This is with reference to a news item on "Using mobile phone in the parliament" in "Divaina" newspaper of 23/02/2008.

That contained an exchange among the speaker, and a couple of MPs. A ruling party MP accused an Opposition counterpart of using the mobile phone in the House against the parliamentary rules and regulations. What made me write this was the solution spelt out by the speaker for the problem and I have no intention of criticising any of the acts of the MPs involved.

It seems that already there is an equipment to block the mobile phone signals in the house and speaker wants to install three more devices. What a waste of funds!

In a House of only 225, are such measures needed to make MPs comply with a simple rule and refrain from using their mobile phones while sessions are on?

Sri Lankans need a huge attitudinal change and improvement in discipline, if we are to achieve development.

In Japan, the use of mobile phones is prohibited inside public vehicles and millions of people use public transportation daily.

If someone could find ten people flouting this law, it would be a miracle. There are over 100 million mobile phone users in Japan. Not a single electronic device is used to block signals! The Japanese obey their laws.

That is the secret of Japan’s development.

This mobile phone issue may look simple, but we always neglect such simple things and it is already late for us to get simple things right.

Let us all try to obey laws, rules and regulations willingly, so that we can save a lot of our energy and resources otherwise wasted on finding and punishing culprits, such as MPs using mobile phones in Parliament.

In my opinion, we should initiate this change of attitude through our education and our children should be taught that most of the things done by most of their adults are wrong.

If we can make our young ones do the right thing, maybe we can cultivate the correct attitude in about 20-30 years time from now.