News

Bidding the Queen goodbye in typical British fashion!

Published

3 years ago

2022/09/19

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Brits are known the world over for one thing––queueing, which they have developed to a fine art, the very antithesis of what we do in Sri Lanka! Perhaps, we lack the discipline of the British. Though Britain was once a society that depended on trust and honesty, unfortunately, it is no longer so, winds of change having had the adverse effect of moral degradation, not only in Britain but globally, too. But, if there is one thing that has not changed in Britain, it is queueing. Interestingly, even immigrants seem to embrace the British tradition of queueing, shedding the jostling tendencies inherited in their countries of birth. By the way, the word queue originates from the Latin word cauda, which means the tail. Americans, wanting to be different, call it a line which perhaps is simpler but, again, the beauty of English is in its complexity!

The demise of their much-loved Monarch has given the opportunity for Brits to show their tenacity for queueing in addition to demonstrating to the world their reverence and affection for the monarchy. Perhaps, what they value most is the continuity the monarchy provides which politicians miserably fail to do. Following the failed experiment of a republic in the 17th century, a happy compromise was reached; the Constitutional Monarch reigns but does not rule, and all rules being laid down by the parliament. The last absolute monarch was Charles I, who governed without parliament for over a decade setting off a train of events that led to his execution in 1649. The ‘Rump’ Parliament that followed was ineffective and after its dissolution in 1653, the Army Council appointed Oliver Cromwell as the Lord Protector of the “Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland”. Due to the failures of Cromwell and his son, Richard, who succeeded him, the Rump Parliament was recalled leading to the restitution of the monarchy in 1660 with Charles II, the son of the executed king. There was wide speculation that Prince Charles may adopt a different regnal name to prevent harking back to these troubled times but was bold enough to succeed as King Charles III on the death of his beloved mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The queue to pay last respects to the Queen started two days before Her Majesty’s Lying-in-State commenced at the Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster, in the evening of Wednesday 14th September. The first to join the queue was Vanessa Nanthakumaran of Sri Lankan origin, who stood in the queue, in pouring rain at times, for more than 50 hours before she could stand before the catafalque on which the Queen’s closed coffin lay draped in the Royal Standard. She told PA news agency that once in, she had curtsied, said prayers in her head and thanked the Queen for her great services. She added that the experience helped her to deal with the death of her husband in February. Thousands and thousands have followed her in a never-ending procession and will continue to do so till 6.30am on Monday 19th, the day of the funeral; an occasion like no other.

On Friday 16th, shortly after 9am, the entrance to the queue was closed as Southwark Park, which was the holding area at the end of the queue spanning just under 7 miles, was full. Reopening around 5pm, with a warning that the wait may be up to 24 hours and the night would be very cold, did not deter mourners from joining! However, many seem to have had a wait of around 13 hours. Therefore, the waiting times indicated in the government ‘queue tracker’ perhaps are a bit exaggerated to discourage too many joining. Still, even the minimum of six hours is a long wait and begs the question why so many are joining like this facing many hardships? To his credit, the famous ex-footballer David Beckham did not try to find his way in through influence but queued for 13 hours to pay his respects to the Queen.

Is it mass-hysteria like what happened following the accidental death of Diana, Princess of Wales, when there was a sudden outpouring of grief? Far from it. The Queen’s death, though sudden, was not unexpected. After all, she was 96 and there were visible signs of declining physical health since the death of her husband Prince Philip in April last year. It is very well known that the death of a spouse, specially of a long partnership as theirs, hastens the demise of the remaining spouse. However, she remained bright as a button mentally carrying out all her royal duties till the very end; wishing goodbye to her fourteenth PM and requesting the fifteenth to form a government on 6th September. Alarm bells started ringing when, the following day, she cancelled a Privy Council meeting even though it was to be conducted via Zoom. The following evening came the sad news of her demise which plunged the nation to sorrow.

