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All the more reason why we should aim to do the job ourselves. Aiming
to be self-reliant that is the key. But it requires discipline, hard
work, the professionals need to be involved. Think Singapore.
But just now there is a massive humanitarian effort needed to get the
country off the ground and lots of aid.
Frederick N. de Silva Australia
M Motherland
A A one - two and three
H Humaneness
I Immeasurable
N Nobleness
D Demonstrated
A ab initio !!
R Royal
A appearance
J jauntily
A adorable !!
P Philosophical
A advocacy
K knitted
S serene
A ability
Daya Nihal de Silva Kandy
As a believer, I thank and praise God almighty for granting this
nation a great victory over terrorism, for the wisdom and courage given
to our President to withstand many external pressures, for helping him
to grant the heads of our Armed Forces the freedom to fight the foe to
the very end and the strength given to our valiant Forces to show mercy
and compassion to the IDPs while battling the enemy till they gained the
final victory.
Let us not be complacent nor take things for granted for those
supporters of terrorism abroad will try to revive the enemy.
Let our Embassies overseas be vigilant against those who seek to
visit Sri Lanka with ulterior motives.
May God grant this Nation his grace to develop and enable all
citizens to live peacefully in the future.
C. Jayatunge Kohuwela
Valiant soldiers of the tri-forces,
today you stand dignified,
Indescribable sacrifices you have made
to bring victory
To all of Sri Lankans will be written
in gold and will be enshrined
In the hearts of all of us indelibly
and forever.
History will speak of your valour
and sacrifices until the Day Doom.
Every ray of the Sun and beam of
the Moon will carry your noble deeds
To the heaven above and eulogize each
one of you and place your names in heaven
In the boxes of gold, silver, diamond
and emerald covered with
the scent of musk.
The names of your parents, the wombs of
your mothers will be ennobled by all of us,
Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims of this
country forever.
Tigers which refused to eat grass - today
ate grass laced with mud and sand.
The mass murderers faced their
death in disgrace.
You, our heroes won not only the battle
but the hearts of each one of us.
Each blade of grass of your village speaks
of your name and fame
Each birds whisper and sing
the sweetest melody of freedom.
May you be blessed and be glorified forever.
Abu Bilal Kalubowila
There is no need for a Tamil verse in the Sri Lankan anthem. This is
a ridiculous notion. The entire Indian anthem is in Hindi, even though
80 million Tamils live there. There are millions of Americans who are of
different races and religions, but their anthem is in English.
Your writer from New Zealand is wrong, and stupid. Sri Lanka is the
only home the Sinhalese have, and therefore it is right that in our
ancient land the anthem should be completely Sinhala.
Mahamaharaja via email
I would like to comment on the care given to my wife while she was
admitted to Ward No. 7 of Kalubowila Hospital on May 2, when she
suffered from a severe stroke.
I wish to praise the doctors, nurses and other staff members of the
hospital for the kind care they gave my wife while she was in the
hospital. She was seriously ill and could not have received any better
treatment elsewhere. She was virtually bedridden so they had to assist
her with every basic requirement.
The attitudes were positive and the care was outstanding. It is a
shame that one has to be sick to meet such a nice group of
professionals. I earnestly wish my wife doesn't have to stay in a
hospital again anytime but I know if she does, that she will receive the
same kind treatment.
I also am so impressed by the advice given by a private practitioner
who stressed the importance of not admitting her to a private hospital.
He was very thoughtful and found the best way of treating my wife.
The standard of treatment given by the doctors of Kalubowila cannot be
matched with the treatment you get from the doctors in private
hospitals. Unlike doctors in the private hospitals, doctors at
Kalubowila listen to patients with great patience and treat well.
Also, practically expenses are negligible when compared with the
private hospitals. Had she been admitted to a private hospital her
hospital bill alone would have been more than two hundred thousand
rupees for the few days she was warded. My suggestion to the general
public is never admit anyone to a private hospital when one is seriously
ill unless you are prepared to incur unnecessary costs and risks.
I thank all of you for helping my wife to recover from her illness.
Lakshman Siriwardhana Borelesgamuwa
At the latter part of March, both myself and my wife left Piliyandala
to Kandy early in the morning to invite my relatives for the wedding of
my son which was scheduled to be held in mid April in Kandy.
After a strenuous and laborious day, at around 5.00 p.m. I had a
chest pain right across the chest with excessive sweating at Peradeniya
Road, Mulgampola. I just managed to drive the vehicle amidst the pain to
the 'Suwasevana Hospital' which was situated at a stone's throw.
At once the OPD doctor diagnosed my symptoms and transferred me to
the ICU for immediate treatment. I was developing a major heart attack
and after suffering about one and a half (1 1/2) hours of severe pain,
my condition slightly improved.
