Letters to the Editor

Where talent breaks down all barriers
The media is filled with pages and pages full of praise for the achievement of Muthiah Muralitharan. One thought provoking article in a Sports page under the heading, "Tamil who escaped 'genocide'," states that Murali's 104-year-old maternal grandfather is from Namakkal in Tamil Nadu, and migrated to Ceylon in the early 20th century.

Likewise the ancestors of the present 15 lakhs of Tamils described as "Indian Tamils" in the census reports of Sri Lanka courageously braved the dangers of the dark and stormy weather and dared to cross the high seas risking their lives. From Mannar the first entry point, they trekked the whole day clearing the thick jungles, which were infested with animals and harmful elements to reach Vavuniya by evening.

The same process continued thereafter to reach Matale via Anuradhapura. At Matale the migrants were selected for the final destination such as Nuwara Eliya, Hatton and Badulla. To establish landmarks, statues of God Pillayar were placed along the route at decided distances (may be a mile) and at crossroads/junctions. These landmarks became directions to the traveller and were referred to as Vali-Pillayar (vall in Tamil means direction). Some of these Vali-Pillayar statues can still be seen along the Anuradhapura-Matale Road and even at Habarana along the Dambulla-Trincomale Road. In fact, there is a junction at Anuradhapura known even now as Pillayar junction.

The journey from South India to the final destination probably an uncleared jungle selected as a prospective plantation was a hazardous one. The first set of workers would have travelled in about 1850. Even in South India they would have had to walk all the way to the port from the villages. The sea voyage, the long trek through uncleared and infested jungles, paucity of food and medicine, climate changes and other hostile elements took their toll.

It is recorded that only one in three reached the final destination, while two perished along the way. One of the descendants of this courageous and determined tribe is young Murali, an Indian Tamil, Sri Lankan citizen by descent under Act 18 of 1948.

The British carefully planned the selection of workers from India, which was influenced by their 'Divide and Rule' policy. In Tamil Nadu, districts are demarcated based on the caste system. Violence among the different castes is a common feature. This same caste-based selection was applied in Ceylon as well. In places such as Haputale, Badulla and Bandarawela, the "Mukkulathor" (Kallar, Mravar and Ahambadiyar) became the first settlers. Various sects of "Vellalar" caste settled around Kandy, Gampola, Teldeniya, Kegalla and Wattegama.

Even today, after two centuries, 'Indian Tamil' citizens of Sri Lanka are unable to unite under one banner and leadership. Trade unions and political parties exploit the caste factor. The multiplicity of trade unions and political parties has worked to the detriment of the progress and upliftment of this under-privileged community. The country is the final loser.

Muttiah Muralitharan is an accidental find. In the murky waters of the hilly green terrain there are so many pearls and gems, not only in cricket but also in athletics (especially the marathon race) and other sports activities, music,art, and other fields.

There is plenty of hidden talent in the plantation agricultural sector, which needs to be tapped for the benefit and glory of the country as a whole. In the name of Murali and others who have brought international fame to this country, the government should establish a "Talent Finding Foundation', a charitable organisation. When Susanthika, the athletics queen was at her best, here is a poem, which I contributed to the newspapers in March 2001.

'Full many a Susanthika of purest ray serene
The unexplored mountains of hectares of tea bear.
Full many a Muralitharan is born to suffer unseen,
And waste his talents for want of training and care'
(with apologies to Thomas Grey)

All and sundry have rallied round Murali. He has been hailed as a national treasure. Should this not give a pointer to those who are labouring under the peace process to rally the youth of this country under one common banner. The surest approach is to open avenues which transcend all barriers - race, religion, caste, creed, social status etc., ie., the 'Talent Finding Foundation'.

A leader among the Malays
The appreciation of the late Dr. T.B. Jayah by Fowzul Aleem Farook published in The Sunday Times of June 6, unfortunately did not mention the ethnic identity of the late Dr. T.B. Jayah. It merely stated that the late Dr. was a Muslim.

His name was given as Tuan Burhanudeen Jayah. This term Tuan is used only for Malays. Moreover, the birth certificate issued in Sri Lanka clearly states whether you are a Ceylon Moor or a Ceylon Malay.

Malays and Moors are two different ethnic groups that belong to one and the same religion called Islam. All persons who embrace Islam are called Muslims. As an ethnic group, the Malays have their own culture and so do the Moors.

We Malays do not wish to hide our ethnic identity but stand up proudly for a leader produced by our community who served the whole nation irrespective of differences.

Lesson from the nurses
The nurses training schools were reopened last week and 2,000 new trainees were admitted at 13 centres around the island. Every new member was greeted warmly and welcomed by the seniors by offering a rose. Later the new entrants were invited to tea at a party organised by the seniors. This has become a ritual for a number of years.

There is no ragging at this institution and it has been able to maintain high discipline in the classes and in the hostels because no political party has infiltrated the hostels. This should be a good example to other educational institutions.

Indecent exposures
As a mother of three young daughters, and on behalf of all other concerned mothers, we welcome the decision taken by the Ministry of Culture and the National Film Corporation to ban sex films, imported and local.

I wish to register my emphatic protest against the display of sex and nude scenes in teledramas and films churned out in our country. They are a far cry from the good old days when we as children sat with our parents to watch such beautiful films like 'Village in the Jungle', 'Gajaman Nona', 'Rekawa', 'Sath Samudura', 'Ganga Addara' etc., depicting scenes of national and historical value.

