What Yahapalanaya has achieved thus far- Ruwan Wijewardena

Colombo (News 1st) - The Dudley Senanayake memorial lecture and felicitation ceremony was held yesterday (September 14) at BMICH. The event was held under the auspices of State Minister of Defense Ruwan Wijewardena. The event saw the participation of several other dignitaries including Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ananda Kumarasiri and State Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs Harsha De Silva. State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene addressing the event stated that it is evident that Sri Lanka needs a new political culture. He stated that political culture should be devoid of political backstabbing, power struggles, political gimmicks and corruption at the cost of people. He further stated that purchasing chairs worth millions of rupees from Belgium, to the provincial council does not increase the efficiency of the councilors. He then stated that the term of politicians has hit a long time low in Sri Lanka. He noted that mentioning the term 'politician' would make the public have a bad taste in their mouth as if the term made their sip of milk taste sour. State Minister Wijewardena stated that marching thousands to the capital by enticing them with arrack and lunch packets is not making a political statement but is a political gimmick. He stated that the current government was ushered in by the power of people, the promise of installing good governance. The Minister stated that the transition from a system where power was centralized, among a few family members, to a system based on good governance, has not been easy. He stated that three years down the row, the government has achieved this much; - Established people's right for information. - Provided an emergency ambulance service, to this date which has saved so many lives. - Media freedom. "Media freedom, however, has not worked in our favour. Whether it works in our favour or  not an independent media, is the cornerstone of any democracy." - State Minister for Defence