While I was at the ICU my wife had informed one of our family friends
who is a doctor attached to the Kandy Hospital and he visited 'Suvasevana'
and helped the doctors and the staff there to treat me.
At about 9.00 p.m. on the same day as my condition was not stable the
doctors decided to transfer me to the Coronary Care Unit at Kandy
General Hospital with the permission of Dr. Jayawickrema-Consultant
Cardiologist of the Kandy Cardiology Unit.
The attention given to me since I was admitted to the Kandy CCU was
excellent. The doctors and nurses and also the minor staff were very
kind and well trained to handle a patient such as myself.
In the air-conditioned atmosphere all the necessary drugs, medical
equipment were readily available.
They treat all patients equally like their own relations/friends. A
good example was, an elderly Tamil estate worker from Rangala who was
treated next to my bed.
One night his condition was deteriorating and whole staff including
doctors, nurses gathered around him, giving all the necessary treatment
while consoling him with kind words like "seeya, do not worry. We are
doing our best to cure you".
The wrong impression I had about Government Hospitals after hearing
so many bad stories was completely changed during the week-long stay I
had at CCU, Kandy.
After receiving treatment my condition was stable in order to deploy
a coronary stent, I was admitted to the latest CCU of a leading Private
Hospital in Colombo.
The service given by the both hospitals was almost identical. The
only difference was the cost whereas the treatment at the Kandy CCU was
completely free of charge and the cost was borne by the general public.
I am penning this letter to thank the Hospital Director of Kandy
Hospital, officials of Health Department and the doctors, nurses and
minor staff of Kandy CCU for the exemplary service extended to me.
Before I conclude this I must thank the doctors and the staff of 'Suwasevana'
who rendered a great effort with available facilities to save my life
which was at one stage hung by a thread.
P. B. Jayatissa Piliyandala
In Sri Lanka most people who deposited money in Registered Finance
Companies (RFCs) have got themselves into a panic with the collapse of a
Credit Card Company, which had not been authorised by the Central Bank
of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to accept deposits from the public.
The amount so collected by this particular Company is estimated to be
over Rs 2,600 million. The financial crisis, the developed world is
facing adds momentum to the local situation.
The depositors are demanding for immediate refunds of their deposits.
No RFC will be able to make such refunds since most RFCs have invested
the money collected from depositors in long-term assets.
This happened despite the fact that in 1986 some 10 RFCs and later a
bank regulated by the CBSL crashed too heaving the members of public who
deposited in those institutions in dire situations. Some depositors who
were living solely on the interest they earned from those Companies even
committed suicide.
A large number of our people who have worked in Government
Corporations and Private Companies and retired have no pensions or any
other means of income other than that they earn as interest on their
Provident Fund/ETF and Gratuity which they have placed in banks and
Finance Companies as fixed deposits.
Most of these people who devoted the best years of their lives in the
service of the Nation in whatever the field they had chosen and are in
the last lap of their lives have to pay for their food, shelter and
medicine with a meagre income.
The current situation, which is created by uncertainty and lack of
depositor confidence in RFCs, could be remedied only if some meaningful
measures are adopted by the Government to rebuild such confidence in
these RFCs. This could be achieved if the Government adopts the
following measures as early as possible:
1. Create a Compulsory Guarantee Scheme under the control of the CBSL
to ensure the Fixed Deposits of all RFCs for which a premium is payable
to the CBSL by the depositor as well as the relevant RFC.
The total annual premium shared by both the depositor and the RFC
should be around 1 percent of the amount deposited. Since the total
deposit base in all RFCs in circa Rs. 80,000 Mn. (in 2007), the premium
income to the fund under the control of the CBSL will be around Rs. 800
Mn per annum. Funds so collected could be used to pay the depositors of
ailing RFCs.
2. Declare a Government guarantee for all fixed deposits and interest
payable by all RFCs. Since all RFCs are not faced with liquidity
problems, this will not create a serious problem for the Government.
Unless such a guarantee is provided, the cash flow of the RFCs will be
adversely affected as most of the depositors whose deposits mature in
the near future will refuse to redeposit their money under the current
situation.
3. Regulate all remunerations and perks of Directors and all highly
placed executives of RFCs.
4. Appoint and/or approve the Statutory Auditors of all RFCs by the
CBSL who in turn should report irregularities in RFCs to the CBSL.
5. Ban acceptance of deposits above a stipulated sum from public by
any person or firm other than a RFC or a Regulated Bank.
I sincerely hope these suggestions would meet the eyes of those
authorities in command.
K. M. Gunaratne Laxapathiya
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