The role of parliamentarians, the Speaker and restoring the dignity of Parliament

(Excerpted from Memories of 33 year in Parliament by Nihal Seneviratne)

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Parliament is the highest law-making body in the country consisting of the elected representatives of the people. It is the place where laws that impact the lives of very citizen of the country are made and hence the proper functioning of parliament is in the interest of all Sri Lankans. In recent years public confidence in parliament and their elected representatives has deteriorated due to some ugly incidents that have taken place within its precincts as well as due to the poor conduct of some MPs who have acted contrary to Standing Orders and brought the entire House to disrepute.

Since my retirement from Parliament in 1994, a question I get asked frequently is why parliamentary standards have dropped and why we don't produce parliamentarians in the caliber of the ones we have seen in the past. This is a matter of great concern to me personally and to all Sri Lankans but I can only answer this based on my experience in the House, however not based on sociology or human behaviour, as I am not trained in these fields.

I leave that to some of by more able colleagues such as good friends like Professor Gananath Obeyesekera, Emeritus Professor of Princeton University, U.S.A., H.L. Seneviratne, my batchmate in Peradeniya, now a Professor of Sociology in the US or even so much better Hon. Sarath Amunugama, who has had the privilege of observing the House from within and outside, to answer this question fully.