News
Lankan paediatric surgeon on NZ King’s Birthday Honours
Paediatric surgeon Udaya Samarakkody has been up since the early hours, called into Waikato Hospital for an emergency operation on a baby.
Back home in Tamahere by mid-morning, she is preparing for a full day of consultations and a possible return to the hospital.
At 65, there is little thought of slowing down, nor much chance of it given there is a shortage of paediatric surgeons in New Zealand and only four at Waikato Hospital with one long-term vacancy.
“I actually really like my work and I feel that I’m still very competent,” she says.
It is that commitment which has earned her appointment as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours, recognizing more than three decades of service to paediatric surgery and the Sri Lankan community in New Zealand.
For Samarakkody, the work has always been more than a career.
“Some people might think it is a job, but to me it’s a calling,” she says. “Seeing somebody healed, leaving the hospital … there’s no other job that can give you that satisfaction.”
Born and trained in Sri Lanka, she was already a qualified paediatric surgeon when she and husband Ruwan Fernando made the decision to leave in 1995. It was prompted in part by the country’s civil war, after she experienced a bomb blast while sitting in traffic on the way to collect her son Sachi from school.
New Zealand offered both safety and opportunity. Arriving in Waikato as a locum, she quickly established herself in what she still considers a remarkably supportive workplace.
“I just couldn’t believe how good New Zealand was when I first arrived. People were so nice,” she says.
Over the years she has become a cornerstone of paediatric surgical care in the region, treating children from birth to their mid-teens and handling everything from congenital abnormalities to trauma cases.
“Trauma is what makes you really, really feel bad,” she says quietly, describing the children whose injuries cannot be overcome.
But it is the resilience of young patients that sustains her. Unlike adult medicine, she says, most children recover.
“We actually see healing rather than devastation of illness and death. That gives you so much joy.”
Her career highlights include being part of the complex 22-hour surgery in 2004 to separate conjoined twins, one of seven surgeons and 55 health professionals involved.
Alongside clinical work, she has trained dozens of surgeons and continues to mentor young doctors, particularly women entering what was once a male-dominated field. More than 50 surgeons have passed through her guidance.
Her influence extends well beyond medicine. A passionate advocate for culture and community, she has spent decades supporting Sri Lankan families in Waikato, helping young people stay connected to their heritage.
Dance is central to that. Trained in classical and Latin styles, she now teaches and choreographs, including leading colourful Sri Lankan performances in the Waikato Hospital staff revue.
“I train people … to get participation of the young ones to have an identity,” she says.
Those efforts reflect her wider belief in nurturing potential, whether in a surgical trainee or a child discovering their culture.
Family remains at the heart of her life. She and her husband Ruwan Fernando have two children, both in the medical field. Sachi, 40, is a dentist and Shani, 30, a surgical registrar at Whanganui Hospital.
Her 93-year-old mother still lives in Sri Lanka, though visits are difficult to arrange with the demands of her work.
The timing of her honour carries added personal meaning. Her late father died several years ago on June 1, the same date the awards are announced. “I imagine if he was alive … he would have been so proud,” she says.
For now, there is little thought of retirement. Surgery demands steady hands and a sharp mind, she says, and she knows the day will come when it is time to step aside. But not yet. As long as she can, Samarakkody will keep answering the call, whether it comes at 3am or in the middle of an already busy day, continuing the work she believes she was meant to do.
By Mary Anne Gill, Waikato Business News
It has been reported quoting family sources that veteran singer Mariazelle Goonetilleke has passed away this morning (10) at the age of 68
She had been receiving treatment at the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital.
The wife of retired Major General Suresh Sallay has lodged a further complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), alleging that her husband’s fundamental rights continue to be violated as Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers prevent him from having confidential consultations with his lawyer while he is under detention at the National Hospital.
In a letter addressed to the HRCSL Chairman on Thursday, Mrs. S.B.M.S.B. Sallay has said the latest complaint was filed in relation to an earlier complaint concerning the detention and treatment of her husband.
Full text of the letter: I, Mrs. S.B.M.S.B. Sallay, respectfully write to lodge this further complaint in relation to my earlier complaint bearing reference H RC-HO-1 103-26, concerning the detention and treatment of my husband, Retired Major General Suresh Sallay.
I wish to bring to the attention of the Commission a further serious violation of his fundamental rights that occurred on 08 July 2026 during a consultation between my husband and his Attorney-at-Law, Mr. Asith Siriwardena, while my husband remains under detention and is receiving treatment at the National Hospital.
I am informed by his Counsel that he is presently permitted to consult with my husband only once a week for a period of approximately twenty minutes. During the consultation held on 08 July 2026, officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) stationed at the Cardiac Coronary Care Unit of the National Hospital informed Counsel that they had received instructions from higher authorities that my husband should not be permitted to meet with his
legal counsel in private. Consequently, the officers remained present throughout the consultation and refused to permit a confidential lawyer-client meeting.
This conduct constitutes a grave infringement of my husband’s fundamental right to communicate privately and confidentially with his legal counsel. Confidential communication between an accused or detainee and his lawyer is an indispensable safeguard of the right to legal representation, the right to prepare his defence, and the right to a fair trial. The denial of confidential legal consultations undermines these fundamental protections guaranteed under the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the applicable provisions governing persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The confidentiality of communications between a lawyer and client is also a well-recognized principle under international human rights law and forms an essential safeguard against arbitrary detention, coercion, and unfair legal proceedings.
In view of the foregoing, I respectfully request the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to urgently intervene and take all necessary steps within its statutory mandate to:
1. Ensure that my husband is afforded immediate and unrestricted confidential access to his legal counsel without the presence or supervision of law enforcement officers;
2. Inquire into the instructions allegedly issued by higher authorities requiring CID officers to remain present during lawyer-client consultations;
3. Direct the relevant authorities to cease any practice that interferes with confidential legal consultations; and
4. Take such further action as the Commission considers appropriate to safeguard my husband’s constitutional and human rights.
This complaint is made as a further complaint to Complaint No. H RC-HO-1103-26, and I respectfully request that it be placed on the same file and considered together with my previous complaints.
I respectfully seek the Commission’s urgent intervention in this matter.
The Supreme Court yesterday (9) upheld a Colombo Commercial High Court order directing former Minister Wimal Weerawansa to pay Rs. 1 million in damages to Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva for violating intellectual property rights.
A three-member Supreme Court bench dismissed in its entirety an appeal filed by Weerawansa challenging the earlier Commercial High Court ruling.
The case was instituted by Silva, who alleged that Weerawansa had violated provisions of the Intellectual Property Act by publishing his book “Neththa Wenuwata Aththa” (“Truth Instead of Lies”), which contained the JVP’s political ideology and official party documents without authorisation.
The Supreme Court also affirmed the order restraining the publication and distribution of the book in its existing form. However, the court ruled that the book could be republished if the 60-page section identified as infringing intellectual property rights was removed.
Dharmaraja and Kingswood set for historic rugby clash on Saturday
Sri Lankan singer Mariazelle Goonetilleke passes away at the age of 68
Tensions erupt in Indian state after 11-year-old raped and murdered
US and Iran trade attacks as Khamenei is buried
Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Canadian PM visits Saudi Arabia to strengthen energy, mining partnerships
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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