[The Admiral]
In this week’s edition of "Wake Up Call," The Admiral turns a sharp lens toward the Prime Minister's office, dissecting a leadership style that has become more decorative than decisive. From the vanishing promise of a 6% education budget to the controversial collapse of education reforms, this column explores the dangerous trend of "statue-like" leadership—where officials are sacrificed to keep the leader's image pristine. A hard-hitting reflection on why Sri Lanka needs active accountability, not elegant silence, in its highest offices.
Our Prime Minister has become a lifeless statue. Beautiful. Well-dressed. Completely motionless.
The education reforms went to hell. They met the devil there. Had tea. Became roommates. They are not coming back.
Let us review her greatest comedy hits. Nobody is laughing but we should.
She read wrong investment numbers from the Board of Investment. Embarrassingly wrong. Who was blamed. The officials. She just read what they wrote. Not her job to check facts. She is not Google.
For years she fought for six percent education budget. Her life’s mission. Then she became Prime Minister and six percent vanished like a magic trick. When asked, she said she never promised a timeline. Maybe it will come when her great-grandchildren go to school. Maybe never. Technically not a broken promise. Like ordering food and the waiter saying it will arrive someday. Maybe.
The big one. She championed education reforms. Social justice. Sex education. Told the world it was necessary and revolutionary. She was fearless. Until people got angry.
Then suddenly it was an official’s idea. Some nameless official became the villain. She was just standing nearby. Like a tourist. The official went to hell. The statue stayed clean.
This is the way. When things work, leaders give speeches. When things fail, officials get fired.
She will not resign. Statues do not resign. They just stand there.
But she must do something. Tell us. Do you still believe in sex education or not. Was it real or just a Phd words. If you believed it, own it. Say it was your policy. If you were wrong, admit it. But stop throwing your team under the bus.
You are the Prime Minister. Not a decoration. Own your decisions. Stand by your people. Or be honest that you were wrong.
Wake up, Madam Statue. Your reforms are in hell. Your promises are bubbles. Your officials are being sacrificed. And you stand there looking elegant and doing nothing.
We do not need statues. We need leaders who move, speak, and take responsibility.
Pretty does not fix problems. And our education system needs fixing, not posing.