cat’S eye

The President addresses the media

And what an address it was! He really and truly dropped a couple of bombshells and this cat lapped what spilled out with utter glee. Of course it was dynamite that emerged from the bomb wonderful Sirisena dropped but to this cat it was cream, making her so satisfied.

She refers to his address to the media on Tuesday, July 14 at the Presidential Secretariat which she listened to at 10.30 pm when telecast over the Sirasa TV Channel.

He went about ‘killing them softly’ with his deep sonorous voice and absolutely calm manner, even smiling widely once or twice. And with his words he gave such hope to you, me and others who value honesty and integrity as he does, over all other considerations. He could not actually ‘kill’ nor even deny nomination to niyama horu who have hoorala kala this country over the past ten to fifteen years.

He well knows the beeshanists, dooshanists, komis karayas and the entire stinking lot of rogues who stole from the people and are now coming forward to save these same impoverished people and restore, as they declaim, democracy to the country. My foot!

Tell that to those stupidos who still believe in Wimal Weera’s cry of wolf – his eternal warning that Eelamists hide in every bush and cranny and will rise up and delineate the country into two while genociding the Sinhala Buddhist.

Stunned

But the truth of the matter is that most of these candidates who come forward as a subgroup of the UPFA are hoping to save themselves from accusations and investigation into severe malpractices, by creeping into Parliament. I was stunned to see faces like that of the Sports Minister and the bearded Minister of I-do-not-know-what who was Cabinet Spokesman in the regime of Prez Rajapaksa marching forward to present their nomination papers.

Only four have been eliminated from being nominated. At least three hearty cheers for that mercy! So to come back to President Sirisena’s very logical speech which was so balanced giving hope and a reassurance that here was a statesman speaking, it surely would had been incendiary to some. Menika can imagine what people felt listening to him.

Some like this feline, were elated. Others would have fumed. Did a few take out their guns and clean and load them? Did some read books on poisons? Now that leads to this cat’s next comment. We shiver and shake for the President.

In this Sri Lanka gone crazy with murderers willing to undertake a job for Rs 5,000 and others high up being unrestrained with slapping palms and firing guns (the latter not theirs but those of hired assassins) we feel the President should just stay in his residence and not come out to this gathering and that. He is not safe. We can shout it out from the rooftops. He should just stay put within safe walls.

Now, that of course is not Maithripala Sirisena. He is brave and truly willing to sacrifice even his life to restore democracy and decency in this land. So we want him to be careful, very careful. He declared his intention of using the little powers he let himself have, by not appointing a certain ex-strongman (politically and physically) to the premiership if the party he belongs to gets most seats.

What a sigh of relief we sighed since that was what we feared so much. How can we be grateful enough to this brave man who promises as good governance as is possible from the next Parliament. And he fulfills another wish that old wise people such as this cat and so many other sensible, decent people nurture: A statesman at the top who keeps himself statesmanlike and does not get into the hustings that often get dirty in the run-up to elections.

We remember (admittedly with disgust) the former Prez, Mahinda Rajapaksa speaking at political meetings in every nook and cranny in the country asking for votes for this rogue and that, during previous Parliamentary elections.

As President Sirisena said, many blamed and derided him for the nominations of certain candidates in the UPFA list. His hands were tied and he acted wisely and with foresight. Some loyalists even questioned his silence. This cat maintained that he would speak when the time was right – and he did just that. But he went beyond even the completely trusting Menika’s hopes.

He laid down his policy with no fear or favour as a statesman should and would. He left it to the public with their vote to stall the over-ambitious and the corrupt.

In reply to the President’s message to the media, a newspaper on Thursday, July 16 reported: ‘SLFP denies Maithri’s claim, appoints MR campaign leader’ and ‘MR to reply to MS at Anuradhapura rally’.

Commenting on the first headline this cat says Bah! Stubborn thuggishness is to come to the forefront. To the second: who knows there may be a sudden cancellation of the rally or a non-appearance. These have happened in the recent past.

Sudden departure

Perplexed is too mild a word to express the surprise this feline felt when watching TV news on Monday, July 13 evening. Mahinda Rajapaske, after handing in his nomination paper, was addressing a meeting in a temple premise, (these being his venues), when a minor flutter was visible among those beside him. One of them (was it Dinesh Gunawardhena?) approaches the ex-Prez and hands him a cell phone. MR listens and his already troubled face shows greater perturbation. He announces he has to go and leaves the meeting, his oratory stopped midair.

The TV announcer said it was because he had received the message that UPFA Secy, Premajayantha, was admitted to hospital. Heart attack? Excessive stress? Yes, the latter caused apparently by repeated slaps on his fat cheeks faulting him for not including Duminda Silva in the nomination list. This came along the grapevine. You reader, flesh out the tale for yourself. A leopard never changes his spots. Menika prefers to change that old saying to: a hyena never changes his cunning, brash moves.

Ranil W hits the nail on the head

Yes, he named names without actually naming names. That is no riddle. Explanation follows. A sub-headline in the front page of a newspaper of Thursday July 16 reported, ‘Many scandals under Rajapaksa regime will be exposed soon - Ranil’.

The Prime Minister said that a UPFA candidate had “a history of snatching gold chains for a living.” So it is proved what Menika found difficult to believe when a down south friend told her there was an MP who was a chain snatcher in Galle some time ago who got elected to Parliament.

He then snatched wealth from the nation and its poor people. Menika the cat pictures Insy Pinsy Spider climbing up the spout only to be washed away by rain. These tarantulas and blood suckers should be washed away for good by us the people with our votes come August 17.

Menika