Sri Lanka’s big businesses mount pressure on govt.

Private sector leaders are explicitly backing the ongoing anti-government protests, while seeking a swift and critical response from those in power to the economic crisis

It is not just Sri Lanka’s angry citizens and political Opposition who are challenging the Rajapaksa administration’s “failed” response to the country’s dire economic condition.  Increasingly, prominent capitalists and big businesses are shedding their habitual caution and openly criticising the political impasse that is further threatening the country’s crashing economy.

MAS Holdings, among the biggest names in the apparel industry in the region, issued a statement last week “unconditionally supporting” protesters’ call for change and good governance, and urging leaders “to heed the voice of the people and act on it”.

As the largest private sector employer and exporter in Sri Lanka — garment exports are crucial to the island’s foreign revenue — MAS reiterated “the need for immediate and decisive action to resolve the current economic and social crisis, in a peaceful and sustainable manner”. 

For more than a fortnight now, citizens have been protesting near Colombo’s seafront, amplifying a demand that earlier emerged in spontaneous, scattered public protests across the country. “Gota go home”, “Rajapaksas go home,” they chant, asking President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to quit, taking responsibility for the unprecedented economic crisis.

The demonstrators have broadened their demands over time, but their call for the ruling Rajapaksa brothers’ resignation remains central, as citizens struggle to access and afford basic items of food, fuel, and cooking gas amid crippling shortages and rapid price hikes.

The widespread resentment has prompted even big businesses that rarely confront the government to speak up. The private sector leaders are explicitly backing the ongoing anti-government protests, while seeking a swift and critical response from those in power.  

Sri Lanka’s largest listed company John Keells Holdings has expressed solidarity with the “peaceful protesters”.  Calling for “decisive action” from the leadership, the company cautioned authorities that “social unrest” could continue if there is no “sustainable solution” in response to the growing calls for change and good governance.