Former SLMC General Secretary, M. T. Hassan Ali says, he will never quit the SLMC but will remain in the party until death, because, “the SLMC is my party”. Anybody is free to come and go as they wish, he said. In an interview with the Sunday Observer, the SLMC veteran said nobody can sack him from the party and nobody is senior to him in the party and added that it was he who founded the SLMC with its former Leader A.H.M.Ashroff.
Q: What is the reason for your removal from General Secretaryship?
A: Actually, you have to ask the SLMC Leader, Rauff Hakeem this question. Even I don’t know the reason for my removal from the General Secretaryship.
Q: Do you have any disagreements with the Party Leader? Are these disagreements trivial or on policy matters?
A: No. I am still in the party. Soon after the last Presidential Election, I was in fact pushing him to support President Maithripala Sirisena at the last General Elections. But, he was somewhat reluctant and had not decided to support the President until after the postal voting. Then there was a rift between us. Because, the whole Muslim community had decided to vote in favour of the incumbent President. But, Hakeem was reluctant and he was finding reasons to stay with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. So, all this started at that time, and when I decided to cross over without his permission, it led to a disagreement. Finally, he had to toe the line with my decision.
The difference of opinion between us may be the reason he waited to take revenge on me. Even at a previous incident, I didn’t vote with him on the former Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake’s issue and I abstained from voting. Also, I was not happy with the decision taken by the party on the 18th Amendment. Throughout, I was not happy with their decisions. In keeping with the policy of the party, I took my own decisions. Just because they were with the Government, they gave preference to Government decisions rather than party policies. That was the difference I had with him. So he would have waited to take revenge.
Q: At present, the SLMC has done away with the Secretary General post and created a new Secretary post. How do you look at this?
A: The present Secretary is appointed under many conditions. His official tenure will be only for a year. The Secretary will be chosen by the party leader and not by the SLMC high command. The Secretary cannot contest any elections. That means, the SLMC Secretary can never be an MP, Chief Minister, Minister or a Provincial Council member. The present Secretary looks more or less like the party leader’s Private Secretary.
Q: The SLMC says, they offered you the party chairmanship, the second highest position in the party, but you refused to accept it. Your comments?
A: They were forcing me to take up that position. But, that position was held by Basheer Segu Dawood who was suspended from the party and the post. The disciplinary action is not yet over. Therefore, I wouldn’t like to occupy another’s position. When the disciplinary procedure is pending, it is not appropriate for me to take his seat. I am not interested in any positions other than Secretary General, which I held earlier.
Q: If there are any disagreements, can’t they be ironed out through compromise, rather than using the heavy hand of sacking you?
A: At present, there is no democracy in the party. All the decisions were taken by the party leadership itself, and abruptly. No previous discussion was held, and nobody was aware that he was going to bring these changes.
There was a committee appointed by Hakeem to study the proposals of any new constitutional changes, and I too submitted my proposals. But, there was no proper consultation with those who submitted proposals and they decided on their own.
The high command is under the party leader’s control and most of the high command members are with him. There are 90 members in the high command. Of them 56 are with him. It means, the majority is always with him. This time also, he removed six or seven high command members who supported me. Every year, if somebody is against him, he is removed and his supporters appointed. I don’t blame only him. There is no intra-party democracy in most political parties in Sri Lanka. Every party is under the control of its leadership.
Q: Was there an agreement to give you a Parliamentary seat by pulling out a National List MP?
A: Yes, of course, there was an agreement. Otherwise, why did the Party Leader send my name to the UNP? After the five slots, my name was on top. I was placed sixth in the UNP National List. If there was no agreement, why did he put my name there?
I wanted to contest the last General Elections. But he didn’t want me to contest. Maybe he doesn’t like me coming into the present Parliament. He may have found the way to push me out by naming me in the National List and not appointing me later. These are personal issues, because leaders in all political parties are powerful. I am not worried.
Q: Don’t you think your dismissal will have a serious impact on the strength of the SLMC as well as Muslim interests?
A: Now I am holding public meetings in our areas and explaining my position to the people. Because I am one of the founders of the party. Nobody is senior to me in the party. I founded the party with former leader Ashroff. All others joined the party after that.
Q: Have you decided to quit the SLMC and form a separate party or align with any other party?
A: I will never do that. I will be with the SLMC till my death. Because, the SLMC is my party. Anybody can come and go. But none can sack me from this party. I am above all of them. I think this is my party that I founded with former leader Ashroff. Finally, the people will decide.
A record crowd attended the public meeting held in my hometown, Ninthavur on March 3. I also had another meeting at Pothuvil on Friday (March 10).