Features

A Cabinet Secretary Remembers

Published

3 years ago

2023/01/1

Thilina Walpola

Extracted from Memoirs of BP Peiris

My father, family and early days at Panadura

According to my birth certificate, I, the eldest son of my parents, was born on March 29, 1908, at our ancestral home “Gorakapola Walauwa”, Panadura.My father was Edmund Peiris, then a clerk in the Colombo Kachcheri on the princely salary of Rs. 60 a month. He used to travel from Panadura to Colombo by train, and from his home to the railway station on a push bicycle. He very early caught the eye of the Government Agent, Mr J. G. Frazer (later Sir John) who noted him for promotion on the ground of ability. My mother was Somie, the eldest daughter of C. F. S. Jayawickrama, Mudaliyar of the District Court of Kegalle.

I have no recollection at all of my paternal grandfather, Mudaliyar Romanis Peiris, Customs Mudaliyar, who died while I was quite young, nor of my paternal grandmother. A drinking fountain gifted by my grandfather to the state still stands in the premises of the Colombo Port Commission.In commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, he built a school which he called the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Buddhist School, which served the needs of many of the surrounding villages. My father was manager for many years and later gifted the land and the buildings to the state.

Of my maternal grandparents I have vivid memories. My grandfather Jayawickrama, whose picture used to hang in my father’s house, was a man of honesty, integrity and strength of character. His face in the picture at home showed determination, independence and a strong will. He was not a man to bend his knee to any person, however high he might be. He had, I believe, 16 children, to all of whom he gave an excellent education.

His eldest son was Sylvester, Advocate, a very respected member of the Matara Bar, who died in 1940 at the age of 54 at a time when he was District Judge of that town. On the day of his funeral all the shops in the town were closed as a mark of respect. The second child was my mother. Another of his daughters came first in French in the Cambridge Senior in the whole of the British Empire and, after her marriage taught her brother (later Jayawickrama Q. C.) French to enable him to pass the London Inter-Arts Examination. Another son was “Sargo” of cricketing fame.

My grandfather Jayawickrama dressed, as all Mudaliyars did in those days, in trousers, cloth and coat, with a sort of a Dutch helmet on his head, used to visit periodically his married son and his daughters all the way from Panadura to Matara and Tangalle. He was a keen chess player and always carried a traveling board with him, the board having suitable holes and the pieces were pegs to fit them. The pieces were of ivory and ebony.

He was a man who worked to time; he would start a game with my mother at 7.00 p.m. and play till 8.00 p.m., having a chew of betel and a cigar during the game. At 8.00 he would close the board to dine, and continue the same game from day to day till its end. I have in vain attempted to trace that chess set. My brother and I used to watch him play with my mother and we soon, at the age of about seven, picked up the game.

On one of our return trips by train from Diyatalawa to Colombo, the old gentleman was kind enough to come to Polgahawela to meet his daughter (my mother) and his grandchildren. The next day he was dead of a heart attack. His body was brought from Kegalle to my father’s house and the cremation took place at Panadura.

He was the Jayawickrama referred to in the leading Privy Council case of Jayawickrama vs Amarasuriya (1918), which he won. He had lost the case in the District Court and the Supreme Court but had faith in justice. Before appealing to the Privy Council, he had told his children to be prepared to step on to the street and beg if he lost the final appeal.

The case was instituted by my grandmother against her brother who had benefited largely by his father’s death. There was no doubt, on the evidence, that it was his father’s wish that he should provide for his sister and her large family. The sister had threatened to institute an action against him for the assignment to her of an undivided half-share of the inheritance and he had promised to pay her Rs150,000 if she refrained from instituting the contemplated action.

The decisions of the Ceylon courts were based on the concept of “Consideration” in English law. The Privy Council applied the Roman-Dutch law concept of justa causa which was wider. They held that the brother’s promise was binding and enforceable as it was made deliberately after much negotiation, in discharge of the moral obligation found to rest upon the brother to do an act of generosity and benevolence to his sister, namely, to make provision for her and her children. The Privy Council allowed the appeal with costs in all courts.

