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Towards real, positive change

THE clarifications made by Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama recently at a public function in Kandy should have helped to put the record straight on a number of issues growing out of Government's plans to restructure the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Ceylon Electricity Board.

In sum, the Minister's position was that the aim of the Government's restructuring plan was to render these currently loss-making concerns, efficiently-run, financially-viable institutions, which would provide a friendly, purse-easy service to the public.

For instance, the Minister pointed out that if the current reorganisation plans were carried out at the Ceylon Electricity Board, the price of a unit of electricity could be reduced by Rs. 280, but those who oppose these moves, such as some trade unions, wanted to increase every unit by Rs. 2.80.

Likewise, if corresponding reorganization plans were carried out at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the latter would be very much less dependent on imported, refined petroleum products, which are having the effect of escalating fuel prices.

Accordingly, if these restructuring plans get underway, the consumer would benefit enormously and these ailing institutions could be redeemed from their "white elephant" status - a very unenviable position to be in, indeed.

Unfortunately, some trade unions would have none of this. Their sole obsession is their continued presence in these institutions and not the interests of the people and the future of the organisations concerned.

The Finance Minister himself outlined the usually unstated factual situation in these ailing organizations: "As a responsible Government, we cannot allow about 7,000 to 8,000 corporation employees who had crept into these institutions through the back door for want of qualifications, to hold 20 million people of the country hostage."

This is very well put. In fact, these strictures could be found to apply to most State sector institutions which are considered ailing "white elephants".

In quite a few of them "back door entrants" - minus the correct qualifications their thrive, at the expense of the people and the country.

Therefore, we urge the Government and the Finance Minister to go right ahead with the reorganisation plans, for, public money cannot be squandered and the country held to ransom by a few rebels without a cause.

We also wholeheartedly endorse Finance Minister, Dr. Sarath Amunugama's view that the slogan "Rata Perata", is not quite effective.

The slogan "Country for Change" should be added to it, to signify the need for dynamic, positive change in the country's affairs. The Minister cited, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore and the US as countries to be emulated by as in our march to prosperity and stability.

We have had more than fifty years of tired, populist slogans which have taken us nowhere. While egalitarianism should be one of our foundation stones, this doesn't mean that inefficiency, waste of resources and manpower, mindless politicking and worker apathy could be winked at by the Government. Let's have, real, positive change.


Life and death

THE death of brain-damaged Terri Schiavo, which sparked a media and political storm across the United States and across the world, has also triggered a debate about death, people's right to life and living wills.

The incident has hugged the headlines for the past few weeks, as it raises several fundamental questions about life itself. The central debate seems to focus on whether anyone has a right to take someone else's life away under any circumstances. Also in the limelight is the controversial subject of euthanasia.

The whole issue hinges on just one question: Where does life end and indeed, what is life itself? Schiavo could be fed through a tube and many of her organs were working. She was not exactly 'brain dead' but was in a "persistent vegetative state". She could respond to certain stimuli and gave the appearance of smiling with her mother.

Some argued that she was alive for all intents and purposes, but her husband wanted the feeding tube disconnected. Can anyone be called properly alive if he or she has been in a vegetative state for 15 long years? These are issues that will haunt our conscience for a long time.

It makes us think on the lines of 'what if'?. What if someone in our own families faces the same predicament? Family wrangles may be inevitable in such cases, as the Schiavo case has demonstrated.

When part of the family wants to keep their loved one alive on artificial feeding, the other party tends to give in, as few people are willing to appear to be responsible for the death of a loved one.

Many experts are now saying that people may now take seriously the importance of putting their "end of life" wishes on record. After all, nobody wants to be an unbearable burden to their families.

A series of polls have shown that most people favoured death without artificial life support, despite the televised images of protesters in front of the hospice where Schiavo died of dehydration and starvation early Thursday, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.

In the same vein, can we demand an end to our own lives? Several countries already allow euthanasia, where terminally-ill but fully conscious patients can request that they be assisted by a medical professional to end their lives. Again, this has raised a host of ethical questions and many countries have banned the practice.

The same controversies surround abortions. Scientists still do not agree universally on the exact age at which the foetus can be called a 'living' organism. When does life begin and how do we define the term 'life'? These are questions that have no easy answers.

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