Letters to the Editor

Unity before development: Lessons from history
"A kingdom divided ends in ruins. A city or a home divided against itself cannot stand." These words spoken by Jesus some 2,000 years ago are relevant to our own times in our country and the rest of the world.

As you turn the pages of Ceylon history to the times of King Vijayabahu I, Parakramabahu I, and Nissanka Malla, you would observe that when they took over the country was in total disarray with civil wars and strife. Yet history speaks of a great irrigation system, flourishing agriculture and thriving religion. This was possible only after these great and renowned kings brought about peace and unity in the country.

It is only after the country was united and peace reigned in the land that the kings were able to patronize religion, build dagobas and temples, construct irrigation works and usher in a period of prosperity. Thus peace was a vital factor for the development of the country, without which the great kings would never have been able to realize their dreams and make this a prosperous land.

Today there is no king to unify the country and bring about peace. But we have governments. What is government? It is said that all the people of this land constitute the government — the rich, the poor, the learned, the deaf, the blind and people of different races, communities and religions. In brief, the government is the voice of the people. Therefore the voice of all these people must be heard. That voice cannot be drowned.

More than half a century ago, the people of this country, belonging to different communities, united under one banner to break away from the shackles of colonialism. Their motto was "United we stand, divided we fall". It was through this unity that they were able to obtain Independence.

However, this unity was short lived because of disputes and dissension among decision-makers. Power-hungry politicians sowed the seeds of dissension among people and workers for cheap popularity and ever since, the country has deteriorated with civil strife and disobedience being the order of the day. In the absence of peace, no development has been possible in any sphere of life.

Today the greatest challenge is to fight for the cause of peace. The rich, the poor, the learned, the villager, the clergy, those in the north, those in the south, east and west all yearn for peace. But yet it is eluding the nation.
Some leaders advocate peace but refuse to talk or negotiate. On the contrary there are those, for the sake of vain glory, who think of taking to task peace builders.

The wise leader meets the enemy halfway to talk peace, not out of fear or vain glory but out of consideration for his people — for he believes the rebels are his people. He must be able to distinguish between a wolf in sheep's clothing and the real rebel who has a legitimate grievance.

Peace is vital for development. Positive measures have to be adopted to bring about a negotiated settlement. Every citizen must realise and accept the responsibility of creating a climate for lasting peace. All the people of this country, to whatever party or to whatever community they belong, are duty bound and responsible to adopt measures for lasting peace.

Without that peace, division, deterioration and ruination of the land will continue. Those that obstruct the course of justice and peace are those that work for the cause of the division of the country. It is only with love, patience and honour that peace and unity can be achieved and the people move forward on the road to development and prosperity.

To achieve productivity, depoliticise public sector
The repeated announcements made by the government through the media about reviving the public sector are commendable, but the question arises whether it will be done pragmatically.

Some are of the opinion that the public sector should be service-oriented rather than profit-oriented. But with the government intensifying the economic drive, it has become imperative that any public sector institution should be profit-oriented.

If the government is making a genuine effort to revive the public sector, first it must identify the areas which need reforms. One such area is recruitment. There appears to be no clear policy in this area with public institutions offering a volunteer retirement service to employees and then again filling them with more recruits.It is absolutely clear that these recruitments will not contribute towards productivity and are made with political motives.

Most of the public organizations handle key sectors such as energy, health, education and transport. In most of the public sector organizations, there are political unions that dominate affairs, including staff promotions. The genuine, honest, productive employees who have no political support are victimised without promotion.

Compared to the private sector, we can hardly see any new strategies implemented in the public sector. Most public-sector organizations have been following the same systems in their trade process for decades.

It is sad that the authorities do not take any effort to identify the areas where they can reduce the cost to the minimum, and bring in new strategies in keeping with changes taking place locally and internationally.

If the government really needs to revive the pubic sector, it should first depoliticize the sector and make every endeavour to maximize productivity.

Is this good art or sheer bad taste?
Having the good or bad fortune of seeing Vimukthi Jayasundara's maiden film, I could not agree more with Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera's article which appeared in your esteemed journal. These Directors certainly make 'International' films, and bag the necessary "awards" before the films are even shown to our local 'yakkos'.

Our film stars and ones around them flock to the airport and receive them with open arms. Analysing the content of these films, the primary factor that is common to them is the despicable nature of our Sinhala soldier who most often is portrayed as a maniac and a pervert who is waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting wives of other men.

