Let's Make Lying in Sri Lankan Polictics History

Let's Make Lying in Sri Lankan Politics History.

In the political history of Sri Lanka we have seen corruption, greed and hypocrisy. A recent survey suggested that young voters have no clue on whom to vote in the 2015 general election.

If young people don't vote when they are first eligible to, it starts a pattern - there's a real danger that they won't ever vote. The potential consequences are clearly serious. Politicians already prioritise the older generation - baby boomer, grey voters - because they are the ones who turn out for elections.
The underlying problem seems to be an increasing lack of trust and respect for politicians and therefore for the political process. An all too common perception I've heard is that politicians are liars who are just out for themselves and that they don't represent our interests.

Next year it's the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta - a document that gave birth to the rights and freedoms we enjoy today. Is it now time for a new Magna Carta? Could a Magna Carta 2.0 improve people's faith in politicians?

This Magna Carta 2.0 of Sri Lankan version could include a measure to make lying to Parliament illegal (and maybe have lying MPs thrown to the lions!). If I were to lie in a court of law, I would go to jail. If I make false or misleading statements as a director of a publicly listed company about my shares or assets I can face criminal prosecution. But astonishingly it's entirely legal for an MP to lie to Parliament.

It's one rule for them and one rule for us.

An MP said "At the moment you can lie to get elected. You can then behave in any manner you want in Parliament. You can do whatever you want. You can break every single promise you've made and there's nothing your constituent can do about it."

All those election campaign promises that are promptly broken - and the outrageous untruths spoken in Parliament. It's been suggested to me that the best way to begin the process of restoring trust and respect is to make it a criminal offence to deliberately lie in Parliament.

I'm launching my petition as part of a campaign to have this law passed. Magna Carta 2.0 Sri Lankan version is, after all, is a test. Rather I want to start a long needed debate about re-engaging people in politics and about the importance of truth and trust in Sri Lankan politics. What I want to discover is what support there would be if an MP were to propose a new law making lying to Politics/Parliament illegal. That's why I've launched this online petition.

Please sign the petition here and let's start a public debate about how we can make politicians' lies history.