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| Tuesday, 3 August 2004 |
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Letters | |
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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.
It was announced on July 30 that the intake to certain degree courses would be increased. As things are happening now, there is no need to have a limit at all. Many internal students of the universities do not attend their lectures although they pass all their examinations. This may be one reason for the low standard of our graduates. There are students who are employed full time - nine hours a day; six days a week. Whatever the standard of the output, we can come to the following conclusions: Our degrees are very easy to obtain; Students spend more time on non-academic activities within and outside the university; University authorities do not mind whether students are there or not; We can have Open Universities or Distance Education programmes instead of conventional universities and enrol all those who wish to follow degree courses if they have the basic qualifications. DESHAPRIYA RAJAPAKSHA, Colombo 6 This is in response to the letter of F. A. Rodrigo Sathianathen (DN July 12). Most of the Finance Companies that collapsed during the UNP regime in the 1989/90 due to the failure of the Central Bank - Dept. of Supervision of Non-Banking Financial Institutions, to monitor the working of Finance Companies. The UNP Government took no action to give relief to the depositors who became destitutes nor any charges were made against these bogus Directors of the collapsed Finance Companies, but were allowed to go scot free and some of these are now living in comfort in Sri Lanka and abroad. This is one reason the UNP became very unpopular in the last decade and lost all elections. It was only President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who gave at least some relief by directing her officials to settle the claims of the depositors by selling the HPT Ltd., head office building to the Insurance Corporation and the depositors were paid 50% of their claim in May/June 1996. We now have to turn to the Minister of Lands, Irrigation, Agriculture and Livestock Anura Kumara Dissanayake, JVP member of the coalition UPFA to direct the Land Reform Commission to cut Government Red Tape and to release the lands acquired from the HPT Ltd., to the liquidators or to pay compensation, as many depositors are now very old and feeble and may not live long. The JVP we hope will help the poor and the downtrodden as the depositors who are also retired working people depended on the savings investment with the HPT Ltd., to live a better life, but unfortunately were reduced to destitutes overnight, due to failure to monitor by the Central Bank. EARNST KAHANDAWALA, Wattala Much has been said about the part played by the police for maintaining the unexpected, surprising peace during the recent election. While appreciating the police for maintaining law and order we must appreciate the truth that the people too shunned violence on their own volition. This is a sign that people are also sick of election violence and cheating. Hope the leaders will take a cue from the masses and follow suit. The usual practice in our country is while one party tries to do some good the Opposition initiates riots, strikes and disunity. It is widely talked about that the Alliance will not last more than 8 months. However, if the Opposition will value the country above themselves coming to power, they can support the present government to last longer. Strange and alien as this suggestion may seem it is time the Sri Lankan politicians shifted their paradigm, for the people are sick and tired of politics and the country has taken enough beating. Though our past Prime Minister clearly projected a 'clean man' he miserably failed to keep his Cabinet 'clean' mainly because he had no majority in the Parliament where he could confidently chuck out any wrongdoers' he always had to bow down to shims and fancies of his party men for fear of them crossing over. However, the people had no qualms of chucking them out as shown by the total rejection of his majority Ministers. If the UNP manages to unseat the Alliance - Ranil will again face the same predicament - for the simple reason that again it will be a hung Parliament. Our country had suffered enough under this blighted system where the politicians wanting to maintain power, again and again end up with hung parliaments which lead to the country being held to ransom by uncouth politicians. DR. MAREENA THAHA REFFAI, Dehiwela Consequent to the very substantial salary increase that State Bank employees received with effect from 01.01.2003, State Bank Pensioners were granted a very small increase in their pensions. People's Bank increased the pensions in March 2004 and paid arrears from 01.01.2003. However the premier State Bank, Bank of Ceylon increased the pensions and paid arrears only from 01.01.2004. Bank of Ceylon pensioners have been denied 12 months arrears due to them. Bank of Ceylon Pension Trust