News
SLMC crisis: AMS writes to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
The Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) warned that the questionable action by the Minister of Health to remove the president and four members of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) can adversely affect the stability, independence and reputation of the regulatory body.
“To the best of our knowledge, there is no provision in the present medical ordinance to remove the President or any member of SLMC by the Minister of Health before the end of their terms. Parliamentarian Tissa Vitarana had also expressed similar sentiments recently in Parliament”, AMS president, Dr. L. A. Ranasinghe says in a letter addressed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
In his letter dated December 3, 2020, he said the AMS, which wholly comprises government medical and dental specialists, would like to draw attention to the unfortunate crisis situation in the SLMC.
The letter further said: “As you are aware, SLMC is an independent statutory institution which is responsible to look after the patient’s rights and safety and the standards of medical education and ethical medical practice in our country. In order to perform these important functions, SLMC has to be independent, stable and free from undue influences from political and trade union activities”.
The AMS noted that the Minister of Health recently appointed a five-member committee to investigate the conduct of the SLMC in order to address the complaints received against the SLMC. Upon receiving this committee’s recommendations, the Minister removed only the President and four members of SLMC before the end of their term of office. We find this action unfair and is detrimental to the stability of the medical council due to following reasons:
* Although the five-member committee found certain deficiencies and shortcomings of the SLMC, it never found specific wrongdoings of any particular member or group of members. It is in this background we feel it is unfair to remove only the president and four members before the end of their term. To our utter dismay, one such member removed by the Minister was Prof. Narada Warnasuriya, a highly-respected medical professional and a former Dean, Vice Chancellor and past president of the Sri Lanka Medical Association.
* We were reliably informed that when the SLMC delegation met and submitted the comprehensive 300 page document related to the terms of references to the five-member committee, the SLMC delegation clearly stated that all the relevant decisions taken by the SLMC members are binding in nature. The signatories to this written submission included Prof. Vajira Dissanayake, who is the Minister’s present nominee for the post of SLMC president. Hence, it is unfair to single out any member of the SLMC for whatever deficiencies or shortcomings found by the five-member committee, unless there is another specific inquiry for that purpose.
* AMS strongly objects to the recommendation of the five-member committee regarding the long overdue election of four specialists from the specialists registry to SLMC. The five- member committee has proposed for a “separate election later when the specialist registry is completed and sanctioned”. This recommendation is baseless and unacceptable as the specialists registry is now established and more than adequate time was given for specialists to apply for the specialist registration and no further sanction is needed as this election and the other components of the specialist registry was passed as an act of parliament in 2018 (Act no 28 of 2018). We firmly believe that this is a subtle and sinister attempt to postpone the election of medical specialists to SLMC to satisfy a certain trade union who wants to take over the control of SLMC.
The letter added: “We were reliably informed that the change of Presidency at the SLMC can lead to recommencement of all disciplinary inquiries from the beginning affecting both the complainants and the defendants of such proceedings.
“The AMS believes that the above mentioned irregularities happened primarily due to the wrong composition of the five-member committee appointed by the Minister of Health. As we have pointed out to the Minister earlier, this committee included two very active members and a past active member of certain trade union which was the main complainant against the SLMC.
“This improper composition removed the impartiality of this committee, which came up with biased and unfair recommendations. It’s of paramount importance to maintain the independence, stability and the good reputation of SLMC in order to perform its statutory function of regulations of medical practice to ensure patient’s rights and safety. Anything to the contrary can also adversely affect the recognition of Sri Lankan medical degrees by the foreign medical councils causing a major obstacle for overseas training of medical post graduates. In the past the SLMC itself, AMS and other patient rights groups have proposed to change the medical ordinance so that other relevant non medical professionals like retired judges, eminent lawyers and accountants can be appointed as a certain proportion to SLMC as council members.
“This will ensure a more holistic and transparent approach to decision making of SLMC in line with internationally accepted standards”.
Taking these facts into consideration, the AMS has asked the President to reconsider and reverse the decision to remove the President and four members of the SLMC in order to maintain the independence and the stability of the independent body.
The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.
The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.
Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.
Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.
Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.
The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.
Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.
Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.
Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.
The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.
Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.
The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.
The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.
SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.
Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.
The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.
GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.
Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.
(SF)
Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation
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Tharanga wins Ultimate Javelin title
CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process
GMOA: Countrywide cadre revision not done since 2015
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