The state intends getting a thousand new buses to ease the pressure on our transport problems. It should - but will it? Such a massive augmentation of our fleet was just what the doctor ordered for our ailing transport system. Ginger however is keeping his fingers crossed. His sixth sense tells him not to be too sanguine about the whole thing as there is every possibility that while a thousand new buses are being brought in two thousand maybe laid off. Even now one sees peoplised buses of the newer type being run by private transporters which means that they have been virtually written off as being uneconomical to run and sold off.

While Ginger admits that bus crews of that service are far more considerate and civil than the rather unsavoury characters (besides a few exceptions) that man private coaches but its maintenance personnel appear somewhat vague about their duties. This possibly accounts for the state many of those vehicles are in. You run your finger along a seat of one of those buses and you will find it covered with dust before it reaches the end. What is the time taken to get a bus back on the road and how long will a private garage take to complete an identical repair. Delay means money but many of depots don't seem to have grasped this fact. A complete survey of how the depots work and a comparison of the performance of the private sector should be made and then certain norms and schedules laid out.

AIDS
The trouble with AIDS is that it attacks the human body on many fronts. The side complications of the disease can be as deadly as the disease itself. Now Kaposis Sarcoma is a deadly form of cancer that afflicts patients who are suffering from AIDS very often. Little was known about this phenomenon till about a year or two ago.

Recently however doctors made a big break through. After researchers made two studies on the complication they came to the conclusion that it is caused by a sexually transmitted Herpes Virus. Doctors are now looking to the possibility of blocking the virus before the cancer develops. That is ofcourse if the earlier belief is confirmed.

Law
Sometimes the law is such an ass that it can enrage a whole nation. Take the case of 83 year Nazi S.S officer Erich Priebke - He was tried by an Italian military tribunal for taking part in the massacre of over three hundred Italians outside Rome in 1944. He was convicted of taking part in the murder.

The court however decreed that because he did not act with pre meditation or cruelty a statute of limitations prevented it from punishing him. However the Ex S.S officer did not get his freedom. A howling crowd of protesters prevented him from leaving the courts and then the police came to re-arrest him because of a warrant application from Germany to try him for the same case.

Rackets & frauds

There are several ways in which people all over Sri Lanka get cheated from time to time. I am not referring to the simple business rackets which are common to all, but the well-planned frauds, some of which are:

(1) Persons going around with collection lists for Vesak, New Year, Christmas etc. claiming they are helping the poor and needy.

(2) Collection lists seeking help for patients, e.g.: to purchase a wheelchair or crutches for a disabled person.

(3) Persons visit your homes or stop you on the road, stating they have been robbed of their purse/cash etc. and request money to reach their homes.

I have had the experience of being stopped by a stranger pushing a motor-bike and requesting money to purchase petrol, and I have seen the same person with the same story approaching other people on several occasions.

(4) Persons approach you on the road offering a few imported items such as, pens, wrist watches for sale. When you hesitate another person walking along with you suddenly shows interest in the product and offers to buy one and persuades you to buy the other claiming it is of good value, whereas it is of cheap quality. Immediate partnerships are thus formed on the road to convince you into buying the useless stuff.

(5) Strangers call upon unmarried girls at their workplaces and inform them about a prospective bridegroom from abroad who would call at their home in the evening. In the meantime he has brought a gift parcel from the bridegroom which is in the vehicle parked further away and he requires some money for an urgent repair to be carried out on the vehicle. I am aware of an instance where a girl working in my office gave Rs. 200 to this stranger believing his tale.

(6) Persons visit your home giving all relevant details about you (i.e; your full name, place of work, position etc.) and inform you that a relative of yours living abroad has sent you a parcel and wants about Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,000 from you to meet incidental expenses such as duty etc. to clear the said parcel.

(7) A stranger will call at your home informing you that you have won a prize on a sweep ticket and gives the address of the place from where you can collect the prize. In the meantime he wants about Rs. 300 to buy soft-drinks to be served to the children of the nursery school in which premises the prizes are to be awarded. You turn up at the spot to collect your prize and are made a laughing stock by people of the area who have already met several such 'prize winners' for the day.

The above-mentioned rackets may not be that serious when compared to the following:-

(a) Contract jobs for 1-2 years are offered on material cash deposits. In 3-4 months time the employer for simple reasons finds fault with you and dismisses you. You are left in the lurch minus the job and minus the deposit made by you.

