ECONOMYNEXT – President Maithripala Sirisena said those in positions of power should be always reminded that they should not steal state assets, and there would be consequences if they do.
He said he had learned of a rock inscription from the time of King Nissanka Malla, which said that those who stole state assets would be reborn as dogs and crows.
“I am asking how much this Nissanka Malla inscription is relevant to yesteryear and to today,” President Sirisena said at a ceremony marking 125 years of the Department of Archaeology in Colombo.
“I can suggest that this sentence be inscribed in a plaque and placed in all offices from that of the President, ministers to government officials, as the first servant of the people as we celebrate 125 years of the Department of Archaeology.
President Maithripala Sirisena came to power amid allegations of corruption by the last regime. The current administration has sought international help to track down state assets stashed away in foreign countries.
Nissanka Malla or Parakramabadu Kalinga was an Indian or foreign prince who became ruler of Sri Lanka, before citizenship and other paraphernalia of the Western European nation-state was used by nationalists to spread hate and dissention among the people.