Letters to the Editor

What matters is the clocking of hands not the hands of the clock
We are in the midst of a time controversy. Apparently the noble aim behind the move to first change the time was to utilise daylight more and save on the consumption of electricity.

This is also being questioned. Another reason adduced is that we were to have a head start by beginning the day earlier compared to our competitors abroad.
Let us see what happened in reality. Workers reported by the GMT and signed off by the SLST. They thus gained an hour everyday. Those who look for auspicious or inauspicious times always relied on the GMT based time for the almanacs are based on that time. Sophistication is built on basics.

When basics are still in the rudimentary state we have to concentrate on basics and then go on to the superstructure. It is first the foundation that is important, whether we set back the clock or advance it, those who have their duties to perform get propelled even if the clock is stationary. Is the clock a guidance or a determinant? We prioritise, divide our chores and try to perform as much as possible during the waking hours by allotting time enough to perform the segment for which the clock is a guide. The clock cannot determine the work to be done.

One thing is certain people go by the sun more than the clock in the country at large. What is the use of advancing the time if we do not schedule our programmes accordingly?

As a speck in the Indian Ocean and a country that is affected more than being in a position to affect others we may have to toe the international time zones rather than have one of ours at variance with the world at large.

We cannot have an official time and a reality time. It has to coincide or we get the worst of both worlds. Whether we like it or not, big or small, astrology has at least a say in most of the decisions in the country.

Our decision to deviate from the time zone and have our standard time apparently has not given us the expected head start. It may have set the clock back in the sense of progress. Maybe time bombs set may explode before or after detection and preventive action may be difficult when the man who sets it has one time and the detective goes by another. Life or death is in decisive minutes or seconds and not in hours. The half an hour gap may make a world of difference both positively and negatively.

What is more relevant is not the hands of the clock but clocking of the hands. However a standard time that has universal relevance may be more prudent than an exclusive Sri Lanka only time which may neither be universally relevant nor nationally productive. Let us cure our headaches maybe by bitter medication and not by changing the pillow.

Let’s not become a laughing stock in the eyes of the world
I wish to vehemently protest against the proposed change of Sri Lankan Standard Time to Indian Standard Time as no logical reason has been given, as to why the Government needs to make this change.

This was an issue that had been widely debated in 1996, when the change from GMT+ 5.30 hours to GMT + 6.00 hours was finally made. I speak on behalf of many tax paying citizens that this decision will only result in a waste of tax revenue, without any benefit to anyone.

The only advantage that will accrue is that instead of being one hour late, they might be 1/2 an hour late. (typical Sri Lankan time when it comes to keeping appointments).

Sri Lanka which is known internationally for tea and terrorism, will now become a laughing stock internationally by becoming a Nation of "Time Changers".
I trust that this letter will also prompt further views on this subject so that those who have been elected to govern by the people of this country have a clear view of what the majority of the people want. A change of time was NOT in the Mahinda Chinthanaya.

‘City father heal thyself’
When you visit any city in our beautiful country one always sees a prominent slogan displayed, appealing to the public to "Keep the City Clean". A substantial sum of money collected from the rate-payers by way of rates and taxes is spent towards this propaganda drive by the elected representatives, who call themselves "City Fathers".

There are by-laws enacted by these councils, prohibiting the display of unauthorised posters, banners and hoardings etc., as one important step to achieve this objective. Come election time - what do we see?

All conceivable places like walls, electricity and telephone posts, tree trunks, and even shapely outcrops of boulders and rocks on road-side embankments are plastered with the most obnoxious posters displaying the faces of the candidates who aspire to be "City Fathers". This is in flagrant violation of the by-laws of the Councils as well as the election laws.

Another eyesore in most cities is the appalling sight of bits and pieces of strings and coloured polythene fluttering in the breeze from the tops of electricity and telephone posts.

These are what is left behind after public meetings and rallies. When the hustings are over, the moneys got from the rate-payers is spent by these politicians, without batting an eyelid to remove these unsightly posters. Why? To "Keep the City Clean". What hypocrisy. Shall we say "Physician heal thyself?"

It’s our money that goes for their luxury wheels
The question as to why MPs, who are supposed to have entered Parliament to serve the people, should travel in super luxury vehicles, when those whom they promised to serve have to travel in crowded buses hanging on for their lives, has never been answered.

Now comes the question of a loan of Rs. 3.5 million to be given to each MP to buy duty free cars. I call it a question because a loan, under normal circumstances has to be repaid by the borrower within a stipulated period of time. Assuming the period a MP will be in parliament to be 72 months, which means these loans have to be repaid within this period and assuming that the interest charged will be 10% (the government borrows money from the public on Treasury Bills @10% and there is no reason that these privileged people should get a subsidy), the monthly instalment during the first year, inclusive of interest will be around Rs. 75,000.

The question is how can an MP pay this from his parliamentary salary? If Parliament is dissolved before time and an MP is not re-elected what happens to the outstanding sum on his loan? The public has a right to know because it is public funds that are used for these loans and it is bad lending to give loans unless the borrower has the repayment capacity. Is the answer going to be that MPs will be given an allowance to enable them to pay these loan instalments?
The solution is that, if MPs want to travel in super comfort, let them do so, but the cars should belong to the state and not to them. They can have the cars as long as they are MPs but the moment they cease to be MPs these should go back to the state.

Loss of a limb did not mean loss of livelihood
The loss of his leg could mean the end of the road to a person because his physical disability prevents him from earning a living. If employed he faces discontinuance.

Mentally too, he is affected to find his friends leaving him "like rats deserting a sinking ship". Little wonder then that some amputees lament "It's better to die than live without a leg".

But fortunately for these downcast people, there are God-like employers who not wishing to 'throw such an employee to the wolves' by discontinuance, help him to continue in service by making adjustments to his duties to suit this physical handicap.

One cannot forget the 'Friend-in-Need Society in Colombo either for its dedicated services to the amputees.

They not only provide artificial limbs but also free food and lodging for both male and female amputees at the transit home for the disabled during their stay-in period for fitting on the artificial limbs and training in its use.

The writer who had the misfortune of losing his leg is most grateful to the few who stood by him in his hour of need and to his employer and to the Friend-in-Need Society in particular for their benevolence in showing the way out of 'darkness to light'.

’Tis only for the donkeys and the buffaloes
All the donkeys, who carry heavy weights,
No doubt, love the clock turned back
Because then the sun sets early,
And earlier they can hit the sack

All the buffaloes in this country too,
Prefer GMT plus five three oh
Because till masters rise in the morning,
Sleep, they will, half an hour more

All the muggers who hang around the town,
Never complain 'bout changing the clock
Since people return to homes after dark,
They can grab a necklace and run in a nick

The rest of us, neither buffaloes nor donkeys
Of course not muggers who rob at night
Do not find any problem getting up early
Because then only we save evening light

Arthur Clarke, the sage no doubt
Ask what wise men may wish most
Stay with present time and march to future,
Or twist the clock and return to the past.

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