Numerous interviews conducted by many TV stations giving almost continuous coverage provide the answers and the main reason is that they want to pay homage to Her Majesty for the selfless devoted service she rendered for seven decades. In fact, many comment: “What is a few hours inconvenience when you think of all her hard work for seventy years” What is often forgotten is that when Elizabeth became the Queen in 1952 UK was in pretty bad shape. Though it was able to defeat Nazi Germany, the coffers were empty due to the heavy cost of the war. Over seven decades, keeping pace with revolutions in technology, she has guided UK to prosperity and has made the Commonwealth a force to reckon with. Her popularity and influence spread far and wide which is shown by the large numbers that have flown from many countries to join the Brits, young and old, queueing to honour Her Majesty. Watching the live-feed from Westminster Hall, which I have been doing frequently, is absorbing, to say the least. Though at the beginning of the queue there is some joviality with new friendships developing and exchange of stories, as they approach Westminster Hall a sad silence pervades. As they reach the catafalque with sombre faces, some bow, some curtsy, some worship, some cross their hearts and an occasional flying-kiss is thrown too! When they come out, there are tears and smiles, everyone forgetting the tedium of the long wait. The ‘British Queue’ has been therapeutic and served the purpose bringing all together. Not that there were no hiccups; a man had been charged with sexual harassment and another for attempting to remove the Royal Standard from the coffin. Unsurprisingly, many have fainted while queueing, a few needing hospital admissions.

Though it is a security and logistic nightmare, hopefully everything will go according to plans drawn years ahead and approved by Her Majesty before her death. More world leaders would be assembled than on any previous occasion in addition to thousands of ordinary folks. We are bound to witness a sombre goodbye to the greatest of our era.

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News

Honorary Chair of The Nippon Foundation, pays courtsey call on PM

Published

14 mins ago

2025/11/8

Priyan

Mr. Yohei Sasakawa, Honorary Chair of The Nippon Foundation, paid a courtesy call on Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, at Temple Trees on 06 November.

The Prime Minister extended a warm welcome to Mr. Sasakawa and expressed her appreciation for his second visit to Sri Lanka. Mr. Sasakawa briefed the Prime Minister on the Leprosy Conference held earlier that morning, which was also attended by the President. He outlined The Nippon Foundation’s ongoing projects in Sri Lanka, highlighting initiatives that support persons with disabilities, especially students with special needs.

Mr. Sasakawa discussed the work of the Sri Lankan School of Prosthetics and Orthotics and proposed upgrading the institution to university level with government assistance. Prime Minister Dr. Amarasuriya responded positively, noting that she would instruct the Ministry of Education to assess the feasibility of this proposal.

The Prime Minister commended The Nippon Foundation’s “100 Schools Project” in the Northern Province and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to improving educational and social inclusion for students with disabilities. She also acknowledged the resource limitations faced by some programmes and expressed appreciation for Japan’s continued support in addressing these challenges.

Akio Isomata, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, reiterated Japan’s commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation with Sri Lanka, particularly in promoting inclusivity and social welfare.

Both sides concluded the meeting by expressing their shared commitment to strengthening collaboration between Sri Lanka, Japan, and The Nippon Foundation in advancing education, accessibility, and social inclusion.

The meeting was attended by Yohei Sasakawa, Honorary Chair of The Nippon Foundation; Akio Isomata, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka; Ryo Takaoka, Second Secretary, Embassy of Japan; and Shota Nakayasu, Secretary to the Chairman, The Nippon Foundation.

Representing the Sri Lankan side were Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ms. Sagarika Bogahawatta, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ms. Savitri Panabokke, Director General, East Asia & Oceania Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ms. Gayanga Dias, Assistant Director, East Asia & Oceania Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

Govt. corrals many more into tax net by lowering VAT threshold from Rs. 60 Mn to Rs. 36 Mn

Published

12 hours ago

2025/11/8

Thilina Walpola

Projected revenue at Rs. 5.3 Bn, budget deficit 1.75 Bn

Rs. 6,500 Mn allocated for Clean Sri Lanka initiative

Estate wages hiked to Rs. 1,750 from Rs. 1,350 per day

Rs. 1 Bn allocated to address human-elephant conflict

Rs. 342 Bn for road development programmes

The government has decided to reduce the annual turnover threshold for the registration of Value Added Tax and Social Security Contribution Levy from Rs. 60 million to Rs. 36 million.

The proposal will be implemented with effect from 01 April, 2026.

The new tax system has been proposed with the view of broadening the tax base, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said during his 2026 Budget speech in Parliament yesterday.

He said that the total number of registered taxpayers in Sri Lanka has increased by 300,000 as of 30 September, 2025, compared to 2024.

