As a Buddhist who did not prostitute the teachings of Lord Buddha to go places, I was greatly pained having learnt through the media of the despicable conduct of some men in yellow robes by not rising when the Chief Justice and other learned judges of the apex court entered court.

It is a hallowed tradition that is followed all over the world as a symbol of respect for the rule of law. This act clearly reflected the scant respect that some men in saffron robes have for the laws of the land.

It was more shocking to learn of Ven. Medhananda Thera of Benz fame rushing to defend this sordid act by saying that monks did not rise even before kings. Such statements only show his arrogance and hollow ego meant for the gullible who follow such types; in simple language for the gallery. He even had the audacity to publicly proclaim that the views expressed by the Most Venerable Maha Nayaka of Asgiriya may have been his personal views.

Perhaps he is incapable of assessing the quantum of damage, that act inflicted on the country, its head of state, the Mahanayakes of the four sects and also the pious monks who are very few in this day and age. Yes, many are the men in saffron robes who use this symbol for personal advancement.

The Supreme Court episode sends a wrong message to the civilised world, as a challenge to the highest judiciary, and can be construed as an act not within democracy where all religious leaders are equal. It is only in a theocracy that members of one group have a special privilege.

Ven. Medhananda Thera, the politician whose interest is in worldly life, is either ignorant or had made a deliberate attempt to diddle the public, many of whom are unaware in depth as to what Lord Buddha had to tell layman before they don robes.

To start with Lord Buddha never asked the laity to respect the saffron robe but advised men before donning the robe not to don the robes if they cannot live up to the expectations of one in saffron robes. This is clearly stated in the Dhammapada

Lord Buddha, advised monks never to transgress the laws that existed during that period or commit any act that would offend the king. It goes without saying that Buddha in his wisdom so advised, because if they earned the wrath of the king, the punishments that they would receive were extremely severe and harsh. The punishments during those times were amputation of nose, ears, or limbs, cutting of the tongue, extracting eyes, removing nails, skinning alive, pouring hot oil on the body, decapitation, getting dogs to bite etc.

The kings of yore resorted to such practices to ensure that men who accepted the teachings of the Buddha and who of their own volition donned the robes with one clear vision, namely to propagate the dhamma and work towards enlightenment did not stray away from the selected path.  Such harsh treatment was given to deflate false pride, arrogance and ego.

It must also be said in the halcyon days the king or head of state was able to reach learned, pious monks who lived within the dhamma for advice. Such conditions exist in a very restricted way nowadays creating an enormous embarrassment to monks living within the dhamma.

In these circumstances Ven. Medhananda Thera’s attempt to legitimise a despicable and disdainful act should be treated by the Buddhists with the contempt it deserves and not be carried away by his false story that monks did not rise before kings. He should consider himself lucky that there are no kings today since they would not have been able to try the antics they are trying today.

The way the funeral arrangements of the recently slain war hero Janaka Perera was managed by the government has left a bitter taste on all the citizens irrespective of their party affiliation. Some shortsighted person at the top has been very petty minded and scuttled a golden opportunity for the government to capture the hearts of the people.

Whatever said and done, in spite of the spiraling cost of living, the fact is that ‘victory’ in the war seems to be dominating the people’s mind. The masses appear to be tolerating all the difficulties in the hope that the war will soon be over. Anyone who fought the war, especially who fought valiantly and successfully, will be loved by the people.

This is natural, as so many of our youngsters from many families are at the war front and are losing their limbs and lives, and the common man sees anyone who helps in this attempt as one of theirs. Therefore honoring them is always the done thing for the common man.

Besides, death is an equaliser. When death strikes, especially in a manner so shocking as what happened to Janaka Perera, people’s hearts go out to their kith and kin. They see themselves in the shoes of the family. Helping people when they are grappling with a loss is the most natural thing to do.

Therefore helping them in any way, especially at a time of a great loss would have endeared the government to the people.

The way the airlifting was denied, the way the remains were delayed at the airport and the way the escort was withdrawn — all smack of petty mindedness. Someone at the helm of power was not in his/her right mind. It is a pity our politicians do not take sound advice from others. If so they would have seen a golden opportunity and grabbed it, giving all the assistance to the family of Janaka Perera and giving him a funeral with state honours, especially now that he is in the opposite camp. It would have endeared the government to the common man. They would have won the hearts of millions by being magnanimous.

But then, mere climbing the ladders of power does not bring honourable qualities to one, does it?  It is something one is born with and nurtured by being with honourable people.

