GMOA – Answer to prevent foreign doctors in Private Hospitals is not giving Govt. ones more flexibility! We should make SL more attractive to our Docs.

Govt. doctors do private practice after hours! We all know that some Govt. hospital surgeons are busy cutting people up at places like Central Hospital at 12 Midnight. Now the GMOA want them to use their leave time to work during normal hours, to combat, or prevent foreign doctors being hired by Private Hospitals.

See link for the demands that have been made by the GMOA

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=74701

In my opinion GOOD doctors can earn many times their wage at the Govt. in their after-hours practice. I know two doctors who work in the local Govt. hospital, who have roaring practices where they see patients before they go to work, and after they get back. One doctor sees over 50 patients in the evening every day 7 days a week. This is in my suburban setting in Meegoda.

Even if they get a car permit as a perk, they still have to finance the purchase and have to pay over Rs100,000 month to the leasing co or loan payment to the bank, so their Govt, doc income of Rs50,000 per month is not enough. Private practice is NOT an option, but a necessity for them.

GMOA is the Government Medical Officers Association, which represents the Doctors who work in Govt. Hospitals and health facilities. They for some reason do not like foreign doctors working in Sri Lanka. They believe they are either less qualified, or that they take away lucrative income from SL doctors!

This is NOT the answer, and that is NOT the real problem. The real problem is that Doctors do not want to serve in difficult areas, where they have accommodation problems and lack of chance to earn privately. How do we fix the brain drain? The poor pay for doctors to be educated at state expense, only to leave and go overseas, without at least a minimum of 10 years service to the Country.

The problem is NOT foreign doctors, it is the sense of values of the Sri Lankan doctor to appreciate the value of the free education they receive and the obligation they have to the provider of that education, namely their country. I am not for a moment suggesting we prevent doctors from working overseas. All I am saying is that they perform sufficient work within Sri Lanka before they are permitted to leave, or otherwise reimburse the Govt. by way of an enforceable bond, for their education. Isn’t that not fair? We may then not have so many foreign doctors.

In the end the Private hospital must have the best to survive, and if we don’t have local they recruit foreign only out of necessity. They don’t pay them less surely!!!

When we have Mutts for Ministers – they are frightened to face the truth! in short no balls!

A British MP had the decency to represent a constituent who had been unlawfully killed in Sri Lanka, by the Chairman of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha. The accused is out on bail pending the hearing which could be held according to SL justice whenever the judge desires, which is never!

So when the MP came to Sri Lanka with the brother of the deceased to enquire into the state of the case, NOONE in any authority would grant him an audience. So no one wished to even get involved, let alone agree to look into the manner. This smacks of complete indifference on the part of the Sri Lankan government to do anything about even murder, and for all intents and purposes, allow a Rajapakse loyalist killer to go free of any responsibility in the crime.

I just wish the MP goes to the UK and the UK lays down the law as far as either CHOGM or with regards to recalling its High Commissioner. The SL Govt. will then take notice and say they will expedite the case. However that also amounts to a “Hill of Beans” as the Govt has NO intention of solving the case, as a result will be that the Chairman of the Pradeshiya Sabha that represents where the President lives in the District, and a close friend will be deemed to be a murderer

When the President of Sri Lanka is known to consort with murderers what hope is there for ordinary human beings to seek justice. When an MP from a friendly country is treated so shabbily that country MUST decide the relationship they wish to have with Sri Lanka.

The inertia amongst the ruling politicians to work actively to seek justice is frustrating and only those under the scope of the law, in as much as they are the victims, are affected. Only if you are affected do you realize that you have no power to change the system, despite money you may have at your disposal.

It is important that we know what is going on. It is important the reporting of this incident is done in a way people really understand the state of play. If you are murdered or your kith or kin murdered there is simply nothing you can do, as the implicated who are most likely to have political patronage will not get caught, sentenced and incarcerated.

I pity the family of the deceased as they simply cannot see justice being done in this case. It is up to the UK govt. to take stand and prevent ALL UK citizens from coming to SL until the case is satisfactorily resolved. There is a chance then!!

Road Blocked – where is the local opposition? Don’t we care?

The available news is still very thin, and so the prevention of the freedom of movement and expression of people from the North, I believe Vavuniya and Mannar who wanted to come to Colombo to demonstrate, shows that the Govt. is still not prepared to entertain and dissent against its rule. The demonstration nevertheless went ahead in Colombo, but an additional 1000 would have added to the pressure!

The Govt. also staged a demo, basically accusing the TNA of not highlighting the  atrocities of the LTTE which seem never to be admitted yet by them as part of the quid pro quo of the LLRC. Both sides must come clean on atrocities.

This police blockage of people hiring buses to come to Colombo to demonstrate against the inaction on the Missing Persons issue is deplorable.

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=791677

Of course it has not got on the main news yet, not because it is not important, but due to self censorship and instructions by the Govt. to all media NOT to report it and give it prominence, at a time SL is fighting a rearguard action to show they mean well, when they have skillfully shown themselves to be untrustworthy, as far as keeping promises in concerned.

