Tuesday 4th May, 2010 7 Dahanayake first commoner to become PM BY WALTER WIJENAYAKE he 13th death anniversary of Dr Lanka Freedom Party led by S. W. R. D. Wijayananda Dahanayake of Bandaranaike. The party came to TGalle, the former caretaker power in 1956 and he was appointed the Prime Minister, falls today. acting leader of the House of He was born on October 22, 1902 as Parliament when C. P. de Silva fell ill. a twin in a conservative Kachcheri Consequently, when Prime Minister Mudliyar’s family, father being Don Bandaranaike was assassinated, the Dionesius Panditha Sepala then Governor-General Sir Oliver Dahanayake and mother Mrs. C. G. Goonetilleke invited Dr. Dahanayake to Student ambassadors from various colleges from the United States take an oath during the official opening ceremony of the USA Dahanayake. form the next Government. Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo Monday, May 3, 2010 in Shanghai, China. (AP He entered the Government English He accepted the offer when his col- Training School at Thurstan Road, leagues in the Cabinet of Ministers BY KAVI CHONGKITTAVORN Senior foreign ministry officials spoke and modernity without any challenge. Colombo, after his kindergarten educa- pledged their support to him, and he of the importance of the Asean-China Recently, all statistics point to one tion at Rippon Girls’ School, Galle. became the caretaker Prime Minister ith only three small countries friendship. After all, they are the direction that China’s economy would He obtained his secondary educa- on the same day. missing – Bhutan, Kuwait, group that have established a free- soon beat Japan as the world No 2. And tion at Richmond College, Galle and St. In recognition of the invaluable Burkina Faso – Shanghai’s trade pact with China and each of within the next decade, it could also Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia. services rendered by him for the resur- W He later joined the tutorial staff of gence of Buddhist education, the World Expo, which opened over the them now has China as No 1 trade replace the US as the world’s No 1 St. Aloysius College, Galle, where he Vidyodaya University conferred on him weekend, has the highest economy. Subsequent expos in proved to be a gifted and versatile an honorary doctorate in 1963. number of participating Tsukuba (1985) and Aichi teacher handling subjects such as Dahanayake became the first com- countries. Hosting 189 coun- (2005) did not have the same English language, mathematics, histo- moner to become the Prime Minister tries in the 5.2-square-kilo- impact as in Osaka. ry and geography with equal skill. even for a short time. metre area, it is the biggest The Chinese leaders are Besides, he coached the college ath- He had his own style of govern- ever. Organisers were exu- The true very eager to showcase their letics and the junior cricket teams, in ment, which created instability within berant that after eight years economic success through the addition to organising the English his own regime. of preparation they could dynamism of Shanghai’s sky- Literary Union and He later resigned pull this off without a hitch, scrapers and financial centre. the Debating from the Sri Lanka especially the opening They are hopeful that the Society in order to Freedom Party and meaning of extravaganza and light and Shanghai Expo will attract at encourage students formed Lanka sound shows, including daz- least 100 million people. For to become skilled Prajathanthravadi zling 30-minute fireworks on Shanghai, the stake is equally and effective speak- Pakshaya under his Friday. high. They city has spent ers and orators. leadership. For Western countries, US$58 billion on the expo and There, he used He raised the walls Shanghai’s the Expo does not carry the related infrastructure. Beyond to tell his students of Temple Trees, told that they should the appointed MPs kind of weight and impor- its financial capital and pic- not fear to fight the bluntly that they should tance it has here in Asia. In turesque Bund, the city wants ‘British imperial- vote with the govern- the earlier days, Europe was to join the ranks of New York, ists’ and, true to ment or resign and dis- interested when new discov- World Expo London and Paris. But it is what he preached, missed the entire eries, inventions and prod- also inspired to be a better he led a black flag Cabinet of Ministers ucts could be introduced and and safer place for people to demonstration to and recommended the displayed to the rest of the world. The partner. The Jakarta-based Asean live in a more sustainable way. the Galle Fort with dissolution of steam engine, reinforced concrete, Secretariat was given a space for free Expensive super structures and his students shout- Parliament on direct-current motor, wireless tele- to showcase the organisation’s suc- pavilions built by Asian countries are ing slogans against December 4 that year. phone and even hamburgers made cess. commonplace in this expo. The most King George VI sil- He contested the their appearances at the expos. It is not surprising that Beijing has notable belonged to the host nation, ver jubilee celebra- March 1960 general elec- Billed as the first developing coun- extended an invitation to all Asean costing Bt6.5 billion. All 10 Asean tions. The police tions for the Galle seat try to host the event in its 159-year his- leaders and the Asean Secretary- members have their own pavilions turned them back. to the fourth Parliament tory, the Chinese government is mak- General to attend the closing ceremo- with different themes related to urban Some time later, as the nominee of the Dr Wijayananda Dahanayake ing sure that the “Great Show on ny at the end of October. At first, the life and its environment – the template he saw that teaching party he formed, but he Earth” projects the correct image of invitation clashed with the time table since the Earth Summit in 2000. was not an adequately challenging and could not retain the seat. China. The China Daily’s front page of the 17th Asean Summit scheduled Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore exciting vocation for him and decided But he was successful in the July rightfully declared the event’s true at the same time in Hanoi. But last also invested heavily to display their to abandon the safety and comfort of 1960 general election when he contest- the