Those were the years

by Isuri Kaviratne

Continuing the bi-weekly series of interviews with parliamentarians of the 1977 Cabinet, this week, the Sunday Observer spoke to former Minister Joseph Michael Perera about the political arena in the days gone by.

Pic : Saman Sri Wedage

In a candid interview with the Sunday Observer former Minister Joseph Michael Perera said ‘back then’, people practised gentlemanly politics, a concept lost on many today. He said laws were implemented equally to everyone and the separation of power was a rule that many practised devotedly.

“The legislature was aware of the supremacy of the judiciary and the judiciary was clear about the role of the legislature,” he said that neither stepped on each other’s toes, which meant the law applied equally to everyone. “You couldn’t get away with malpractices just because you were a politician,” he added.

Young Joseph Michael Perera was interested in politics, long before contesting the elections, being a member of the Village Development Council, civic society and the Thudulla Cultivation Committee in his village in Ja ela. He was also the Deputy Chairman of the AKK South Cooperation Society and Chairman of the Urban Council when he was invited to contest the by-election in 1976.

Perera recalled that there were many candidates, who later became well-known politicians and were considered to be the UNP nominees; Cyril Mathew, John Sebastian, John Amaratunga and Martin Zoysa being some of them. However, Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was a senior member of the UNP at that time, was planning to change the party’s political structure as it seemed to attract only those of the upper social class, who lacked the grass root touch with the people. “To make this change, he proposed my name, as I was a villager and had already worked with the people, especially the farmers in the area,” he said. He won the by-election with a 7000 majority and swept the general election in 1977 with a 17,000 majority.

Countless initiatives

“The 1977 election was crucial with former President J.R. Jayewardene fighting the economic system of the country,” he said though he was still in his 30s at that time, Perera was appointed a Deputy Minister in the Jayewardene Cabinet in 1977. “I was appointed as a Deputy Minister for Labour,” he said. It was a challenging period to work in the labour sector, with countless initiatives being brought forward to support the working classes in Sri Lanka.

“Many new labour laws were introduced during that time and Free Trade Zones were set up, which were later extended by Ranasinghe Premadasa when he became President,” he said. There was a ban on people travelling abroad for employment, religious visits or for medical purposes, prior to the 1977-UNP government. This policy was changed and labourers were sent abroad for employment. “It was not like today, where foreign labour is limited to domestic workers. Back then, most of them who went abroad to work were construction workers and hotel employees, who returned after a few years, with the expertise they had gained and started working in Sri Lanka,” Perera said.

After being the Deputy Minister of Labour, Perera was promoted as the Minister of Labour, which gave him the opportunity to be more involved in the evolving change. During this period, the ‘Job Bank’ was set up, where 1000 job vacancies were allocated for each electorate. “This was a welcome gesture for youth in the villages,” he said.

There was an Employee Provident Fund (EPF) of Rs.1000 billion, when Perera became the Labour Minister, but people were allowed to access their money only after retirement. Hence, identifying a far greater need among the people, Perera introduced a loan scheme, where the public could apply for 75 percent of their EPF, without a guarantee, with installments being deducted from their salaries.

“Many benefited from this system,” he added that even though this was a risky move, former President Jayewardene supported it and encouraged more positive changes. “It was all about giving more opportunities and allowing people to explore for the better.”

With the regime change, people could freely buy food items which were rationed. Rice, chillies and clothing had to be bought on a rationed basis.

“With the change, though the market was open, people could not afford to but what they wanted, because they were cash-strapped” he said. To overcome this hurdle, the government came up with many employment and labour-related initiatives to increase people’s incomes. The job market and the EPF loan were some of the initiatives, he said.

Strict disciplinarian

He recalled that Jayewardene was a strict disciplinarian, someone who demanded obedience of MPs at all times, especially at parliamentary voting. “He encouraged contradictions behind closed doors, when there were internal discussions about issues. Anyone could agree or disagree about matters during these discussions but once a party decision was taken, he expected everyone to support the decision and did not tolerate individual opinions,” he said. If there was a dissenting view, he took measures to set things right.

Perera was later in charge of Ministries such as the Ministry of Nationalised Services which was the name used for the Ministry of Petroleum, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Services and the Ministry of Social Services.

Perera said he had the whole-hearted support of the electorate throughout his 38-year stint as a parliamentarian.

Parliamentarians should prioritise the need to provide the basic necessities, such as housing, medicine and food, he said. Once these requirements are met, the public will be least concerned about politics and politicians.Unemployment is another major issue that affects the people. The JVP youth uprising in Sri Lanka, could be directly attributed to this, he said.

“When these issues are addressed, people lose interest in politics, that’s why people who take an interest in politics and vote at elections are becoming less and less,” he said.

There is hope for the future, Perera said Sri Lanka can do much better with guidance towards the right direction.