Letters
View(s):Wigneswaran has let down the community of Retired Judges
Retired judges, particularly Judges of the Supreme Court belong to a body of retired state employees held in the highest esteem. Whenever the state is in need of persons of unblemished integrity to lead or serve in ad hoc Committees of inquiry or serve in commissions of national significance it is these persons to whom the government first turns to.
Generally retired Supreme Court judges are presumed to have done no wrong and are also seen as people not likely to deviate from standards of behaviour expected of judges even in retirement.
The recent utterances of ex-SC judge, Chief Minister Wigneswaran are a blatant deviation from the expected standards.
Wigneswaran came into reckoning as a public figure in the country by functioning as a judge of the Supreme Court. During his tenure in the Supreme Count he no doubt was immersed in the sub-culture of the highest echelons of the Country’s judiciary. Instead of taking these noble values to the new pastures that he ventured into, the dirty profession of politics, he has allowed his past as a judge to be buried in a heap of political excreta.
When all right thinking leaders are making sincere efforts at reconciliation and nation building after several decades of internal strife Wigneswaran by pedalling racism at this critical time in Sri Lanka’s history, has clearly demonstrated that he has not benefited from his stint as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Had Wigneswaram carried the values of the Judiciary to politics and not succumbed to the putrid values of the latter, he would still have been respected and politics too particularly in the North would have benefited.
It is not the SLFP or the BBS that should be protesting against the conduct of Wigneswaran, but the community of retired judges that has been greatly embarrassed by the racist behaviour of the ex-judge Chief Minister.
Edward Gunawardena
Via email
On the highway: First impressions do count
Arriving from overseas and on the highway, I noticed no billboards advertising our famous tea or hotels et al. Also it lacked bright lighting that would make for an impressive impression en route to the comparatively clean and fast developing city of Colombo.
It’s also about time we do away with our noise polluting and intimidating Tata buses , replacing them with the more seldom seen, sleek red micro state-run buses that ply on our roads although not as freqently as we would wish.
May we also hope that the trishaws which tuk-tuk and meander along in their own crazy ways be confined to the byroads and not allowed to hold up the faster traffic on the main roads.
It is my hope that some of these suggestions will be given serious consideration so that they may add to the many pluses that we see today in what we may hope is our progressive forward march of the nation. After all, first impressions do count.
Imaad Saibo
Colombo
There is a limit to aping the west isn’t it?
Concerns over wet toilet floors in the Bandaranaike International Airport were written about in a newspaper article recently. It said they wanted to do away with ablution facilities for air passengers in the airport toilets. Demerits of using bidet hand-held showers were identified by the experts. They were saddled with a mega problem of keeping the toilet floors dry; the easy way out was to dump the bidet and force people to use toilet paper only.
This seemed good only for the BIA staff who want to cater only to such vipers (wipers). In my view it is an unkind punishment to the Sri Lankan passenger especially the expatriate workers who toil to bring foreign exchange to our country.
Let’s look at it in a more meaningful way. At Dubai airport I discovered to my relief both squatting toilets as well as commode toilets installed. I personally am reluctant to sit on a wet commode in a public place. BIA could follow the example set by Dubai.
To keep the floor free of stagnant patches of water, the floors have to be tilted at least by one inch at one end allowing the water to flow down. A slanted floor will not kill anyone.
Any Sri Lankan who has gone to a star class hotel and used the lobby toilets would have experienced the disaster of having no water to wash, but mere tissues, which certainly is not 100% hygienic. Water is cold in cold countries, thus they chose tissues.
Man was created to squat and not sit while he is defecating! Better evacuation!The idea to do away with hand-held bidet showers in order to keep the floor dry is like cutting off one’s toes to fit into small sized shoes. There is a limit to aping the west isn’t it?
Rights Activist
Via email
This was once a park for everybody
We have been patrons of the Wetland (Weli) Park from the time it was inaugurated by the previous government. Thousands of people, like us, have benefited from this exercise and leisure area which was unique in Colombo for its ethos. Before 2016 the park was guarded and maintained by the Navy and the walk-way, the planted area and the grass were kept spotlessly clean and perfectly maintained day in and day out.
The rule to maintain “decent behaviour” and the prohibition consuming food and drink within the environs was strictly enforced by the officers on watch.
However, last Saturday we went there with our kids to enjoy an evening’s walk and what we beheld was utterly disgusting. The “park” area around the pond and fountains were full of young couples behaving in utterly shameless ways. Nothing was left to the imagination, excepting that they still had clothes on. It was like walking in an “X” rated movie set!
Food, drink and each other were being ‘consumed’ freely. The environment was untidy and messy in comparison to what it was and the Police who were present were totally ignoring the blatant vulgarity going on in public. Subsequently, we have been visiting the park regularly and it seems that this is the norm everyday.
Will the authorities, who ever is responsible, please take some stern measures to make this park the great place it was for EVERYBODY’s use in the past?
Ajit N.A. Perera
Via email
