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| Sunday, 14 December 2003 |
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Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Please forward your letters to [email protected] in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Replacement of old electricity meters The authorities of the Electricity Board have quite rightly replaced defective electricity meters with new meters imported recently. They took a long time to replace the defective meters. The customers had to pay an estimated fixed charge in relation to the usage of units consumed prior to the meters became defective. The new metres installed however record a relatively higher amount of units while the same quantum of electricity was consumed. With the increase of tariffs I have been subjected to pay approximately three times more than my earlier normal average bill. It has also been brought to light that some meters, which are not defective, too have been replaced and the monthly bills too have shown startling increases. Why are the authorities of the CEB replacing the electricity meters, which are not defective? Is it because they have imported a surplus of metres or it is a strategy adopted to give overtime for the employees when replacement exercise is in progress. Sunil Thenabadu - Mt. Lavinia. Interruptions of power Kaluwadumulla UC area in Ambalangoda town which gets its power supply through LECO is subjected to frequent power failures during daytime since of late. This happens several times during a week. Sometimes the duration is short. This is an inconvenience which disrupts the regular activities of both the domestic and commercial consumer. In this locality there are small scale entrepreneurs who have started self-employment projects using electricity in their homesteads. The domestic consumers are affected when their electric ovens, washing machines, mixers and grinders etc. get stuck half way all of a sudden due to these unannounced power failures. Refrigerators, radio sets and TV sets may get defective due to sudden voltage fluctuations of current when power is restored all of a sudden. Those in authority should please take action to supply a trouble free power supply to the ratepayers in this local body area. L. Lekamwasam Leanage - Ambalangoda. Amending W. & O.P. laws I wish to thank the Minister of Defence, hon Mr. Tilak Marapana for his kind and sympathetic consideration in amending the laws of the widows & orphans for young wives of ex-servicemen lost in the war, to re-marry and receive the benefits they are presently receiving that in this context I wish to remind the Minister that ex-servicemen, whether disabled or not, and have lost their wives wish to re-marry for the sole purpose of care and attention and a mate for company to attend to all their needs in sickness and welfare, but should they die, the wives would be stranded without any income to support themselves and children, due to this disadvantage the widows of exservicemen has little chance for re-marriage. Therefore this problem should also be identified by the government and the second wife should be given a pension or benefits as given to the young wives of ex-servicemen lost in the war. Maxworth - Colombo 10 Royal term test on Ramazan Day The first term test of Royal College, Colombo was scheduled for November 25. This was the day on which the Muslims celebrated the most important festival of theirs having completed the 30-day Ramazan fast. Therefore, a kind request was made from the Principal of the institution by the Muslim students of the College to hold the tests scheduled for that day on another day. But very unfortunately, the Principal was adamant in refusing the request and saw to it that the tests were conducted on the day of the Ramazan festival too as a result of which several Muslim students could not be present in the school to answer the papers on that day. Although it is said that it is the policy of the government to treat all the communities equally not hurting their religious susceptibilities the action of the recently appointed Principal of Royal College has brought about a sense of disillusionment among the Muslim students and parents of the institution. Over to you, the Honourable Minister of Education for action to prevent such occurrences in educational institutes where only the real foundation for communal amity and harmonious living has to be laid. M. Nilam - Colombo 4. Pensioners taken for a ride One of the election promises of the UNF was to rectify the anomalies of the pensioners who retired prior to 1995 when they come to power. This promise was made by several UNF candidates from election platforms. On this promise the pensioners and their dependants backed the UNF candidates at the General Election in December 2001 by getting all their children, grandchildren, friends and relations to support the UNF. After forming the Government the UNF wanted everyone to tighten their belts for two years on the grounds that the previous government left behind an economy on a minus growth. During this period the Minister of Public Administration on several occasions told the