{"id":232366,"date":"2023-04-29T00:35:36","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T19:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=232366"},"modified":"2023-05-13T19:13:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T13:43:11","slug":"scamming-the-gestapo-church-or-being-sound-christian-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/scamming-the-gestapo-church-or-being-sound-christian-witness\/","title":{"rendered":"Scamming The Gestapo Church, Or Being Sound Christian Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>By <a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=S.+Ratnajeevan+H.+Hoole\">S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole<\/a> &#8211;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_223616\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-223616\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-223616\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/S.-Ratnajeevan-H.-Hoole--150x150.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/S.-Ratnajeevan-H.-Hoole--150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/S.-Ratnajeevan-H.-Hoole--45x45.jpeg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-223616\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prof S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Self-Sacrifice for Christian Witness<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In the aftermath of the Schools Take-over Act, previously Government-Assisted St. John\u2019s College (SJC) was not allowed to charge fees. (That did not apply to already private schools like St. Thomas\u2019 that were charging fees). So if SJC wanted to continue as a free school, it could not levy new fees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">SJC believed that we were offering something of value, as indeed we did, and decided to be private without levying fees, emphasizing Christian education for Christian children. Only charges for facilities like laboratory use were permitted. What followed in Principal A.W. Rajasekaram\u2019s time was heroism that cannot be described as salaries had to be raised. Mahoganies were chopped down to find money to pay teachers \u2013 making a mockery of the line in the college hymn boasting of being \u201cfringed with rich mahoganies.\u201d New teachers were paid Rs. 250 a month whereas government scale was like Rs. 600. As new sources of funds were slowly developed (such as admission \u201cdonation fees\u201d) and good quality teachers from the University of Ceylon recruited, there were anomalies in transition leading to strikes<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>by teachers in Principal Mr. K. Pooranampillai\u2019s time. The leaders of teachers who struck work were fired or pressured to leave; the school had to make large awards ordered by the courts. In time, the school reached financial independence, and industrial peace was restored. Financial problems were greatly eased when the government renewed salary support for teachers in exchange for some control.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">That experience made mission school service one of self-sacrifice. A few priests (James Richards Ratnanayagam<span class=\"s1\">,\u00a0Raju Coomaraswamy \u2013 my favourite OL Christianity teacher who went beyond the prescribed texts of the Bible into even the Apocrypha<\/span>, Alfred Chinniah, Arulampalam)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>taught and added to the Christian character of SJC. In contrast today, there is only one priest, Daniel Vijayathasan who with his three-year Master of Divinity degree in Anglican Communion Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary is highly qualified.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In our church those with qualifications are deemed unqualified because their presence exposes the unqualified favourites who are appointed. At a Deaf and Blind School dinner Fr. Daniel asked the Bishop whether he would authorize leave to read for his doctorate as announced by the government that ran out of money for pay. In a church allergic to qualified persons, something snapped in the Bishop as he exploded before all. Fr. Daniel was shouted at in horrid temper and humiliated at a public function by the Bishop<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>shouting no leave, no recommendation. Daniel was summoned to Colombo refusing to say why for a meeting with the Church Registrar and the Bishop to make him feel insecure thinking he would be fired as priest. Otherwise why the Registrar? It seemed only to scare him as nothing of substance was discussed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Principal plays his own games leaving out Daniel\u2019s name in announcing staff achievements, and unfairly accusing various staff members of being my source with no evidence. Although Fr. Daniel receives no salary from the church and serves assisting the Archdeacon, all the signs are that the Church and the School want him gone, with the Bishop introducing new restrictions on non-stipendiary priests who are generally better qualified than other priests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Previous Principals drew paltry salaries. Principal C.E Anandarajan (my OL Chemistry Teacher) struggled as many senior teachers left for Nigeria and paid<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>dearly with his life for trying to keep the school independent of the LTTE.