Multi-faceted personality with variety of interests
Source:Island
Hundredth birth anniversary of A.R.P. Wijeyesekera
We commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of our father Arananda Rajamini Piyasena Wijeyesekera on 22nd November.
He grew up among eight siblings along with seven elephants including the ‘Maligawa Tusker’. They also owned a rubber plantation. It was a hard time for the family during the depression. Rubber prices plummeted. The dairy helped them to survive.
ARPs’ secondary education was at Royal College. After leaving school, he enrolled to the Auxiliary Fire Service. One day he was late to work only to find that his office building had been wiped out by a bomb!!.
Thereafter he worked in a number of private and government institutions. Among them were the Ceylon Government Railway, Unilever, Lanka Sugar Corporation, State Hardware, and Richard Peiris Co Ltd
Hestarted his acreer as an engineer, but his interests widened to many other areas during his career. His engineering training began at the CGR workshops at Ratmalana. He spent time in England while studying for his IMechE exams and further training.. He was also trained on diesel electric locomotives in Canada. The Queen visited Ceylon during the time. He was proud to say that he was in charge of the train in which her Majesty the Queen travelled to Kandy.
ARP had several stints at the CTB. He first worked as the Chief Engineer. During his tenure the transport sector was nationalised. He had to take over the depots and a fleet of buses.
In 1968 he was appointed as Chairman CTB. He standardised the fleet with Fiat, Ashok Leyland and Tata Benz. They were used in the up country region. This minimised spare parts. He wanted centralised control.
To us his role as Chairman of the CTB was interesting. Not only did we get to travel with him around Sri Lanka but we also received an insight on the influence of politicians on those holding senior posts in the government service. Our father refused to yield to the dicates of the politicians and resigned from the Chairmanship within a short period after assuming the particular office a second time
He tried his hands at entrepreneurship. He started Tractors and Road Ways Pvt Ltd.. He had pride in Walauwewatte Industries, He nutured the family coconut property, Walahena Estate. He started a dairy on this property. Then as an out grower he tried his hand growing foliage plants.
Our father also shared his wide experience on a number of Professional bodies . He was elected the President of the Institution of Engineers of Sri Lanka in 1980. He organised a course at the Institution of Engineers for students to obtain a professional degree. The lecturers were from the faculty of Engineering at the Katubede and Peradeniya Universities an, professionals. He wrote to the then Prime Minister R.Premadasa and he got the Thais down for weather modification. There was also a seminar on this subject at the Institute of Engineers.
President of the Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Chairman of the National Chamber of Industries were two other professional bodies he headed.
He was staunch UNPer and was the joint secretary of the committee responsible for the first draft of the 1977 UNP manifesto. This report included a section on the protection of local Industries.
His interest in the protection of local industry was also reflected in his work as a Member of the Board of Directors at IDB. He was also appointed as a member of the Presidential Commission of Tariffs.
He was a man of many parts as a golfer, filmed with a 8mm cine camera and a still camera. He was a keen wild life enthusiast. He was a fine cricketer and an ardent radio enthusiast.
Our father was a journalist par excellence. He wrote in a number of magazines and newspapers. Study of the archives of media Institutions could unearth many a treasure.
He was always fearless and intelligent. He simplified the complicated. He believed to work across disciplines.
His motto was ‘Do not ask what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.’
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