I remember my grandmother as a most simple and kindly woman, dressed not in saree, but in skirt and jacket. She also used to visit her children regularly, and once, when I was about seven years old, my mother sent me with her by train and bus to Kegalle where my grandparents were then living. From the Polgahawela railway station, the journey was completed by bus.

For my parents I have nothing but praise for the education they gave us, which has enabled my brothers and sisters and me to hold responsible positions in life. My father was a Royalist, that is to say, an old boy of the Royal College, then situated at San Sebastian. His contemporaries were B. F. de Silva, O. L. De Kretser, T. F. Garvin, V. M. Fernando, R. L. Pereira, F. H. B. Koch, all of whom rose to the Bench.

My father, later when he was Mudaliyar of the Panadura and Kalutara Totamunes, used to tell us that he rarely used the school library while the others did, and he encouraged us and insisted that we use the library as much as possible, advice by which all his sons have profited.

He was at school in the days of Hayward and Hartley and was one who received the well-known caning for taking as their right a holiday on the Royal-Thomian match day. I remember an incident years later, after he had married and had five children and the family was having a holiday at Diyatalawa, when we crossed Hartley during our morning walk. My father raised his hat and said “Good morning, Sir”. Hartley returned the greeting and said, “Let me see -Royal? Yes, I remember. Left from the Remove.” It was a marvelous memory.

Even as a student father appeared to have been very methodical. He was a boarder at the house of (later Sir) James Pieris’ mother and kept a small notebook of his daily expenditure. I remember seeing this notebook, one item in which was “tiffin 11 cents”. He was as methodical up to the day of his death when we found a document telling us exactly what we should do – where his last will was, how he should be dressed, who his pallbearers should be, a list of his assets, a valuation of his property etc., with the result that I, as his executor, had no difficulty in answering any query from the Estate Duty Department.

The printed invitation cards sent by my mother’s parents on the occasion of her wedding, a copy of which is in my possession, show that the wedding took place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 28, 1906, at Amaragiri Walauwa, Unawatuna, Galle, the residence of Mr Thomas Amarasuriya. The wedding photograph shows the groom and his best man, Advocate B. F. de Silva, in morning suits. A newspaper account of the wedding states that “instead of the usual cake and wine the whole assembly sat down to a sumptuous lunch when the health of the newly wedded couple was pledged.”

In 1908 my father was appointed Muhandiram of the Colombo Kachcheri. In 1913 the post of Mudaliyar of the Panadura and Kalutara Totamunes having fallen vacant, he applied for the post. In the final selection, he told us that three applicants Mr A, Mr B and he were summoned for an interview. The interview was by the Colonial Secretary. Each candidate was asked what he thought of the other two.

Mr A and Mr B had apparently nothing very pleasant or creditable to say about the others. My father, when asked the same question, had said that he had nothing to say against the other candidates but had come to speak about himself. The Colonial Secretary’s concise minute to the Governor was, I learned, something on the following lines:

Your Excellency,

I have interviewed the three candidates. Mr A is an extremely able man, painfully conscious of his ability. Mr B is another clever man almost bordering on insanity. I recommend Mr Peiris.His Excellency minuted “Approved” and my father was appointed – the youngest man to be appointed Mudaliyar of the second most important revenue district of the island, second only to Colombo.

Congratulatory meetings on his appointment were held in different parts of the District sponsored by such gentlemen of quality as Gate Mudaliyar J. E. de Silva Suriyabandara (Magistrate of Kalutara), O. G. de Alwis, Clement Wijeratne, M. H. Jayatillake, H. Meritimus Fonseka, C. P. Samarasekera and M. E. Fonseka.

He held the office for over 25 years and was honoured with the titular rank of Mudaliyar and later of Mudaliyar of The Governor’s Gate. His district extended from the Moratuwa bridge in the north to the Bentota bridge in the south. He got to know the district and people so thoroughly that in his later years he was able to write a report from his office without inspecting the scene as he appeared to know every tree and culvert in the area.

His reports to the British Assistant Government Agent were always forwarded by them to the Government Agent with the endorsement “I forward herewith a report from the Mudaliyar, with which I agree.” Some Ceylonese Assistant Government Agents used to forward my father’s reports with his name deleted and the Assistant Government Agent’s name placed at the end in substitution.

