Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was a no-show at Changi Airport on Thursday morning (July 14), despite initially being expected to arrive here via a Singapore Airlines commercial flight from Maldives, where he had fled to a day earlier as protests gripped his home country.

Latest reports indicate that Mr Rajapaksa did not board the SQ437 flight, which arrived in Singapore at 7.50am, due to security concerns. The president, his wife and their two security officers are reportedly waiting to secure a private aircraft to head to Singapore at a later time, according to Sri Lankan media Daily Mirror, citing sources from Maldives.

Meanwhile, some Sri Lankans whom TODAY met at Changi Airport were left disappointed, as they were hoping to express their frustration in person to the beleaguered president who had left Sri Lanka in economic collapse.

A Sri Lankan software consulting manager for a big technology firm here, who declined to be named, said he had arrived at Changi Airport around 6.30am.

“There were more people, about 10 to 20 but they left already after Sri Lanka media reported he did not board the plane,” he said.

The 35-year-old said he last visited Sri Lanka in May, when he helped uproot his parents from the city to a rural area and helped them start a small farm.

“In the city, not only are there higher prices, but there is also a black market. Fuel costs about 450 rupees (S$1.45) a litre, (but) people with influence will buy and sell it for 4,500 rupees,” he said.

Another Sri Lankan based in Singapore, an engineer who has been here for about 11 years, said he wanted to see Mr Rajapaksa to show his dissatisfaction in person.

“I wanted to at least shout at him,” said the 32-year old whose parents still live in Sri Lanka.

He said he might keep a look out for when the Sri Lankan president will arrive in Singapore later and may consider another stakeout.

Reuters previously reported that Mr Rajapaksa was headed to Singapore to seek asylum.

But Singapore has on previous occasions taken a clear stance on not receiving anyone seeking refuge or asylum.

Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam in a written parliamentary reply in September 2021, had said: “As a small, densely populated country with limited land, Singapore is not in a position to accept any persons seeking political asylum or refugee status”.

This was in response to a question on whether his ministry would provide options for Myanmar nationals with expiring passes to extend their stay here on compassionate grounds given the political turmoil back home.

Mr Rajapaksa had fled Colombo to Maldives in the early hours of Wednesday aboard a Sri Lankan Air Force plane, for Male, according to Reuters citing an air force statement, hours before he was due to resign following protests over the economic crisis that had afflicted the South Asian island state.

Citing a government source who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject, Reuters further reported that Mr Rajapaksa could send his resignation to the speaker of the Sri Lankan parliament after landing in Singapore.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by TAUFIQ ZALIZAN

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