Kandy Malays Help Tsunami Victims

The Malay Association is organising a one day get-together of all Sri Lankan Malays at the Police Grounds Kandy on Saturday 18th June 2005 for a fund raiser. Besides, a sports programme, a Malay Cultural Display will be staged with the participation of other sister organizations of Malays. A gathering of about 3000 are expected to congregate.

Diplomats from the Indonesian and Malaysian embassies in Sri Lanka together with Retd. Col Shahrir Hashim, Secretary General of the Regional Daw'ah Council for the South East Asia and the Pacific, and other foreign delegates are expected to grace the occasion with The Kandy Malay Association, known among the local Malay community as Perkumpulan Melayu di Kandi, was established in 1968. Of the founder members only T S Miskin, Fareed Ahamath and M J Ameer are surviving. The other founder members were the late T M F Jamion, M J Booso, S J Jassim, T A Chondon, T H Burah, T A Dole, and T Sariman.

The current membership is round 400 families. This Association is a founder member of the Sri Lanka Malay Confederation, the governing body of twenty one sister Associations spread throughout the Island.

The main goal of the Association is to promote the religious and cultural welfare, to foster unity, maintain and preserve the Malay identity and our mother tongue, Bahasa Melayu. The Association has four branches, Religious and Cultural, Wanitha Melayu, Youth League and Sports Club.

The Association organizes religious and cultural events periodically where the membership gets the opportunity to mingle with their brethren. Besides this the Association emphasize more on the Janaza Fund to provide financial assistance at time of death of any of our members and the annual Zakath funds that caters for the needy Muslims during the holy month of Ramazan.

They have been able to raise funds and material for the welfare of the membership and other organizations caring for the sick and disabled. Recently the Association held a Malay Cultural Show in Kandy where funds were raised and a part of the proceeds was donated to the Cancer Home in Kandy. This was the second such donation to this Home.

The current office bearers of the Association are as follows: Patron Sdr. M Iqbal Jaleel; Vice Patrons Sdri. M Z Booso, Sdr. M A Buksh & Sdri. G K Hannan President Sdr. M Feizal Dole; Vice Presidents: Sdr. T S Miskin, Sdr. M J Cassiere, Sdr. Alloy Buksh, Sdri. B Hassan, Sdri. Endrani Mohamed; Hony. Gen: Secretary Haji Nizam Samath; Hony. Asst Gen. Secretary Haji T S Ahamadeen; Hony. Treasurer Sdr. T H Smahon; Branch Secretaries: Women's Bureau Sdri. Doreen Buksh; Sports & Welfare: Sdr. M W H Noorie; Religious & Culture Sdr. Hamza Ahamadeen; Youth Affairs Sdr. Azad Suhood; General Committee: Sdri. G S Cassiere, Sdri. G R Azman, Sdri. Nalifa Mohamed, Sdr. Harry Suhood, Sdr. Tyrone Alith, Sdr. Naushad Weerabangsa, Sdri. Jesmin Salim, Sdri. Sahida Lanthra, Sdr. T.Firoze Jalill,Sdri. Fareeda Ahamath. Hony. Auditor Sdr. S.C. Yaheya

