Letters to the Editor
View(s):Time to solve the decades long problem over SLMC
Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, a Sri Lankan by birth who has been the past president of Britain’s Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, past president of the British Medical Association and past president of the World Federation of OBGYN sent me the documents by email and I forwarded copies of them to the then SLMC President, Prof. Carlo Fonseka in 2017, but he did not take any action.
The Ceylon Medical Council was established by the then British Government on the lines of the parent body, the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom in 1926, almost 94 years ago. Unfortunately this antiquated institution has not progressed unlike its British counterpart over the last 94 years.
The General Medical Council is a legal body established by the Privy Council, the highest judicial authority in the UK, to which it is answerable. The GMC consists of 24 members, 12 of whom are from the medical profession and the other 12 who are lay people.
The GMC appointments are made by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) which is appointed by the Privy Council. The applications for the post and the interviewing of the candidates are done by the PSA, and these appointments are sent to the Privy Council for confirmation. The Chairman of the Council is determined by the Privy Council from amongst the Council Members, and the Health Department is informed of the appointments by the Privy Council.
However, what the SLMC is doing is different. All members appointed to the SLMC are medical men. Applications are called for by the SLMC and the appointments are made by voting of the general membership of Doctors. There are 8 Deans of the eight medical faculties of the country and the rest are all medical men from the SLMC membership.
It is obvious that we are not following the parent body. The SLMC being a legal body should be appointed by the highest court of the country, the Supreme Court. It is the Public Service Commission (PSC), like the PSA of the UK, that should call for applications for the posts in the Council as and when they arise and have the necessary interviews and inform Supreme Court once the candidates are selected by interviews.
This same procedure should be adopted in Sri Lanka in the future, as it is foolproof and transparent.
I have already made representations to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran has also forwarded all the data by courier to the President a few weeks ago. As this matter comes under the Ministry of Justice, I hope Minister Ali Sabry PC will take the matter up with the President and do the needful as soon as possible and solve this problem, which has been going on throughout these many decades.
Prof. Wilfred Perera
(Past President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association, & Past President of the Sri Lanka College of Obstetricians &Gynecologists)
Oath of allegiance by Govt. servants a black mark
I refer to the very thought provoking and absorbing Editorial in the Sunday Times of January 3. The Editorial refers to the steps taken by the current administration to have all Government servants take an oath of allegiance to the present Government’s manifesto of ‘Vistas of prosperity and splendour’.
This type of oath taking was never conducted by any Government in the good old days but Government servants were expected to follow the guidelines stipulated under the Administrative Regulations and the Financial Regulations. The duties of such Government servants should not be detrimental to the policies of the government in office.
Now an octogenarian, I am a retired Government servant who joined the service way back in 1959 and served until retirement in 2000 in the Railway Department.
Government servants were selected after a competitive examination published in the Government Gazette They were expected to perform their duties responsibly and honourably and adhere to the ARs and FRs. Politics was taboo for all Government servants when performing their official duties irrespective of their political affiliations.
The present set-up is definitely a black mark under the present stable government.
Dear Mr. President, it is up to the Government servants to execute their responsibilities to the public who seek their guidance and assistance to solve their problems under the relevant Ministry. While the writer appreciates your performance so far, please do not allow this type of unethical instructions given by some of your officials to mar your image.
Lionel Caldera Battaramulla