pensioners at several public meetings that he has taken all steps to rectify the anomalies of the Pensioners and that pensioners who draw less than Rs. 5000 will be placed at a point 75% of the corresponding present salary scale applicable to the post and those who are drawing a pension more than Rs. 5000 a month will be placed at 70% of the present salary scale applicable to the post in which he retired. In fact he wanted the pensioners not to claim any arrears. This he told us in July 2003 at several public meetings. He also told us that he has prepared the necessary Cabinet Paper on the subject and that he was waiting for the Prime Minister's nod and that it will be implemented in two months time. It is more than four months now and still there is no signs of any approval by the Cabinet of Ministers to rectify the anomalies. It is a grave injustice that is being perpetrated on the poor pensioners who retired prior to 1995. Recently there were two letters in the press one by a retired Judge who stated that his peon is now drawing a pension more than him. The second letter was by a Permanent Secretary to a Ministry who stated that he is getting a pension of only Rs. 5000 whereas his junior is now drawing a monthly pension of Rs. 17,500 and his driver is drawing a pension of Rs. 9000. These are glaring instances of anomalies which any decent government should take immediate steps to rectify as it is a violation of a fundamental right. Be that as it may. The UNF Government promised a four figure increase in salaries and pensions in the Budget. The salaries of Government servants were increased by 10% or Rs. 1250 whichever is higher. The pensioners were given a pittance of 10%. There are nearly 350,000 pensioners including widows. Of this number more than 90% are drawing a pension of less than Rs. 4000 a month without the allowances. The increase of 10% is applicable only to the gross pension and not to the allowances. On this basis 90% of the pensioners and widows will be getting less than Rs. 400 a month. What can a poor pensioner do with this Rs. 400? The increase of VAT from 10% to 15% will send the cost of living to dizzy heights from January. The cost of drugs will also go up. How can the pensioner live? The PA of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in 1994 gave the government servants and the pensioners an assurance that if she came to power she would give a substantial increase in salaries and pensions. At that time the cost of living index was 1331.5. Today the index is more than double. On that assurance the Government Servants and Pensioners backed her party and no sooner she came to power she gave an increase of Rs. 1000 to every government servant irrespective of his or her grade and an increase of Rs. 750 to every pensioner and widow. This the good lady did with a terrible war on her hands. Now there is no war and we were promised a very good peace dividend. But we were given a pittance when the cost of living has doubled from what it was in 1994. The government servants and pensioners did not let her down in the 1999 Presidential Elections. They backed her to the hilt. When it comes to voting the pensioners are a very powerful lot. 95% of the pensioners are floating voters. They are not members of any Political Party. They tend to lose nothing. Each pensioner can influence a minimum of five votes in his family. There are nearly 400,000 pensioners in the country. So this group of educated and matured citizens can cause a sizable dent in any electoral set up. It is high time that the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister take stock of the rumblings that have already started in the ranks of the pensioners. What the government should do now is to apply the same formula that it applied to the Government servants salary increase to the Pensioners pension increase also. That is to give a minimum increase of Rs. 1000 or ten percent whichever is highter. That will be a very fair increase. M. B. m. Zubair - Kandy. Timely action by the President At last the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) has arrested the number one drug lord in the country. The President should be congratulated for timely action after take over of the relevant Ministry. Apparently now there is a genuine desire to combat the drug menace. Right? Wrong. PNB has a list of 33. 'A' grade drug traffickers. Some have not got into the, should be arrested list. Otherwise how come they are not arrested? The public is somewhat confused regarding the PNB grading system. Does B grade (21 in the list) mean that these are amateurs who have to reach the 'A' grade classification before they can be arrested? Press releases are meant to educate the public and not to confuse them. The drug lord who was arrested enjoyed a comfortable life openly & had his residence in Colombo 7. Will the disclosure of the names of those drug dealers who are identified jeopardize current investigations. The perception of the public is that such a disclosure will deprive them the freedom to live like a normal citizen. At least some punishment is better than nothing. Citizen Perera - Seeduwa. Thank you for the