10% hike: Pensioners seek equality in rise
The recent Budget promised public servants a salary increase of 10% or Rs. 1,250 a month, whichever is higher. In this case, the 10% would actually work from the Rs. 12,500 limit of salaries, as up to that amount , it will be a monthly increase of Rs 1,250.

However, step-motherly treatment was meted out to pensioners, in that they were granted only a 10% increase on basic pensions. While government servants who draw Rs. 12,500 a month or less get an increase of Rs. 1,250, pensioners who draw less than Rs. 12,500 a month will not get the Rs. 1,250. Most of the pensioners draw Rs. 8,000 or less and will get only a 10% of the basic pension.

Prior to 1956, pensioners got equal increases in line with government servants. Thereafter, govt. servants and pensioners were split into two groups so that the government could pay less to pensioners who are a neglected lot with none to come to their rescue.

They were the government servants who retired after yeoman's service and remain government servants upto their death as they too are paid from public funds. It is here that this step-motherly treatment started. What happened to the recent Pensions Committee Report?

In many other countries, these senior citizens are well treated, recognised and respected by the government and society. But unfortunately in Sri Lanka it is vice-versa.

At the time of retirement, pensioners are burdened with many problems.

(1) Unpaid debts as his salary has been insufficient to make ends meet. It's worse if the family is more than three members.
(2) Children needing higher studies.
(3) Children of marriageable age.
(4) Ailments of various types, probably requiring hospitalisation, medical care, surgery, various tests and specialist care.
(5) Some have to pay rents and key monies in large sums.
(6) Daily expenditure on food

The lowest paid - say upto Rs. 12,500 p.m. -- is unable to have a bank account as he has no savings. So the possibility of living on bank interest is nil, as even the commuted pension (which was just a very small amount up to 1980) is spent on relieving debts and other needs.

Those who retired prior to 1980 are the worst-hit. In view of these, I appeal to the government to give equal treatment to pensioners. Give the pensioner also a 10% rise or Rs. 1,250 a month, whichever is higher and grant us redress.

Yet another request is that Pensioners' Identity Cards be made valid for all transactions whether in government or public institutions, with priority treatment to senior citizens.

A.G. Ranasingha
Gampaha

Harper blooper and biased Botham
It's fair to say that the umpiring in the series between Sri Lanka and England was poor. In fact, it bordered on the ridiculous at times. However, it is no surprise that the main offender, if you could call him that, was Australian umpire Daryl Harper.

Harper has a history of eccentric decision-making, with the most infamous being the 'Shoulder Before Wicket' decision against Sachin Tendulkar in the 1999 series between India and Australia. Harper seems to reserve his worst for little Sri Lanka as his decisions have thwarted our bid for victory. Despite repeated protests by the Sri Lankan cricket hierarchy to the ICC, the game's governing body keeps saddling Harper on the hapless Lankans.

As a cricket lover and follower, it is also disturbing to observe the double standards adopted by several ex-players turned commentators, who have turned apologists for Harper's incompetence. We all remember how M/s Botham and Co., turned their wrath on local umpires during England's acrimonious series in Sri Lanka in 2001 and although a majority of commentators, during the recent series had constantly tried to be impartial, the same cannot be said of Ian Botham. Ian, sorry to say, to borrow a phrase from Botham himself, still goes about with the same belligerence and bias he displayed two years ago.

He pontificates about the supposed inadequacies of the Sri Lankan captain, with whom he obviously has an axe to grind, whilst loyally white-washing Harper with his new-found mate Manjrekar, who once had the audacity to mention that although Harper made mistakes, what helped his cause was his ability to joke with the players and see the lighter side of things. I am sure the Sri Lankans are not laughing, as Harper's antics in the first two Test matches, denied them victories. All I can say to Mr. Manjrekar, whom I admired as a batsman is "You've got to be kidding, mate".

All this boils down to one sad fact that despite such a rich cricketing history, we do not have Sri Lankan commentators who can present a strong, unbiased point of view in response to Botham and Co. This is the very reason that unlike in other countries, most notably our neighbours India and Pakistan, that we have to put up with boring and biased crap dished out by disgruntled individuals even when matches are played on our soil.

Mishantha Herath
Dehiwela

In defence of the Defence Review Committee
This is with regard to The Sunday Times article of December 7, where your correspondent made inaccurate statements on the subject of the Defence Review Committee (DRC). This particular article appears to be a follow-up to one written the previous Sunday, where reference was made once again to the committee but this time without too much 'bite', so to speak.