(b) Deposit schemes with attractive interests are offered to prospective investors and suddenly one finds that the Company has been closed down with no relief given. These are known as 'Chit-fund' companies in India and many people have lost millions of Rupees by such frauds.

(c) Another well-known racket in India is attractive purchase schemes requesting 50-75% down-payments, with a promise to deliver the goods in 4-5 months time. Many people have been cheated in this scheme.

(d) Foreign jobs are offered by unscrupulous agents demanding handsome deposits. Eventually, the agent either disappears or takes the gullible job seeker abroad and leaves him stranded with unpaid hotel bills.

(e) Foreign agencies advertise attractive job opportunities and request for US$ 65/- to be forwarded with the applications. The applicant never receives a reply. According to a local newspaper report, more than 1000 youths have got cheated in this manner.

(f) Reputed companies have received letters from certain foreign companies (usually Nigeria) promising transfer of large sum of monies on returning the enclosed invoices duly singed to them. Few days later some people approach these companies and request for a payment of 10% of the amount promised to be made to them as commission. If you have signed the invoices then you cannot refuse this payment as these people can put you into trouble.

(g) Advertisements appear in the newspapers offering admissions to foreign universities. Nobody is aware whether these are recognised universities or not and eventually after spending your money and time you are left with a degree of no use.

(h) There is another money linkage racket, where you have to purchase 4 coupons of Rs. 2,000 each and sell them to your friends and this goes on. If the chain is not broken and when your name reaches the top of the list, you will be rewarded with twice as much as you have spent. Many people in India have been cheated by this racket, though I am not aware of any such incident in Sri Lanka.

(i) Coupons are received from abroad calling you to participate in a competition which is easily won as claimed by the organiser. However, when applying you have to forward US$ 35 with your coupon and that will be the last you have heard from the said organiser. One wonders, if the competition if so easily won why should anyone make such offers? This is a 'million-dollar' question.

(j) Professionals have received literature and coupons from aboard congratulating them on having won a prize of valuable gems. However, they are requested to make a remittance of US$ 35/- as labour charge to mount the gem on a pendant or ring of their choice. Isn't it funny that those who could afford to give a valuable gem as a prize could not afford the respective mounting charges?

I expect more and more tricks of varied nature to be introduced at different periods of time and trust the above mentioned incidents would serve as an eye-opener and prevent innocents from falling prey to such unscrupulous schemers. It is also good to be aware that wealth not earned by proper means will not give good luck.

S. R. Balachandran
Colombo 6.
S. R. Balachandran, B.Sc.,F.C.A. (Cey)

Education Reforms for who's Benefit?

Recently Professor Visva Warnapala has said that the students who complete the university education comes back to the village with a T. 56 weapon, due to the wrong education policies. The committee appointed by the previous regime to inquire into youth unrest with R. I. T. Alles, Monika Ruwanpathirana and several other Educationalists had the same opinion and suggested reforms to the education system. President Chandrika Bandara-naike Kumaratunga was also of opinion that the Education system should change. She was very genuine in her attempts to reform the system. But it is very pathetic to see that most officers entrusted with this task has little or no enthusiasm about this very important national issue. Instead they keep on struggling to safeguard their positions and harassing those who are capable of doing the work.

Not understanding the gravity of the issue they keep on transferring qualified people to accommodate their friends and party people who are not the least worried about children's future, but are all out to do cheap politics in the valuable education field.

People should have the liberty to have their own political views but a highly important field like education should not be polluted by petty politics. Officers with different political ideas should get together and work hard for the noble idea of reforming the educational system. They should support the presidents aim of reforming the system without party politics.

The recent example of this nature could be taken from the Sri Jayawardhanapura Educational Zone. The Lady officer who was incharge of the primary education was 57 yrs. old and on the 2nd extension. She chose J'pura as it was close to her home and was doing very hard work even on Saturdays and Sundays without any payment and using her own vehicle without claiming travelling expenses. She was so devoted to this educational reforms that on her visit to Australia, to see her daughter living there has gathered lot of informations and data useful for Sri Lankan education field.

She was an administrative officer who passed the competitive exam, B.A. Graduate from the Peradeniya university, Post graduate diploma holder in Education, Post graduate Diploma in Educational Management, Master in Education and Master in Philosophy (Colombo University). She had worked in primary sections at the Royal College, DS Senanayake, Janadi-pathi and St. Paul's Milagiriya and obtained extensive experience in primary education which helped her to perform her duties in the primary section devoting much attention to the new reforms.