report entitled 'Air That We Breathe' on page 1 of your issue on November 30. The information is important, attractively presented and it comes from a civil authority. I hope if it possible for you to publish such reports regularly. I would much appreciate it if you could include also the date or dates on which the data were collected, and data on a control sampling site (such as rural air or mountain air). V. Basnayake - Colombo 4. Those who have retired from employment and solely depend on the interest payments they receive from their monies placed in fixed deposits are disappointed and perturbed over the reduction in interest rates, because they do not now derive any worthwhile payment as interest. In the years to come, they will no doubt be in a worse position due to rising prices with no prospect of increasing their deposits to get a higher return. Most of them rely on the NSB to offer them a reasonable rate of interest on their deposits. If the NSB could introduce a special deposit scheme for the benefit of these poor souls, it would bring them some relief. Could there not be an enhanced rate of interest on deposits for fixed periods of five or ten years and an equitable rate to be applicable if the deposits are withdrawn before the due dates? We can only hope that something considerate will be done. E.M.A. - Hendala. Salary increase, welcome but insufficient The ten per cent salary increase on the gross salary of Rs. 1,250 whichever is higher is most welcome although insufficient. The ceiling placed is ten per cent and those who draw a salary over and above Rs. 12,500 will also benefit accordingly. The method adopted here is more advantages but in the case of festival advances and attendance bonuses paid to the government, organisations, corporations and board employees remains static at rupees one thousand and rupees three thousand respectively. The present method adopted to pay bonus and festival advance are not in favour of the employees. A person who draws a higher salary is granted the attendance bonus and festival advances as the same amount as paid to the lower income group. It would be reasonable if the payments are made according to a percentage as in the case of salary increases granted. In the case of attendance bonus an employee qualifies for such a bonus only if his or her attendance during the relevant year is in conformity to the required number of days leave taken. It is obvious that an employee who draw higher income is entitled to a higher wage. Therefore, a higher wage earner will benefit if he is paid on the percentage basis according the salary. Further a higher wage earner is used to a certain lifestyle to suit his income. Therefore paying the festival advance which is being recovered monthly should also be granted according to the percentage of the salary drawn by an employee. M. T. Fernando - Rawatawatte. Holidays galore It is a well-known fact that we Sri Lankans enjoy more holidays than any other country in the world. This is mainly due to various religious and poya holidays. Unlike in other countries we as Sri Lankans belong to different religions and races and have the benefit of enjoying holidays more frequently. However, the holidays enjoyed by Sri Lankans should be scrutinized and remedy to suit all concerned in the country accordingly. The fact remains that when the government servants are on leave the mercantile sector is working and at times when the mercantile sector is working the government sector is on holiday. For example on Ramazan day the government sector was on holiday while the mercantile sector was working. This hinders the working pattern and most of the business organisations are unable to carry out their business due to the closure of the banks, post offices, kachcheris etc. To overcome these difficulties it is prudent that the holidays should be streamlined to suit all concerned accordingly, and extra holidays should be eliminated. I doubt whether anywhere in the world the Banks would be closed when the shops and offices are opened. The government should appoint a committee and study the existing holidays applicable to our country and grant holidays to all the workers on days where really necessary and eliminate the unwanted holidays. M. T. A. P. Fernando - Rawatawatte. Lay titles and the Sangha The conferment of the honorary lay title "Member of the British Empire" (MBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 2 on a member of the Sangha has created certain doubts in my mind, both as a national of Sri Lanka and as a Buddhist, as regards the following issues: 1. There is no British empire as such, at present. Hence the title is meaningless and obsolete. The continuation of awarding of such titles, therefore, is not proper and only tends to bring back memories of the colonial past. 2. Sri Lanka is an independent country and a republic. We have done away with British Imperial honours and instead award our own honours and titles. Hence Sri Lankan nationals accepting British Imperial honours cannot be acceptable. 3. The Sangha should not seek or receive titles and honours of any form which are but materialistic. It is against Buddhist ethics. 