Columns

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake found himself at the centre of an unexpected diplomatic mix-up this week after a letter from US President Donald Trump misspelt his first name as “Aruna”.

The letter, part of the Trump administration’s ongoing global tariff campaign, warned of a looming August 1 deadline for renegotiating trade terms, with the threat of a 30% tariff on exports.

However, it wasn’t the trade warning that caught the attention of social media users, but the spelling error, which they did not hesitate to circulate. The letter was quietly removed, and a fresh letter was issued with ‘Aruna’ replaced by ‘Anura’.

Sri Lanka wasn’t the only country caught by a typo in the system. In a separate letter to ŽZeljka Cvijanovicć, Chairwoman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the U.S. President correctly addressed her as “Her Excellency”, but then proceeded to open with “Dear Mr. President.”

That blunder, too, quickly went viral and was flagged by social media users as well as foreign media outlets. The post was later deleted and corrected to read “Dear Madam President”.

That apart, the new 30 per cent tariff on Sri Lanka’s exports from August 1 is being hailed as a ‘positive sign’ by certain government circles, while the Opposition hit back, saying the government should’ve negotiated firmly.

While the letter indicated a potential review of the revised tariff if the government is willing to open closed Sri Lankan markets and eliminate other tariffs imposed on US goods, President Trump said, “You will never be disappointed with the United States of America.”

The first letter from Trump (left) and the second, corrected for a typo in the spelling
of the Sri Lankan President’s name

Ex-air hostess lands in controversy over saree worn to interview

Apsari Tillakaratne, a former SriLankan Airlines air hostess and wife of former Sri Lankan cricketer Hashan Tillakaratne, is in a spot of trouble after she donned a Kandyan-style saree for an online interview on an aviation-related platform.

The saree looked so identical to that worn by stewardesses of the national airline to date that some wondered if it in fact was her old uniform.

Toilet talk triggers chuckles at president’s meeting

During the Matara District special committee meeting chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the lack of proper sanitary facilities in schools drew his attention.

The President noted that Rs. 7.65 million had been allocated for a programme to improve sanitary facilities in schools and asked an official whether the schools had been identified. The official said that 17 schools had been selected.

To the President’s question about the status of toilets in these schools, the official said that she had not visited all of them but was quick to add that some of the schools had ample washrooms, though they were not well maintained despite being used by students. Thereafter, out of the blue, the President asked what should be done (as remedial action), to which the official replied, “Whatever should be done in a washroom, sir?” much to everyone’s amusement. The President thereafter clarified he meant what remedial action can be taken to ensure the washrooms are maintained in good condition and not what should be done in a washroom.

Digital disaster: Barcode goes haywire

For all the digitalisation drives undertaken by the government, Sri Lanka’s public services using digital apps or platforms remain in a dismal condition.

Recently, in Polonnaruwa, when tourists scanned a barcode for information on the Galpota inscription, they were directed to a website selling different items, including watches. Later, others who scanned the barcode got an error message.

Inconsiderate Railways owe apology to Jaffna-bound commuters: Minister

Hundreds of train passengers for the Mount Laviniya-Jaffna Intercity service were stranded in Wellawatte, Dehiwala, and Bambalapitiya early Tuesday when the train began its journey from the Fort station despite a prior announcement of reviving the service as usual from Mount Lavinia.

Earlier, the Railway Department announced that the service, after a temporary hold, would be resumed from July 7 onwards in view of popular demand and the annual Nallur Kandaswamy temple festival.

The passengers who reached Mount Lavinia, Dehiwala, and Bambalapitiya stations at 5.00 AM had to take taxis and trishaws to reach the Fort Station to catch the train once they were informed that the starting point had been changed without any prior notification.

A concerned passenger who paid Rs 3600 for a one-way ticket took the microblog platform X to express his frustration and lament about the poor quality of service on the train, including poorly managed seat arrangements, tagging the official handle of Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake.

Hours later, Minister Rathnayake responded, saying he had checked with the Railways and was only told that they hadn’t operated the train from Mt. Lavinia as they had announced earlier.

