Letters to the Editor
View(s):When we go for elections, let’s make it electronic voting
In Sri Lanka with a literacy rate of 90 to 95% there are about 15 million people who use mobile phones and nearly 60 to 70 per cent who have smart phones. My suggestion is to have voting electronically. The source to access the voting scheme will be the NIC number and as most citizens use ATM machines they would be familiar with the touch screen.
This will be a more cost-effective system to have touch screen computers with the relevant details (letters attached) as I am sure the Elections Dept and IT Depts. in the universities can have a programme so that people can go and cast their votes at voting centres or divisional secretariats for a period of three days.
If anyone does not know how to use this system, provision should be allowed for an immediate family member to accompany them to cast their votes as long as the Grama Niladhari certifies their relationship.
I sincerely hope the MPs take the initiative to submit a proposal to this effect to Parliament and get it approved.
C.S. de Silva Ratmalana
Stop the country from heading towards disaster
At the very inception I must emphasise that being a septuagenarian, I hold no brief with any party or individual but what is contained in this letter is my personal view about the present state of affairs in the country.
It is no secret that the President is using his Executive powers in an unconstitutional manner. He assumes that he is the monarch of all he surveys. The concept of democracy is completely forgotten and the President is acting in a dictatorial manner by throwing away all norms of democracy. Now, democracy in the country is in the wilderness. It is quite clear that the step taken by the President to prorogue Parliament before its stipulated period of five years, is completely unconstitutional unless in a dire necessity.
Article 33 (2) of the Constitution gives blanket (hidden) powers to the President to dissolve Parliament according to his wish (this is a quotation from the 1978 Constitution). But the 19th Amendment 70 (1) prohibits the President from dissolving Parliament to suit his whims and fancies, until the expiry of 4 ½ years. Of course I am not a legal luminary to come to conclusions in this regard, but this is merely my understanding of the present scenario. But, at the same time, I must stress that the act of dissolving parliament was an erudite decision taken by him, which gives a chance to the voters to exercise their franchise to elect a new regime.
Now, the President has started to give lame excuses why he prorogued parliament. It is nothing but quite clear that his party would not be able to muster the sufficient number of votes in Parliament, in an election.
He is blaming the Speaker for all these mishaps but of course, the Speaker too, should have acted in a more appropriate manner on several occasions. The very unruly behaviour of these parliamentarians on both sides, is clearly a severe setback for the image of the country, proudly known as the Wonder of Asia.
As I see it, the country as a whole is heading for disaster. The final outcome will be that Sri Lanka might get isolated from the international community. As such, I earnestly request these parliamentarians to use their brains and not brawn, and not to disgrace this august assembly, by exhibiting their disgraceful behaviour.
Lionel Caldera Battaramulla
What a sight to behold!
For some time, I have been witnessing a somewhat disgusting happening in almost all public / private sector offices and institutions including banks and hospitals.
Staff, especially front office staff keep glass bottles filled with water on their counters or tables to quench their thirst while at work.
Whenever they feel thirsty, they pour water from those bottles straight into their mouths. This, they do in front of their customers without any regard or courtesy to the customer who is afforded a free show of their gaping jaws sometimes with cavities and missing teeth !
The irony is, most of those bottles still carry the eye-catching labels of the strong amber ‘firewater’ which had filled them once.
Lo and behold, when I go to pay the premia for my Life and Vehicle Insurances (two different institutions) too, I observe the same scenario !
Advertising alcoholic products is banned. Then, could not it be an offence to display such bottles in areas where the general public throng to attend to official matters?
Front office staff should be made aware that their duty is not only providing an efficient service to their customers but also to discharge it in a respectable manner.
Today, in most of the work places staff are provided with water dispensers and tumblers, yet this practice continues unabated.
D. Samaranayake Battaramulla
The country salutes you Sir
Thank you Sir, for standing tall when all else was falling apart.
It took principled courage to do what you did. I am sure many of my fellow citizens of Lanka, bow their heads in appreciation. Your firm stand by the Constitution saved us when this country was being sold with impunity to the dark forces.
Dr. Channa Ratnatunga Kandy
Little being done to rectify salary anomalies that affect my pension
I am one of the officers from the prestigious post of SLEAS-II in the Department of Education. I retired on 13.04.2011 after serving for 39 years. On my retirement, my paying office at the Sammanthurai, Zonal Education Office prepared my pension-related documents. While this was in progress some salary anomalies surfaced in my prior service of SLTS-1 and the current service of SLEAS-III& II.
I brought the above anomalies to the notice of the Public Administration Ministry and the Eastern Province Provincial Department of Education. The Ministry and the Provincial Department had requested the Sammanthurai, Zonal Education office to take necessary steps with regard to my salary anomalies. These two institutions had sent those requests on 8/5/2018 and 30/10/2018 respectively. But, I haven’t heard anything from that zonal office, so far.
In addition, I too had sent a request to the zonal office to rectify my salary anomalies on 07 /11/2018. But I have not received any reply.
I am a 67-year-old pensioner who is getting less as a result of the salary anomalies created by the above zonal office in 2011. And this salary anomaly surfaced because, the office seems to have ignored or failed to apply the provisions of E/code section VII: 2:4 and circular Nos: 5:3:1: 11/94, 7/2000, 4/2003& the directive of the line Ministry of Education etc.
It is my fervent hope that the Department of Pensions, the custodian of all pensioners, would look into this matter urgently and rectify the anomalies.
A.L.M. Ameen Via e mail
Is this the way to act against corruption?
I listened to the talk by the President on TV last Sunday when he addressed the foreign correspondents at his official residence.
He categorically said that he firmly stands against corruption and will take every possible action to eradicate this menace.
If he is honest about this I am curious as to why Johnston Fernando and Wimal Weerawansa, who had to be summoned before Courts on charges of corruption, were re-sworn before him as Ministers, and assigned the same portfolios under which they were charged for corruption during the Rajapaksa Government. Rather than curbing corruption it would appear he is promoting corruption.
Citizen Perera Via email
Violence on TV and the effect on children
Violence and aggression are very commonly shown on our television screens and other types of media. People are very fond of watching such programmes containing violent scenes. They forget that children too are exposed to these scenes of violence.
Scientific research has shown that such exposure affects children. They are more likely to imitate what they see. These behavioural changes can persist even when they become adults.
Should we ignore this scientific evidence and common sense?
It is the responsibility of parents, media and government to be vigilant about this.
Dr D.P.D. Wijesinghe Via email