Father had a rather peculiar habit of not getting permission to leave his station when he came from Panadura to Colombo. He always took leave when he had to go south beyond the Bentota Bridge. One day, a most amusing incident took place on the Galle Road at Ratmalana. Father had come to Colombo without leave and was returning home when he found the Assistant Government Agent’s car broken down on the way. He stopped his car and the two drivers between them got the car in order again.

The Assistant Government Agent thanked the driver and then asked my father, “Mudaliyar, aren’t you out of your station without leave?” Let me say here, in an age when the foreign British civil servant is being constantly vilified, that the officer concerned in this particular case was a Ceylonese. Father replied that in 20 odd years he had never asked for leave to come from Panadura to Colombo. His superior told him that in future he had better take leave before leaving his district in either direction, and father took that as an order.

Soon after that some affray had taken place within his district in the vicinity of the Moratuwa bridge and father was asked by the Assistant Government Agent to go personally to the spot, inquire and report. He went and held the inquiry but found that to complete proceedings he had to cross the bridge and, under the previous order, had no authority to do so without prior permission. He wired accordingly, and the order regarding prior permission to leave station was promptly withdrawn.

Father was a good host: he believed in entertaining well or not at all. Although a moderate drinker himself, he had ample liquor for his guests and a good table. If you invite people, he used to say, treat them well. If you cannot afford to treat them well, don’t invite them. He used to tell us that when we grew up, we should never get into debt and put ourselves in a position to allow the tailor to say “There goes my suit”.

He regularly took leave for the whole of April each year and took the entire family up-country. As we could not afford to rent a bungalow, he arranged through a friend of his in the railway that we occupy the bungalow of a bachelor station master who would be father’s guest during our stay. The arrangement worked extremely well. And so it was that we spent delightful holidays at Ohiya, Pattipola, Haputale, Diyatalawa and other upcountry stations.

Some of these stations were, at that time, also sub-post offices and it was, in one of these stations that, as a schoolboy, I picked up the Morse Code. I am still able to send a message in Morse but, unfortunately, I never was able to get my ear attuned to receiving one. For a holiday at Diyatalawa, the Brigadier placed a military hut at our disposal and we had a grand time with the soldiers, whom father entertained.

They were nervous about eating tomato sandwiches thinking it was red pepper.At home, Father was a strict disciplinarian. Dinner was a simple meal, within his means. It was punctually at 8 p.m. At 7. 30 p.m., whether there were visitors or not, he had his first drink. At 7. 45 p.m. his second, and then dinner. Should one of us brats come to table with hands unwashed or hair uncombed, he would be driven away from the table and not taken back until he had put himself in good condition.

At that time, a Chief Headman wielded great authority in his district, and I distinctly remember that every funeral procession and perahera stopped beating the drums whilst passing the Walauwa. I feel quite sure that the Headmen’s system was abolished by the State Council because the Councillors were jealous of the power and authority exercised by the Headmen in their districts. Today, this is replaced by a transferable Divisional Revenue Officers’ Service – able men no doubt, but men without any local prestige who do not know the district in the way my father knew his.

My father retired on the first of April 1940, after having served the Government for over 40 years. He had held the office of Mudaliyar of the Panadura and Kalutara Totamunes for 27 years and filled a large place in the official and social life of the district. On his retirement, the public accorded him a farewell dinner at the Panadura Town Hall, the largest gathering ever seen at a public dinner in the town.

Tributes to him as a man and as a public servant were paid by the speakers, and covers were laid for 183. Mr (later Sir) Susantha de Fonseka presided. Among the diners were Mr and Mrs D. S. Senanayake, Mr W. O. Stevens, Government Agent of the Western Province, and Mr P. J. Hudson, Assistant Government Agent. The Urban Council moved a vote of appreciation. His portrait in oils was unveiled at the Kalutara Kachcheri.

