Never in the post independence history of this country have so many FR cases been filed by pro bono citizens to remedy illegal deals, appointments and transgression of ordinary law to intimidate and harass ordinary citizens of Sri Lanka.

The fact that almost all cases have resulted in favour of the litigants is a severe indictment on the present Government and its Ministers. Appointing of corrupt and incompetent political hacks to high posts have been exposed. Too long the hapless people of Sri Lanka took everything lying down, thinking it was futile to fight an omnipotent government and afraid of consequences. Into the breach have stepped in civic minded citizens, fortunately high profile, thereby preventing the authorities from intimidating them. But how many ordinary citizens have the resources to file FR cases?

We must be thankful to these public spirited citizens for speaking on behalf of all of us. It is no exaggeration to say that the people of Sri Lanka had lost all faith in the Government and we treat all politicians as a bunch of "jokers" (Gen. Sarath Fonseka, take note!). The Police are so politicised and easily influenced by politicians and those backed by politicians, nobody has an iota of respect for them. Now it is left to the Judiciary to right the wrongs which have been perpetrated on the people of Sri Lanka for so long and with impunity.

Some of the issues before the judiciary are so patently anti social, one wonders whether the Ministers who introduce these proposals are possessed of any intelligence. Surely, by now they must know that somebody will go to court and have the whole process knocked out.

Projects such as Water’s Edge, SLIC, hedging by the CPC, LMSL/John Keells have been so blatantly fraudulent and thanks to the Supreme Court, huge sums of money have been saved to the tax payers. In this regard one must congratulate newspapers like the Island and Daily Mirror, who steadfastly pursued their investigations and wrote exceptionally brilliant and thought provoking articles and editorials. It is these two newspapers which kept the pressure on and educated the people. They ensured that these frauds were not swept under the carpet as before. Our heartiest thanks to these two newspapers.

What a shame that high profile businessmen who adorn the covers of business magazines, indulge in such frauds. They are even in a recent "Rich List"! Why not, with ill-gotten gain! Then we have the sad spectacle of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce tying to postpone decisions against one of their high profile Members, in spite of dissenting voices amongst its Members. This is the Institution which lectures the government and the people of this country about transparency, good governance etc, all of which are being observed in the breach, merely to protect one of its Members. What a sad reflection on the premier business Chamber of Sri Lanka.

At the time of writing, I read that a very senior retired diplomat has gone to courts over the haphazard appointments to the foreign service. When many countries are tying their very best to mollycoddle the Tiger terrorists, we should have people who are educated, experienced and articulate who can convince those countries on the need to wipe, out the terrorists. Can this be achieved by appointing your close relations and people who have no concept of foreign affairs? It is perplexing to note that the President has not stopped this and the profligate ways of his Foreign Minister who has single handed bankrupted the Foreign Ministry.

The people of this country are a burdened lot. The Government keeps having elections to test its popularity at great expense to the exchequer, and also in the process causing loss to life and property. Ministers are enjoying perks unheard of in any developing country. These "jokers" take Rs. 100,000 as rent allowance and shamelessly live in their own houses. They use public funds to pay exorbitant utility bills, whereas the ordinary citizen is living in almost total darkness, because he cannot pay the bills. They eat subsidised food, whereas the ordinary citizen finds it difficult to feed his family. These are the jokers, but the joke is on the poor citizens and tax payers of this country. Don’t these fellows have any self respect?

Let us hope, one by one, good citizens with resources will come forward and help the less equipped people. Let them, through the Judiciary right the wrongs being perpetrated on the hapless people of this country. Let the media support these endeavours and lets hope that political parties shouting for people’s rights will support them.