	No FM An Occasional Irreverent Comment on Current News Sethusamudram Consultations Completed
	A lot of Sri Lankans are in two minds about India's s intention to construct the Sethusamudram shipping lane in the Palk Straight. Speaking on the condition of “unanimity” a spokesperson for a key environmental group in Sri Lanka told No FM that Sethusamudram would cause “irreparable damage to the environment”. When asked what evidence he had for that assertion, he said “we know these things even without evidence. But the government has appointed two committees to collect evidence. We object in anticipation.” We reminded him that similar objections were being raised against almost every new project and that the Kandalama Hotel that was supposed to be an environmental disaster was winning environmental awards. The Environmentalist accused this correspondent of breaking the promise made at the start of the interview that he was speaking only on the condition of unanimity. Meanwhile the ministerial committee appointed to study the Sethusamudram Project is believed to be reluctant to meet because it is sacred of upsetting the Indian government. The Foreign Ministry meanwhile says that it is better to keep India happy on Sethusamudram so that Prabhakaran continues to remain in the bad books of India. Prabhakaran himself is supporting Sethusamudram because he believes that it would allow the KKS Port to replace Colombo in a future Eelam. India has announced that it has completed consultations with “all parties” (read “Sri Lanka”) that may be adversely affected by the project and convinced them that they have nothing to worry. Sethusamudram will go ahead as planned India says. When we asked what sort of consultation took place the Indian spokesperson said that the Sri Lankans were told in a five minute briefing all the good things that would happen (to India) when the shipping lane becomes operational. Supporters of SAARC hail this as another shining example of SAARC cooperation.
	Appreciation ISLE Sinhala Teacher Kamini de Abrew
	Though it was her wish that obituaries be resisted, it is our very sad and anguished duty to report that Ms. Kamini de Abrew, the Sinhala instructor of the Inter-Collegiate Sri Lanka Education program (ISLE) since the program's inception in 1982, passed away on May 1st. Tragically, she was struck down and killed by a bus after attending a lay Buddhist association meeting in Colombo.
	In announcing this painful news to the ISLE Board of Directors, Prof. Roger Jackson of Carleton College said: “We join Kamini's family and many friends in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in mourning the loss of this remarkable woman. Generations of ISLE students and directors knew her as one of the best language teachers they ever encountered, and as a delightful and often idiosyncratic guide through the complex waters of Sri Lankan culture.” Sree Padma, ISLE's Administrative Director, writes. "I don't think I will ever find anyone like Kamini to work with again. Her mind was always at work to come up with new strategies about how she could be more effective with her students. She always advised me on so many aspects of the program because she had been with us from the beginning. She was so clever. And she had such high standards. Working with her made me feel that we constantly were reinventing the program. I also remember how much she loved to listen to Bengali music. On trips to India, I'd shop for c.d.'s of classical Indian music that I knew she would enjoy, just small tokens for what could never be fully repaid. Prof. John Holt of Bowdoin College writes: “ Kamini was the first Sri Lankan I met back in June of 1982 when I traveled to Colombo to set up the logistics for the first contingent of ISLE students. Kamini thoroughly understood, almost as an article of faith, that learning the language of a culture is tantamount to learning about the culture per se. I marveled at her energy and her astounding resilience. I doubt that any of our students ever lacked respect for her. To do so would have been to mock dedication. In many ways, Kamini embodied, or perhaps inspired, what the ISLE Program evolved into: a passionate attempt to understand how the world can be understood from perspectives conditioned by Sri Lanka's history, society, language, religion and culture. What Kamini facilitated so magnanimously is an attempt to transcend our own conditioned horizons, to communicate meaningfully with and understand those beyond our own familiar pales. “Kamini was a product of first generation Peradeniya. When referring to Kamini in the company of other Peradeniya professors, fond looks of recognition and respect would surface. She was well known to many in the community. Kamini graduated in 1959, having excelled not only in the study of English, but as a track and field star. She was also a member of the national Ceylon table tennis team and traveled to China and other Asian countries for international competitions. She had to have been a fierce competitor! She completed her M.A, in linguistics from Southern Illinois University. Her compassion for life was signaled by her extraordinary love for plants and especially animals. She was an active supporter of animal rights groups. “ Sometimes we meet characters who are larger than life, people with a presence that always makes a difference. Kamini was certainly one of those. Unforgettable. My mind teems with so many memories reaching back through 23 years. Her impact, like a rising swell of good karma, will remain with hundreds of us for a long time. Nivan saepa laebeewaa. 'May she reach nibbana!” The ISLE Program is working to establish the Kamini de Abrew Prize in Sinhala at the University of Peradeniya as an enduring memorial to this truly remarkable person who enriched and graced our lives. Contributions may be made to ISLE Program, Bowdoin College, 4400 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011. Personal reminiscences about Kamini will be posted on the ISLE website and can be sent to isle@bowdoin.edu

Full text from home page...

Government Owes KMC Rs 96 million for Water

Government institutions, agencies and departments starting from the President's House and the Provincial Governor's Residence to Police, Army's Sinha Regiment, and the Peradeniya University owe the KMC Rs 96m in water bills that they have not paid. Others in this category include the Department of Agriculture, District Courts, Kandy and Peradeniya Teaching Hospitals, Railway Department, Sri Lanka Telecom, and the Prisons. The Queen's Hotel that is state owned and another few private companies have also run up large amounts in unpaid water bills totaling over Rs 3.0m. If ordinary consumers do not pay bills on time their water supply is cut. But the KMC fails to impose such sanctions on government agencies and large private establishments.

According to an audit report prepared by the Assistant Commissioner of Local Government (ACLG), Kandy the KMC in recent years has failed to bill for about 25% of the water that it produced. Another 25% was lost in distribution due to leaks and illegal tapping.
School and religious establishments get water free of charge. The ACLG has advised the KMC to bill the education department for school water.