She was suddenly transferred out giving 24 hours notice without any reason whatsoever. The reason for transfer was to accommodate the wife of a party leader who is contesting the provincial council elections this time.

The person who was transferred was not involved in politics but was fully engaged in educational matters. The new person has no primary education experience but is only a science trained teacher who has to learn primary work before starting her duties.

This is a clear indication that the politicians do not mind destroying the future of a generation to gain their patty ambitions.

People of the area has complained about this selfish act to the President and are awaiting a reasonable solution.

If this type of activities are not checked and the qualified people are not properly identified and if the officers are allowed to act in their own without considering the new effects to reform the system, we are certain that the President will never achieve the noble goals she is expecting to come within a short period.

Damith Samarakoone
Battaramulla.

Open Letter to Less privileged Sri Lankans

I am a most enthusiastic and avid reader of your Opinion Column. I enjoy most of the stuff but at times some depress me. But then it is Lanka today. I read with a sense of sadness the letter of the Very Rev. Sidney Knight. He seems to be undergoing a certain amount of mental anguish because of the reply by Mr. J. L. R. de Silva of Kotte. I shall not blame the Rev. gentlemen. But we must all remember that we have tons of people ready to go at a tangent at the drop of a pin.

There have been so very many opinions about Sinhala Chauvinism, racial bias and so forth. Also there have been appeals for amity, sobriety, solutions to the war and the ethnic problem. Most of them well meant.

How can any solution be worked out when there are people in this country who have Sinhala Commissions, Joint Commissions, Sinhala Sanvidanayas, Sinhala Weera Vidanayas and all kinds of Sangamayas, Sanvidanays etc. Our Tamil cousins are not blameless either, they too have Tamil Sangamns, Dravida Kalagams, Saiva Kalagams and etc. The Muslims too have leagues, Associations and etc. The former two have one thing in common one condemns the other. Is it a case of extended chauvinism. Under these circumstances how do we get together. Digging old wounds will not help, things that happened before World War 1 and after the War and affairs that transpired between the two world wars and post World War II and thereafter from Independence to '56, the language riots, rejected pacts and so on till '83, the aftermath thereafter. This type of thing will not get anyone anywhere .

Suppose the Tamils had been in the majority what would have happened. Is it anybodys guess? We do not have to guess very much just look at the closed services and departments of the past, which were headed by Tamils and work out how many Sinhalayas were given employment. Whats to be done now. Mistakes on both sides - isnt it?

If everybody play their part sincerely and not become instruments of someone else and speak lovely and cleverly everyone can discuss the merits or otherwise. If this can be done it will be to the credit of the nation. What does it matter if the P.A. is in power, it is not the P.A. that arrives at a solution, all political parties must abide by it. We need not have a repetition of the A.P.C. If anybody walks out go on without the walker, the purpose is to thrash out and resolve problems by discussion.

Now, we come to the missing man and his band, the LTTE. They should be welcome but not in shadow form. Vellupillai Prabakaran himself must come. He should be given the freedom to come and go for discussions. If he does not come it is just bad luck carry on without him. But they should not stop the war. If this is done the LTTE will recoup and we become the laughing stock once again. We have had solutions in 24 hours to many of our problems and it is this 24 hours solutions that had lead to the present crisis. We had the Late Mr.. Premadasa who boasted of how he got the LTTE to do what he wanted in 24 hours whereas the Indian Army could not do it for years. We also have had Sinhala in 24 hours. We have had enough of quick solutions. There are not instant solutions to the present problem.

If the LTTE cannot accept the solution then a military solution is the answer. After all amputation is the last resort. We have to come to a settlement amongst ourselves. The opposition should not oppose for the sake of opposing, but join the mainstream. We had a good dose of this, the abrogation of the BC pact and DC pact etc. Just imagine!

Lets forget grievances and aspirations. If they exist for one group it exists for the other as well and it applies to the Muslims too in equal measure.

Everyone must play their part with sincerity and not be a mouth piece for someone else. We must talk as a nation not Sinhala, Marakkala, Damila, landesi etc. if we begin to split hairs we shall have to have the aspirations and the grievances of the Low Country, Up Country, Jaffna Tamils, Indian Tamil and Batticloa Tamil and then go further on the Caste System. There will be no end.

Lets stop theorising. Lets resolve.