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Those who served came self-offering, not for money. A good example is Principal S. Thanapalan who stuck with the college in its most difficult<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>circumstances. Thanapalan was my House Prefect. I cut athletics practice and was caught by him trying to sneak off. He chased after me on foot as I foolishly tried to get away on my bicycle. He caught me by the bottom of my bicycle seat and put me in the grounds, all with a smile. That is the relationship and treatment that made me love my school. He came home in Colombo in 2006, went into our kitchen and literally cried as he asked me to leave Sri Lanka quickly when the LTTE asked me to quit as VC Jaffna.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Postwar: Jaffna Denuded of Upper-class Christians<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">After the war the school received large funds for reconstruction, rebuilding destroyed buildings to a glorious state never seen before. Sources were governments that recognized the enormity and devastation of war, and old boys who had sympathetic resettlement in the West and gave generously, donating their Jaffna houses and speaking of swimming pools, and international-sized cricket grounds.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The war, outwardly, had been good for the school. The grand buildings, however, hid the fact that the old-boy network in Jaffna was broken as the most educated fled. Old boys as teachers, and the children of old boys as students and Christian alumni in Jaffna were scarce.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The character of the school became different as a result. The Anglican Church managing CMS schools, and the CMS Board having the Bishops of Colombo and Kurunegala as Members, also suffered as people came to the church for the plums of office, rather than to serve or give. Unlike in the old days, few clergy recruits had recognized university degrees. As such there was limited choice for mission school principals or to be Bishop.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>The Church without Rule of Law and Faith<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I have detailed how even archdeacons and retired bishops have been <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/the-bishop-cms-fiddle-while-st-johns-college-jaffna-burns\/\"><span class=\"s2\">skimming off the church<\/span><\/a><\/span> in treating themselves to luxury cars without proper financial authorization. The Anglican Church is a lawless institution \u2013 from big things like misappropriating money for cars to small things like ignoring constitutional provisions on youth and female representation at Diocesan Council, and observing required notice periods in sending out accounts for study prior to taking them up at parish or Diocesan Council meetings.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The attitude to the rule of law then naturally spills over into faith too. To give only two examples: 1) Divorce, divorcee remarriage and marrying outside the faith are violations of church law. But violations are routinely ignored; 2) The Anglican Church (with Catholic articles of faith) teaches that at Holy Communion, the Bread becomes the Body of Christ and the Wine the Blood of Christ. The Methodist Church on the other hand teaches that there is no \u201cReal Presence,\u201d and it is only a memorial. The Methodists also believe as taught by John Wesley that imbibing alcohol is wrong and use purple-coloured Necto instead of Sacramental Wine. There is a famous photo of Sevak Sam Alfred on his deathbed being served the Bread by Bishop Kenneth Fernando and the \u201cWine\u201d by Methodist Head Duleep Fernando in concelebration. The question is whether Kenneth gave him \u201cThe Body of Christ,\u201d while Duleep gave him Necto as a memorial. That deathbed Communion was a dishonest drama exposing our laxity with good governance, preaching one thing through formularies<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>and practising another.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Constitutions need to be adhered to, or we must change them if we do not believe in what we say through them. The Anglican Bishops and priests do not believe in \u201cReal Presence\u201d but do not dare to contradict the Bible. To ignore contradictions is to admit that we are not governed by our laws or bound by the faith we profess.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">That laxity has to creep into the schools when the Bishop fails to see the importance of going by the law. Money is misappropriated to buy luxury cars. With no market pressure to pay \u201cnearly 4 Rs. lakhs\u201d for an SJC Principal in Jaffna, friends are recruited and paid as if it is money from CMS Chairperson Thanja Aunty\u2019s personal funds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Immediate Background to this Article<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Following <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/andrew-sujeevan-anglican-johnian-punished-by-a-corrupt-theocratic-church\/\"><span class=\"s2\">my article<\/span><\/a><\/span> in <em>Colombo Telegraph<\/em> on 23 March 2023,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>there was an SJC OBA ExCo meeting on 26 March 2023. As usual the Principal, Silva Thuseetharan, came late \u2013 very late this time after \u201cAny other Business\u201d was over and the meeting was closing. He was angry, shouting and wagging his index finger at me. He referred to me as \u201cthis chap\u201d and demanded my punishment for writing an untrue article.