My father died, after a very short illness, on the first of February 1961, at the age of 81. His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir Oliver Goonetileke called at the house to pay his last respects. The following appreciation appeared in the press:

“The death yesterday of Gate Mudaliyar Edmund Peiris, at the ripe age of 81, has removed a landmark from Panadura Town. Since his retirement after 42 years of active service ending up as Mudaliyar of the Panadura and Kalutara Totamunes, which post he held for 27 years, he was always at the service of his fellow citizens and participated in many public activities in the town where he resided.

“Whatever service he performed, whether it was for the town, home for the aged, or personally looking after the urgent needs of the poor who called on him for help, or mediation, he performed his part with a great deal of method, never haphazardly.

“Method in fact was the guiding principle of his life. Even at death it was a matter for wonder to those whom he left to read his detailed and precise instructions as to the manner in which his funeral was to be conducted. He had even got prepared his own tombstone inscription leaving blank only the date of death. Few think of death while they are alive. Mudaliyar Peiris was one of the few, and it may be that because he was conscious that death comes to every man sometime or other that he was always ready to forgive and forget. That also is one of the rich legacies which he has left behind not only to the large band of sons and daughters and grandchildren but to those who enjoyed and valued his friendship.

“Till his last illness struck him down, age did not mar his zest for living and many of his friends both admired and envied the short dapper Mudaliyar out on the road ‘doing his constitutional’.

Many civic activities of the town of Panadura will be the poorer by Mudaliyar Peiris’ death, but the organization which would suffer most would be the King George V Silver Jubilee Home for the Aged which he dearly loved and cared for during the last few years of his life.

“Another act of the Mudaliyar is worthy of record. He was the owner of a school built by his father, Mudaliyar Romanis Peiris, who had named it the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Buddhist School. Some years ago, Mudaliyar Peiris handed over the land and the school buildings to the State, so doing what a subsequent Government of the country was to decide to do as a matter of Government policy. Not many are now spared to live to the age of 81.

“The Mudaliyar has made the most of these many years he lived not for self alone (though he must have been a happy man to see his sons in good positions and his daughters well-married) but for others as well.”

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Features

The Iran War, Global Oil Crisis, and Local Options

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/22

Thilina Walpola

Flight of Insanity

Now in its third week and still no end sight, Trump’s Iran’s war is showing a tedious pattern of tragic-comic episodes. The human tragedy continues under relentless aerial assaults in Iran and under both aerial and ground assaults in Lebanon. Israel, now in a hurry to destroy as much it can of its enemy assets before Trump lapses into war withdrawals, is picking its spots at will; three of its latest scalps could not have come at higher echelons of the Iranian regime. Within two days, Israeli has targeted and killed Ali Larijani, the powerful, versatile and experienced secretary of the Supreme National Security Council; Gholamreza Soleimani, head of the Basij paramilitary force; and Iran’s Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.

Yet there is no indication if the continuing hollowing out of Iran’s decision making apparatus will produce the intended effect of encouraging the people of Iran to come out on the streets and topple the regime. People cannot pour on to the streets, even if they want to, until the American and Israeli bombing stops. That may not happen till the US military finishes its list of asset targets in Iran and Israel finishes off the list of Iranian leaders who are tagged on by Mossad’s network of Iranian moles. They are so widespread that last year after setting up a special task force to expose the internal informants, the National Security Council found out that the person whom they had selected to lead the task force was himself a spy! Disaffected citizens are also becoming informal informants.

The comical side of the war is provided by President Trump in the daily press court that he holds at the White House, taking full advantage of the presidential system in which the chief officer is not required to present himself to and take questions from the country’s elected lawmakers. There has never been and there likely will never be another presidential spectacle like Donald J. Trump. It is shocking although not surprising to find out daily as to how much he doesn’t know about the war that he started or where it is heading. The ghost of Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary of the Iraq war and the coiner of the ‘unknown unknowns’ phrase, would tell you that Trump is the epitome of one of the known knowns, the predictable bully. For all his misjudgements and bad calls over the Iraq war 23 years ago, Rumsfeld now looks like a giant of a professional in comparison to Pete Hegseth, the bigmouthed charlatan who parades as Donald Trump’s Secretary of War.