Deputy Mayor L B Aluvihare told The Kandy News that the KMC will bill the schools for water. He also appealed to the government agencies to settle the arrears.

The public is perturbed by the implications of this situation. Either the consumers have to pay for the defaulters or the rate payers have to pay through taxes. Either way the Kandy public is losing. The solution, one analyst noted, is to press the central government to pay a lump sum for water or failing that handover the water supply to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board.

Full text from home page...

Denial of Counsel is Against Principles of Natural Justice

There is evidence to suggest that in recent times people in our society increasingly allow their emotions rather than rational thinking to regulate their behaviour on matters of criminal justice. For example, some lawyers conducted a public agitation in court to prevent counsel being made available to the accused in the Justice Ambepitya murder trial. The denial of counsel is totally against the principles of natural justice, and it was totally against the ethics of lawyering to conduct such a campaign, said Presidential Counsel Vijaya Wickramaratne when he recently addressed a seminar in Kandy on “Crime and Justice.” The present popular demand for the reintroduction of the death penalty as a solution to control murder too was not a very reasoned response, he noted. He pointed out that there was no evidence from countries such as US where the death penalty was used to suggest that capital punishment caused the murder rate to fall.

The Kandy News in Association with the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Kandy and the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung organized the public seminar recently in Kandy to address the widespread public concern that crime is on the increase, and that the police and the criminal justice system were failing to perform as expected. Besides Mr. Wickramaratne three other prominent personalities from Kandy, DIG Nimal Mediweka, Attorney-at-Law and former Kandy mayor Harendranath Dunuwille, and Superintendent of the Bogambara Prison Nelson Abeydheera also made presentations that were followed by a lively discussion in which several of the members of the audience participated. ICES Associate Director Attorney-at-Law Dushyantha Mendis moderated the seminar and The Kandy News Managing Director Mrs. Shirley Jayawardane welcomed the speakers and the audience.

Mr. Wickramaratne argued that the system of justice that Sri Lanka inherited from the British was fundamentally sound and must be preserved. Among other things, it ensured a fair trial for the accused. He expressed his concern at the numerous recent deaths of crime suspects when they were in police custody. The police must be impartial and politicians must not interfere with the police or the criminal justice system he asserted.

He concluded by saying that the present laws were generally adequate for the police to do their duty to control crime and that their duty can be performed while respecting human rights.

DIG Nimal Mediweka in his address said that crime has definitely risen in recent years. He said that the task of the police in crime prevention, detection, and prosecution is today far more difficult than when he joined the police in the early 1970s. The underworld is more organized and ruthless today he asserted.

Mr. Mediweka welcomed the recently established Police Commission that he said was helping the police to regain a measure of independence from political interference. He conceded that sometimes the police was wrong. He wanted better and more scientific training for the police to make them more efficient in combating crime. In his view the law has to be further strengthened to fight crime in the country. He also appealed to the public to cooperate with the police.

Attorney-at-Law Harendranath Dunuwille in his presentation pointed out that only 22% of the accused in criminal cases that are presented to courts in Sri Lanka are convicted. In Japan the rate was 99%. This, he argued, showed the weakness of our police department as well the criminal justice system. He suggested that Sri Lanka must adopt the concept of “parallel justice” that secures the rights of the victims of crime and ensures fair treatment to them through financial compensation.

Pointing out that some police stations did not even have equipment to take a finger print, Mr. Dunuwille urged the government to strengthen the facilities available to the police for crime detection.

Bogambara Prison Superintendent Mr. Nelson Abeydheera was of the opinion that capital punishment would reduce the murder rate. He revealed that since 1976 nobody in Sri Lanka condemned to death by the courts has been executed. As of today there were 374 prisoners in death row in Sri Lankan prisons. Of that number 146 have exhausted their appeals and were awaiting execution and 228 were on appeal. The president can commute the sentence of any of them.

Mr. Abeydheera noted that the prisons were grossly overcrowded mostly with detainees who were jailed for non-payment of fines or were sent to prison for petty crimes. He also felt that there were quite a few people in prison who were innocent of the crimes that they have been accused of but had been convicted due to deficiencies in the criminal justice system.

He also pointed out a ruse adopted by some accused that pleaded guilty and enter prison just before February 04th in the hope of getting a presidential pardon on Independence Day. This was especially popular among illicit (kasippu) brewers, he said.