Milroy A. P. Bulathsinhalage,

'Democrats as Thugs'

Your timely and thoughtful editorial under the heading, 'Democrats as Thugs' on the 16th. July 1998, should be read by both the members of the PA and UNP in order to learn that thuggery is the ugly weapon resorted to by imbalanced people who have lost the force and power of argument. Let me quote the learn ed editor in this regard, 'All political party leaders should realise that the public is sick at such disgraceful antics of politicians.'

All praise must go to DIG Camillus Abeygunawardena who with a strong posse of constables, was able to restore law and order and allow the propaganda meeting of the UNP to be held, at Anamaduwa.

Again to quote the editor, 'The PA came to power on pledges of restoring law and order and protecting democracy.' But under the enormously power packed executive presidency what the UNP gave was not a people's democracy but a party- oriented democracy. In fact, it was a democracy of the party by the party for the party. In short his democracy did not have an MP to represent the people at the electorate level. And also the cunning and crafty device of proportional representation was to effectively debar and prevent any political party getting a two thirds majority in parliament.

At a recent party meeting the UNP leader Mr.. Ranil Wickremasinghe said, 'I do not believe in countering thuggery with thuggery and called upon his party men to use democratic means to counter political thuggery as done by the UNP leaders in the past.

In the circumstances, one cannot understand why our parliamentarians should resort to thuggery and mud-slinging at each other when things could be settled by fruitful and legitimate means of the power and force of arguments.

Haji M. L. M. Jabir

The Kohuwela Municipal Market

One of the many chores I do these days in my retirement is to regularly visit the Kohuwela Municipal Market to purchase some item or other necessary for the home, chiefly meat, fish and vegetables.

There I always see a person seated comfortably on a chair with legs stretched out and hands in pockets probably counting his money like the king in the nursery rhyme gazing at nothing in particular. The queen may have been in the parlour eating bread and honey. I cannot, however, vouch for this for she was never seen.

On his left is a small room with a table and chair on top of which (the table I mean) is to be found a bottle containing water I presume to quench his thirst during the hot weather. I suppose this is the reason for the bottle being there because it must be the weather and nothing else to account for it. He is always so calm and unhurried, it's hard to imagine what he would do in case of fire.

This gentleman is a Supervisor (or Superintendent) paid out of Municipal funds to supervise all activities within the market especially at the beef and mutton stalls where sleight-of-hand experts, worthy enough to put Gorgia Pasha to shame, operate. Although I visit the place almost daily not once have I seen the officer carrying out checks.

One requirement is that the face of the weighing scales should be turned towards the customer. At both meat stalls and the vegetable stalls this rule is not observed although at the fish stall it is. The officer should walk down the passage very often instead of sitting gaping into space while all the skulduggery goes on behind him. However sharp his eyes are they are not at his back.

I hope Mr. Mayor will open his eyes and occasionally supervise the Supervisor and prod him into activity.

E. A. K. Caspersz,
Nugegoda.

Debentures

An individual who needs extra cash
To a money-lender or bank may dash
From his monetary predicament he may be bailed out
If he has sufficient financial or political clout

A company that is cash strapped
Because its bankers and shareholders have been fully tapped
May solicit loans from investors
By the issue of insecure securities called debentures

An individual who defaults on his loan payment
Will by parate action end up on the pavement
But a company in a similar position
Could cause its insecure debenture holders financial ruination

Debenture holders beware!

Soon you may have to stand and stare
As your debentures in the financial market become worthless ware
'Cos the highly geared company becomes financially bare!

The known devil is better than the unknown
Even though your purse may not be full blown
Look before you leap out of your fixed deposite in the banks
Do not be fooled by capital market pranks!

C. Wanigaratne.

Big Five to eradicate terrorism

The recent horrific bombings of the US embassies in East Africa exposes the cruel racism of the terrorist involved.

They have proclaimed to the world that 'it is alright' to kill and injure hundreds of innocent black Africans in order to kill a couple of predominantly white US diplomats.

How can such a callous attitude be justified in the name of any world faith of ideology?

At least now may the international community unite under the mighty leadership of the UN 'big five' and wipe out the scourge of international Narco-Terrorism.

Sri Lanka is one country that will be benefitted by such a happy outcome.

S. L.David
Colombo.

A Tourist guide in yellow robes

Much is talked now about a Bhikku serving as a tourist guide, attached to a private company of travel agents.