Fund which pays the pensions is in a sound financial position. Its total assets which stood at Rs. 14 Billion at the end of 2001, rose to Rs. 16.3 Billion at the end of 2002. Figures as at end of 2003 are not yet published. With such large assets I fail to understand why Bank of Ceylon cannot pay the arrears of pensions for 2003, due only to less than 1,500 of its pensioners which may not cost more than a few million rupees. In the case of Central Bank of Sri Lanka, its pensioners automatically receive very large increases of their pensions as and when salaries of current employees are revised. I earnestly request the new Chairman and Board of Directors of Bank of Ceylon to pay the arrears of pension for 2003 without further delay. S. K. GUNAWARDANE, Mt. Lavinia 'Flying squads strengthen Yala Sanctuaries' With reference to the news item appearing in your issue of the DN June 23 under the caption 'Flying squads strengthen Yala Sanctuaries' are certainly an educative step undertaken by the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Wanton destruction of the natural resources by unscrupulous individuals for personal gain have reached an alarming situation which should be eliminated to save not only the animal populations alone, but also very valuable timbers such as teak, Nadun, Mahagony and other very valuable timbers which are being systematically eroded. Apart from this poaching have reached an alarming situation and to save the extinction of the deer, sambur and wild boar population, immediate steps should be taken to protect them all. At present wild meats are available freely in the Dambulla, Sigiriya, Kantale and adjoining areas. The guardians and all personnel handling the security situation in these natural parks and or wild sanctuaries are not being protected well, as a result, one of these game rangers was shot dead by poachers with modern weapons, should be viewed with serious concern. The SBBLs and other outdated mode of armaments should be immediately withdrawn and provided with more sophisticated and modern weapons for self protection and stop unwanted activities by poachers and timber rogues. In this regard I also wish to quote a news report that appeared in your issue of the DN Feb. 24 under 'Robotic deer helped the cops to nab poachers in a foreign country', should be introduced to assist the game rangers, to detect all poachers and others. If we too follow suit with the suggestion I am sure we could detect more poachers and other irregularities in this regard and save the valuable natural resources and protect them all. M. I. M. MUDASSIR, Colombo 10 The above episode exposed among many things a can of worms under the previous regime. This episode relates to the son of a JVP member of Parliament who was given favour of admission to Rahula College Matara although it is said he was not entitled to such an admission. On exposure of this by the media, the MP is said to have removed his son forthwith from the school, an act well worth emulating. There was an element of dignity in this act which puts to shame the reactions to similar episodes under the past regime. In the media briefing that followed, the opposition spokesman, film star turned mediaman had vociferously stated that the MP should resign forthwith. This was to add insult to injury. The MPs humility ended with the removal of his son from Rahula College. In reply to this, the Government spokesman Mangala Samaraweera opened up a can of worms of the previous regime quoting chapter and verse without mentioning names. The Government spokesman went on to say that when similar episodes were brought up in Parliament in the past, it was revealed that that politicos of the previous regime had influenced the school authorities to admit their kith and kin by giving letters. Unfortunately the then media both state and private were more than quiescent about these illicit admissions. Just one leading school was mentioned but there were such irregular admissions to other schools. The sequelae to this was that the Government kept dumb and the then opposition who are now in the Government did not raise it up further for fear of victimising the privileged children who were already attending these prestigious schools. In addition it may well be that the politicos who had influenced these irregular admissions may never have thought of removing these children from the school nor did the parents think it dignified to do so. The opposition media spokesman should be aware of those skeletons of the past before commenting on the present. He could also be advised to do his homework before attending such briefing where the whole country is watching. Irregular admissions cannot be condoned from whatever quarter but the reaction to these exposures exhibits a marked difference between this MP Mr. Manage and the past politicos who cared less for these exposures. In a TV' programme recently when this episode surfaced, the UNF member of Parliament on the panel appeared visibly embarrassed and preferred not to speak. ARAVINDA GAUTAMADASA, Nawala |
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