The tragedy is further pronounced by the intervention of the US Embassy to denounce this prevention. Why is the US so worried? The explanation is simply because they are using their rights to bring it up, as it has been suppressed by the local media, and so the people of Sri Lanka don’t know what is happening under their noses, as they have a govt. in place that tries to suppress news that is unfavorable to it.

It is time the papers first investigated the incident, got all the facts from both parties and reported objectively on the news. Here I guess I am dreaming if I think our media can be objective.

It is up to Sri Lankan civil society devoid of INGO funding to take up the cudgel and shout, and it is the duty of the media to give prominence to home grown dissent in the interests of journalistic balance and fairness.

Too much Govt. propaganda is fed to people on a daily basis. It is time that there is some balance in reporting. If we cannot ask this of our media, they may as well pack up their bags and shut up shop in shame that they are unable to represent the interests of the people of Sri Lanka.

There are people taking a stand against acts or inaction of the Government. It is our duty to support them, and not spend time debating if and when to do so bearing in mind the parties, be it in this case TNA led activists agitating for some fairness in the search for their missing, an uncomfortable truth swept under the carpet.

Nations in turmoil – following the removal of dictators

We must be cognizant of the fact that once a powerful dictator is removed, there is a huge vacuum created that has all interested parties jockeying for power. This creates instability, that makes the dictators rule seem peaceful!

This inevitable is where a strong and united opposition can make a huge difference in agreeing to a plan that takes a country into a new era, using the resources available post transition. In Sri Lanka’s case, we must therefore be ready for the downfall of this dictatorship, with a plan to take it to the next level, without being slaves to our own political ambitions, against the national good.

If examples are needed, one need only look at Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and soon to be included there, in Syria. Iran may be next and the list will keep growing, as dictatorship seems to be the order of the day in the 21^st Century followed by a downfall and disgrace, leading to more of the same.

The west is accused of interfering and making up the rules as they go on. I don’t believe the west has anything to do but watch the proceedings, and look at each country self destructing. The beneficiaries of this destruction are the West, as they get orders for new and better arms, and then powerless countries result, which can then be exploited, due to their weakness.

So it is not a conspiracy of the West but merely a behavioral pattern of self destruction that only benefits the West. So when I see all these moronic ministers in Govt. talk about western conspiracies, I know the West engages in a wry smile saying to themselves, if only Wimal Weerawansa realizes that he is our best friend, and he is doing all our hard work for us, by destroying his country singlehanded, and if that means we get the blame, that is a price we pay to get what we want, but by the accuser himself partaking in the crime that benefits us!!

For the Western powers to control the economies of the world, the other countries only need to self destruct. There is NO need for the west to get involved, and their job is merely to observe the proceedings, to achieve the same result.

The moral of the story is NOT to get too inebriated about western conspiracies, but to just get on with your job as best as you can. This will ensure a livable state with very few material demands. We can then conserve our resources, and look towards creating a society of people who are considerate and aware of their power both to create and destroy. Blame not the West for thy sins of greed. It just ricochets back. 

Chavez – Despots bite the dust – no Dictators

It should not be a moment of rejoicing, but when despots in Office bite the dust such as Saddam Hussein, Ghadaffi and now Chavez and possibly soon Assad, it forewarns of that which is natural. Change is inevitable.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and there is nowhere for them to hide from what they have done to their countries. There are always people who defend their action, and how they fought the foreign multinational and US interests and that is why they lost the fight in the end, but none of that washes, when they destroy the lives of their own countrymen for interests that are personal and not patriotic, by the misuse of the name patriotism.

They all come in a moment of euphoria and depart as scoundrels.

We can see similarities here in Sri Lanka, and hope that these patterns do not repeat on our shores, but I expect it to be a wake-up call, for forgiveness, even at the eleventh hour before the curtain falls, to make amends to the destructive powers, not apparent to the destroyer under the influence of power.

It is only when one is able to realize the error of one’s ways will one even make an attempt at change or make some transformation, so that one looks towards a legacy in history. After all that is all you leave behind. No matter what you do, if your legacy is that of a murderer it is difficult for history to erase that. See what is quietly becoming of Prabarkaran, a man who despite it all led his people like pied piper right into the lake to drown, never to resurface, all for the sake of a misguided notion of self importance. We do not want another Praba behave-alike from our shores in the not too distant future, taking with him all his sycophants into the proverbial lake from where they will never return.

Leadership must empower one’s subjects to identify right from wrong, good from bad, and then carry out the righteous and the good. No harm comes to a person who honestly and sincerely believes in these simple tenets. One complicates one’s own leadership when it is mixed with megalomaniacal projects, ideas and myths that fail to materialize.

Let us excise ourselves from the bad, replace it with thee good, and help the country prosper by the use of our brains, and a plan, that guides people’s minds towards positive energy and thoughts, and thereby overcome the many real world obstacles in achieving our dreams. In this way the man made obstacles will diminish and we will be able to obtain a degree of achievement that is NOT measured in wealth and power, but in a state where the citizens are content!

The whole sordid issue has just got completely out of hand

We don’t seem to know how to organize a kitefest if we had one! This whole unnecessary campaign against ‘halal’ and by extension against the Muslim community, is another example of our supposedly civilized people not knowing how to live and behave peaceably whilst solving a simple issue without much bad blood flowing in trying to fix the mole hill.

