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Even if Speaker Karu Jayasuriya cautioned members of the Constitutional Council regarding media leaks about their deliberations when they met last Monday to select a new Police Chief, the story was out.

In the absence of a consensus as to who should become the IGP from among three recommended by President Maithripala Sirisena, the matter was put to a vote in a secret ballot.  Five members of the Council voted in favour of Senior DIG Pujith Jayasundera whilst Senior DIG S.M. Wickremesinghe received only one vote. Speaker Jayasuriya refrained from voting and only seven members of the Council were present. But the story behind the story was that one of the votes was spoilt!

Earlier, before the three senior DIGs were asked to be on hand, Speaker Jayasuriya had written to various state agencies to ascertain whether there were any adverse reports against the three aspirants. These included the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC), the Human Rights Commission and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

When sittings began after a delay, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Parliamentarian Vijitha Herath raised objections over the Council taking a decision to select one of the three candidates recommended by President Sirisena.

He argued that if this was the procedure, the CC should have used the same criterion when an Attorney General was picked. On that occasion, he pointed out that the CC had sent back to President Sirisena the three names he had forwarded and asked him to recommend one nominee. That was how Jayantha Jayasuriya had been selected as Attorney General.

However, Mr. Herath said, this time the President was asking the CC to pick one persons from a list of three. He contended that the CC had set a precedent and was now changing it.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe intervened to point out that there was no provision in the Constitution barring the CC from selecting a person from the names forwarded to it. He said the choice had been left to the CC by President Sirisena to ensure greater transparency. He did not want to be accused of favouritism in the event SDIG S.M. Wickremesinghe was selected. This was because he hailed from the Polonnaruwa District, the President’s constituency. That was why the CC was being asked to take a decision, he pointed out.

Other than discussions on Mr. Jayasundera and Mr. Wickremesinghe, the CC did not take up the case of Chandana Wickremeratne, SDIG Southern Range.

Two civil society representatives — Shibly Aziz and Radhika Coomaraswamy — were not present at Monday’s meeting.

Puttalam with dengue canal wins clean city award
It was a Western Provincial Councillor who made the acid remark about the previous Government’s campaign to control dengue.
He said if the mosquitoes that spread the disease could read posters and banners in the streets warning about dengue, the menace would be over.

This time, the Presidential Task Force and the Health Ministry’s dengue eradication branch have together launched a campaign in Puttalam, one of the badly affected areas. A banner reads:

“Do not allow dengue mosquitoes to spread once again; you may be the next target; make sure that there are no dengue mosquito breeding places around you by keeping your environment clean”.

It is quite ironic that the health authorities have sought to alert the people of Puttalam over the matter rather than insisting the Secretary or the Special Commissioner of the Puttalam Urban Council should ensure that there are no dengue breeding grounds in that area.

In Puttalam town, there is an ancient drainage canal which runs some kilometres from Nedunkulam tank to Puttalam Lagoon. This is known to be a mosquito breeding canal.

Due to the negligence of the Puttalam Urban Council, this canal has not been maintained for many years and has become a breeding ground for Dengue.

Strangely, the Puttalam Urban Council was awarded first place in 2014 and the third place in 2015 for maintaining the cleanest city in the Northwestern Province.

This is at the performance enhancement competition of the Local Authorities and was conducted by the Local Government Department of the North Western Province among the 34 local authorities including the Municipality of Kurunegala.

Jacket of gold
Rather than return from an overseas trip with a fistful of dollars or currency spilling out of his suit, the official of a top agency instead returned with a jacket which virtually costs a fortune.

Charged in many ways with getting ‘greenbacks’ for his country, our man instead treated himself to a near 2 million rupee-worth jacket from a US store. Colleagues at a ministry which overseas this agency have dubbed him the “man with the jacket of gold”.
The episode doesn’t end there. The official wants to claim this purchase as part of his expense account.

Ministry officials have sought a clarification from higher-ups on whether or not to allow this expense as an ‘official purchase’.

Survey reveals priority perceptions of the people
The cost of living is issue number one confronting Sri Lankans, followed by bribery and corruption, according to a survey conducted by the Marga Institute in January and February this year.

This Institute which is also known as the Centre for Development Studies, a non-profit organisation, carried out the countrywide survey on behalf of the “March 12 Movement.” This movement of civil society groups was formed after they signed a declaration on that date last year to support President Maithripala Sirisena in the fight against political corruption.

A target group profile of males and females between the ages 18 and 60, belonging to all categories in the socio-economic classification of households in the urban and rural sectors countrywide was selected for the survey.
The three fold survey of 400 individuals from different work disciplines was aimed at determining three main objectives. They are:

• General public awareness and perceptions of bribery and corruption.
• Effectiveness of Government campaigns against bribery and corruption.
• Public opinion on what should be done to minimise/eradicate bribery and corruption in Sri Lanka.

Whilst noting that the cost of living was rated as number one priority, bribery and corruption are seen by those interviewed as the second most important issue. It noted that politicians, schools, police and the former Government were associated — without being prompted — with bribery and corruption by the sample.

“Unprompted association of incidents,” the conclusions in the survey note are those relating to the previous administration, “school principals asking for bribes to enlist children at their schools, Customs office and Divineguma Programme.” The survey noted that three out of five persons of the sample stated that bribery and corruption had increased during the previous five years (before 2015).

The survey also revealed that three in five of sample members are not aware of the Right to Information Act and the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Act.

Rajapaksa and nekath politics
Perhaps next to religion, for Sri Lankan politicians of different hues it would be astrology.
So much so, a thriving industry of professionals and phonies make a handsome living out of it.
In 1969, a widely read local astrological journal, now defunct, headlined a story on the outcome of the French presidential elections where Georges Pompidou was contesting Alain Poher.

The newspaper said in bold letters that it was victory hands down for Poher but Pompidou won comfortably. An embarrassed editor was to remark to a colleague that he was right but something rotten had happened.
A person had handed down to him the horoscope of Pompidou and declared it was that of Poher. Hence, he had erred only on the name.

This week, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s assertion that the National New Year auspicious times were not correct was to bring a prompt response. The response came from a committee chaired by Cultural Affairs Minister S.B. Nawinna and seven of the 30 member committee that had formulated the auspicious times.

Among the questions raised by the media was one about Mahinda Rajapaksa’s comments. Journalists wanted to know why he had chosen a time close upon 1 p.m. on April 15 for the oil anointing ceremony. A member of the Committee was quick to respond. “Rajapaksa was facing the north western direction and that was inauspicious,” he said.

Another from the media shot back. He said North Western would mean Wayamba and whether that should be inauspicious to Minister Nawinna too (who was from the area). The reply was an embarrassed, but dead pan – “it was in the direction of the Wayamba Province and there was nothing bad for the Minister.”

Buying while crashlanding
Though technically insolvent, SriLankan Airlines still wants to buy Canadian-made Bombardier aircraft.
This was revealed by a top official of the national carrier when he met pilots for a discussion on Thursday.
The official said such aircraft could undertake domestic and regional flights.

Minister seeks OIC help for Muslims
A Government Minister has sought help from Muslim countries to enshrine provisions in the proposed Sri Lanka Constitution to protect the interests of Muslims.

Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen discussed the role of the Muslim community in the constitution-making process with senior officials of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC), his spokesman A.M. Jameel said.
A former member of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Mr. Jameel is now a strong backer of Bathiudeen All Ceylon Makkal Congress or People’s Congress.

Mr. Jameel said their meeting was inevitable since the Northern Provincial Council had earlier called for the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces in the proposed Constitution. If that happens, Muslims would be in a minority, he said.