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In particular Principal Thuseetharan claimed that I had written that he receives Rs. 4 lakhs as salary. I corrected him. What I said about his pay is, to quote,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s3\">\u201c<\/span><span class=\"s1\">government salary and an allowance of nearly 4 lakhs a month from the CMS even as he cheats on his leave-sheet to the ministry (where the internal time machine shows 80 days\u2019 leave per year but he declares 7-12 days for 2020 and 2021 and the ministry returned it since it was self-certified).\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">The Principal after checking on his phone ceded that I did not say \u201cRs. 4 lakhs\u201d but wanted proof then and there of \u201cnearly 4 lakhs\u201d and I responded that I do not go around carrying my files. He then wanted it at a special ExCo Meeting that week itself and I said I was leaving town. Finally, it was agreed that I would give him my proof at the next OBA ExCo on 29 April. It was also agreed that he would produce the list of people given free dinner tickets for the anniversary dinner. The rest of this article is because of Thuseetharan\u2019s insistence that I prove his nearly Rs. 4 lakhs pay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">I note that I should not have to produce proof of Thuseetharan\u2019s salary because if I am lying, he can prove it by producing his salary slip which for reasons obvious to me he does not want to do. He thinks, I think, that I have no proof. But I do because of the extensive dissension under his misrule at SJC that gives me the leaked evidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Favoritism in Church Appointments and Fudged Titles<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Appointing CMS Chairs and Managers with honourary doctorates and improperly addressing them as \u201cDoctor\u201d is how the Church justifies its bad appointments. At the SJC anniversary dinner ego-inflating signs were pasted on reserved chairs for \u201cDoctor\u201d Dan Seevaratnam (former CMS Chair) and \u201cDoctor\u201d Dhanan Senathirajah (present SJC Manager).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In church circles the title \u201cDoctor\u201d is so misused that I now hate to be called Doctor Hoole lest people think that I too bought my doctorate from Carnegie-Mellon and higher doctorate from London, without writing and defending a long thesis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Even Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa despite all their egregious faults, both with honourary doctorates from Colombo, do not use the title Doctor. Indeed, Colombo is a better university than the unheard-of Indian universities favoured by Church people which ask for a payment to honour their honourees. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Bishop\u2019s tendency to appoint unqualified favorites and reward them with unjustifiable emoluments, led to Archdeacon Sam Ponniah being appointed as Acting Principal of SJC before Principal Thuseetharan.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Recall that Bishop Kenneth Fernando tried to appoint his nephew Eksith Fernando as Principal (a.k.a. Warden) of St.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Thomas\u2019 and in a stinging rebuke the courts removed Eksith saying that in addition to a degree (which Eksith had), 10 years\u2019 teaching experience (which Ekisth did not have)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>is required. Despite that court ruling, Sam Ponniah who has no 10 years\u2019 teaching experience and no UGC Recognized university degree, was appointed Manager and Acting Principal of St. John\u2019s. My educated guess is that CMS Chair Thanja Aunty and the Bishop would have made him Principal if not for that judicial rebuke to St. Thomas\u2019.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In Jaffna Ponniah received his full-time Parish Priest\u2019s stipend and Archdeacon\u2019s pay. He also received an electric car (requiring Rs. 500,000 for a new battery when I was on the Diocese\u2019s Standing Committee) when archdeacons were unlawfully allocated Rs. 110 lakhs each for cars.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As if that is not enough, as Ponniah left for Colombo with Thuseetharan\u2019s appointment, I have confirmation from the school that he was given Rs. 800,000 as a gift for his 8 months as unqualified full-time Acting Principal, on top of all the other rewards for services such as<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>false certification of the Principal\u2019s leave. This gift given after he left the school might merit examination on whether he owed taxes on it. The Board of Principals at the SJC\u2019s Hall has now been amended after Ponniah\u2019s departure to include Ponniah. One back scratched for another while doing two full-time jobs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Thuseetharan and Christie Pararajasingam<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">I also note that SJC is in a sorry state under Principal Thuseethran\u2019s mendacious leadership (of which I gave 3 examples of his unnecessary lies in my letter to the OBA dated 18 June 2022). His misgovernance is covered up by the CMS Chairperson whom he refers to as \u201cThanja Accah.