Letters to the Editor
View(s):It’s time to impose rule of compulsory attendance for our MPs
The adjournment of Parliament on September 6, within minutes after it commenced sittings due to lack of quorum was not the first in recent times. The President at a recent meeting with the media institution heads expressed his concerns as did Speaker Karu Jayasuriya at the commencement of the sittings, urging MPs to prevent the recurrence of such instances in the future, stressing on the responsibility of the Government and the Opposition and the huge sum of public money spent on Parliamentary sittings.
Parliament incurs a huge cost to conduct sittings. When Parliament adjourns abruptly it’s the people’s money that is wasted. Similarly it’s the people’s money that is spent to sustain the MPs. The salary, other allowances, many perks and the cost of free services, spent monthly for one MP; during his/her term of five years in office is huge. The revenue loss due to duty waiver of over Rs 30 million of a duty free vehicle for one MP costs over Rs. 500,000 per month.
Most parliaments around the world impose some formal Rule of Attendance, both at plenary sittings and committee meetings. Some countries have incorporated “Rules of Attendance” in their Constitution or legislation, or in the standing orders of the Parliament. In many countries, the rule of “Compulsory Attendance” by members is enforced.
According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), compulsory attendance is not enforced in the UK and absence from plenary sittings and committee meetings entails no penalty. However, the attendance in the “Opposed Private Bill Committee” is compulsory. In the United States Congress, no formal attendance is kept.
Two large democracies with British parliamentary tradition; Canada and Australia, the rule of “Compulsory Attendance” is imposed for their members of Parliament. Members who fail to attend without a “valid reason” face penalty.
Parliaments enforcing “Compulsory Attendance” for their members impose penalties for absence without valid reason. They are mostly financial sanctions; forfeiture of a part of the member’s salary and/or allowances is the most common penalty for absence without a valid reason. Financial penalties are usually proportionate to the length of a member’s absence or the number of meetings that a member fails to attend.
The Sri Lankan Parliament, probably going by British parliamentary tradition imposes no “Rules of Attendance” for MPs though it is mentioned in the “Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament” adopted in May this year. It’s time Parliament adopts a rule of “Compulsory Attendance” for members of Parliament with provision for sanctions for absence without “valid reason.”
Parliament can adopt the rule of “Compulsory Attendance” with an amendment to the Standing Orders as a quick fix to the problem. Then public confidence in the institution of Parliament could be restored to some extent.
Raja Wickramasinghe Via email
Appointing women alone won’t address the problems surrounding quazis
A hotly debated issue in the two submissions of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) is the case of appointing female qazis. Back again we are missing the basic reason for the feeling that male qazis are inadequate.
The function of a qazi is a sacred duty prescribed by Islam. But in Sri Lanka, it is the most despicable, neglected and mismanaged system to say the least. There is no control over the function of qazis either in elections, functions, office space, shariah knowledge or abuse of their posts whatsoever. No specific qualifications are specified for their appointments and their utter lack or contempt of shariah knowledge, blatant abuse of power and mishandling of cases are legend. Theoretically they can be reported but the parties concerned are always wary of complaining, lest there will be bias in the judgement given to them. Until all these anomalies are rectified appointing males or females is not going to make any difference in the outcome of the divorce cases. The following measures are necessary to bring about any positive changes:
1. Selecting them on the basis of qualification in shariah and known factors regarding their honesty and thaqwa (piety), and their standing in the society
2. A proper office to be allocated to them which should not be their homes, for then there is no privacy; a place for the grieved parties to be inquired privately in seclusion from prying eyes and an atmosphere conducive for reconciliation to the maximum
3. Proper salary to be paid for them so that they will do the job sincerely and will not resort to be biased towards the ones who give bribes; extracting a reasonable amount of payment from the applicant for divorce may achieve double profits – one to increase the payment of the qazi and the other to act as a deterrent from requesting divorce for flimsy reasons
4. Regular in-service training given to them, at least once a year by a knowledgeable body
5. Monthly reporting of the cases handled by them to a higher authority which is well known and easily accessible to the public.
6. Very stern action against those who proved to have acted against shariah rules
The qazis are in a way the guardians of justice and fair play in society, handling one of the most important aspect, namely the family system. Unless and until the system is rectified we will be just jumping from the frying pan into the fire by appointing women to be qazis.
Without treating the causes, just giving Panadol instead of Aspirin is not going to solve the problem.
Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai Dehiwela
Little by little Colombo’s green areas are turning into concrete jungles
In recent times, readers of the Sunday Times have written on the deplorable state of places that once helped to proclaim Colombo as the green city in this part of the world. Green Path for instance is slowly turning into a Bombay Sweet path, with approvals given to change the ancestral residences to fast food outlets.
The stakeholders and the City Fathers need to be more vigilant on the indiscriminatory destruction of Green Path and its adjacent streets. Rosmead Place, Barnes Place and Horton Place areas are being taken over by high rise apartment buildings which are destroying the once quiet lanes with huge green trees. Writers have commented on the rapid commercialization of peaceful residential houses and night parking on the pavements in the area as a result of the opening of restaurants and bars.
It appears that the Police have neglected the implementation of certain Traffic Assessment rules. The UDA giving permission to convert residential houses into restaurants is also questionable. The Viharamaha Devi Park is also seeing the construction of snack outlets which may affect the environment of this park which had been preserved for years.
The former Mayor Karu Jayasooriya took steps to grow huge green trees in the park for the future. But it seems with the negligence of the stakeholders like the CMC, UDA and the Western Provincial Council, one of the best green spots in Colombo will not be there any more for the novelist to write about.
Bandula Nonis Via email
How about staying back in the country and working for the people?
It has become the practice for the President and the Prime Minister to travel abroad very frequently. Every time they travel they are accompanied by 10 to 15 other politicians enjoying pleasure rides on Business class and checking into super luxury hotels at the expense of the poor taxpayers of our country.
The question we ask is, is it really necessary for these politicians to accompany the President or the PM every time they travel abroad on state visits or for conferences? What do they contribute ?
These men accompany the President or the PM purely to gain their vote at elections.
The entire population is watching the colossal waste of public funds.It is high time such globe-trotting is kept to the minimum and only the really necessary qualified members are included in the group.
Our politicians are making hay while the sun shines. They should stay in the country and attend to the needs of the suffering masses.
Brig.Neville Fernando Colombo 6