Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Hon. Karu Jayasuriya was last seen in action when he took on the oncoming garbage bins and all the rubbish you could think of and could be found in the main chamber of the Parliament, when he physically and symbolically emerged as the defender of democracy of Sri Lanka. On this day, when he graciously reached the milestone of 79 years of age, he is respected by his admirers and adversaries as a gentleman of the first grade, a guardian of the constitution of the country, an efficient Minister who walked the talk, and an international award winning Mayor of Colombo.
It is often said that people are betrayed by their politicians. But the inverse could also be true. The best leaders have not been the most popular and people generally take long years to understand the true value of some leaders. The strength and the weakness of a democracy is that it has to depend on popular opinion, which may not always be the best. Karu Jayasuriya belongs to that class of politicians, who are ahead of their time, reminding us of the famous quote from Bertolt Brecht’s poem “The Solution” that suggests “Let’s elect a new people”.
Business magnate to public hero
Before he became a politician, Karu Jayasuriya was a leading businessman, who was often cited as having a “magic hand” that turned anything he touched into gold. When he left his private sector career as the chairman of the largest rubber product exporting company in the country (and 52 other companies, where he was chairman or a board member), his company contributed nearly 7% of total exports of Sri Lanka. To date, his record contribution to GDP as a percentage remains to be matched.
His achievements in the realizing the peoplization initiative under President Premadasa was remarkable. The first state owned institute to be privatized was United Motors and, as the chairman of the privatization committee, he managed to ensure that the employees had the ownership of 15% of shares. His model was soon adopted in many of the privatization projects afterwards, but often without such clinical precision or public acceptance.
As a private sector CEO, how he turned around the first ever private public partnership launched under President Jayawardena was legendary. When he was entrusted the task of resurrecting a leather product company that started as a joint venture between Sri Lanka and South Korea at a time when the company’s shares were traded at Rs. 2, he turned it around so that the share price increased to Rs. 280 within a matter of 18 months. His magic was de-politicization, integrity, consulting all parties in making decisions, and sheer dedication.
From ground level to great heights
Remembering the journey of Karu Jayasuriya is inspiring to those who believe in the purity of the conscience, and it is pertinent for encouraging our youth to achieve excellence. Karu Jayasuriya does not come from a family entangled in a web of political connections, although as a young boy he hailed from a respected family in Mirigama, the same village town as that of the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, D.S. Senanayake. Karu Jayasuriya was educated at Ananda College, Colombo 10, and was later qualified as a member of the Chartered Shipbrokers of U.K., in a marketing career. Despite his highly successful career in exports and trade, moved by the attempted coup of 1963, he enlisted as a Voluntary Officer in the Sri Lanka Army, as a citizen loyal to the country. He was called for active service at the wake of the 1971 uprising and he played a critical role in mitigating the youth uprising in some parts of the island. It is fondly remembered that some of the rebel prisoners, whose lives he had saved then, have gone on to become prominent figures in Sri Lanka’s civil service and businesses. A clear conscience is the key to remain on top of what one does at all times. Later, in 1980, as a key figure in Sri Lanka’s export sector, he associated the then-Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa, who invited him to join national politics at various times. However, Karu Jayasuriya decided to play the waiting game. During the presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Karu accepted to serve as the Ambassador to Germany. Honesty and dedication marks the core of his conduct – rare qualities today.
Embodiment of justice
Karu Jayasuriya was the man behind reversing the controversial sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 last year. He was the man behind the forceful National Movement for a Just Society led by Ven. Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thero, who could bring together all forces on to a common progressive platform for justice and reforms. He was also the man behind bringing UNP’s support to the war effort of Sri Lanka from 2007. It was he who proposed the Right to Information bill to the parliament and played a key role in getting the inter-party consensus for passing the 17th Amendment to the Constitution that ensured many democratic reforms. Karu Jayasuriya belongs to that rare breed of politicians today who always followed his conscience and stood his ground, as a hallmark of integrity, despite the political consequences he had to face.
Icon of integrity
Karu Jayasuriya is a little known politician in many respects. He was a Parliamentarian who sent all his salary to a charity organization. He never used a luxury car permit as an MP, except for the once instance in which he purchased a modest vehicle for the charity foundation he ran. If you never thought that such politicians exist, well, there is one, and it is Karu Jayasuriya. As this great man turns 79 years of age today, it is worth honouring him for what he is: an icon of integrity, honesty, hard work, and justice. As the ardent Buddhist he is, a well deserved wish is in order: Sukhi Dheeghayuko Bhawa! – may you live long!