Sex is the primary concern of these so-called directors, and the sexual act is shown quite explicitly. I agree whole-heartedly with Rear Admiral Weerasekera when he says that Indian directors have never resorted to this blatant abuse of the film medium. There the soldier is always loved by the entire country and its people.

The only instance was the film Phoolan Devi where they showed the naked woman in the most decent way possible by making her walk (after the gang rape) a short distance to the village well to cleanse herself; and that too the 'shot' was taken from quite a distance away.

This scene evokes extreme sympathy of the viewer with most moved to tears, due to the injustice inflicted on her. All the so-called knowledgeable elite who praise such films as great works of art at the 'drop of a hat' should be mindful that there are 'small boys' who would not hesitate to call the king naked, whenever they see him on the road.

We should be thankful that director Vasantha Obeyasekera (a true son of Lanka) who produced remarkable films such as 'Dadayama' and ' Dorakada Marawa' is still around and continues to put out one or two films a year without foreign funding.

What a treat and no flesh too!
A few days ago, I read an article about cardiologist Dr. D. P. Atukorale's son's wedding held at Colombo Hilton. I was fortune enough to be invited for the homecoming held at Trans Asia Hotel. It was a wonderful treat.

The couple entered the reception hall preceded by the traditional Magul Bera and girls with oil lamps held in their hands dancing to the beat of drums. The Oriental band played Danno Budunge as they entered the hall. It was a wonderful feeling to anyone who values culture and traditions. I was really moved by the oriental atmosphere.

When it came to the dinner I walked into the buffet hall with a feeling that it was not going to be the traditional five star menu for I was informed beforehand by my friend, Dr. Atukorale that it was to be a full vegetarian meal even without eggs.

One wonders how such as an array of tasty dishes, more than fifteen, could be turned out with vegetables, including mushrooms and cheese. Some of the dishes were so fresh and creamy I could not resist the temptation of over-eating that day.

When it came to the desserts, in addition to the trays of nice fresh fruits, there were varieties of puddings, like rice pudding, sago pudding and Rulang cake, tasty as ever. In all, it was a wonderful treat of vegetarian food.

Most satisfying and moving was the little card that was attached to the piece of wedding cake that was served to all guests. While the couple thanked all those who participated at the reception, they specially mentioned that no animals were killed and no eggs were broken to treat the guests. They took pride in saying that they were able to spare the lives of those animals that would otherwise have been killed to entertain the guests. Let us all follow this noble example.

A Malay voice in parliament
Sri Lankan Malays who form an integral part of the Muslim community should agitate for representation in parliament. The Malays have co-existed with other communities in peace and harmony with pride and dignity for the past several centuries. They have their own traditions, language, music, arts, culture and costume.

Consequent to the agitation launched by the sole Malay political body, the All Ceylon Malay Political Union, at that time, Dr. M.P. Drahaman was afforded the signal honour of being nominated as the first Malay to be represented in the august assembly under the Sirimavo Bandaranaike government. Since his death, no member of the Malay community has been afforded this opportunity.

The Sri Lankan Malays should once again rally together and urge whatever Government in power to grant them the honour of being represented in the national legislature, so that they too could have a voice in the current political issues of the country.

Look beyond grammar
Application of correct grammar in speech and writing is a subject which is being debated over and over again. Is it really necessary to apply correct grammar in speech and writing, whatever language you use? I may be wrong, yet I would like to express how I see it.

It has to be accepted that students up to the GCE ordinary level should be taught grammar and be encouraged to use it in speech and writing. But is it really necessary to expect those who are doing higher studies and undergraduates to waste their time trying to express themselves grammatically? No doubt this has to be strictly adhered to by those who choose subjects related to languages for their higher studies.

Language is a medium by which we communicate with each other. The language we use consists of words. These words are actually short and long sounds we make in different ways, denoting meanings accepted by a community. As long as one can make simple, decent expressions by way of these sounds to make another person easily understand what we want to convey, what more do we expect as a means of communication?

Why should we make this medium of communication painful by searching for grammatical expressions? A simple example: "I go home" is much easier to use than 'I am going home' which gives the same meaning. We can cite hundreds of similar examples.

We are aware that many university students are handicapped and embarrassed today because of this grammar hurdle. They are sometimes required to communicate in English in pursuing their studies although grammar has no relevance to the subjects they are studying. What is essential is to share one's knowledge with others with easy and simple expressions. It is funny that when people make grammatical mistakes in their mother tongue it is ignored as nothing unusual but when you make the same mistakes using a foreign tongue you are laughed at.

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