\u201d A parody on St. John\u2019s described as the situation in Jaffna schools was carried by <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z9YMHogJSM4\"><span class=\"s2\">Dan TV<\/span><\/a> <\/span>on 04.04.2023 disgracing the already sullied reputation of the school. The programme was widely viewed with much merriment.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s4\">There are several personal disagreements the Principal has had with staff members like Christie Pararajasingam. Christie credibly alleges that <\/span>although his son Denushan got the Highest Points by the Criteria\u00a0to select students for the school\u2019s General Excellence Award, his name was not presented at the staff meeting.\u00a0However, another student who has just three normal AL passes and who had been suspended from school and whose Prefect Badge had been removed for serious misconduct was nominated by the Principal for the General Excellence Award. Eventually, after severe protests from staff no one was awarded. No excellent student at St. Johns? That is the academic quality of the school. There is no transparency in Thuseetharan\u2019s school management.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">That mismanagement also included untruthful leave claims by the Principal hiding the excessive leave he had taken. Christie had documented these to the Department of Education detailing the fraudulent time sheets produced by the Mission School Principal. I will reproduce them here to show the kind of Christian witness the school is making under the SJC Principal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">A Ministry evaluation <span class=\"s3\">this month gave the school very poor marks, 64%, well <\/span>below previous years over 70-80 like other good schools. The principal reason given by the Ministry was the violation of leave regulations.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s3\">This <\/span><span class=\"s1\">vindictive treatment of teacher Christie Pararajasingam (a rare internal person who can edit the school\u2019s productions in English and was <\/span><span class=\"s3\">chosen by the Provincial Department of Education and the British Council to be a Master Trainer \u2013 to teach the teachers of English<\/span><span class=\"s1\">) included his unfair constructive termination as teacher. However, by the time he went to the Labour Tribunal he had missed the 6-month window for complaints. The escalating dispute resulted in his exposing in his Facebook-pages what the principal does. He refers to the CMS covering up for Thuseetharan as hiding under Thanja Peiris\u2019 petticoat.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Gestapo Tactics of the Anglican Church<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Christie sent 7<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>emails with 23 questions to the SJC Principal. No reply. He wrote twice<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>to the OBA and I did not even hear of them, although I am a Vice President.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Then, despite sending two emails to the Chairperson of the Governing Body (Thanja Auntie who goes by a Sinhalese name), instead of a reply Christie got a visit from the Police and 2 CMS lawyers as I describe.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">Just like an assault was planned on me by some old boys for questioning the untruthful age claims of the school, the Principal and the CMS (i.e., Thanja Aunty and the Bishop who is on the CMS Board) responded through 2 Sinhalese lawyers coming from Colombo, going with the Principal to the Jaffna Police Station, and sending policemen to Christie\u2019s house to drag him to the police station. Are there no good Tamil lawyers in Jaffna?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p6\"><span class=\"s1\">In Jaffna we fear the Sinhalese Police. Even Tamil policemen speak to us in Sinhalese and do not let on they are Tamil. I believe the choice of Sinhalese lawyers by the CMS was deliberate to get the police on to their side and to play the communal card. There was no court order. No arrest warrant. Yet the police insisted that Christie come immediately as people from Colombo were waiting at the Police Station. It was like Hitler\u2019s Gestapo going to the home of a Jew. It had the effect of immediate compliance by Christie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">Uninformed of his rights perhaps, Christie dropped everything and went to the police station. It was very high-handed tactics by the church to use the police like this, a church that periodically preaches good governance to the Rajapaksas but is no better.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">At the Jaffna Police Station Christie was threatened that a new law is coming that can put him away for 6 months for harassment. My guess is that they referred to the PTA and similarly controversial legal proposals that the Church opposes! Such is the hypocrisy of the Church. This is how the Bishop, the CMS and SJC treat a highly respected former teacher, using time-bars to escape obligations to an employee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">It is my understanding that after a lot of back and forth, the Principal refused to apologize for his horrid actions towards Christie as Christie demanded. At that point, one lawyer went out with the Principal, had a chat and returned saying he would apologize on behalf of the Principal. After the lawyer apologized to Christie on behalf of the Principal, Christie in turn agreed to take down his Facebook pages detailing the Principal\u2019s un-Christian conduct. Christie then uploaded his last post signed by the two lawyers, effectively admitting the mistakes of the Principal (although the phrase \u201cI represented mine\u201d implies that Christie also was involved in drafting).