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Friday, 8 July 2011

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Let's hope the IGP's example would catch on

That example is better than precept is a nugget of received wisdom which the sensible always swear by and for very good reason too. For, what could be more infectious than an example set by one who holds authority and who is generally looked-up to. In this connection, a recent good example set by IGP N.K. Illangakoon, we hope, would have the desired effect of being emulated by particularly others who hold public office.

Reportedly, the IGP has ordered the redeployment of some 23 excess vehicles which were used by his predecessor. In fact, we are given to understand that IGP Illangakoon had made it known that one official vehicle was more than sufficient for him. This is a glowing example that is coming from the top which is likely to have a restraining impact on his colleagues because actions usually speak louder than words.

'Keep it up Mr. IGP', is what we have to tell the Police chief. Bad examples always have a tendency of replicating themselves and that too very easily. However, a resplendent, good example has the potential of producing the same result because such actions speak to the hearts and minds of the viewers of such deeds. The IGP's action is pregnant with these possibilities.

It is our hope that the IGP's action would be emulated not only within the Police Department but outside it too. Sri Lanka is unfortunately a notably status-conscious society and highly disproportionate importance is usually placed by individuals and groups on status symbols and external attributes which have little bearing on the intrinsic worth of the persons concerned. Thus, it is said in lighter vein by some that quite a few locals who are given the task of serving their countrymen from behind a counter, tend to get bloated-up with instant vanity. This is the toll exacted by a little power and authority.

Therefore, the challenge before many who enjoy official positions is to shun ostentation and the urge to keep-up appearances. This is a fatal tendency which should be curbed because these diseases of the heart tend to get in the way of service to the public. Not so long ago, timely action by President Mahinda Rajapaksa put an end to the maniacal behaviour by some in power which proved exceedingly distressing to the public. The reference here is to the roaring fast cars and the attendant huge vehicles which were driven at break-neck speed on our highways, with no concern whatsoever for the silently-suffering, harried public. This was a very judicious clamp-down which has brought immense relief to the people and we are looking out for prohibitions of a similar kind on the vainglorious displays of authority which are blighting and damaging from the public's point of view.

Besides considerations of power and its impact on the human consciousness, a gauge should be made by the state, its agencies and by all civic-conscious sections, of the impact ostentatious living has on the public purse. Those 23 extra vehicles the IGP was saddled with would have undoubtedly cost the public a mind-numbing sum of money and one could be certain that there are many more such monstrous excesses and irregularities in the public domain which are going unnoted and unaccounted. Needless to say, all this will be a heavy drain on the public treasury. Sri Lanka could ill-afford these wasteful ways which come in the wake of skewed thinking and logic.

Unnoticed, these ills of opulence and ostentation are exacting an exorbitant price. A profoundly learned local public figure once said that one should not show off his apple to his neighbour if he is not willing to share it with the latter. This is deep wisdom one needs to ponder over. Affluence and ostentation tend to provoke envy and this in turn triggers social tensions and discontentment. These are the ills of affluence a society must guard against.

Accordingly, there is no choice but to favour lifestyles that are simple and Spartan. Besides being less of a burden on public coffers, such options promote social stability to a greater degree. However, such ways of living tend to be emulated over the length and breadth of a society only when those who are foremost in such a society set the trend in these directions by pruning down on superfluous possessions which have a misguiding impact on others. Hopefully, the IGP's example will prove to be a trend-setter.

Tamils know reconciliation and redevelopment is real - Ambassador Wickramasuriya

The US government has voiced its concern about the Darusman Report. Those who have followed Sri Lanka know that the allegations in it are stale ones that the LTTE has made before. The fact is that some people are spreading a negative story about Sri Lanka because they have a negative agenda. They see the successes in Sri Lanka and they know that their dream of more violence and strife is slipping away as people who suffered through years of conflict embrace peace,

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Nature - the best teacher of Man!

People have a tendency to believe that nature is something that we leave behind in our sojourn towards development and modern civilization. This is necessarily because the ancient man came from the jungle and he now lives in modern cities and thus in our thinking we always equate the jungle to nature and modern cities to development. Hence the concept of development or civilization appears the anti thesis of nature.

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Socio-political dimension of English in Sri Lanka

Revisiting the four principles underpinning the Presidential Initiative: English as a Life Skill:

People have to be empowered with the competencies to read, write and above all to speak in English. This is essential both for their upward mobility as well as for the forward march of our country. Achieving the aforesaid goal in scale will be in an environment that just cannot bear the huge cost for doing so in the short run. Skillful management of time frame and an almost passionate commitment to the principle of social equity are of the highest importance,

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