COLOMBO: Uvais Mohamed Imthiyaz, a 22-year-old three-wheel auto rickshaw driver, belonging to Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim community is a staunch believer both in fate and God.

Having been picked to be the youngest Mayor of Colombo and assuming official duties last week, Imthiyaz does not hide the fact that he is from the lowest ranks of society, having studied only up to the ninth standard and whose mother, a widow, made eatables and supplied to local boutiques to keep him and his younger sister alive.

His Worship the Mayor of Colombo, Uvais Mohamed Imthiyaz, the first Sri Lankan Muslim to be elected as the city father of the capital has big plans to eradicate poverty from Colombo, having himself battled impoverishment all his life.

In an interview with Dawn at the plush Mayor’s official residence in Colombo he now resides in, Imthiyaz, the father of a two-year-old girl, made no secret that his wife is a house maid in a foreign country and that his auto rickshaw was until now, his main source of earning.

Soft spoken and dressed in a simple shirt and trouser, the Mayor spoke in fluent Sinhalese, elaborating his big plans for Colombo which says he wants to make into a ‘hub of tourism’.

Hailing from a rustic neighbourhood in Colombo, his vision he adds is to make the capital a ‘dream city’.

Good roads and a clean environment are his priorities with investigations already launched to look into allegations of political corruption that has hampered development work in the metropolis. “I am from a humble background. And therefore I am in a superior position than most politicians who come from high class families. Unlike them I can understand the pulse of the poor and will take all steps to see to their prosperity. I do not want slums in Colombo. I want these poor people too to live decent lives,” says Imthiyaz who has had the staunch support of Socialist political factions as well as the main opposition, the United National Party (UNP).

Backed by a powerful politician in the UNP, he had over the past weeks, prior to his formal appointment, virtually been in hiding to avoid pressure from various sections, including the ruling UPFA, which had demanded that he resign.

However having ceremoniously assumed his duties last week, the new mayor is now a determined man.

“I know there are those who want me to resign. There are security concerns as I know I have many enemies,” he declares, but insists that being the first citizen of Colombo was not his ambition.

“I am not from a political background. I never wanted to have power. I contested as a member of an independent group affiliated to the UNP but with the aim of serving the people,” he said, adding that his mother and sister were still continuing their usual lifestyle. He also admits that his grasp of politics is by no means wide but says he will be a quick learner.

Specifying that he is not a racist, Imthiyaz however vows that he will give a better life to the Muslims of Colombo.

A large number of Sri Lanka’s seven per cent of Muslims live in Colombo and make part of the city’s business community and the new Mayor feels that their contribution to the country’s economy has been undermined.

“I will equally serve the Sinhalese, the Tamils and the Muslims but being a Muslim hailing from Colombo I know what the problems of my community are,” he says.

He concludes the interview explaining that he has to rush — to supervise a volunteer ‘city clean up programme’ initiated by him just two days after he assumed duties last week.

“I have told my officials that they have to clean the city and we have already begun the work,” he says, as the people of Colombo await a dramatic face-lift to their city, by one of its once poor sons.