Let me clarify the inaccuracies and 'punches below the belt':

(a) A Defence Review (after 54 years) is not required to have persons with experience of warfare. It is usual for civil servants and retired persons to be part of Defence Reviews because they look at things objectively whilst those in service look for things subjectively. In fact, the original concept and legislation for the Armed Forces of Ceylon were framed by civil servants with no war service.

A peacetime commander is expected to maintain the peace, and this task was eminently carried out by service commanders of that era and war was prevented, though there were turbulent times and not one soldier was killed.

The ground situation was reviewed by two internationally reputed Military Commanders viz, General Sir Michael Rose and Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar. They made about three or four visits to Sri Lanka in the past two years and went to many operational areas and reported the findings to the Prime Minister. War service is not a pre-requisite, and the remark pertaining to anyone not having fought a war is not only irrelevant, but amusing.

(b) Mr. Iqbal Athas a few months ago commented that the DRC had not kept serving officers informed of its remit and work but now adversely comments on Lt. Gen. Denis Perera visiting military establishments and speaking to officers and troops. Lt. Gen. Perera did this along with the committee's secretary who is a serving brigadier appointed by the minister, as the other members of the DRC were usually not available to spend the time (usually half a day) on these visits. Some outstations required more than a day out.

(c) The DRC has been terminated prematurely, although its work was allowed to continue until December 31, 2003. Only time will tell whether such a review, after 54 years, was a wasted effort mostly in the form of voluminous paper work where millions of rupees of public funds have been spent for nothing during its 18 months of existence.

Knowing Denis so well and intimately too over the years, I am sure he will not exercise his right of reply, the prim and proper person that he is with outstanding qualities, hence I have taken it upon myself to make representations on his behalf, with his approval, particularly because of the insinuation that he too "was engaging in a purely politically motivated exercise".

Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) H. Goonetileke
Colombo 5

Paddiruppu’s punished teachers
In the past, teacher transfers were regular and implemented without prejudice. However, the Paddiruppu Zonal Department of Education has adopted an unfair criterion in this regard with effect from January 1. As such, they appear to be punishment transfers.

Teachers who had previously served in difficult areas for more than 10 years have been transferred to another difficult area. Is this fair? Representations made to the Provincial Department of Education in Trincomalee have fallen on deaf ears.

In the Paddiruppu Zonal Department of Education, almost all the officers are proficient only in one language. Besides, among the staff, only four are SLEAS qualified. So the efficiency of this department in a multi-lingual district is questionable. Will the Ministry of Education intervene, look into the unfair transfers ordered by this department and take immediate action.

Affected Teachers
Paddiruppu Zone

Don’t turn Independence Square into a crematorium
I am a Sinhalese Buddhist who is dismayed at the ceremonies conducted at the funerals of Buddhist monks.

When Prince Siddhartha renounced worldly pleasures and left his wife and infant child, he did not yearn for worldly pleasures. Unfortunately, today, Sri Lankans have lost trust and confidence in institutions such as the police and the judiciary and also in politicians and now, sadly, in our own Buddhist monks.

This is because many of them do not follow the teachings of the Buddha. They dabble in politics, lead trade union movements and promote strikes to cripple the economy and inconvenience the poor. Some of them are businessmen in robes. Many of them do not even shave their heads! When did you last see a monk walking with his bowl to beg for food?

When a monk dies, even a junior monk, it is a spectacle. One wonders whether these are staged by interested parties to gain some mileage and TV footage. Almost every senior monk is accorded a state funeral and the remains will lie in state for several days, while "thousands" pay homage. One sees on TV scenes of people crying. One wonders whether they knew the deceased monk personally or whether they will cry in this fashion for their family members or even a close friend of many years.

Of course they know the TV cameras will focus on them for "footage of grief". Due to these un-Buddha-like scenes, the public is inconvenienced and roads are blocked while business establishments are asked to close.

The monks who die, while alive preach the impermanence of life and that death is another passage in samsara. There is no need to grieve. This is acceptance of one's karma. One wonders whether some of the venerated monks would want this type of spectacle. Why cannot every monk give a pledge that when he dies, there should be no state funeral and that he must be cremated within 24 hours? Why cannot the Mahanayake Theras issue a general decree to this effect, after all Buddha, even though born a prince, did not have state funerals and periods of mourning lasting more than a week?

Independence Square was established to commemorate the gaining of Independence. It is not a crematorium. Will the Mahanayake Theras tell the government to have the cremation of monks at the cemetery? Now Independence Square has become a crematorium, as has the Art Gallery become a funeral parlour.

Ajith Fernando
Colombo 4

Back to Top

Back to Plus

| Front Page | | News | | Editorial | | Columns | | Sports | | Plus | | Business | | Mirror Magazine | | TV Times |

Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.