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| Tuesday, 6 May 2003 |
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Letters | |
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Please forward your letters to editor@dailynews.lk in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Recently the papers carried a news item that from next year all domestic workers were going to be brought under the E.P.F. scheme. This is certainly a good idea for those faithful few who have served for several years in households. They deserve to have some savings in their retirement. That type of domestic employee is however sadly very seldom seen these days. Most housewives who employ domestic staff will, I am sure, agree with me that the present day domestic employee does not last in one place for more than a month or two. Quite soon we find that they are either incompetent, dishonest or not 'domesticated' sufficiently to be employed in a decent home. Sometimes we find them to be chronic alcoholics or drug addicts. But these qualities are discovered only after a month or two and we have to keep on hiring and firing them till we can find a suitable person. If therefore EPF has to be paid for every new employee this will cause immense hardship to the average household and also considerable unnecessary paper work to the Department concerned. I would therefore suggest that E.P.F. payment be made compulsory ONLY for those employes who have been in service for a period of six months at least. After he or she has been employed for this period, the employer could be asked to make the employee permanent and begin making EPF contributions from that time. If this is not done, the EPF contributions made for a month or two will only accumulate in the Department and will never actually be claimed by anyone and will certainly not benefit the employee. C. H, Mount Lavinia Politics and the public service - then and now There is no doubt that all peace loving, right thinking and honourable Sri Lankans who put country before self and wish their homeland prosperity, will salute Lloyd Fernando for the very valuable article on politicising the administration and titled "Bane of efficacy of the public service" (Daily News April 18). The naked truth of this game of politics, was revealed and how it was played in a dignified manner in the past and the selfless service rendered by the elected representatives of the people while the administration was left solely in the hands of a band of selected gentlemen who had the distinction of being members of the Ceylon Civil Service and their capable counterparts. Political pressure at any level was considered a disqualification. The 1956 debacle encouraged the 'freedom of the wild ass' and heralded an era of absolute disregard for law and order. Those of the underworld took the law into their own hands and murder, rape, bribery, corruption at all levels, and all other imaginable nefarious activities became rampant. Since then no government has successfully tackled the problems caused by such anti-social activities which tarnish the good name of any country. Unless and until stringent punishment to commensurate with the crime is meted out, the present trend of criminal activity cannot be abated. The sooner we get back to the old order and revert to the old system of local government by village councils, urban councils and scrap provincial councils as they serve no special purpose but remain a drain on the government coffers and elect to parliament individuals who command the respect of the people and not representatives from a list of names submitted by heads of political parties, corruption of all forms will be reduced to a minimum. I appeal to the government in power to print as many copies as possible the aforesaid article and exhibit them in all public places, ministries, departments for the benefit of the younger generation who are ignorant of the brilliant past of our motherland when the government ranks included public spirited individuals of the highest calibre who preferred service to any pecuniary benefit and were assisted by the cream of the country's intellectuals who were in complete charge of the administration. G. D. PERERA, Dehiwela. A politician's racial outburst A Member of Parliament of the People's Alliance has expressed his displeasure over the appointment of a People's Alliance politician to the post of Governor, Uva Province, instead of appointing a person of 'Indian Origin'. The outburst, is nothing but racial. In the colonial times, 100 years ago, the Britishers got down Indians to work on plantations, the lands for which were plundered from Sri Lankans who owned them by chasing them away. At independence, the Indians so brought by the British, should have been asked to be taken away to England, where they would have been much better off as British citizens. That was not done for various reasons and the Indian plantation workers stayed on and helped our tea industry. Subsequently, those who wanted to go back to India, did so. Those who wanted to stay on in Sri Lanka stayed back. Thus, over 100 years later, today, they are neither Indian nor of Indian origin - that is what the plantation workers are as at present. Almost all of them have been born here and they are Sri Lankans. This fact should not be lost sight of by those so called political leaders who want to stay in politics with the money and votes of the plantation workers by using the racial platform. I am of the view that all those in Parliament should be Sri Lankans and we do not want legislators, politicians, trade unionists, governors or citizens who have racial bias or have allegiance to other countries or forces outside the country. Political parties should stop giving into such racial demands even to keep themselves in political power. Upali S. Jayasekera, Colombo 4. Students' Moral Development Societies There was a news item in the Education Supplement in the Daily News on April 24 that in all government schools in the North Western Province. Students' Moral Development Societies were to be set up. It is a laudable thing and also a surprise to hear somebody is concerned