“Something fishy in Felix’s fishing ministry”. I write in response to the item under the above head appearing on the front page of your newspaper of Sunday, December 14, 2008, under the byline of Damith Wickremasekara, misquoting me.
I believe that the company that your newspaper is referring to in the news item is M/s Felix Perera & Co. Ltd, which I found as far back as 1968, prior to entering into politics. This company was subsequently able to secure the contract for the supply of food items, including fish, to the Armed Forces, which it continues to supply even at present.
Upon entering the political arena I resigned from the said company and it has since been run by my wife. These facts could have easily been verified by your reporter if he had only taken the trouble to make proper inquiries.
The amount of Rs. 4.8 million mentioned as due to the CFC from M/s Felix Perera & Co. Ltd for purchases made on 9 days had been settled prior to the publication of the news item, well within the credit period provided for settlement. In any event, the amount is rather negligible in comparison to the volume of purchases made by the company and the amounts it has settled in the past.
It may also be pertinent to note that M/s Felix Perera & Co. Ltd has purchased fish from the CFC, at rates higher than those in the market in order to help boost sales of the CFC.
All purchases of fish by M/s Felix Perera & Co. Ltd from the CFC are supplied to the armed forces and not to any “outlets” as alleged by your newspaper.
As such it ought to be clear that I am not “doing big fishing business” with the CFC but a company, which I founded many “moons” ago, of which I no longer have any involvement, owed the CFC the sum referred to for purchases of fish it had made from the CFC, which it had in any event settled even prior to the publication of the news item.
The article has further misquoted me as having said “I owe that money. I am willing to settle the amount by tomorrow”.
Felix Perera (M.P)
Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
NEWS EDITOR’S NOTE: The fact that the Minister has decided to defend the action of the company shows the interest of the Minister in the Company.
The propriety of a company in which his wife is a Director doing business with a Corporation of which he is the Minister is up to our readers to decide. Last Sunday’s news report had brought prompt response with the Minister directing a CFC official to visit his residence on Sunday to make a part payment of the dues by the company. This is contrary to claims made by the Minister that the payments were made prior to publication of our news item. The Sunday Times stands by the report that the Minister said he was willing to make the payment on Monday.
The Sunday Times in its news report also highlighted an issue about the non-payment of EPF dues of the employees of the CFC, but the Minister has chosen not to respond to the issue regarding the non-payment of the EPF dues. | 
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