When Fear Replaces Trust and Progress Stalls
“Aasai Bayayi.” Three simple Sinhala words. “I like it… but I’m afraid.”
The phrase endures because it captures a familiar contradiction – desire restrained by fear. Today, it increasingly reflects the state of governance itself.
Beneath the public declarations of reform and unity lies a deeper anxiety within the political system.
The government appears to embrace transparency and accountability in principle, yet often recoils from criticism, scrutiny and the risk of losing control of the narrative.
The opposition, meanwhile, speaks of challenging excesses but frequently appears fragmented or selective in deciding which battles to pursue.
The result is a widening vacuum of trust.
Institutions increasingly operate from suspicion rather than confidence, and ordinary citizens pay the price.
Consider the growing concerns surrounding foreign employment agencies and desperate Sri Lankans seeking opportunities abroad.
The pattern is familiar. Hope is marketed. Promises are made. Money changes hands.
Citizens struggling through economic hardship place their faith in agencies offering a pathway to Europe, stability and dignity.
Many reportedly paid registered agencies operating openly within legal frameworks. Applicants believed approvals existed and oversight was in place.
The destination in some cases?
Romania – or at least the promise of it.
Now come the accusations, delays, unanswered questions and public anger.
The deeper issue is not simply whether one agency failed, but whether the system itself encourages this culture of hesitation and weak accountability.
Authorities want foreign remittances, labour migration and economic relief. Yet there appears to be reluctance to enforce robust oversight, confront politically connected operators or acknowledge institutional weaknesses before they become scandals.
Everyone recognises the risks, but responsibility is endlessly deferred. Not one government since the Agency was created has ever made any move towards securing monies paid to registered Employment Agencies, in escrow / client accounts. The result is that hundred of millions of rupees paid to Employment Agencies ends up in a cesspit of deceit, fraud leaving jobseekers with not much more than what Kapila Chandrasena did to himself.
The same contradiction appears across national policy.
Sri Lanka’s leaders enthusiastically promote the island’s tourism potential, environmental treasures and cultural heritage. Governments repeatedly describe the country as a paradise waiting to flourish. Yet, the wait is akin to “Waiting for Godot”.
Yet meaningful reforms to unlock that potential are often delayed by bureaucracy, turf wars and institutional insecurity.
Politicians admire Thailand’s tourism success and invoke Bangkok or Phuket as models to emulate. But when local entrepreneurs seek support, approvals stall and agencies compete instead of coordinating.
Everybody wants tourism revenue. Few seem willing to build the stable, predictable system required to sustain it.
Environmental protection becomes politicised. Urban planning shifts with each administration. Long-term strategy repeatedly collides with short-term political calculations. Including implementing an ill-thought out ‘nomad visa’ designed to boost post covid arrivals but that has little space in the economy today minus the covid restrictions.
Investors hear speeches. Citizens hear promises. Execution disappears into caution.
The contradiction extends to major national projects.
Mattala Airport remains suspended between ambition and uncertainty. Critical fuel infrastructure modernisation moves slowly despite repeated claims of becoming an energy and logistics hub.
Announcements come. Committees form. Delegations arrive.
But momentum remains elusive.
For many citizens, the concern is no longer whether projects exist, but whether Sri Lanka still possesses the administrative confidence and political consistency needed to execute long-term national strategies.
The country increasingly resembles a nation preparing endlessly for take-off while refusing to release the brakes. Never quite reaching V1.
Fear now appears embedded in decision-making itself – fear of criticism, accountability, failure and political backlash.
But nervous governments rarely build confident economies.
Sri Lanka cannot function sustainably if every criticism is treated as sabotage and every question as conspiracy.
Democracy depends on earned trust built through transparency, consistency and accountability.
Instead, too much of the system appears governed by caution rather than conviction.
Sri Lanka today feels like a country accelerating and braking at the same time. Wanting progress. But fearing what progress demands.
Perhaps that is the true political meaning of “Aasai Bayayi.”
NEWSLINE – The Daily by Faraz
Questioning the Answers.
(Write to: farazcolombo@gmail.com)