A Buddhist monk among a group of white skinned tourists, guiding them in their pleasure jaunts round the country, would undoubtedly constitute a great spectacle for the onlooker. Also, the yellow robe might impress the tourists with a sense of very special treatment to them in this isle re-knowned for unqualified hospitality. However the question arises whether such conduct on the part of the monk and the failure to restrain him or connivance with him on the part of the Buddhist disciplinarians are at all conducive to the dignity of his robe.

Often it is questioned whether certain types of pursuits taken up by Bhikkus are acceptable in the light of the canons of discipline of the Buddha Sasana and Bhikkuhood. And, the career of a Bhikku as a Tourist Guide which is the subject of this letter is the latest to join the prevalent number of such controversial pursuits.

However the issue in the present case is all the more crucial in view of some of the activities the role of a tourist guide entails: for instance rights out in plush hotels in an environment of women, wine and song. Generally, such an environment is unthinkable for the yellow robe and we rightfully ask why the yellow robe should be made a part of that environment at the risk of grave erosion of its dignity. It is justifiably questioned how the dignity of our culture, religion and the bhikku could be upheld among visiting foreigners in the face of this gross violation of traditional values and ecclesiastical discipline by a bhikku himself.

We need not question here the morals of an individual. What is at stake is the image of the much venerated bhikkuhood symbo-lized by the yellow robe and this should constitute a case for the undivided attention of all genuinely interested in preserving the dignity of the Bhikku. The real danger, as I see, lies in the possibility of the currently discussed rarity becoming a precedent for others biding time for similar pursuits.

L. B. Aiyar,
Moratuwa.

Banda Vs. Bandara

Mr. S. R. Jayasinghe in his letter appeared on 4th August in The Island, has stated that the name Bandara or Banda has been intoduced to the Kandyan area after the advent of the Nayakkar dynasty and it has been derived from the word Pandaram which given to a minion who served in the ceremonies in the numerous devales introduced by the Nayakkar kings in Kandyan area.

I am of the view that both these theories are totally incorrect. Plenty of historical evidence are there to establish the fact that the term ‘Bandara’ had been in usage among Sinhalese during a period very much earlier than the Nayakkar dynasty and it was not confined only to Kandyan area.

The king Sithawaka Rajasinghe (1581-92) in his young days was known as Tikiri Bandara. When going further to Kotte period (1412-1580) we find many Bandaras in the royal family. Prince Maha Raigam Bandara a son of king Dharma Parakkramabahu ruled Raigama area. The husband of princess Samudra Devi, the only daughter of king Buwanekabahu VII was known as Prince Veediya Bandara. Their son, Prince Dharmapala baptized by the name Don Juwan Periya Bandara under Portuguese. There are historical records relating to two other Bandaras in the royal family, named Range Bandara and Kandure Bandara, during this period.

The famous legend of god Gale Bandara, reveals more information regarding the existance of Bandaras in the days of the kings of Kurunegala (1293-1347).

Historical records, known as ‘Sinhala Kadaim Poth’ (The land registers maintained by the Sinhala kings) also reveal several Bandara clans, who held important positions in the ruling class as early as Dambadeniya period (1220-1293). The lineage of one such clan has been described as follows:

"……Kumbaldivela Bandara of Hatharakorale was the grandson of Senevirathna Bandara who landed from the country of Malwila. His grandson was Mataluwawe Ekanay-ake Bandara. The daughter of Ekanayake Bandara married to Loku Rala, the son of Ulapone Herath Bandara……"

The ‘Kohomba Kankariya’, the famous Sinhala folk play, of which the tradition goes back to the time of king Panduwasudeva the successor of king Vijaya, the in remote history of Sinhalese, also has reference to Bandaras.

Thus, it is obvious that the Sinhala word ‘Bandara’ has no connection to the Tamil world ‘Pandaram’. The word Bandara has been assimilated into the Sinhala Language from the Sanskrit word ‘Bhandara’ which is synonym to ‘Bhandagara’ which means the treasury. During the transitional period of Sinhala language the term ‘Bhandagarika’ has been recorded in early Sinhala texts as ‘Bandari’ (nvZe_) to denote Royal Treasurer. Later the custodians of the royal property, including the chieftains who were provided with lands were known as Bandaras. After the abolition of Sinhala law and order in 1815 the name Bandara has been absorbed by the lower echelons of the society which resulted in the corruption of the word as Banda, Bandirala or Bandiya.

W. P. W. Weerawardena
Colombo 05.