Sri Lanka, Feb. 18 -- In what could only be described as a decisive step toward redefining political privilege, lawmakers on Tuesday (17) voted 154 to 2 to abolish pensions for all legislators and their widows, ending a 49-year legal framework that had long been viewed as an indefensible entitlement.

The repeal of the Parliamentary Pensions Act, enacted barely months after the government stripped former presidents of housing, vehicles, and security details, signals a rare willingness to curtail the perks of political office. Whether it marks the beginning of deeper reform or remains a symbolic gesture will depend on what follows.

The scale of parliamentary support was striking. In a legislature where the ruling party commands a two-thir...