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_232373\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-232373\" class=\"wp-image-232373 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Christie-Pararajasingams-Facebook-Post-Signed-by-the-Two-Sinhalese-CMS-Lawyers-Sri-Lanka-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Christie-Pararajasingams-Facebook-Post-Signed-by-the-Two-Sinhalese-CMS-Lawyers-Sri-Lanka-.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Christie-Pararajasingams-Facebook-Post-Signed-by-the-Two-Sinhalese-CMS-Lawyers-Sri-Lanka--300x242.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Christie-Pararajasingams-Facebook-Post-Signed-by-the-Two-Sinhalese-CMS-Lawyers-Sri-Lanka--768x620.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-232373\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christie Pararajasingam\u2019s Facebook Post Signed by the two Sinhalese CMS Lawyers<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p5\">Christie now says his fight with Thuseetharan is over and did not cooperate for this article saying he does not want to hurt the school.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Salary and Leave: Proof<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I will prove that my claim of the Principal\u2019s salary of \u201cnearly 4 lakhs\u201d is true. St. John\u2019s is an assisted school. As such staff are paid their salary by the Ministry. In exchange, the Ministry expects leave reports, the school following syllabus guidelines, etc. Here the Church has colluded in falsifying Principal Thuseetharan\u2019s leave claims made to the Ministry.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_232372\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-232372\" class=\"size-full wp-image-232372\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ministry-Component-of-Thuseethrans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"1254\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ministry-Component-of-Thuseethrans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka-.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ministry-Component-of-Thuseethrans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka--215x300.jpg 215w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ministry-Component-of-Thuseethrans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka--735x1024.jpg 735w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Ministry-Component-of-Thuseethrans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka--768x1070.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-232372\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ministry Component of Thuseethran\u2019s Pay for April 2022<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">What the ministry pays is what any government school principal is paid. Here is Thuseetharan\u2019s salary slip for April 2022 corresponding to the Ministry\u2019s component of the SJC Principal\u2019s salary. This amounts to Rs. 91,630.00 a year ago. This figure would have been raised effective Jan. 2023.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_232371\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-232371\" class=\"size-full wp-image-232371\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/St.-Johns-Office-Record-of-Thuseetharans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/St.-Johns-Office-Record-of-Thuseetharans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka-.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/St.-Johns-Office-Record-of-Thuseetharans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka--300x139.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/St.-Johns-Office-Record-of-Thuseetharans-Pay-for-April-2022-Sri-Lanka--768x355.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-232371\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Computer Copy of St. John\u2019s Office Record of Thuseetharan\u2019s<br \/>Pay for April 2022. GB: Governing Board<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">In addition, the CMS pays allowances. Records are maintained in the school office. An Office copy from April 2022 from the Principal\u2019s pay-sheet is reproduced here. His gross salary now is Rs. 101,800+. Although the computer copy shows a gross salary for April 2022 as Rs. 86,630.00, the Zonal Education sheet gives it as Rs. 91,630. It is a disparity the school has to explain. It could be to help Thuseetharan avoid taxes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Governing Board (GB) allowances, in addition to what the Ministry pays, include Rs. 160,000 increased by 10% now (as I have verified) to Rs. 176,000 for 2023, NSB Pass Book allowance also by the GB of Rs. 36,800 (also presumably increased by 10% but I have not seen proof) and additional allowances of Rs. 20,000.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">On top of this the Principal also gets a travel allowance and a telephone allowance. I do not know what these are, but we may have some idea from the fact that a Member of Parliament gets Rs. 50,000 as telephone allowance, Rs. 179,000 as fuel allowance and Rs. 15,000 as transport allowance. A typical MP\u2019s salary slip for Jan. 2023 is reproduced here.