 |
Letters to the Editor
11th October 1998 |
|
 |
||
Contents
|
||
Cut down unwanted luxuryThis topic had been in the discussion forum in the last few weeks after the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence made a request for contributions of a week's pay towards the Defence Fund. In the background of the ongoing war and the request of the Secretary, I would like to bring out a few matters to ponder over for the benefit of the war and those who have something to do with the war and those engaged in the war effort. We are all aware that all the defence expenditure is generated from within the country and it is the people of our country that make this contribution. We are all in agreement that this war that is costing our country billions of rupees that could be well spent on development, must be finished off and it is the people of our country that must come forward towards this. There is no doubt there should be no compromise on the support needed to fight the war. But, what about the non-essentials that eat up a huge amount of financial resources in non-combat areas? Is there a better way that the members of the services could relate to the general public? There is a lot of debate about the conduct of the war and I do not wish to add to the confusion. But, I wish to bring up a few concerns of the citizens of our country directed to the top brass in the services, particularly the Army: * Is it necessary to spend vast sums of money on super luxury cars to run in Colombo for the war effort? Cannot standard modern cars which are being used even by the Secretaries of Ministries be good enough for the dozens of senior military officers? * Is it necessary for the senior officers to be allocated 4-5 cars for their private use? Will this not end up in misuse? * Why cannot the senior officers and their families be a bit more concerned of the bleak economic situation of our country when they set out on trips and tours for many others beyond the immediate family? * Why do the military vehicles, particularly the Army, behave so arrogantly in the face of the public that support the war by doing everything wrong on the roads? * Why should wives going for aerobics or children going for tuition rush through the traffic pushing other road users to the drains as if they are number one on the hit list of the LTTE as in the case of the service commanders? * Are they not aware that the general public that makes so many sacrifices to support the war effort looks at these happenings with utmost disgust? Go to any country with a professional Army and see whether you can see any of the sickening things that happen in our country. Take India for instance, a place where almost all Army officers go for training. * Do you see the service vehicles disregarding all traffic laws of the State? * Do you see the service vehicles push through barriers and drop the children at the gates when roads are closed? * Do the wives stop the vehicles on the middle of the road and keep the vehicle blocking the entire road? * Do the senior Army officers have fleets of cars and double cabs for unlimited private use for families and extended beyond? * Haven't you seen that even the Major Generals use the common Ambassador car for official and private use and that is all that is allocated to them? Why not learn lessons from the professional Armies of the world and conduct affairs in keeping with reality just because the funds are doled out for the war effort just for the asking. The people of our country will make whatever sacrifice for the war effort but not for those who have the best of both worlds and have the best of times. Unfortunately it is those who are away from the front that the public sees and gets disgusted of the way they conduct themselves in the eyes of the public. The people of this country will back the forces beyond means, but cannot the forces be a bit more down to earth and regard the public like fellow citizens. Nalini Wickramasinghe
Shame: Not a single picture of Lord Buddha available!My son, Ravindu is now nine months old and tries to learn many a thing by looking at pictures. To encourage him I have pasted a lot of pictures in our room. Recently my wife and I wanted to buy a poster of Lord Buddha to include it in his picture collection. One day after school I went to every bookshop in Eheliyagoda in search of a poster of Lord Buddha, but failed. Recently with great hope I combed every bookshop and picture palace in Kandy to find a poster. Believe me! I couldn't find a poster of Lord Buddha to give my son, even in the sacred city of Kandy. By evening I was fed up with walking to bookshops and I felt sad to think we were Buddhists in Sri Lanka. The saddest thing was that in every bookshop and picture palace there were various kinds of colourful posters of Hindi filmstars and Sai Baba. When I asked for a poster of Lord Buddha, some salesmen tried to give me Sai Baba's pictures. I think they can't make out the difference between Lord Buddha and Sai Baba. As a Buddhist this was one of the worst, most painful experiences I had to undergo in my life. I do hope that this incident would be an eye opener for every Buddhist in the country. Jayalath Wickramasinghe,
Are they not senior citizens?Although the retiring age in Sri Lanka has been fixed at 60 years it is not understood why the Social Services Department has decided to issue Seniors' Identity Cards only to those over 70 years. From what I gather, most of the countries are issuing Seniors' Cards after 60 years. The USA, Canada, the UK, Australia are some of these countries. I hear in Australia those with Seniors' Cards are entitled to concession travel and 10 per cent discount at various stores, chemists, cinemas, etc. Even the PA held out some similar promises to the Seniors in their Election Manifesto, although these promises have yet to see the light of day. As there are no heavy financial implications involved in fixing the age limit at 60 in Sri Lanka too, I hope the Minister of Social Services would consider this request and issue these Seniors' Cards to all those who have completed 60 years. A fair number of our Seniors may not live up to 70 to enjoy this benefit from the State, which their counterparts in other parts of the world are already enjoying. The Ministry should take immediate action to educate the masses through the print and electronic media in all languages about this scheme and all State officials should provide the special facilities to the Seniors on production of their Identity Cards, specially at Railway Stations, Bus Stations, Post Offices, Banks, Hospitals and other Public Institutions where the Senior Citizens have to transact business in their day-to-day activities. Lionel L. Leanage,
Get them to the schools on timeI write in utter disappointment about the bus service from Peradeniya to Katugastota. There isn't a regular bus service for the school children and teachers who travel from Peradeniya to Katugastota. Schools begin at 8 a.m. and the children find it difficult to get to their respective schools in the morning on the main Peradeniya Road to Katugastota. With the number of schools on the stretch from Peradeniya to Katugastota the middle-class child is neglected. Those who travel by private coaches are the fortunate ones. I appeal to the Transport Minister to see that there is a regular bus service at least in the mornings so that the children and the teachers could get to their schools on time. The bus boards read Katugastota but when questioned by the passengers they retort rudely saying, "No, to Kandy only." I have a feeling they terminate in Kandy due to some personal reasons and don't operate further from the town. This needs attention by the authorities who are responsible for this type of injustice. A. Wanigatunge, |
||
|
Write a letter to the editor : editor@suntimes.is.lk
|
||