

When they lose they say, "very sorry, this time we lost due to this reason or that reason".

But they do not come out with facts and figures to prove what they say.

Q: There is a tendency of actors and actresses joining politics. Some have become successful in their endeavour and some have not. What do you think about this tendency?

A: Doctors or proctors or teachers I don't categories anybody. In this world from Ronald Raegan to Jayalalitha, Estrado of Philippine or there are so many actors and actresses coming to politics. So why not in Sri Lanka. The reason for this is women from rural areas cannot enter politics because they are poor.

They cannot face the challenges in the political system in the country. They cannot come up in politics.

In Sri Lanka women can enter politics when the husband dies or father dies.

You could have seen the way I have been treated when I enter politics. So if actresses have that courage to face those challenges they can enter politics.

Q: How do you see the difference between a male Chief Minister and female Chief Minister?

A: A woman can understand the problems better than the men specially in the fields of education, health and women and children problem.

It doesn't matter whether it is a man or woman if he or she is not misusing and not plundering public assets and abusing his or her power when serving the people.

Q: What is your prediction about the victory of the UPFA?

A: UPFA will go for a historical victory in Galle. But as long as there is a competition for the preferential votes uniting all the candidates will be a challenging task.

When each one is trying to defeat the other uniting them all will be a difficult task.