Letters to the Editor

Once a jolly pensioner, now a shattered, sorrowful pensioner
Not a day passes without the multitude of woes of the pensioners being presented in the newspapers. They keep asking the question, when will the much longed for, much promised and eagerly awaited arrears of pensions be paid? Who will give them the details and answers to the many questions they keep asking and for which they get no acceptable answer? Visits to the different officials, the Pensions Department, the District Secretaries, Assistant District Secretaries, etc, provide no definite answer and seem to be of no avail.

May I please request the relevant authorities (the Director of Pensions and any of the other relevant and concerned (no pun) authorities) to please inform the pensioners, through the media, and if possible even individually, when the pensioners can expect to receive their enhanced pensions, what procedures they have to adopt to get this and what forms (if any) they have to fill to receive the increased pensions.

Also can any forms that have to be filled please be sent by the Divisional Secretaries or the Assistant Divisional Secretaries to the pensioners direct, along with their monthly pension forms? (In the same manner information about free eye examining and spectacles for nominal amounts are offered)

The biggest problem faced by the pensioners is that they have no idea what action they have to take to get this long-awaited, enhanced pension. At least if they are correctly informed what action they have to take and when they can expect the arrears, it will minimise groping in the dark and attendant frustration.

May I remind the Director of Pensions and the other involved officials (if indeed a reminder is necessary), that a very large number of these pensioners depend on the pension as their sole, if not major source of income. Most of them are feeble, senile and physically unfit. And, most importantly, do not forget that quite a few of them are in the "departure lounge" awaiting the last farewell!!

Please have a heart, a little compassion and help these feeble old men and women before it is too late. If you will and do take action as requested above, may be you can revert and re-instate them to the positions they once were in - Jolly Pensioners!!

Fares go up but our woes remain
As a daily traveller, I am deeply concerned about the bus fare hike, which came into effect as soon as the fuel prices increased. The Private Bus Operators Association was able to succeed in increasing the bus fare by 50 cents but have they even thought of the commuters' inconveniences in travelling in their buses?

Buses are fully packed and people are greatly inconvenienced. In many private buses tickets are not issued to passengers and they are overcharged by the conductors.

The conductors use rude language on the innocent commuters. Moreover, private buses take one hour or more for a 20 minute ride, mostly on village routes, hoping to pick up more passengers.

The government and the National Transport Commission take the side of the Private Bus Operators Association and increase fares but rarely think of the poor commuters.

An example to us Sri Lankans
Hats off to Muslims in France who earlier demanded the lifting of the ban on head scarves of Muslim school girls for their patriotism.

Their taking to the streets along with those who defended the ban to call on hostage-takers to free the French journalists without exploiting the situation should be commended.

Their unity behind the law and the ability to distinguish the national issue without mixing it up with religious practices would definitely be an eye-opener to all of us Sri Lankans (especially politicians) who eagerly wait for their opponents to make mistakes to jump at their throats.

It may be archaic, but it ain’t wrong
I am writing this letter in reply to T.P. Paul from Eheliyagoda. The controversy regarding the use of the word 'holden', in my view, has two sides to it. The first and most important is its accuracy as far as grammar is concerned and the other is the suitability of the word in the context of the sentence. The grammar in the sentence under scrutiny appears to be flawles

s, based on the research I have done on reading your letter. The word 'holden' is indeed the archaic past participle of 'hold', as found in the Merriam Webster Dictionary. It also has been used in legal language, as in 'The Quebec Act' (1774), the most recent document I was able to find containing the word... 'or shall hereafter be granted by His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, to be holden in free and common Soccage...'

Other documents I was able to find were 'Principal Provisions of the Magna Carta (1215)' and 'The Massachusetts Slave's Petition (1773)' so the grammar is certainly without error, depending on whether or not you consider using an age-old word in a 21st century text correct. The English experts at MicrosoftTM certainly do not think so, as 'holden' is not included in the Microsoft Word 2002 dictionaryTM, and I am underlined in red for every 'holden' I type!

On the matter of appropriateness of usage, the least I have to say is that it is simply out of place. The writer must have thought that it adds a certain degree of majesty and splendour to the text, but in reality it ruins the certificate and just appears to be a pathetic attempt by the writer to show off his vocabulary. For example, consider, 'From alpha to omega, the match between Sri Lanka and South Africa was interesting'.

The use of 'was' in the sentence, in my view, is completely appropriate, as the certificate is written, keeping in mind that some other person in the future will read it.

All said and done, the use of 'holden', Shakespearean or not, is atrociously inappropriate. You do not ever say that 'I spake to him on the telephone', though Shakespeare used the archaic word, do you?

Jobs galore: From where will the money come?
It was good to hear the Finance Minister announcing that the number of jobs to be given to graduates had been increased from 30,000 to 41,000. Although this is good news, the people who provide funds through direct and indirect taxation would like some clarification on the following.

Are there vacancies for these jobs or are vacancies being created? If these are to fill vacancies, how on earth did the departments/corporations manage with such a shortage of staff?

If vacancies are being created, in what areas will they be? Assuming that each employed graduate will receive at least Rs. 5,000 as monthly salary, from where will the funds come to meet this expenditure of Rs. (5,000x 41,000)= Rs. 205 million a month or Rs. 2.46 billion a year?

Amidst the sands of timeless mines and manoeuvres. Hosting and hoisting for a Gangland a Homeland? Alas! whose land is mined?

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