MP Dilith Jayaweera ridiculed President Anura’s frugal approach to foreign visits, arguing that true nation-builders project power, prestige, and ambition—just as King Parakramabahu did when he created the vast Parakrama Samudra instead of a mere well.
Sarvajana Balaya leader and Member of Parliament Dilith Jayaweera drew a sharp comparison between historic kings and present-day presidents, insisting that national leaders must think big if they want to build prosperity. Speaking during an interview with the Monera newspaper, he warned against what he described as a “beggar mentality” that diminishes Sri Lanka’s international stature.
“When heads of state go abroad, they travel in the best vehicles, associate with the most influential people, and live with the highest standards. That is how a head of state who dreams of building wealth for the people carries himself. They do not build countries by eating from their brothers or stopping at a kottu shop in London,” Jayaweera said.
He pointed out that even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to America on a private jet before India’s economic boom. According to Jayaweera, this is how a nation’s personality and prestige are built on the global stage.
Turning his criticism toward President Anura, he said the president’s practice of staying at friends’ houses abroad and returning state-allocated funds as a gesture of humility was not praiseworthy but instead harmful. “I keep telling him not to do that beggarly thing. A president who behaves like that undermines the image of the country. That is why we were ashamed to see the international media reporting on the arrest of former President Ranil. Had he been arrested for the Central Bank fraud, we would have been proud to speak of it,” Jayaweera argued.
He stressed that Sri Lanka’s legacy is built on leaders who thought boldly and ambitiously, citing King Parakramabahu the Great as the ultimate example. “We are not a nation of wells. We are a nation of oceans. King Parakramabahu did not build a dug well. He built the Parakrama Samudra. Governments that build dug wells and governments that build oceans are not the same,” he declared.
Jayaweera concluded that a president must embody vision, ambition, and international presence, not modesty that mirrors weakness. He urged current leadership to abandon the small-minded thinking of beggars and embrace the bold vision of Sri Lanka’s ancestors.
