Appreciations
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Unruffled,
he forged ahead on his political journey I was with Mr. Ashraff on September 15, the day before at his residence getting ready to launch the National Unity Alliance manifesto at the first National Convention of the NUA to be held in Ampara on September 23. Mr. Nihmathullah and Mr. Rafiudeen came all the way from Maruthamunai, my home town to see Mr. Ashraff at his Colombo residence on the Minister's invitation. They were to fly back home with him. Fate decreed otherwise. Mr. Ashraff never feared death. A true Muslim, he was always prepared to face death while taking protective precautions. He had requested his relatives to bury him as soon as possible after his death without shedding tears but to carry forward the march, which he pioneered to save the people from political division. I worked with him for 15 years, both professionally and politically. However, I cannot forget the last few days I was with him organizing the NUA for the 2000 parliamentary general election. The speed at which he worked tirelessly seemed as if he was getting ready for a pilgrimage to Mecca. Had he some premonition? Mr. Ashraff had escaped three attempts on his life but would not have expected death under such mysterious circumstances. We hope and pray that Allah will one day unearth the mystery behind our late leader's sudden demise. The role of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress during his short tenure and the contributions he made to national politics are unforgettable. He was considered a statesman rather than a mere politician. When Mr. Ashraff formed the SLMC at Kattankudi in 1980 he was not taken seriously by the Colombo elite and those who mattered. When he declared the SLMC as a political party in 1986 in Colombo, those very people thought that he was committing political suicide. Two years later the SLMC was recognised by the Commissioner of Elections and soon after contested the first Provincial Council elections outside the Northern and Eastern Provinces, securing three seats. Then political analysts took him seriously while critics opined that the SLMC should be confined to the Eastern Province. Mr. Ashraff, however, was unruffled and forged ahead, never looking back. The SLMC won 17 seats in the Northern and Eastern Provincial Council election and became the main opposition party. The 1989 general election gave four seats to the SLMC for the first time with both the SLMC and Mr. Ashraff, making history. He proved that the SLMC was a deciding factor in electing the executive President in 1988. Although the SLMC had the opportunity to join the UNP government, the late leader opted to sit in the opposition in the 9th Parliament. In the 1994 general election with 9 SLMC MPs, he helped the People's Alliance government to come to power after 17 years of UNP rule. Mr. Ashraff had a vision and the ability and courage to lead the SLMC into mainstream politics. With the formation of the NUA in 1998 he was hoping for a democracy wi thout opposition. He did not want the people to be divided into the two camps 'ruling' and 'opposition'. It is against this backdrop that the NUA contested the October general elections with the People's Alliance and secured 11 seats in the 11th Parliament. Mr. Asraff wanted to distance himself from communal politics and forge national unity. That is why he transferred the SLMC's tree symbol to the NUA and declared in an interview with The Sunday Times (September 17, 2000) that he bid farewell to the SLMC. Nevertheless, the SLMC leadership failed to follow in his footsteps. The SLMC under his leadership was dependable and trustworthy and considered a powerful political force. Now the SLMC is in disarray due to a leadership struggle and erosion of discipline. May Allah bless our late leader with Jennathul Firdouz. M.M. Abdul Kalam With
tranquil mind, she vanquished strife Her
conscience reigned supreme throughout her life; Compliance
was with her an act of love Rajah Wijetunge She
still stands by me in spirit We
had our 'ups and downs' in life – our moments of joy and sorrow.
When
death struck her down, and left me devastated! She
gave solace and comfort to many Life is, in a sense, memories and remembrances. It was good to remember Sybil in the manner we did. Her daughter, Prithiva and grandson too were present. Sybil
was a rare human being. Her personality was such that she drew people
to her. She was also a person who had the courage and the conviction
to call a spade a spade. Her home was 'open house' to many a weary
soul. It was a nest of solace and comfort, for Sybil had a good
listening ear. Sydney Knight Stephen
Peries’s 40th death anniversary was in July 2004 Many of the writers, probably have never heard of Stephen Peries, who surely gave them the idea in the first place, because to start a business life on probation for a quarter of a year at nothing a month at the age of 16 and to pass the 42 year old line, still going strong as the managing director of Diesel Motors & Engineering calls for all these things rubbed in with a personal capacity for hard work amounting to genius. Steve... I've known him a long time, and he has achieved the fame of being 'Just Steve' to a countless host of friends... is the nearest thing you ever saw to a human dynamo. No-one appears ever to have seen him resting or sleeping. No one appears to have found him short of time to discuss or solve a genuine problem of mutual interest. He is the living exponent of the doctrine that impossible is a word found only in the dictionary of a fool; but standing beside him yesterday, inspecting his new two storey showroom which would not disgrace London's Regent Street, I found it hard to believe that, firstly, I was looking at the place of waste swampland I saw two years ago, and secondly, that, true-to-type, Steve had built it without any outside contract aid at all punching down piles over 139 feet before he could even get going. Out
of nothing The services wanted machine supplies which didn't exist in Ceylon. Motor parts which were unobtainable. Spares which were out of stock. In a little backyard off Prince of Wales Avenue, Steve just made them. With his old Sinhalese fitter baas and similar associates, plus a few odd hand tools, they made cylinder head gaskets which thousands of pounds worth of specialized machines elsewhere in the world could not supply to Ceylon. I
find that in that last paragraph I've really written the story of
Stephen Peries. The capacity to make something, create something,
build something, which no one else could tackle - and do it a hundred
times better. The
boss His success story starts from the bottom up, and he's never forgotten the secret he learned the hard way. Incidentally, in case it helps you I've just remembered a remarkable thing about Stephen Peries. From all the people one meets all over the place who seem to know him somehow, I've never heard an ill word. No detractors from his achievements. Maybe he's got something there? Capt. E.B. Murrell (Reproduced from the Ceylon Observer of March 28, 1954)
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