Asymmetric Advantage

For its part, Iran appears to be reaping the worst and the best of an asymmetric warfare. Iran is getting pummelled in all the metrics of conventional warfare and there should be nothing surprising about it. It is rather silly for the American and Israeli military spokespeople to crow about their aerial strikes and their successes. On the other hand, the US and Israeli forces combined have not been able to answer Iran’s ability to establish areas of war where Iran sets the term and scores at its choosing. Quite astonishingly, President Trump has said that Iran was not supposed to attack its neighbours and no one apparently told him that such attacks might happen.

“Nobody. Nobody. No, no, no. The greatest experts—nobody thought they were going to hit,“ Trump responded to a leading question by a Fox News reporter whether the President was “surprised nobody briefed you ahead of time” about the likelihood of Iranian retaliation against America’s Gulf allies. Prevarication is second nature to President Trump and it is the same explanation for the Administration’s strategic gaffe over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has imposed a blockade over the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that provides vital passage for about 20% of the world’s oil shipments. Again, no one told him that Iran might do this. That is also because Trump has gotten rid of all the people in government capable of providing advice and is surrounding himself with sidekicks who will not challenge him on his misrepresentation of facts. As well, by keeping Congress out of the loop the President and the Administration tossed away the opportunity to deliberate before deciding to go to war.

True to form, Trump trots out another bizarre argument that the US does not have any shipment through the Strait of Hormuz and, therefore, it is up to countries, including China, that depend on the Hormuz route to come to his party in the Persian Gulf. The US would be there to help them out and he went on to invite his erstwhile allies and fellow NATO members to join the US and help the world keep the Strait of Hormuz open for its oil shipments.

Trump’s calls have been all but spurned. No US president has suffered such a rebuff. Other presidents did their consultations with allies before starting a war, not after. “This war started without any consultations,” said Germany’s Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. He then queried incredulously: “What does Donald Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in the Strait of Hormuz that the mighty US Navy cannot manage alone?” Iran has let it be known that it will block passage only to its enemies and allow others to cross the strait by arrangement. Chinese, Indian and Pakistani ships have been allowed to navigate through the strait. The UN and NATO countries are reportedly considering new initiatives to ensure safe passage through the Strait, but details are unclear.

While the official American endgame is unclear, scholars and academics have started weighing in and calling Trump’s misadventure for what it is. Three such contributions this week have caught the media’s attention. Muhanad Seloom writing online in Al Jazeera, has presented an unsolicited yet by far the strongest case for Trump, arguing that “the US-Israeli strategy is working” because Trump’s war against Iran is accomplishing a “systematic, phased degradation of a threat that previous administrations allowed to grow for four decades.” A former State Department staffer and now a Doha and Exeter academic, Seloom seems overly sanguine about the impending demise of the Iranian regime and underplays the political implications of the war’s externalities and unintended consequences for the Trump presidency in America.

The comprehensive degradation of virtually all of Iran’s hard assets is not in question. What is in question is whether the asset degradation is translating into a regime change. The additional questions are whether the obvious success in asset degradation is enough to save President Trumps political bacon in the midterm elections in November, or will it stop Iran from controlling the Strait of Hormuz and impacting the global oil flows. Firm negative answers to these questions have been provided by two American scholars. Nate Swanson, also a former State Department staffer turned academic researcher and who was also a member of Trump’s recent negotiating team with Iran, has additionally highlighted the martyrdom significance of the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei both within Iran and in the entire Shia crescent extending from Lebanon to Karachi.

Robert Pape, University of Chicago Historian, who has studied and modelled Iranian scenarios to advise past US Administrations, has compared President Trump’s situation in Iran to President Johnson’s quagmire in Vietnam in 1968. Pape’s thesis is that asymmetric conflicts inherently keep escalating and there is no winning way out for a superpower over a lesser power. The main difference between Vietnam and Iran is that Vietnam did not trigger global oil and economic crises. Iran has triggered an oil crisis and the IMF is warning to expect higher inflation and lower growth as a result of the war. “Think of the unthinkable and prepare for it,” is the advice given to world’s policy makers by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to a symposium in Japan, earlier this month.

