Mysterious Mystery

Scarlet Pimpernel of Paradise   

When this column first reported that a ‘RED’ NOTICE had been issued on Mahendran, questions were asked, and eyebrows were raised!!! Now we are told that, at the request of the President, INTERPOL has issued a second notice on Mahendran!!! The MYSTERY IS WHY HAS IT STILL NOT BEEN POSSIBLE TO ARREST AND BRING MAHENDRAN IN??? Is Mahendran the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel??? WHAT, MAY WE ASK IS SO HIGH AND MIGHTY ABOUT THIS MAN THAT THEY HAVE FAILED TO BRING HIM IN OR, MORE IMPORTANTLY, WILL TOO MANY HAVE TO HANG, WILL TOO MANY IMPORTANT HEADS ROLL IF HE IS BROUGHT IN??? OR, WILL IT EXPLODE INTO A POLITICAL CRISIS??? The mystery is baffling but even more so, is the silence on the issue!!! THE SOUND OF SILENCE ON MAHENDRAN IS DEAFENING!!! We are also told that the President has requested the assistance of the Singaporean Prime Minister to arrest Mahendran - again the question is WILL THIS HAPPEN???   

How many of them?   

All the crooks are roaming free and nothing concrete is done about throwing the book at them!!! Into this abominable state of affairs, we have an ex-Navy Commander suspected of killing 11 people!!! This goes as far back as 2009!!! Didn’t anyone care??? That’s not where it all ends though, the Police, the supposed Guardians of the Law are not just breaking the Law THEY ARE MURDERING!!! It is going to be humanly impossible for us, as law-abiding citizens, to trust ANY POLICE OFFICER EVER AGAIN, REGARDLESS OF HIS RANK??? We are also told that there is a deadline for accepting complaints – what an exercise in futility when nothing is done about the complaints!!! What about all the other suspects who are roaming free??? Jaliya, Udayanga, and only the Good Lord knows how many others!!! 

 MYSTERIOUS  MYSTERIES!   

The Mysterious Mystery of unsolved murders continues to remain a mystery!!! Lasantha, Thajudeen and so many others!!! WHEN is the burning question??? Silence also shrouds the vast gulf of immeasurable lies, drugs, murders and deceit accredited to Madush!!! When something as disturbing as that is uncovered there is always a hue and cry but the initial noise always seems to die down with nothing positive being done!!! The colossal heroin hauls are too huge to even contemplate, some really drastic action needs to be taken and taken fast!!! There isn’t a day that some new haul is not discovered in a different place!!! It is most disturbing for us citizens to have to put up with!!! There has to be a KINGPIN SOMEWHERE AND THE AUTHORITIES NEED TO MOVE IN FAST!!! FROM WHERE ARE ALL THESE DEADLY DRUGS COMING AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE???   

Learn and earn 

Wanting to get far in life is not a crime, it is the manner in which it is done that matters!!! It is wrong to try and get what we want and where we want by cutting someone else’s throat, by doing it at the expense of someone else!!! When you are anxious to get far in life, treat yourself as though you are learning a new skill!!! Set yourself a clear goal, stay focused on it and do your best!!! It takes courage to grow up and get to where you really want to!!! Most of the important things in this world have been achieved by those who have kept trying, especially when the horizons were bleak with no hope at all!!! Forgive yourself for not knowing what you learned!!!  

Budget was a non sequitur!   

The long-awaited Budget was a non sequitur!!! After Sri Lanka gained Independence and became a Republic there is only one instance in our history, according to past records, that a Surplus Budget was presented in 1955 by the late Mr M.D.H. Jayewardene. In a country of 21 million people with a current GDP of US$80 billion, why is it that the so-called Professionals and top Economists in the Sri Lanka Economic Association could not advise the Finance Ministry intelligently??? With confidence, people voted the Good Governance Government into power in 2015; but they have failed to arrest the declining trend in the Economy. The growth of 5% in 2015 has gone down to 3.1% in 2017 and now the Economists expect that the 2018 rate will dip further!!! The World Bank in its update on Sri Lanka for 2015, which was released a couple of weeks ago expressed alarm at the deteriorating state of the economy and feels that it will continue to dip without a significant recovery until end 2021!!! The second concern they have noted is the declining Labour Force and that Labour Productivity will have a negative effect on economic growth in the next two to three decades. The question is, are the top Professionals at the Finance Ministry, Prime Minister’s Office and President’s Office capable of giving the quintessential financial advice this country is so badly in need of???  

Log in to REALITY  

Philosophically speaking we can’t upload luck, neither can we download time and Google certainly does not have all the answers for us in life!!! Therefore, the wisest thing for us is to 
log in to REALITY and maintain the status of our lives!!! Actually, the greatest mistake we humans make in our relationships is that we listen half the time, understand even less, think zero and react double!!! What the late and great Abdul Kalam once said was “A Door is much smaller compared to the house; a lock is much smaller compared to the door. A key is the smallest of all but a key can open an entire house!! Thus, a small, thoughtful solution can solve major problems!!!” It is really food for thought and a message that all of us should ponder in our lives. Abdul Kalam also said “Forget who hurt you yesterday, but don’t forget those who love you every day. Forget the past that makes you cry and focus on the present that makes you smile. Forget the pain but never the lessons you gained!!!” The lesson is to concentrate on the ‘small things’ they are what get you far in the end!!! 

Support each other  

I would like to give you one of my favourite quotes from Maya Angelou:  

“Each one of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather super-storm or spiritual super-storm, when we look at each other we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other and empathize with each other because each of us is more alike than we are unalike.”  

And I want to leave you with this quote about our all-powerful God, “GOD is like SOFTWARE, He ENTERS our life, SCANS our problems, EDITS our tensions, DOWNLOADS solutions, DELETES all our worries and SAVES US!!!