Rewarding the law breakers
By Lincoln Wijeyesinghe
[Dehiwela]
The law and its enforcement in this country has deviated somewhere and taken a direction leading to chaos. Successive governments floundering in a mire of conflicting interests have sacrificed the silent law abiding citizen and the country on the alter of party politics to court the law breakers’ votes and readily available manpower for political or sometimes illegal activities.
It is very often amusing but exasperating to watch ministers, MPs and other politicians (our so-called ‘law-makers’) scrambling over each other to pour their syrup of sympathy over those who make a mockery of the law.
The lucrative law breaking industry resulting from all this should be the envy of the world, ably developed with government assistance, incentives and honours to terrorise and defraud the law abiding citizen and the country.
Squatting on state land is a case in point. Squatters are rewarded with land and houses worth hundreds of thousands of rupees causing wave after wave of squatters to occupy public property often with political patronage with the next election in view. Side walks of roads, bridges, bus shelters, reservations of waterways, forests — nothing is spared.
The environment is degraded, health problems are propagated, but who cares? These are prospective votes for somebody who will provide them with tap water and electric lights at the expense of the law abiding taxpayer! Where are the government departments and officials who are supposed to safeguard property? Are they allowed to carry out their duties unhindered?
When these accumulated sins ultimately come to crisis point like the havoc caused by the recent floods in Colombo, millions of taxpayers’ money is spent to ‘relocate’ these people who have been encouraged to ‘locate’ themselves on state land reserved by law to safeguard the environment or for some important utility purpose.
Each step in this game is bribery for votes.
A related menace is encroachment of public and private roads, ignored by officials, supported by interested politicians, even deviating public services and drains to accommodate encroachers. The victims on private roads dare not complain for fear of repercussions.
Squatting on private land has become a very paying business, claiming prescription to grab the land or demanding several lakhs of rupees to vacate.
Murder, rape, robbery, smuggling and sale of narcotics have escalated due to commuting of the death sentence to ‘suspended sentences,’ which has wiped out the deterrent potential of the law and bred specialist contract killers, contract burglars and contract smugglers. Whenever a criminal is arrested, who rushes to his rescue? A ‘law maker’ MP!
It is time the government and the opposition united to take a hard look at the facts and deal with the situation inherent in party politics, as no party would dare on its own to tackle it for fear of losing political mileage.
This discrimination against the law abiding people must stop!
The so called ‘enlightened’ and civilised condonement of crime in the West has been an absolute failure and has only produced unenlightened and uncivilised generations and uncontrollable escalation of serious crime.
Must we blindly follow their example and reap the same results?
Time tested penalties imposed in the Middle East and Singapore should be seriously considered.
Public executions, amputation of limbs and whipping would drastically reduce crime, empty the prisons and court houses, clean up public life and release billions saved thereby for development and welfare.
Law abiding citizens would be able to breathe freely again.
Will our politicians have the guts to put aside partisan politics and unite for a common cause, for which they were elected; to make our country a better place to live in?
[A Letter to the Editor, in sundayleader.lk]