4. Lay honours and titles are not for the Sangha. Is it proper for the Sangha to receive lay honours or titles such as "Deshamanya" etc.? 5. Is it correct for a member of the Sangha to stand before a lay person, especially at an official function to receive anything on offer? If not was it proper for the member of the Sangha concerned to have stood before Queen Elizabeth II to receive the title at her hands? The Ven. Thera concerned, no doubt, has done a great service to Buddhism and the Buddhists respect him for his missionary work. I, nevertheless, wish to have clarifications of the above matters. Will someone please oblige? Upali S. Jayasekera - Colombo 4. Increase of pension payment negligible The present Government, from the day it came to power, had promised to increase the pension payment to bring relief and redress to the pensioners community of this country. But ultimately what happened? Only a meagre pittance of 10% was announced in the budget. It is needless to point out that the majority of pensioners receive Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000 only as their monthly pension and hence the much flattered increase of 10% would amount to Rs. 300 to Rs. 500 only which is hardly sufficient even to meet a day's expenditure of a family on most essential needs. The Government employees presently in service are given an increase of 10% of their salary or Rs. 1,250 whichever is higher but such option is not given to pensioners. So, the helpless pensioners community is glaringly cheated with the worthless 10% increase knowing very well that we are not a formidable population. In order to overcome the apathetic attitude of all successive governments towards the pensioners community, it is high time that we should unitedly concentrate in finding a remedial step from our pathetic plight irrespective of caste, creed, race and religion. I wish to suggest that we should think over seriously to put forward a presidential candidate at the next presidential election and I am sure that if pensioners are united we would be able to stage a formidable impact at that election in order to alleviate the retardation which is being perpetrated by the successive governments and allowed to perpetuate. L. Balasubramaniam - Dehiwala. What's happening in Kinniya? Since the media is kept in the dark or are reluctant to publish the actual news on what's happening in Kinniya, the atrocities happening there goes unknown - hence the placid attitude of the Muslims. Here's what happened from eye witnesses. A truce was agreed upon between the LTTE and the Muslims before Deepavali - one of the main clause to this truce was that no more abduction of Muslims will take place. But the very next day LTTE abducted a Muslim. The Muslims protested by calling for a Harthal on Deepavali day, which angered the Tamils, who in turn vowed, that they will take revenge on the Ramazan Festival day. True to their promise they killed three people namely on Ramazan Festival day. These victims, are neither thugs or drug traffickers as reported in some newspapers - rather they are well-known, respectable citizens. Later this was followed by four more killings. Later a grenade was thrown at the Muslims by which one got injured, another was shot dead. In spite of the fact that there were eyewitnesses to these incidences, neither the army nor the peace monitors have taken any action. The politicians are far away issuing a few statements and assuming that their duties are over. This is not a question of just 8 people killed - rather this is a power struggle between the LTTE and 1/3rd of the Sri Lankan Muslim population. The rest of the Muslim community seems to be least bothered, assuming this is mere individuals getting killed in the process of trying to get their land back - no this is a struggle against oppression by LTTE who are playing havoc under cover of the peace talks. They are fully aware that the Government is too timid to do anything lest they appear to be aggressive during the peace process. LTTE must remember, how they came into being - a few individuals rose against the injustice done against their own - and today they have become the most powerful force in the world. Do they want to inflict the same pain on the Muslims and create another havoc? It is said that there is no veil between the supplication of the oppressed and Allah. Let us Muslims kneel down and supplicate to Allah first of all to remove oppression on us - then gather together to plan what to do. Are we going to create another monster like LTTE or are we going to sort out this problem now and here, so that our next generation does not have to go through the mayhem the country went through for the last 20 years. We as peaceful citizens, appeal to the LTTE - don't let another group of people go through what you all went through; for which you had to sacrifice thousands of your kith and kin. Sri Lanka may be small, but is large enough for all of us to live peacefully and cordially. Dr. (Mrs) Mareena Thaha Reffai - Dehiwela. Incentive for highlighting matters of public interest In a letter to the reader's page of a newspaper, the writer asks whether the public