After all in the end it is the Sri Lankan economy that suffers and the trouble makers cannot care a toss about it. In terms of economic repercussions, no matter what anyone says, the exporting community, wish to have a recognizable ‘halal’ certified tag on their packaging for exports to certain countries as preferred by the selling agents in those countries. In their own economic interests it is better for them to get the certification from a local body, rather than have to pay top dollar to get overseas certifying companies to come to SL to give their certification!

So in the fall out these companies are suffering in silence, and they have nothing to do with the local debate, only a way to sell our products overseas. So both parties to the dispute are held to blame, for not being able to resolve it before it got to this nasty stage, where NONE wishes to certify halal anymore!

The economic activity of Companies in Sri Lanka are held to ransom by a debate amongst two foolish, stubborn groups who could have resolved this issue long before it came to this point. After all how did we survive before certification?

It is clear to the Muslim community that in their zest for halalization, the ACJU went overboard not being sensitive to the local host community and their religious practices to not see the impending cataclysm. It is just called insensitivity and stupidity. The Muslim community is too smart to make a deliberate policy to impose their certificate on the General community. Where they fell short was give the incorrect impression to their community to demand 'halal' certification when they perform certain activities, like eating out and engaging in practices that require their religious requirement to be squared up.

With the capitulation of the ACJU, and the Govt. saying that they do not wish to get tainted by certifying it boils down to the basic principles of giving an honest listing of the ingredients that have gone into the production of the item, and let the Muslims, through centuries of practice in knowing how to adhere to their religion, making the personal decisions on their practices, and not make it a national event!

Take a time out, let sizzling attitudes simmer, and re-start on a note of reason, requesting that the Muslim population just be aware of the responsibilities to the community at large and find an internal solution rather than impose the unneeded dictats from above. 

As for the halal certificate, let the exporters who want it find the most practical method for giving them the necessary guidance in practice to conform to the regulations of the importing country, Just like when one exports goods to Japan, one must have a fumigation certificate that conforms to certain standards, otherwise the products could be rejected at the port of entry. This is similar and we should permit the companies to give the stamp of certification.

It is also wrong for the banning of the 'halal' on a package, as it may have been printed for the export products that form 95% of the Company's business and the balance 5% is sold in the local market.

With the cost of printing and packaging for a small amount being very high it is cheaper to take some from the main production run for the local market. Otherwise the price of the product WITHOUT the 'halal' designation which will be done for a small market, will be much higher, running counter to the BBS claim that products cost more due to the 'halal' certification and logo.

I trust people will look at this contrary opinion and determine what they feel as the best alternative to project and put forward in this debate.

Basil as National Organizer – foretells the death of the old SLFP

Appointing Minister Basil Rajapakse in the presence of HE the President, the day before at Temple Trees unopposed, speaks volumes of the spineless behavior of people who really should care about the SLFP. This post has been vacant for some considerable time, following the death of Anuruddha Ratwatte, the person who previously held this position. Is there no dissent? Or is it that people are so suppressed within the party for fear of reprisals, that they dare not speak up, with expulsion being the result. Is this another indication of being muzzled Sri Lanka style?

A full page ad has been taken in the papers by the elected SLFP band in Gampaha from members of parliament and provincial councilors, pradeshiya sabha members who wish to congratulate him on this appointment.

Why is this necessary and who pays for this ad? I suspect the Government, by which I mean all the people of this country. A point worth noting, and it could have been done by BR himself, as most of those on the list would rather have him eliminated, and would not be dead paying for an ad. If one heard what they say in private and off the record the public uttering seem so fake.

http://www.lankatruth.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4514:government-in-turmoil-due-to-basils-appointment-&catid=36:top-stories&Itemid=124

In effect an already powerful person, is given more powers with regards to appointment of favorites into the important positions, and control over their activities, over and above the power he holds by virtue of this Ministerial portfolio.

This solidifies the power of the family cabal further, with subservience of the paid serfs ensured. There is NO simmering internal opposition brewing due to the party being in power. However in the interests of control, when all the constituents of the UPUFA are finally disgorged, there will be a lot of grumbling leading to more voluble dissent by opposing forces to counter this wrap up of the SLFP of all its allies.

The disgruntled SLFP ers will then form another party or set up a coalition with the other parties to oppose the rule and in time this venerable party will fall into a worse situation than the UNP is in now.

It is UNP policy to let this government dig its own grave, and it is believed that this is just another part of this plan, though the SLFP deem this is not the case. However if history repeats itself this will indeed become a fact in time. Is the UNP prepared to take advantage of this situation? It all depends on the internal shenanigans of party and the ability of the MR paid slaves in the UNP performing the dirty trick of cornering their leader.

Worse, as the electors are informed of this appointment, rather than be able to reason out the appointment, they remain silent. Is the silence, acceptance or passive resistance? In time when the truth comes out people will know that this passive resistance and active acceptance was the reason that they were allowed to carry on.

Whose responsibility is it to tell the people what the bottom line is?