Karu and MPs’ pensions

The headline of the lead news item in The Island of 20 August read, “Karu pleads with Govt. to reconsider the decision to abolish MPs’ pensions” I was little disturbed when the request came from a person in the calibre of Karu Jayasuriya. His submission is to support retired Parliamentarians.

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I do not know if in Sri Lanka we have retired Parliamentarians. Parliamentarians are elected and defeated. Once defeated, they must go home. It is very seldom we find MPs who say they retire from "politics" and stay away from contesting.

It appears that the former MPs have grouped into an organisation called “Retired Members of Parliament Collective” (RMPC). In the olden days up until 1977 MPs received no pension. They never complained but carried on with their lives when they were out of Parliament. On some occasions a few of them who had financial difficulties, received money from the President’s Fund. To me that looked acceptable.