Minister’s last wish and words

Nation Building Minister D.M.Dassanayake's final conversation before being caught in last Tuesday's claymore mine attack at Ja-ela was with his secretary, telling him to help fulfill his (the minister’s) wish of providing a pipe borne water supply to his mother's residence.

The minister was speaking to his private secretary U.D. Nandapala minutes before his death and telling him that before his death he wanted this wish fulfilled and wanted his secretary to expedite the work to get the water connection.“The minister wanted to leave home early since it was the first day in Parliament. But his driver did not turn up in time. He was angry about that and was saying that people drawing salaries should work,” Mr. Nandapala told The Sunday Times.

On his way out he used the word machang with which he addressed persons close to him and told me to call him in an hour’s time.“In keeping with his request I called him and he told me that his mother was aging and that she could not depend on water drawn from a well and therefore a motor needs to be connected to the well and a water connection given to the residence,” he said.

“Machang, we all die at the end, but only the good work done will remain,” the minister had said. Mr. Nandapala said that as he was speaking to the minister, the man who was entrusted with providing the pipe connection turned up and the minister then wanted to speak to him and after a brief discussion with the person he again wanted to speak to me.

“The minister said providing the water connection is to cost Rs. 20,000. For the time being I was asked to give the man Rs. 15,000 so that he could start the work immediately,” Mr. Nandapala said. “As he was saying these words I heard a loud sound and the phone got disconnected. I did not think that it was an explosion because the minister was not a target. Minutes later one of the security guards called me to say that the minister had been caught in an explosion and that they were taking him to the Ragama hospital,” he said.

He said the minister had instructed him not to have any appointments on January 11 (Friday) as it was Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle’s birthday on which day it was planned to open the new Catholic church in Arachchikattuwa constructed with funds provided by Mr. Fernandopulle’s family members.

Meanwhile thousands of people as well as Government and non-government ministers attended the funeral of the late minister held in his hometown in Anamaduwa yesterday. The late minister’s body was taken around the town in the afternoon before reaching the Anamaduwa Gam Udawa grounds where he was laid to rest. Over 10,000 people attended the funeral and paid their last respects to the late Minister amidst tightened security in the Puttalam district.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his condolence message (read out by Minister and Chief Government Whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle) stated that the death of the minister created a void in his party that can never be filled. Mr. Fernandopulle said that the minister could have been saved had the checkpoints that had previously been in place in the area in which the incident took place remained.

The minister further stated that the LTTE would be defeated in the near future and peace achieved. He stressed that this is not a fight against the Tamil people, but rather a fight against terrorism. SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena portrayed the Nation Building Minister as a ‘strong pillar’. JVP MP Wimal Weerawansa said that the late minister never forgot the village and performed a great service to the people.