In these films due respect was paid to female actresses, unlike today where they are scantily clad and appear in suggestive poses. Kissing, fondling and the entwining of limbs with male counterparts appear to be the order of the day. Even the buriya or navel, which is essentially a private part of a woman's anatomy is exposed to view in many a lurid scene. We questioned a well-known actor and he admitted that sex and nudity, crime and violence are the main ingredients of a film or teledrama to draw the crowd.

Apart from the sex scenes, these films and teledramas show how banks are plundered, chloroform spray is used to kidnap and rape young school girls, and houses robbed with T-56 guns and three-wheeler accomplices.

Recently it was reported that an 18-year-old boy from Embilipitiya had raped his 14-year-old school-going cousin merely for the fun of it and to experience what is shown in the films.

As women and mothers we call on the President to issue firm directions to film-makers to ensure that norms of decency, moral conduct and ethics are strictly observed to protect the fair name of our thrice-blessed land and Dharma Deepa. If these are not observed their licences should be cancelled.

More one-day services needed
The issue of passports in a day has become extremely useful to people, compared to the delays that prevailed decades ago. It is also a relief to note that a similar system has been introduced at the Registrar of Persons Department too, for the issue of national identity cards, which had been an agonising experience to those who had to face much inconvenience due to the inordinate delay in getting their identity cards.

There are yet other areas where such one-day services need to be introduced. This will also fill government coffers with increased revenue and help the institutions concerned to employ more staff for such purposes as well as to pay substantial incentives to employees who attend to the applications.

An increase in the stamp duty or rates cannot be a matter of concern as far as the citizen's satisfaction is concerned, as he gets his documents promptly. The most important places where such one-day services need to be introduced are the various branches of the Registrar General's Department (including the Sahan Piyasa in Colombo 10), and its branches at the Divisional Secretariats throughout the country.

This could also help avoid the various malpractices abounding in such institutions. Whereas it takes weeks and months to get a copy of a birth certificate through the normal procedures, an application made through an agent who has contacts with the officials, is attended to then and there, at a fabulous cost.

This is a well-known fact. If a person, who requires a copy of a birth certificate in one day has to pay from Rs. 500/- to 750/- for the copy of birth certificate, why can't it be done legally, by payment of a slightly higher sum.

It is high time, that we realised the importance of preserving the original documents of birth, marriage, death and the deeds of land and property. It is regrettable that steps have not been taken to preserve these valuable documents in a fully computerised system.

Very often a birth certificate applied for is said to be untraceable. A letter is issued to this effect and it is helplessly accepted by the other institutions, which are compelled to issue their documents even without seeing the birth certificate of the person concerned.

Several courts of law have to accept affidavits simply because the original deeds are not traceable at the land registry offices. This may lead to abuses of various types.

Another place to which such a one-day service could be extended is the Motor Traffic Dept. with particular attention to the issue of driving lincences, registration and transfers of motor vehicles etc. Let's hope and trust that the ministries concerned pay serious attention to these matters.

U-turn on promises made in cloud cuckoo land
'Sandanaya' plays Migel by day and Dhaniyel by night: This is the anglicised version of the colloquially satirical Sinhala proverb. Nevertheless its sub-text is to metaphorically deride the duplicity of unscrupulous people, particularly those engaged in politics, who take a high moral ground publicly on issues just for the consumption of the voters, with the idea of doing something entirely opposite when they are in power. Once they have been elected they are not at a loss to cite fabricated alibis for justifying the volte-face they make of the very same policies they espoused.

This is exactly what is unfolding now in the performances of the Sandanaya (comprising mainly the SLEP and the JVP) which presented itself to the people at the election as a paragon of political virtue.

The occasional murmur of disapproval and mild press statements are mere facades to show the people that they still remain faithful to their original policy stances. Didn't they launch much more violent and aggressive campaigns using the tools of agitation in their Marxist political repertoire on the very same issues when they were in the opposition?

Perhaps, since the last election, they might have attained a higher plain of political maturity, which has convinced them that the lukewarm and moderate protests on such issues would augur well for themselves as well as the country. Practising hallowed principles is not as easy as preaching them.

The solemn promises made by way of policies in 'Rata Perata'- the rhetorical title given to Sandanaya's election manifesto-have been stealthily turfed out giving them the liberty to implement a set of policies of an entirely different hue.

Hence the performance of Sandanaya being compared to the proverbial character of Migel by day and Dhaniyel by night. The Sandanaya, as voters would, no doubt, remember, made outright condemnation of the UNF's performance, particularly with regard to the way it handled the peace process, and vowed to replace it with a more sublime and enlightened policy in the avowed best interest of the country.

The following were, inter alia, the major policy areas of UNF, which were subjected to vehement criticism by Sandanaya with a solemn undertaking given to correct, remedy and reverse them when they turned the table:- alleged illegality of and the flaws in the peace agreement entered into between UNF Government and the LTTE, re-negotiation of peace agreement as Sandanaya deemed fit, unacceptability of the recognition of the LTTE being the sole representative of the Tamils in the negotiation process, the outright rejection of the ISGA as the basis for future negotiations, discarding the Norwegians as facilitators in the negotiation process, and unwarranted concessions claimed to have been extended to LTTE by the UNF.

Other major promises made to be implemented within a time frame of three months were:

However, the Sandanaya has now made a convenient U-turn on all the above issues. And so the fascinating paradigms of policies held out to the people have miserably turned out to be nothing but promises made in cloud cuckoo land.

The sad irony is that the UNF in the opposition has apparently abdicated its democratic responsibility to its constituency. has the obligation to expose the duplicity of the Sandanaya, and the way it has been backtracking on all it stood for in soliciting the vote of the people. Whilst the UNF is in deep slumber, the Sandanaya has taken the liberty to break the proverbial earthenware in the abandoned house.

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