about moral values these days specially of the children as the trend is to destroy all our human, cultural and religious values. Our media can get the major honour for this situation and other share goes to the country's rulers and businessmen who promote their activities. The news item further says that the Minister of Human Resources Development. Education and Cultural Affairs had appreciated the proposed programme. It would be the duty of the heads of education department, schools, parents and students to start these Societies in all schools. It would be appropriate to have at least one period in the class time tables to discuss the social and moral issues. Several parents mentioned how in a leading boys school in Colombo the students had the courage and knowledge to criticize a minister and some electronic media personnel for their contribution towards the decline of moral standards. At another function a media man wanted to know whether the students like to have the same freedom as dogs have on the roadside. Students have submitted petitions to the powers that be in the vain hope of correcting these. However, the efforts of the Provincial Director of Education. NWP should be fruitful and it would not be difficult as still there are children (if not parents) who have some values. Parents and children in other areas also should follow this. DESHAPRIYA RAJAPAKSHA , Colombo 6. Reference article by Derrick Schokman (Daily News 25th April) Among other things, he states that Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe the last king of Kandy was deposed in the year 1815 and deported to South India with his family the following year. His only son named Rajadhi Rajasinghe died in 1843 leaving no issue. Of his two daughters one died in 1881 and the other in 1890. Rgaletchumi wife of the king's grandson passed off in 1944. The last of the king's descendants C. K. Narasima Raja also passed off in 1948 thus ending Sri Lanka's last royal family. However, some believe this was not the end of the royal line. After the king was overthrown, the Britishers who were ruling Sri Lanka gave an assurance to the king that he will be cared for and maintained by the Government of Sri Lanka then known as Ceylon. Accordingly the king was paid a pension and his descendants continued to draw it after his demise. But after independence Sri Lanka was not happy about this arrangement. So she invited two grandsons of the king with promise of suitable employment and other benefits if they agreed to come and reside in Sri Lanka so that the pension could be abolished once and for all. The offer was accepted and two young men appeared on the scene. The elder was a university graduate and married to a South Indian princess. He was awarded suitable employment in a Government Department. He then moved to the General Treasury where I believe he functioned as the Chief Accountant. But his life was short-lived. While on a holiday in India he drowned at sea whence he had gone to enjoy a sea bath. While here he was always well groomed and had a stately and impressive personality. The other shorter and stouter with a head of bushy hair was frequently seen in the Fort area as a busybody. He is seen no more. Can any knowledgeable person enlighten us as who these people actually were and why they opted to reside in Sri Lanka rather than their native Tamil Nadu. RLJ, Wattala It was most heartening to read a news item published in the 'Daily News' of 24th April 2003, that the Kelaniya level crossing road has been most appropriately renamed recently, as Malani Fonseka Mawatha by the Kelaniya Urban Council, in recognition and appreciation of forty years of distinguished and extremely valuable services rendered to the Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and tele-drama, by the amazingly versatile and endearingly beautiful actress Malani Fonseka. However, on my carefully reading the wording of the aforesaid name board, in the relevant photograph published on the above mentioned date, it is regretted to observe that the name has been written correctly in English, as Malani Fonseka Mawatha, but erroneously as Malini Fonseka Mawatha in Sinhala. I wish to keep the chairman of the Kelaniya Urban Council informed that her correct name is Malani Fonseka and not Malini Fonseka, as written in Sinhala on this nameboard. NALAKA WEERAMAN, Ethul Kotte. With reference to Dr. A. T. W. Guneratne's letter on the Devil Bird any bird expert will confirm that the usual cry of the Forest Eagle Owl or the Honey Buzzard or the Changeable Hawk Eagle or any other eagle in this country is not the unearthly sound attributed to the Ulama of folklore and legend. It was an unusually quiet night in the Yala Bungalow (which has now been burned down and destroyed by terrorists), and the time was around midnight, when we heard an unearthly wailing cry as though a woman was screaming in mental anguish. With a little imagination it sounded as though she was shouting (mage ammo). The unusual quality of this cry was that it sounded as though it came from a great distance, but it filled the jungle night. Unfortunately I did not have a taperecorder handy at the time. Our tracker on that occasion was David Ralahamy (Jayatilleke). He is one of the Game Guards that belong to the old school and well versed in the ways of the jungle and jungle lore. I have not met many people who have a better knowledge than him about the jungle and its ways. He walked out of his quarters at the back of the bungalow and asked me whether I had heard the noise. When I said yes! He said that it was the ulama, confirming what I had already suspected. I am sure that he knew the frightening legend of old and so did I but we did not discuss it there as we did not want to frighten the ladies that were present. We did not discuss this the next day, and with the thrill of seeing and photographing wild life the incident was forgotten. Not long after that incident a member who was present in our party that night had to unfortunately face two serious personal tragedies. Was it coincidence? RAVI JAYEWARDENE, Piliyandala |
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