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_232370\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-232370\" class=\"size-full wp-image-232370\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Sri-Lanka-An-MPs-Salary-Slip-for-Jan-2023-to-show-Travel-Telephone-Allowances.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Sri-Lanka-An-MPs-Salary-Slip-for-Jan-2023-to-show-Travel-Telephone-Allowances.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Sri-Lanka-An-MPs-Salary-Slip-for-Jan-2023-to-show-Travel-Telephone-Allowances-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Sri-Lanka-An-MPs-Salary-Slip-for-Jan-2023-to-show-Travel-Telephone-Allowances-768x544.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-232370\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An MP\u2019s Salary Slip for Jan. 2023 to show Travel, Telephone Allowances<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">Conservatively therefore, minimally, the principal\u2019s salary with allowances and increments is about Rs. 350,000 for the year 2023.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Moreover, the Principal\u2019s Water and Electricity are also covered by the school, most likely being part of the school\u2019s bill on common meters (an oddity being the SJC Principal living at Chundikuli which has to pay for SJC\u2019s expenses). My electricity bill before I got solar panels was about Rs. 35,000 a month. That brings the Principal\u2019s salary and allowances to Rs. 385,000.00 \u2013 very nearly Rs. 400,000 a month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I am yet to receive the details of free dinner tickets the Principal distributed to his friends and family. These too count as income. And then there are many free meals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In reconstructing income, we also need to look at how many of the allowances are declared as income and if taxes owed to the state are paid. Taxes owed but not paid also count as income. Are the hands of the CMS clean in this?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>I believe I have proved that Thuseetharan\u2019s income is nearly Rs. 4 lakhs as I claimed<\/b>. But there is more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Cheating on Leave and Collusion by the Church<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A staff member (the Principal being one) is entitled to 21 days\u2019 casual leave a year. When casual leave in excess is taken, that is effective additional salary. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">For the years 2020 and 2021 the Principal claimed at the same time 9 days casual leave for 2020 and 7 days for 2021. As shown here, he certified it himself, but the ministry rejected it saying he cannot certify his own leave and returned the two forms. In the picture for 2020, the Principal\u2019s signature is whited out (tippexed) and the Venerable Sam Ponniah representing the Bishop in Jaffna as Archdeacon signed the untruthful leave reporting form, hiding Thuseetharan\u2019s scamming.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_232369\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-232369\" class=\"wp-image-232369 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Principals-Untruthful-Leave-Report-to-the-Ministry-for-2020-Jaffana-issue.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"957\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Principals-Untruthful-Leave-Report-to-the-Ministry-for-2020-Jaffana-issue.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Principals-Untruthful-Leave-Report-to-the-Ministry-for-2020-Jaffana-issue-282x300.jpg 282w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Principals-Untruthful-Leave-Report-to-the-Ministry-for-2020-Jaffana-issue-768x817.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-232369\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Principal\u2019s Untruthful Leave Report to the Ministry for 2020: Self-Certified, Rejected by the Ministry, and Re-Certified by the Church as True after Whiting out the Principal\u2019s Signature<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">As the records show the Principal typically takes as many as 10 days a month as Casual Leave as shown in the fingerprint reader for Jan. 2021 in my possession. The time-machine based finger-print reader report for Jan.-Dec. 2021 reproduced here shows (vide row 13) that the Principal took 80 days\u2019 casual leave and a further 10 days\u2019 duty leave in 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">From these 80 days, take off 21 days of permitted casual leave, and we have almost 60 days of excess leave or unpermitted leave. At 20 working days a month, this is about 3 months of absenteeism from school. That is, Thuseetharan worked only 9 months out of 12. Any other teacher taking excess leave would have had his salary docked for this but not Thuseetharan as covered up by the Bishop Dushantha Rodrigo\u2019s<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>agent Sam Ponniah.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_232368\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-232368\" class=\"size-full wp-image-232368\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Finger-print-Based-Time-machine-Leave-Report-of-80-days-Casual-Leave-for-Principal-Jaffana-issue.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"616\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Finger-print-Based-Time-machine-Leave-Report-of-80-days-Casual-Leave-for-Principal-Jaffana-issue.