servants are dumb. A question raised due to the no care attitude to many issues highlighted through the letters to the editor. No one can expect a reply from a government department or a ministry when some shortcomings is highlighted through the print media. Surprisingly a private TV channel had been successful in initiating action by authorities on matters highlighted by them in the interest of the public. Once a matter is brought to the notice of those concerned periodically they are reminded of the issue until a response is received. The public is grateful to the services or this TV channel. Of course they have the added advantage as some officials respond favourably whilst making use of the opportunity given to show their face on television. Newspapers too could render a similar service to the public. They can add value to the great service already rendered through the letters to the Editor's page. When a letter is published, the newspaper should officially forward the letter and indicate the authority to which the letter was officially forwarded for comments, at the bottom of the letter published. Periodically publish the names of institutions that have failed to respond. This would make it difficult for the authorities concerned to act dumb for too long. Yet another suggestion. Once a week offer a reward to the best letter published. If this is likely to create resentment among some, draw the winner through a raffle from all the writers of the letters published for the week. After all only a few from the many letters received by the newspapers are published. There will be private sector firms who would want to sponsor this in order to get the views of the public on issues affecting the public. Many winners are also likely to channel their winning to a charity. This may also help in making the newspaper more popular among the public and increase sales. Nevertheless care should obviously be taken not to antagonise the advertisers in the newspaper. Vimarshana - Wattala. T.V. to promote positive attitudes "La Hiru Dahasak" was our first teledrama as I remember, and during the past two decades, we have witnessed some very good creations. By them emerged some creative directors, actors and some actresses who are now in the silver screen too. If you scrutinize a recent TV timetable you will be able to find more than 80 teledramas and a similar number of Hindi, Tamil, English and Sinhala movies being televised during a week through our TV channels. But if you observe them carefully it is very sad to mention that it seems most of the teledramas and films are not even worthy to be televised as they lack any appreciable value. For televising each and every drama or a movie there is a sponsor who pays a huge amount and takes advantage of publicizing his. But by sponsoring sub standard dramas or films they not only diminish the invaluable TV time, but do nothing to develop the serious thinking or plant any magnanimous thoughts among the younger generation. Furthermore at a time the whole nation has become so selfish and politically divided because of the post Independence politics we need someone to strengthen the entire nation with positive thoughts, new concepts and new attitudes if we need to build our nation. As all the political leaders are engrossed in a never ending tug of war for power, directing the country to the verge of bankruptcy, strengthening the younger generation with philanthropic ideas, new attitudes and concepts will certainly pave the way to produce better thinking and a well mannered new generation which will hopefully produce a new philanthropic leader to revive the fallen motherland, Sri Lanka. If we think that building the infrastructure in the country is the only key factor to develop the country it is only a deceit. M. R. M. K. Munasinghe - Qatar. 'Wolf to help with hunting habits' The European Union is reported to have asked the Indian Tea Board to provide the EU with data on five pesticides, disallowed by the EU in teas imported into Europe, but allowed by the Indian authorities for use on Indian tea, "in order to fix import tolerance levels for Indian tea." This is like sheep asking the wolf to provide them with data on its hunting habits in order to fix which level of hunting could be tolerated. H. Warnakulasuriya - Kandy. Tamil Service without a head ! The Tamil section of the National Service of Radio Sri Lanka has been without a permanent head for a long time. It is not necessary to stress here that any organisation without a proper head cannot and will not function well and give its best to the people. How that the President is in charge of Radio Sri Lanka will she, at least, see that a permanent director is appointed to the Tamil section without delay. It is matters like these that have been causing discontentment among the staff by the deprivation of promotion opportunities which ultimately result in the output of lower standards in our country. The sooner a permanent head is appointed the better it is for all concerned, including the listeners, the writers and artistes and even the advertisers. Arul - Colombo 13 |
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