Global Oil Crisis

The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has created a crisis of uneven supplies and high prices the likes of which have not been seen since the 1973 oil embargo by Arab countries in the wake of the Yom Kippur War that saw the price of oil increasing four fold from $3 to $12 a barrel. The International Energy Agency (IEA), which came into being as the western response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo, has warned that the market is now experiencing “the most significant supply disruption in its history.”

According to Historians, denying or disrupting oil flows has been an effective tool in modern warfare. The oft cited examples before the 1973 oil embargo are the British oil blockade of Germany in World War 1, and the stopping of Germans accessing the Caucasus oilfields by the Soviet Union’s Red Army in World War II. The irony of the current crisis is that until now the world was getting to be more energy efficient and less oil dependent as a result of the technological, socioeconomic and behavioural changes that were unleashed by the 1973 oil embargo. Post Cold War globalization streamlined global oil flows even as the turn towards cheaper and renewable energy sources increased the use of alternative energy sources.

What was becoming a global energy complacency, according to Jason Bordoff and Meghan O’Sullivan, American academics and National Security advisers to former Presidents Obama and Bush, suffered its first disruptive shock with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Market reaction was immediate with crude oil prices increasing by over 50% and exceeding $135 per barrel. Russia cut its natural gas supply to Europe by half leaving western Europe the worst affected region by the crisis. In contrast, Asia is the worst affected continent by the current crisis although market reaction was not immediate apparently because the US was deemed a far more reliable actor than Russia. It is a different story now.

The present crisis is expected to ratchet up crude oil prices to as high as $150 to $200 a barrel in current dollars from what was below $75 before Trump started the war. Futures trading before the war projected $62 per barrel in 2027. Now, lower prices are not anticipated until after the end of this decade. The daily price has been yo-yoing above and below $100 in harmony with Trump’s musings about the course of the war and the time for its ending. The current market uncertainty stems from the growing realization that the Trump Administration was not clear about why it was starting the war and now it does not know how or when to bring it to an end. The Hormuz crisis has made the prospects all the bleaker.

Sri Lanka’s Options

In the unfolding uncertainty, the only certainty is that Sri Lanka’s options are limited. The challenges facing the country and the government involve both politics and economics. For the country, even the political options are limited – perhaps as limited as the economic options available to the government in the short term. The incessant political critics of the government start with extrapolating Aragalaya and end with anticipating another government collapse like the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government. But anyone looking for political alternatives to the NPP government should look at the press photograph showing a recent news conference of opposition party leaders announcing the formation of “a common opposition platform to resist the government’s anti-democratic actions.” Missing an action and absconding per usual, like Julia Roberts in Runway Bride, is once again Sajith Premadasa, the accredited Leader of the Opposition.

Talk about democratic priorities when the economic engine and the energy generators will soon have no oil or diesel to run on. Among the assembled, there is no one equipped enough to head a government ministry with the possible exception of Champika Ranawaka. And it is rich to talk about constitutional dictatorship for a group that was associated with the extended one-party government from 1977 to 1994, and a second group the tried to perpetuate a one-family government between 2005 and 2022. It is virtually imperative to argue that for the sake of the country the NPP government must successfully navigate through the impending crisis. Whether the government will be able to live up to what is now a necessity, not just expectation, we will soon find out.

There is no minimizing or underestimating the magnitude of the crisis. Crude oil and petroleum products account for nearly 20% of the total import bill. Rising oil prices will impact the balance of payment and forex reserves, and could potentially siphon off the currently accumulated $7+ billion forex balance. Rupee devaluation and inflation are likely, but not necessarily to the absurd levels reached during the ultimate Rajapaksa regime. Economic growth will slow and the $1.5 to $2.0 billion FDI targets may not materialize. The current arrangement for debt repayment may have to be revisited, even as relief measures will need to be undertaken to soften the rising price effects throughout the economy and among the less privileged sections of society. Restricting consumption has already been started and the country may have to brace for further restrictions and even power cuts.