classroom for the hurly-burly of ed the same seat again as a nominee of meaning: “China’s growing confidence month, Asean leaders decided to move nations’ uniqueness and cultural her- pre-independence politics. the same party to the fifth Parliament. from rising economic clout and its up their meeting two days earlier to itages. Thereafter he took to local politics When he successfully contested the increasing openness in the internation- accommodate China’s wish so that Thailand spent Bt599 million to cre- as the Member of the Kumbalwella Galle seat at the general election held al community”. they could all fly to Shanghai to attend ate a Thai-style pavilion with dazzling Ward of the Galle Municipal Council in March 1965 to the sixth Parliament, Will the six-month event promote the event. shows of culture and history. It is an and became the first Buddhist Mayor he abandoned the LPP, the party he led China’s international status for new For Asia, Japan’s memorable 1970 instant hit among the Chinese visitors, in 1939. and joined the Sri Lanka Freedom innovative capacity? Chinese media Osaka Expo remained by far the most who are able to experience a different He also had the distinction of being Socialist Party formed under the lead- all agreed that the expo would propel successful expo in modern time with kind of Thailand that is peaceful and elected as the Member of Parliament ership of C. P. de Silva. China’s technology to the fore. 70 million visitors. Since then, Japan full of fun—away from chaotic images representating the Bibile constituency This party was aligned with the Leading Chinese companies are play- has been the symbol of Asia’s success they saw on TV in recent months. in the second State Council in 1944, UNP and Dahanayake became the ing important roles in the expo. when the incumbent Member of Minister of Home Affairs. Shanghai was proud of its expo as Parliament S. A. Perera was unseated He won the Galle seat in 1970 again it played host to the Olympics only two as a result of an election petition. and sat in the Opposition with the UNP He made his presence felt as a from which he was nominated for the Will the six- young legislator in the Parliament with election. his fiery and critical verbal assaults on In 1977, he lost Galle to Albert Silva. month event the colonial Government of the day. As a result of an election petition, It was at this stage of his political Albert Silva lost the seat and promote career, as a rebellious political fire- Dahanayake became the Minister of China’s brand that he began to flirt with left- Co-operatives in the J. R. Jayewardene wing political ideologies by joining the government. international status Bolshevik-Leninist Party formed by Dr. Finally, he was to be nominated as a for new innovative

Colvin R. de Silva in 1944. National list MP in 1989. However, his “ He established a record by making a name had been cut off from the list. It capacity? Chinese marathon speech which spanned near- was the end of his political life. ly thirteen and half hours during the He was a giant in Sri Lanka politics media all agreed that first budget speech of the first as well as a man of two eras, a pre- the expo would propel Parliament to which he contested the independence nationalist and a post “ Galle constituency and entered in 1947 independence socialist. China’s technology to as nominee of the Bolshevik-Leninist He was a social worker to the sense Party, defeating H. W. Amarasuriya. He of the word. the fore. Leading did not spend a single cent for that He enjoyed a very high position in Chinese companies election. the political set-up of the country. Later he became a member of the He served the city of Galle from are playing re-amalgamated Lanka Sama Samaja 1939 to 1944 as a member and the important Party under the leadership of Dr. N. M. Mayor of Galle Municipal Council till Perera. He succeeded in retaining his he entered the Second State Council. roles in the seat in the 1952 General Elections as a He served the whole nation for 40 nominee of the LSSP at Galle. years, one month and five days as a expo. After some time, he was expelled State Councillor and a Member of from the party when he broke party Parliament, Cabinet Minister, Acting years ago. It took Japan six years later line by according a reception to the Leader of the House of Parliament and to organise the event after the first then Prime Minister, Dudley Prime Minister, representing Bibile Olympics was held in Asia in 1964. Senanayake, during his visit to Galle. and Galle constituencies. Manila has become the first Asean In 1955, he spearheaded a movement It is said that Dahanayake showed a country to bid for the World Expo in which clamoured for ‘Sinhala only’ great interest in attending all public 2020, with the theme: Manila – under the banner of a new party in the events in Galle anywhere. Celebrating Light and Life. name ‘Basha Peramuna’ which aligned Furthermore he had been there For the opening on Friday, more with the ‘Mahajana Eksath Peramuna’ where the roofs of houses being than 100 journalists from 30 countries led by the late S. W. R. D. thatched. in Latin America, Africa and Bandaranaike. I could remember how his voters Southeast and South Asia were invited In this manner, he comfortably recited the following poem: to attend the ceremony. To the Chinese entered the third Parliament represent- government, the expo showcases not ing the Galle Constituency in 1956. When S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike took only China, but all developing coun- office as the Prime Minister, tries as well, something they should be Wijayananda Dahanayake was given proud of. Almost all African countries, the Ministry of Education. which seldom took part in previous In his tenure, he introduced the expos, are taking part in Shanghai. mid-day bun scheme which earned him In that sense, China wants to gen- the nickname ‘Bannis Mama’. erate a common region-wide sense of He gave university status to When he died on May 4, 1997 as a deja vu among the Asian countries Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara Pirivenas. simple man at the age of 94 years, six that this is not for China alone. He helped Muslim education too. months and 12 days, he was the Special attention was given to Asean. Subsequently, he joined the Sri longest surviving Sri Lankan