• Why are voters assumed to be fools?

• Security for pedestrians and flat occupants

• Failure to honour election promises

• Senior Citizens 'Wake Up'

• Expiry date of L.P. gas cylinders

Why are voters assumed to be fools?

ABOUT fifty years ago, as a young bachelor at Hambantota, I had old man Carolis as my cook. One day - I forget the date - he asked permission to go home to Balapitiya to vote at a general election. He returned the next day.

He said he was chased away when he met the Village Headman to ask for his vote: Umbata chanadayak neha. Palayang yanda. Umbata den wayasa wedi. (You have no vote. Get out. You are now too old).

There are no people like that now; but reading and listening to election manifestos, it is clear there is an assumption that a majority can be fooled again and again without pity, asserting that democracy is the tyranny of fools.

For example, consider the promise to give every child below 5 years a glass of milk everyday. I remember the massive fraud of the Milk Feeding Centres in the 60s.

As MOH Kelaniya, I caught the transport contractor at 2 am taking a lorry load of bottles delivered by the Milk Board to my office, drawing water from a well at his home diluting milk meant for children in the morning.

Corruption in the transport and distribution of milk was rampant in the country that following upon my agitation, the entire scheme was scrapped.

Now, there is a promise to begin it again on a much wider scale, honest implementation of which is impossible, apart from monstrous cost and the required administrative infrastructure.

If the promise is willy-nilly kept, there will be epidemics of bacillary dysentery in poor urban and village children. But who cares? Once the vote is cast, the people are trapped - till next time.

Read the book Straight & Crooked Thinking by the Oxford Psychologist Dr. Thouless.

He describes 33 ways how people are deceived, chiefly from emotional thinking encouraged by politicians. It should be translated to Sinhala and Tamil to protect our people from the predator politicians.

One of the 33 is the dictum on 'ALL and SOME' - which the Buddha taught in the Mahakammavibhanga Sutta. Thus, though a few political leaders obviously think otherwise, among the rich, poor and illiterate like Carolis, only some are fools.

KINGSLEY HEENDENIYA - Nugegoda.

Security for pedestrians and flat occupants

IN the prevailing crime situation there has been a spate of snatch thieves on cycles preying on pedestrians and generally females, on isolated byroads. To curb these, police need to resume patrolling at least in risky areas, or when information is given.

If lawless elements are apparently well organised to carry out their nefarious deeds should not law abiding citizens get together for self protection?

High level condominiums and housing estates provide all round security included in their cost in charges for residents.

However Government flats for middle and low income tenants are unable to afford security services, elders and females, living in them are at risk.

Thus it is upto the welfare societies in these flats to provide security on cost sharing basis or on voluntary basis on roster system. This calls for establishing good relations, trust between residents and sustainability.

In several police areas, vigilance committees and street patrols have been established but they need to be strengthened with responsible residents, community leaders and clergy and made effective to work with the police.

In Brisbane (Australia) Neighbouring Watch for neighbourhoods have been established in networks or co-ordination with the police. They publish a monthly news letter, giving details of petty crimes, theft, robberies in neighbourhood and how they happened.

The news letters also give technical guidelines on effective household locking devices, burglar alarms and simple personal security precautions for house holders.

A set of these news letters have been sent to the Bambalapitiya Vigilance Committee and Police Headquarters (Police-Public Relation) for attention.

J.V. THAMBAR - Colombo 4.

Failure to honour election promises

IT is customary and habitual that election promises are made when Parliamentary and Presidential elections are round the corner.

These promises are made via the electronic and print media, at election meetings, distribution of leaflets and so on. As Presidential elections are only 33 days away, the election promises from budding candidates galore.

They promise the moon and then sun and heaven. If the election pledges given at the past elections have been honoured even by 5 per cent there would not have been any necessity to pledge any more as the country is by now self sufficient in food, clothing and shelter.

The populace leading princely lives overtaking Brunei or even Scandinavia countries where the per capita income is concerned.

But, the reality all these years has been that promises and pledges are confined to the election times and once elected they being forgotten faster than they were made. There must be a mechanism to bring to justice those who make false promises at election times and forget or negate them once elected.

Laws should be enacted where the constituency could seek legal redress for misleading and fraudulently obtaining their votes and not fulfilling the promises. If these provisions are there in the law, the candidates will be careful in making promises only which they can fulfill.

Then it will be an acid test for political parties and individuals where they will be tested for their abilities and capabilities in advance before they are elected.

J. N. - Nugegoda.

Senior Citizens 'Wake Up'

ALTHOUGH the protection of the 'Rights of Elders' Act' No. 9 of 2000 was passed in Parliament unanimously 5 years ago, successive Governments have failed to implement this Act, and as a result even the basic needs of the elders have been neglected so far.

This was partly due to the various Senior Citizens' Associations and Pensioners' Associations being not active in pressurising the authorities to implement this Act.

Further it is rather tragic to note that most of our Parliamentarians and leaders of political parties are all over 60 years of age and they too have not taken keen interest to implement this Act which they themselves introduced and passed in Parliament.

As there are over 2.5 million Senior Citizen voters in the country, we wish to submit a Joint Memorandum to the hopeful Presidential Candidates, highlighting our grievances.

G.E.B.

Expiry date of L.P. gas cylinders

REFERRING to the above notice in Daily News of October 15, 2005, I wish to state that we never knew that there is an expiry date for gas cylinders. Thank God no accidents took place but now we have to look sharp.

However I have three cylinders in my house but unfortunately I could not find any of these dates on any of the stems as said, there is something on that but not at all visible nor is there an expiry date coded alpha numerically as stated.

If you could be a little more specific as how to trace these numbers it would help I think. So now as it is, our numbers should read D05 for December (fourth Qtr) for this year.

I have already shared this with so many friends but unfortunately all of us have faced the same difficulty. So kindly enlighten us. I use Shell Gas.

Another vital question - will dealers allow us to examine each cylinder before buying?

As it is just give the old and take the new without checking. Please give us more details. Thank you for the information.

YVONNE F. KEERTHISINGHA - Rajagiriya.