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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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