A rare officer with honesty and integrity of a high order

Late Mr Seekku Baduge Wimalasena de Silva, more commonly known as Mr S.B.W . de Silva was born on November 17, 1932 in Mirissa. He was a distinguished Old Boy of Mahinda College Galle, referred as Wimalasena or Wimale in school. His contemporaries included late Dr Nandadasa Kodagoda, late Ranjith Abeysuriya (former AG), and Mr P.L. Munidasa ( Rtd Deputy Inspector General Of Police, now in residing in Sri Lanka).

He joined the Ceylon Police on January 5, 1956 as a probationary sub-inspector and had a most illustrious career. He received training in Scotland Yard and several other international Intelligence organizations. His aptitude for police work was not limited to administration of which he was an expert, but in Investigations too like the Kalattawa murder case, when he was stationed as Headquarters Inspector of Police at Anuradhapura. His experience as an intelligence officer was greatly recognized by late Mr L.D.C. Herath who was the IGP and later Secretary Defence , and later by Secretary Defence General Sepala Attiygalla. He held very responsible positions as Director of the Police Training College and the Commandant of the Auxiliary Forces.

I first met him when he was the Officer- in-Charge of Grandpass Police station in 1965 when I was transferred to this station from Morawaka. He commanded great respect from the public, superiors , subordinates, courts, the Bar and the medical profession. His honesty, integrity, impartiality, knowledge of police, law and order, and deep sense of calmness and correct evaluation of situations certainly contributed towards, his achievements as a very successful policeman.

He always acted according to his conscience in accordance with values he acquired from his school (Mahinda College) and his religion as a devout Buddhist. He was a man of principle and had great respect for the views of others even though he may have disagreed. His decisions were based on the fact of always putting himself in the other man’s shoes and logically seeking the correct answer. On a very knotty problem I discussed with him, where I wanted to act emotionally, he advised me saying “Nihal put yourself in his position and then you will have the correct answer.” Don’t be impulsive.

He had the courage to say “NO” to many including a Senior Politician who was the deputy minister of Local Government and later the president of this country, late Mr R. Premadasa. Premadasa walked in to the police station with his entourage comprising of the late Mr Vincent Perera ( a minister later) and Mr Mahakumararge, an MMC. SBW offered them all seats. Mr Premadasa said: ” Mr de Silva I want you to bail my supporter who is locked up at the station and I will stand surety”. SBW politely responded, “Sorry, Sir I cannot accede to your request as it is not a bailable offence. It’s best you retain a lawyer and move for bail in court.” Mr Premadasa was certainly not happy with this response and pushed his chair back , stood up and said ” So you cannot help me?” At this stage Mr Vincent Perera interrupted and said ” Sir, Mr de Silva is a very honest officer who always helps us and we need to understand him. ” And all of them walked out.

The other incident was when Chevalier de Saram, who lives almost opposite the Grandpass police station (a powerful figure of the UNP) called SBW and said ” Mr de Silva you are the only OIC who has failed to visit me. All previous OICs visited me.” At this juncture very politely SBW posed the question, “Why Mr de Saram Do you have a problem?” He replied in the negative and SBW responded, “neither do I, but if there is a necessity I will visit you” and disconnected the phone. SBW had no problems with him thereafter.

My association with him grew closer when we worked together with him as my immediate superior in the Intelligence Division with the late Mr L.D.C. Herath as the Director. He always stood firm and never shirked his responsibilities. I remember an incident where I was alleged to have been after liquor by an ADC to the Governor General of the time (Late William Gopallawa), while I was the security officer for John Turner, former Prime Minister Of Canada when he visited us as Canada’s Minister of Justice. It was a misunderstanding due to my declining orders of the ADC to line up vehicles which I vehemently refused as it had nothing to do with my functions as a personal security officer to a VVIP. Some of my senior officers including Mr Herath appeared to believe this concocted report, but SBW stood by me and confirmed that I was a teetotaler.

