Life and times of Sam Wijesinghe
by Indira P. Dahanayake
He is calm and alert, sensitive and in good health, with a remarkable
memory for an octogenarian, soft spoken, and very straight forward in
his comments.
Dressed in a light grey casual shirt and sarong to match, I met him
at his large airy residence, nestled in the heart of the city. He was
watching a cricket match on television and was in a relaxed mood.
He is none other than Sam Wijesinghe - a man of all seasons, a former
Secretary General of Parliament, who later served as an ombudsmen and
afterwards became chairman of the Human Task Force and last but not
least the Chancellor of the Open University of Sri Lanka.
Wijesinghe a simple and an unassuming man of medium build unfolded
some facts of his University life that have not been revealed so far on
print, in a leisurely manner while shifting his eyes from time to time
on to the cricket match.
He hailed from Gatamanne - village located in the southern tip of Sri
Lanka close to the Hambantota District.
Being the youngest and the pet of the family his father - D. A. S.
Wijesinghe-a landed proprietor and his mother Sophia had second thoughts
in sending him to a school far away from home - hence he started his
education at the village school located within walking distance from his
home.
At the age of nine his carefree days with the village lads ended ,
when he was admitted to a school of better standard - Rahula College at
Matara.
After a year he was sent to Ananda College Colombo and then to St.
Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia. The new school brought him better
surroundings. He was appointed a prefect by the management and he also
edited the school magazine, he excelled in sports as a superb marksman
and completed a successful school career.
His university life began in the year 1941 at Brodie hostel in Horton
Place (where now stands the Asha Central hospital). While reading for a
degree in Arts, he became a sub-warden at the residence hall, where he
remained till the year 1948.
Recalling his university days he mentioned some of his remarkable
friends with much sentiment. They included L. W. Madugalle (father of
Ranjan Madugalle), Andrew Joseph who later joined the United Nations
from The Ceylon Civil Service, Barnes Ratwatte - later a supreme court
judge, James de Lenerolle a former Civil servant, M. Jameel - A retired
supreme court judge, C. Mylvaganam - a former Civil Servant (The man who
nationalized the Port of Colombo)
Meeting Mukta
Meeting pretty Mukta Wickramasingha marked another milestone in his
life. "she was just sweet sixteen. She was still schooling at the time
at C.M.S. Ladies College." He met her at the Royal Thomian match quite
accidentally in 1941 when her brother Tissa played for the team.
Tissa and Sam were close friends. Mukta's father was the first
Ceylonese civil servant who was appointed a government agent-a
prestigious position at the time. Very soon Sam became a frequent
visitor to Mukta's home, and was well accepted.
The spacious wall s of his residence are adorned with pictures of
Mukta, her family, and brothers Desmond, Tissa and Lakshman, and of his
children Sanjeeva, Rajiva and Anila, in their childhood.
Recalling his university career once again he said I read for a
degree including English Economics, and History as subjects but had to
give up with the creation of the new university and the introduction of
a new syllabus by Dr. Ivor Jennings.
He joined the Ceylon Law College,and while at law college, Sam did
his London degree and also sat for the C. C. S. in 1945. On the second
day of the paper the exam was cancelled on the grounds that a question
paper had leaked out. "A repeat examination in 1946 January was held but
I did not sit for it and even got a refund of my examination fee of Rs.
200", he chuckled.
Talking about his career he started again "on completion of my course
at Law College and being admitted to the Bar, my first appointment was,
in 1948 as a Crown Counsel along with Neville Samarakoon, who later
became a Chief Justice.
Career
His career brought many associations with reputed men in the legal
profession. They included T. A. de Silva Wijesundera, who later became a
supreme court judge, A. Mahendrarajah who retired prematurely after the
birth of his eighth child, saying that his salary of rupees 1,500/ per
month was not enough to maintain his family.
"The three of us were at the attorney general's department till I
joined Parliament as an assistant to Ralph Deraniyagala - who was then
the clerk to the house of Parliament under the Soulbury Constitution. I
succeeded him in 1964 after his retirement".
"In 1972 under the new constitution I was appointed secretary to the
National State Assembly, and thereafter I was appointed Secretary
General of Parliament. Though there was a change in my designation my
salary remained the same "- he added with much humour.
"I retired in the year 1981 and just six weeks later, was appointed
as the first Parliamentary Commissioner (Ombudsmen). I served in this
capacity for ten years and retired for the second time in the year 1991
at the age of 70 years."
As a happy and contented octogenarian he said I am a self-made man, I
am totally against violence of any sort and capital punishment. He is
currently appointed as the chancellor of the Open University of Sri
Lanka.
His spare time is spent on reading biographies of remarkable people
such as Roosvelt John F. Kennedy Jimmy Carter the two Bushes, Reagan and
Bill Clinton to name a few. In conclusion, "if you observe the five
precepts which are basic to all religions you are bound to reap what you
sow - he commented. |