“Instructed to prepare for the best and inform the public only when they are really ready. Asked to issue a public apology. On behalf of the Ministry, regret the inconvenience,” the minister wrote.

However, railway sources said the reason for the change of departure station is that there is an ongoing dispute at the department, where railway guards and employees are demanding an allowance for starting the service from Mount Lavinia, which is located ten kilometres from the Fort station.

SJB MP’s paysheet sparks RTI request by doctors over taxes

The decision by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian Jagath Vithana to publish his pay sheet on social media has led to the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) filing a Right to Information (RTI) application in Parliament seeking details on how taxes are calculated on MPs salaries.

According to Mr. Vithana’s paysheet, his total monthly net salary stands at Rs 317,760.39, with monthly deductions of Rs 1,200 for catering, Rs 3,728.53 as personal income tax, and Rs 25 deducted as stamp fees.

In its RTI application, the GMOA is seeking information on fixed and variable salaries paid to MPs, whether all MPs are paid the same amount, whether the Advanced Personal Income Tax (APIT) is applicable to MPs, if any exemptions are granted to the allowances paid to MPs, and related details. It’ll be worth watching out to see if a government that comes to power promising to abolish MPs salaries and pensions and other perks will be forthcoming with the information demanded by the doctors’ association.

Blessed are the peacemakers

Parliament sittings this week saw some heated exchanges across the floor when the motion regarding long-standing justice to the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks was taken up for debate.

Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam proposed to establish a special prosecutor’s office, with international assistance, to independently investigate serious crimes.

He was pointing out the government’s failure to deliver justice for the grave human rights violations, from the Easter Sunday attacks to the recent revelations of a mass grave site in Chemmani. Responding to the Opposition MP, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said that an international probe could not be conducted, citing that it would be unconstitutional.

He did not stop there. He stressed the importance of closure for the past incidents for the sake of peace, citing a verse from the Bible—Matthew 5:9—”Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”

“Peace is what we want, and if there is racist and hateful politics taking place, we will never have peace. And we are children of God,” the minister said.

Chief Govt. Whip’s staff asked to monitor MPs’ attendance

The new duties assigned to the staff of the Chief Government Whip’s office include monitoring government MPs’ attendance.

According to the 2024 annual performance report of the Office of the Chief Government Whip, the officers were assigned duties at the Members’ Entrance, Staff Entrance, and Public Entrance of Parliament on a roster basis from time to time on the days of Parliamentary Sittings to supervise attendance of the Government Group MPs and the staff officers. The report on the performance of the Chief Government Whip’s Office was presented to Parliament recently.

The staff has also been assigned duties in the Officers‘ Box in the Chamber for providing necessary information for the Members of the Government Group during Parliament sessions. Additionally, they are tasked with compiling reports on the nature of casting votes by government MPs when divisions are called. The collected information is submitted to the Chief Government Whip.

Ex-air hostess lands in controversy over saree worn to interview

Apsari Tillakaratne, a former SriLankan Airlines air hostess and wife of former Sri Lankan cricketer Hashan Tillakaratne, is in a spot of trouble after she donned her old airline uniform–a Kandyan style Saree–for an online interview on an aviation-related platform.

She appeared at the interview in saree, which resembled the uniform of a SriLankan Airlines stewardess.

This has ruffled feathers among the airline’s administrators, who say all uniforms must be handed over when leaving their jobs.

Police driving lessons take a funny turn

In a bid to curb the growing number of road accidents, Sri Lanka Police have switched gears—this time steering towards humour.

Taking to social media, the Police Media Division has rolled out a series of light-hearted posts aimed at educating drivers.

One such post features an amusing drawing of a horse. The back half of the horse is beautifully sketched, while the front half looks like it has been hastily drawn by a child. The meme is captioned “some cars” with the back of the horse, while the front is labelled “their driving”. The message below reminds drivers: “Always be aware of your driving.”

Another post takes a more interactive route, asking viewers to “spot the difference” between two images. In the first, a driver isn’t wearing a seatbelt, and her eyes are clearly off the road. The second image shows her properly buckled up and focused on driving. The caption reads, “Remember, even a small change like this can make a difference.”