State employees in SL behave like kings - Korean official

The Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary of Sri Lanka's democratic political system and the education system need to be reformed and the mindset of the people changed to see any development in the country, Korea Disaster Relief Foundation (KDRF) President Cho Sung Lea said yesterday.

While addressing a meeting to elaborate on how South Korea became one of the most developed and powerful countries in the world in just 40 years and the way they were willing to help Sri Lanka overcome its current economic downfall, Lea requested the government to start "new village projects."

The meeting was held at the Social Empowerment Ministry yesterday.

“The new village projects are the types of projects that a country should implement from the ground to become a developed country,” he said. 

"In South Korea, developing projects were initiated by villages. We used to build all roads so that people could use them efficiently and quickly. The South Korean Government funded to implement of such projects," Mr Lea said.

"If Sri Lanka wants to become a developed country, the thinking pattern of the people should also change. For that, the education system should be changed," he said.

"If the teachers do not change, there is no hope for Sri Lanka. Therefore, first, the thinking patterns of the teachers should be changed before changing the thinking patterns of the people," he said.

“The teachers should know how the children in Sri Lanka are living and what they are experiencing. We do not need better and brand-new buildings for educational purposes. All we need are good teachers," Mr Lea added.

“There should be a reform of State officials. Never think that politicians are the most respectable people in the country. In South Korea, the State officials used to greet every person received at any State institution, But the situation in Sri Lanka is very different," he said.

“The people of a country is sovereign. But in Sri Lanka, State employees behave like kings. Therefore, in that way, Sri Lanka has become a different country," he added. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)