Features
A brat pack that excelled and some of their teachers
The 1949 Royal College Group at Royal Prep and later
by Jayantha Gunasekera, PC,
Vice-President Royal College Union
I entered Royal Prep at the age of five years. Those were war years and Major A.F. de Saa Bandaranayake was the head master. The Royal College premises at Reid Avenue were taken over by the British Government to house a military hospital and Royal Prep was shifted to Skelton Gardens, Havelock Town where the Lumbini School is now located. One boundary was the canal.
Initially about 15 students, all about five years old were admitted to what was known as the baby class. My classmates included Upali Wijewardena the well known entreprenuer who founded the Upali Group, Dr. R.S.B.Wickremasinghe, who became Director of the Medical Research Institute, Dr. Ranjith de Silva (surgeon) who later captained the Royal College cricket team, Lal Jayasundera, Chairman of Hayleys, Dr.N.T. de Silva who worked for the National Health Service in England for the last 50 years and Dr. Tissa Cooray who was attached to the WHO in India.
Others were Neville Senaratne, who became a tennis coach in England, Lal Karunanayake, Director Aitken Spence, Kumar Ponnambalam ( Barrister) son of Minister G.G.Ponnambalam, QC, Alavi Momammed (Barrister) who worked for many years in UK, Dr. Danilo de Kretser, Beverly Vandergert and Bevis Nicholas whose mother was our music teacher. Nimalasiri Fonseka, Chartered Accountant son of Dr. (Mrs.) Dora Fonseka whose family immigrated to the UK and lived there many years was a member of this group.
Several others joined us at Royal Prep a few years later. They included Arjuna Hulugalle son of Daily News Editor H.A.J. Hulugalle, Dr. Brendon Gooneratne, Upatissa Attygalle son of Cyril Attygalle, MP. and nephew of Sir Nicholas Attygalle, Electrical Engineer Channa Amerasinghe who retired as General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board and Dr. J.B. Peiris, Ceylon’s first neurologist and the Director of the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, Others in the group were Dr. Henry Rajaratnam, Diabetologist, who retired as the Chief Physician of the General Hospital. Dr.Susantha Goonetilleke, who got a first class in engineering, Bavan Sri Skandaraja now living in Canada whose father was a Judge of the Supreme Court, Bhathiya Jayaratne, – planter, Dr. Priya Samarasinghe, surgeon and later venereologist who was a relation of J.C.A.Corea, Principal Royal College.
There was also M.D.Dharmasiri Peiris who entered the Ceylon Civil service was for many years Secretary to the Prime Minister and Secretary to many Ministries who was at Royal Prep but not Royal College.. He joined us from Richmond College Galle. He is the son of Mudliyar M.N.Peiris-well know personality in Galle.
Our baby class teacher was Mrs. Keyt who came to school driving her own car. Our second standard teacher was Miss. Sushila de Soysa who married a Coomaraswamy. Our third standard teacher was Mrs. Lekamge. Both Mrs. Keyt and Mrs. Lekamge treated us as if we were their own children.
Our fifth standard teacher was Mr. H.P. Jayawardena who divided the class into two sections, Parrots and Woodpeckers. The other two fifth standard classes were headed by Mr. H.D.Sugathapala and Mr. Piyasena. Incidentally Capt. VW Halpe was also a teacher. His son, Ashley Halpe, entered the Ceylon Civil Service but opted for an academic career in the University of Ceylon.
In 1948 Royal Prep shifted to Reid Avenue, its present location where the Nawarangahala too is located. There was only one central building when we entered Royal College in 1949. The Race Course and other wings were built after we entered Royal College.
At the end of 1948 we had to sit an open competitive exam to enter Royal College. The subjects were General Intelligence, English, Sinhalese/Tamil. The Tamil paper leaked and we had to sit another exam. All those who passed the first exam passed the second exam as well, while a few who failed the first exam entered Royal College being successful at the second.
Those who failed the Royal College entrance exam were accommodated at Thurstan College.
My father was a criminal lawyer. He built a house in Flower Road, Colombo-7 and the family shifted from our ancestral home, Dassanayeka Walawwa, to Flower Road. I would walk to Royal with my ayah together with my classmate, Dr.Brendon Gooneratne, who lived in Deanston Place, Kollupitiya and Lalith Athulathmudali (who was a few years my senior) from Flower Terrace, Colombo-7.
Lalith was the first Ceylonese President of the Oxford Union and his father, D.D.Athulathmudali was in the State Council. Tyronne Fernando, my neighbour, was President of the Labour Club at Oxford. Tyronne’s father, S.C.Fernando, himself an Oxford graduate was a tenant at Flower Road before he built his own home, ” El Reteiro” on Greenlands Road. Tyronne was foreign minister and was a few years my junior at Royal.
My good friends Dr. Disampathy Subasinghe and Eng. Bandula Yatawara joined us in the first form when Royal College was headed by J.C.A.Corea. My Royal Prep classmate, Dharmasiri Peiris, whom I referred to earlier in this article and I lost contact for many years after our school days. He was a top administrator and I was a criminal lawyer. We reconnected and resumed our friendship under strange circumstances.
He pushed me to write about sensational criminal cases in which I was a senior counsel. I list a few of them below:
1. The U.N. Expert murder case in which Chandrasekera Dias was supposedly killed by strangulation with a ligature. The victim was a member of the famous Sri Chandrasekera clan of Panadura who worked in the Central Bank and was later appointed a U.N. Expert. The accused were his wife Rohini Dias and Nimal Fonseka.
The case came up at the Colombo High Court before a High Court Judge and a special jury. The trial lasted three and half months sitting daily. According to the presiding judge, my cross examination of the medical witness was the longest ever of a scientific witness. The previous record was held by Mr.G.G. Ponnamalam, QC when he cross examined a fingerprint expert from Scotland Yard in the Ranjani taxicab murder case.
Both accused in the Chandrasekera Dias case were acquitted by a unanimous verdict of the jury on the basis that Dias may have committed suicide.
2. President J.R. Jayewardene’s son Ravi Jayewardene entrusted the defence of three soldiers in the “Punchi Borella parcel bomb case” where four people were killed and a house was blown sky high. All three accused were acquitted by the jury after a trial that lasted one month.
3. The Kegalle Shyama Dedigama murder case. My client who was accused was discharged and the other accused were convicted.
4. I defended Police Inspector Rahula Silva. He was supposed to have thrown a top left supporter, Dodampe Mudalali, from the fourth floor of the CID headquarters building after beating him up. Rahula Silva was exonerated. Evidence was led by Ian Wikramanayake, Solicitor General and Thivanka Wickremasinghe Crown Counsel.
5. I successfully defended several doctors who were on charges of abortion.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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