In the short term, renegotiating the current EFF (Extended Fund Facility) terms with the IMF will be unavoidable. Equally important are long term measures. The low storage capacity for oil and petroleum has made price fluctuations inevitable. The government has announced storage capacity expansion in Kolonnawa and fast tracking the construction of a jet-fuel pipeline from Muthurajawela to Katunayake – to facilitate the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) becoming a regional aviation hub. The current shipping problems present a new opportunity for the utilization of the expanded terminal facilities to increase transhipment operations at the Colombo harbour.

At long last, after 78 years, there is some action to upgrade the storied 99 oil tanks in Trincomalee. But the bulk of the upgrading depends on the trilateral agreement between Sri Lanka, India and the United Arab Emirates to create an energy hub in Trincomalee. This might run into delays because of the current situation involving the UAE. Already delayed is the construction of the $3.7b Sinopec Oil refinery in Hambantota, the MOU for which was signed more than an year ago. The NPP government has been adept in keeping good relationships with both India and China. Now is the time to try to expedite the deliverables on their commitments.

Another not so long term necessity is to expand electricity generation through renewable sources and minimize its dependence on thermal generation based on imported oil, not to mention coal. Thermal power contributes to just under 50% of energy output at about 80% of total generation costs. In contrast, just over 50% of the output is generated by renewable sources, including hydro, at 20% of the total cost.

The contribution of hydropower is weather dependent and its uncertainty has long been the pretext for persisting with thermal power and not encouraging the development of solar and wind energy sources. There is no more urgent time to stop this persistence than now in light of the oil crisis. The government must cut through the cobwebs of vested thermal power interests and make clean energy a central part of its Clean Sri Lanka initiative. China is in the forefront of renewable energy technology and expansion and has timed the unveiling of its new five year renewable energy expansion plan to coincide with the current oil crisis. Many countries are emulating China and Sri Lanka should join them.

Features

Two Decades of Trust: SINGER Wins People’s Brand of the Year for the 20th Consecutive Time

Published

3 hours ago

2026/03/22

Thilina Walpola

Singer Sri Lanka, the nation’s foremost retailer of consumer durables, celebrates a truly historic milestone at the SLIM-KANTAR People’s Awards 2026, securing a prestigious triple victory while marking 20 consecutive years as the People’s Brand of the Year, an achievement made possible by the enduring trust and loyalty of Sri Lankan consumers.

This year, SINGER was honoured with yet another triple win with People’s Brand of the Year, Youth Brand of the Year and People’s Durables Brand of the Year at the awards ceremony. This remarkable recognition reflects the deep and lasting relationship the brand has built with Sri Lankans across generations, standing as a symbol of trust in homes across the island.

Reaching this 20-year milestone is not just a testament to brand strength, but a celebration of the millions of customers who have continuously chosen SINGER as a part of their everyday lives. For two decades, Sri Lankans have placed their confidence in the brand, welcoming it into their homes, their families, and their aspirations.

Expressing his appreciation, Janmesh Antony, Director – Marketing of Singer Sri Lanka PLC, stated:

“Winning these awards reflects our commitment to quality, innovation, and staying closely connected to our customers. Being recognised as Durables brand, Youth brand, and as the People’s Brand of the Year highlights our ability to resonate across generations. As we celebrate 20 years as the People’s Brand, our deepest gratitude goes to our customers, this milestone truly belongs to them. It also reflects the dedication of our teams, who continuously strive to serve them better every day. Winning Youth Brand of the Year further reinforces our focus on staying relevant and meaningfully connected with the next generation.”

Commenting on the milestone, Mahesh Wijewardene, Group Managing Director of Singer Sri Lanka PLC, added:

“This recognition is a tribute to the millions of Sri Lankans who have stood by us over the years. Being named the People’s Brand of the Year for the 20th consecutive time is both humbling and inspiring. It reflects the deep trust our customers place in us, and we are truly grateful for the role we play in their everyday lives. This milestone strengthens our commitment to continue delivering value, innovation, and service excellence, always with our customers at the heart of everything we do.”

Over the years, SINGER has grown alongside the people of Sri Lanka, evolving from a trusted household name into a future-ready retail powerhouse. By continuously innovating its product portfolio and enhancing service excellence, the brand has remained closely aligned with the changing needs and aspirations of its customers.