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Finger-print-Based-Time-machine-Leave-Report-of-80-days-Casual-Leave-for-Principal-Jaffana-issue-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Finger-print-Based-Time-machine-Leave-Report-of-80-days-Casual-Leave-for-Principal-Jaffana-issue-768x526.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-232368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Finger-print Based Time-machine Leave Report of 80 days Casual Leave for Principal: See Row 13. After the adverse comments from the Ministry, Thuseetharan has ordered the finger-print machine to be reprogrammed, exempting him from attendance records. This reprogramming was done in April 2023.<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">While I do not have details for 2022, copied here is the Casual Leave claim of 7 days signed by the Principal for the year 2021 sent to the Ministry.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_232367\" style=\"width: 910px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-232367\" class=\"wp-image-232367 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Casual-Leave-Claim-for-2021-Self-Certified-by-Principal-Thuseetharan.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"686\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Casual-Leave-Claim-for-2021-Self-Certified-by-Principal-Thuseetharan.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Casual-Leave-Claim-for-2021-Self-Certified-by-Principal-Thuseetharan-300x229.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Casual-Leave-Claim-for-2021-Self-Certified-by-Principal-Thuseetharan-768x585.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-232367\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Casual Leave Claim for 2021 Self-Certified by Principal Thuseetharan<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">Therefore out of his annual salary of at least Rs. 350,000 (not counting his electricity bill), through 3 months of false claims of leave, his annual earnings amount to Rs. 350,000\/9&#215;12 = <b>Rs. 466,666<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">An intelligent Principal would not have challenged my claim of nearly Rs. 4 lakhs and this expose would have been avoided sparing the Principal, the school, the Bishop, the Church and the CMS of this public disgrace through their outrageous cheating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Conclusions<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Principal of St. John\u2019s is a disgrace to the school, detracting from the original intention of the school being a Christian witness in keeping the school private. What values will SJC students learn when the Principal cheats and mistreats children over disagreements with a teacher? And when the Church certified the Principal\u2019s false claims?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In truth, the school is a disgrace to Christianity itself as the Principal has dragged the Bishop\u2019s Agent, Archdeacon Sam Ponniah, into false certifications to the Ministry of his attendance record \u2013 effective embezzlement. The CMS (and the Bishop) are further sullied by bullying Christie using the Gestapo Police instead of investigating the many credible allegations he has made against Principal Thuseetharan \u2013 these include the use to this day of corporal punishment at SJC in violation of statutes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I believe that the Anglican Church is a club and not a service-based ministry. If we cooperate with and aid those who run the Church in all the illegal decisions of the Church, we too will be admitted to the club and rewarded with gifts, offices and huge sinecures. Should we be Christian witnesses or look after our own interests by sucking up to authorities? That is the question for Anglicans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I am told that Bishop Dushantha Rodrigo has become a little more Christian, and is taking back <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/andrew-sujeevan-anglican-johnian-punished-by-a-corrupt-theocratic-church\/\"><span class=\"s1\">Andrew Sujeevan<\/span><\/a><\/span> whose experiences I detailed. Will the CMS and St. John\u2019s follow their Bishop at least in this with Christie and his son and Fr. Daniel?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Would the Church follow the Rajapaksas in not using honourary degrees as if they are earned degrees? After that the Bishop can attack them for misgovernance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Or will I also receive a visit from the Gestapo and CMS lawyers from the Bishop and Thanja Aunty?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":207558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-232366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Scamming The Gestapo Church, Or Being Sound Christian Witness - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/scamming-the-gestapo-church-or-being-sound-christian-witness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scamming The Gestapo Church, Or Being Sound Christian Witness - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/scamming-the-gestapo-church-or-being-sound-christian-witness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-28T19:05:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-13T13:43:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/L-toR-Sam-Ponniah-Bishop-Kithsiri-Fernando-Vethanayakam-Silva-Benniya-Thuseetharan-Bishop-Dhilo-Canagasabey-CMS-SL-Chairman-Thanja-Peiris-and-Chaplain-Jurinesz-Shadrach-.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"S. 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