During the years 1990 and 1991 Rtd Senior DIG Mr Edward Gunawardana and several retired ex Police and Armed Forces Officers were drafting a constitution and the minutes were taken by our good friend Archibald Van Sanden who had a hard time with SBW as he pointed out several omissions, including the absence of commas and full-stops etc. He was a perfectionist. He was the fourth President of the ISF (Industrial Security Foundation of Sri Lanka Inc). Later he was the Director training of the ISF which conducted many courses for security guards, supervisors and junior managers. His capacity to learn and teach others was indeed a delight. Even at the last AGM of ISF held on March 26, 2021, he displayed a high standard of integrity, and rose to the occasion to meet unfortunate challenges the ISF faces now with legal proceedings instituted. He authored the book of rules & the code of ethics of the ISF in accordance with Act Number 51 of 1999, on behalf of the committee.

His decision to prematurely retire from the Police was very disappointing to those who expected him to rise way beyond the rank he held at retirement. Those who were close to him realized that his disappointment was mainly because he felt that the Police department to which he was committed and loyal showed no recognition of his valuable services and betrayed his trust. The main reason being that many officers junior to him who had a “blemished” records were promoted over him as DIGs. Some of these officers were in fact managing private bus companies and hotel services. This was internal politics. He never went cringing and crawling to superiors or politicians. He stood by his principles with his conscience intact. He did not want to live with disappointments, and as the saying goes he “let it go” as is the hallmark of confident people.

Sadly the Police department often did not recognize scrupulously honest officers when their promotions were due. I can name a few – late A.C Dep (so many went over him to become IGP), V. T Dickman (not promoted as a DIG). SBW is another who should have retired as a Senior DIG. He was a much sought after leader in various professional organizations, besides being a past President of the Retired Senior Police Officers Association (RSPOA) which always sought his advice and guidance in organizing events like fund raisers and the Police Dance. He was one of those few senior officers who was always a result-focused leader who ensured that all rules and regulations were adhered to the letter leaving no room for criticism. These qualities made him the president of the Medico Legal Society of Sri Lanka, where for the first time a non legal/medical member was elected president bringing credit to the Police service. He was also a keen trainer and was the President of the Institute of Training & Development. His thirst for learning continued with his following a management course at the Open University with me. His skills for management training was a combination of theory , practice and experience which is a rare combination. SBW & his wife Dharma were blessed with three daughters, Risanthi, Dilum and Anoopa. Dharma was certainly part of his success story, silently giving unstinted support and encouragement in any decision he took. All three children are professionals. The eldest lives in Canada, the other two daughters were with their parents giving them a sense of security in their old age and caring for them with a great love and affection along with the extended family. The grandchildren living in the same compound probably gave them a new lease of life. I once saw his grandson taking a smiling SBW for a drive in a Volkswagen Golf.

He was no extrovert, always minded his own business and never got involved discussing others or even his own family . I am certain he always acted as a responsible husband and father with very high moral standards and never neglected his family, encouraging his daughters to be professionals enabling them to stand on their own. He never boasted about their achievements or sought to advertised the positions they hold. He certainly loved his children not because everything in them was lovely, and according to his liking, but because of the strong bond between them.It was a shock to his wife and family when he suddenly suffered a heart attack; he had told his daughter living next door about it and was perhaps attempting to dress himself to go to hospital when he had the second attack which was fatal. The RSPOA went into action and naturally under the present circumstances certain procedures had to be followed which made the family seek help from the RSPOA. I am still in shock as I have been constantly in touch with him, almost every other day and this was least expected.His contribution to the Police Department was never recognized, very sadly even in his retirement and death. He indicated to me that the present IGP had entrusted him with the task of amending the “Constables’ Manual” which is a guide to the rank & file and he being a perfectionist had said it was a challenging task but he was equal to it. Perhaps the least the IGP could have done was to pay his last respects to him & met, his family and paid a tribute to him at the funeral. It Is certainly a very sad situation. Here was an Officer who sacrificed his time and energy, and knowledge towards the Police department and the treatment meted out to Officers of this caliber does not augur well for the Police department. It should emulate the Sri Lanka Army in such matter and learn these basic obligations. I may sum up what I learnt from SBW and that is, “We, can only maintain good relationship with people if we refrain from crossing boundaries. If we respect the ‘spaces’ of our friends and relatives, we will never get into trouble with them.

In accordance with my religion I wish he is in heaven, with God almighty.

Nihal de Alwis