Guided by a deep-rooted customer-first philosophy, an extensive islandwide retail network, and dependable after-sales service, Singer continues to set benchmarks not only in the consumer durables sector but across the nation. By elevating everyday living and bringing greater convenience, comfort, and ease into Sri Lankan homes, the brand has become a trusted partner in shaping modern lifestyles. Its growing connection with younger audiences further reflects its ability to seamlessly blend legacy with contemporary aspirations.

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Features

Test cricket of a different kind in 1948

Published

3 hours ago

2026/03/22

Thilina Walpola

Photo shot on the occasion of the 1948 women’s cricket match between England and then Ceylon

Early last year [probably 2004] I received a call from Michael Ludgrove the then head of the rare book section at Christies Auction house requesting help to decipher the names of Ceylonese cricketers who had signed a cricket bat in the 1930’s following a combined India-Ceylon match against the visiting MCC. This led to my keeping an eye out for unusual items on Ceylon cricket.

A few months later a set of autographs came up for sale. They were of the visiting English women cricketers who played a match in Colombo, against the Ceylon women in the first “Test” of its kind. I was lucky to trace two of the test cricketers from the Ceylon team who now live in Victoria, Beverly Roberts (Juriansz) and Enid (Gilly) Fernando. Incidentally Gilly is called Gilly after AER Gilligan the Australian Cricketer and answers to no other name.

The visiting English team were on their way to Australia on the SS Orion. The Colombo Cricket Club were the hosts and the match was played at the Oval on the November 1, 1948. The match attracted a crowd of around 5,000 many of whom had not seen women play cricket before. Among the distinguished guests were the Governor General, the Bishop of Brisbane, the Assistant Bishop of Colombo -the Reverend Lakdasa de Mel, the Yuvaraj and Yuvaranee of Kutch and Sir Richard Aluwihare.

The well known cricket writer, SP Foenander, provided the broadcast commentary.

The English team consisted of: Molly Hyde (Capt.), Miss Rheinberger, Nacy Joy, Grace Morgan, Mary Duggan, Betty Birch, Dorothy McEroy, Mary Johnson, Megan Lowe, Nancy Wheelan,

The Ceylon team consisted of Miss O Turner (Capt.), Miss Enid (Gilly) Fernando, Miss C Hutton, Miss S Gaddum, Shirley Thomas, Marienne Adihetty, Beverley Roberts, Pat Weinman, Leela Abeykoon, Binthan Noordeen

Reserves: Mrs D H Swan & Mrs E G Joseph. Umpires: W S Findall and H E W De Zylva.

There is on record a previous match, played by a visiting English women’s cricket team in Colombo. However, they played against a team consisting mainly of wives of European Planters and no Ceylonese were included.

Beverley Roberts, 16 years old Leela Abeykoon and Phyllis De Silva were from St John’s Panadura which was the first girl’s school to play cricket. Their coach was G C Roberts (older brother of Michael Roberts). Marienne Adihetty was from Galle and her brother played for Richmond College. Binthan Noordeen was from Ladies College. She is the granddaughter of M.C. Amoo one of the best Malay cricketers of former days, who took a team from Ceylon to Bombay in 1910. Binthan was a teacher at Ladies College at the time and also excelled in hockey, netball and tennis. Pat Weinman is the daughter of Jeff Weinman, a former Nondescripts cricketer.

The team was mainly coached by S. Saravanamuttu with others such as S J Campbell helping. The arrangements were made by the Board of Control of Cricket headed by P Saravanamuttu. Though the match itself was one sided with the Ceylon women cricketers beaten decisively, the Ceylon team impressed the visitors by their gallant display, after less than two months of practice as a team. The English team won the toss and batted first. Molly Slide the captain scored a century in a fine display of batting. The captain of the Ceylon team Mrs Hutton took six wickets for 43.

(Michael Roberts Thuppahi blog)

Dr. Srilal Fernando in Melbourne, reproducing an essay that appeared originally in The CEYLANKAN, a quarterly produced by the Ceylon Research Society in Australia.