If magnanimity is too much to expect from our politicians at least shrewdness at making best use out of the situation should have prevailed.

Whoever made this decision stands naked in front of all Sri Lankans, despised. Pity saner counsel did not prevail. It will take a long time for this bitterness to be erased from people’s hearts.

First of all I must thank the editorial staff of The Sunday Leader for highlighting the corruption in the public sector without any fear or favour.

A former bank CEO had a problem with the bank where he worked and before he was taken to task, he left that bank and joined Pramuka Bank, cheated the depositors, took their money and left the country. There was a hue and cry from the public to apprehend him and later our police said that investigations into this matter had been shelved. No one to this day knows why the investigations were stopped halfway.

Then came Sakvithi Ranasinghe whom some people call ‘Sakvithi Sir.’ He played out about 5000 depositors. The police and army bigwigs, it is said, had invested large sums of money with Sakvithi, how they came about such large sums is anyone’s guess. Now this money too seems to have gone with the wind.

It is widely believed that Sakvithi was able to escape because the Central Bank was slow to move. Perhaps with the pyramid scam swept under the carpet it was a case of ‘you scratch my back and I scratch your back’ similar to police raids on kasippu dens. It is a known fact that the police before they undertake a raid on a kasippu den send a message to the mudalali that they will be coming for a raid and to be on the look out; and finally an innocent man — neither the seller nor the owner — is taken into custody just to hoodwink the people.

The police spokesperson said that the Sakvithi matter had been referred to Interpol. But an officer from Interpol Headquarters in Leon, France said that there was no request from Sri Lanka about this particular person. It looks as if that this spokesperson has taken over the role played by the court jester during the days of the Sinhala kings. He says all kinds of things to hang on to his job. We need an honest person with a backbone to do this all important job

I would like to remind readers of the tsunami assistance received and the ‘Helping Hambantota’ scandal. It is with deep pain of mind that I write this letter because my parents are still living in makeshift tents. At the moment I am boarded at Ratmalana and go home — not a home sweet home — at the end of the week to see my ageing mother. It is high time that legal action is taken before other ‘Sakvithis’ leave the shores of Sri Lanka, as there is to be an election in 2009. Otherwise Alibaba and his hundred odd thieves will take wing and disappear from Sri Lanka.

The mosquito menace has been threatening our lifestyle for too long and it is time that some drastic action is taken to get rid of it without delay. The key is to eliminate the root cause of the problem rather than trying ad hoc remedial measures. Whenever a dengue outbreak is there we see increased activity and fogging for a few days.

Millions are spent on mosquito coils only making the coil manufacturers’ rich. Such half hearted attempts can only subdue the problem for a short period of time. Destruction of mosquito breeding places will only be the effective solution to the problem.

 Singapore is a country with a similar equatorial climate as ours, high rainfall and dense living conditions. These are ideal conditions for mosquito breeding, but Singapore is free of mosquitoes due to stringent regulations and tough enforcement. Singapore has an anti mosquito task force whose only duty is to see that the county is mosquito free. Dedicated teams of over 500 officers do regular audits, inspections and enforcements.

 It is high time that here also a dedicated task force is set up with the task of tackling the mosquito menace. Municipal councils, urban councils and other local bodies should have anti mosquito teams whose full time job is to tackle this issue. Preventive surveillance and control, public education, enforcement and elimination of potential mosquito breeding spots should be carried out aggressively in order to get rid of the mosquito menace.

While the whole world is highlighting the importance of preventing violence against women, some television channels in this country are actively promoting it. The irony is that one of the main offenders is a channel run by an organisation owned by a woman! These television stations import cheap soap operas dubbed in Sinhala from India and telecast them for prime time viewing.

This is a time when older children might well be watching and could easily absorb the culture of women-bashing so explicitly portrayed in these dramas. Almost every soap opera run by one station is full of scenes in which women are abused, assaulted and treated as chattels.

While the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 2005 provided enabling legislation to bring direct offenders to book, it lacked the teeth and institutional setup to deal with less obvious, more subtle, promoters of the culture of violence against women. The only remedy left in the hands of civil society in dealing with this problem is to name and shame the offenders.

Unfortunately, in this and other matters in which the media is involved, they stand up for each other and will not give publicity to any campaign against one of their kind – like doctors who hide or defend the medical mistakes of their colleagues.

In the end, one might well have to go before the Supreme Court as this is clearly a case in which the fundamental rights of women are being openly violated.