The President made this revelation while delivering the 2026 Budget speech.

President Dissanayake also confirmed that the Simplified VAT System (SVAT) has been abolished with effect from 01 October, 2025, and has been shifted to an approved refund process to improve tax compliance and reduce misuse.

Presenting the Budget Proposals for the year 2026 commenced at 1.30 pm and continued till 5.57 pm.

According to the 2026 Budget proposal delivered by the President, the government’s expected revenue for 2026 is set at Rs. 5,300 million while the expenditure has been projected to be Rs. 7,057 million.

The Budget deficit will be Rs. 1,757 million or 5.1% of the Gross Domestic Product.

The government has proposed to remove the Special Commodity Levy on imported coconut oil and palm oil and implement the general tax structure including Value Added Tax.

The new tax system on imported coconut oil and palm oil will be implemented from April 2026, President Dissanayake said.

At present, locally produced coconut oil and palm oil are subjected to Value Added Tax and Social Security Contribution Levy, while imported coconut oil and palm oil are subjected to Special Commodity Levy at Rs. 150 per kilogram and Rs. 275 per kilogram, respectively.

The new tax proposal has been proposed to ensure a level playing field, the President stated.

President Dissanayake said that a total of Rs. 6,500 million has been allocated for the Clean Sri Lanka programme for next year.

President Dissanayake said that the land acquisition process for the proposed Kurunegala-Dambulla expressway is currently underway.

Accordingly, through the 2026 Budget, the government has allocated Rs. 1,000 million to complete the land acquisition process, the President said.

The government has allocated a sum of Rs. 342 billion for road development programmes in the 2026 Budget, President Dissanakaye stated. A total of Rs. 66.1 billion has been allocated for the Kadawatha-Mirigama section of the Central Expressway through the 2026 Budget.

Furthermore, Rs. 10.5 billion for the Pothuhera-Rambukkana and Rs. 20 billion for the Rambukkana-Galagedara section of the central expressway have been allocated through the Budget.

The President said that through the 2026 Budget, a sum of 25,500 million has been allocated to develop Sri Lanka’s digital economy. He also pledged to establish a Digital Economy Council next year.

The allocation will facilitate the infrastructure needs, streamlining investment processes and fostering an innovation-friendly environment.

The government has proposed to allocate an additional provision of Rs. 1,000 million to the Department of Wildlife Conservation to expedite the completion of electric fence constructions and related projects aimed at mitigating human-elephant conflict across the country, the President said.

In addition, Rs. 10 billion has been proposed for research initiatives to identify long-term, research-based solutions beyond the construction of electric fences to reduce these elephant-human conflicts, he said.

Estate worker wages are to be hiked to a total of 1,750 rupees a day, President Dissanayake said, presenting the Budget for 2026.

“We believe that estate workers should be paid a fair daily wage, commensurate with their work,” the President said.

The current minimum wage of an estate worker is 1,350 rupees a day.

An additional 200 rupees will be given daily by the government to encourage estate workers to come to work, Dissanayake said.

“This is as an incentive for them to show up for the 25 days.” The government will allocate 5,000 million rupees for this, he said.

The Budget Debate on the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill will commence on 08 November and continue for six days. The vote on the Second Reading is scheduled for 14 November (Friday) at 6 pm.

The Committee Stage Debate is set to begin on 15 November and will continue for 17 sitting days, including three Saturdays, until 05 December. The vote on the Third Reading of the Appropriation Bill is to be taken up at 6 pm on 05 December.

During the budget period, Parliament will meet daily, except on Sundays and public holidays. Sessions will begin at 9.30 am on Mondays and at 9 am on other days. Each day’s sittings will continue until 6 pm, with time from 6 to 6.30 pm allocated for adjournment motions, shared equally between the Government and the Opposition, except on voting days.

In addition, during the Committee Stage Debate, provision has been made for five Questions for Oral Answers and one Question under Standing Orders 27(2), apart from the regular business under Standing Orders 22(1) to (6).

News

Justice Thurairaja sworn in as Actg CJ

Published

12 hours ago

2025/11/8

Thilina Walpola

Supreme Court Justice S. Thurairaja was sworn in as the Acting Chief Justice before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (07) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The appointment was made to discharge the duties of the position during the absence of Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, who is currently overseas.

Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayaka, was also present on the occasion.