Daniel Alphonsus

A crisis manifesto: exorcising debt, hunger and unemployment. Summary 🧵 drive.google.com/file/d/1xJHG9j… 1/14

From Rev. A W Jebanesan who conducted DBS Jeyaraj’s funeral: Today I had the privilege of speaking at the funeral of DBS Jeyaraj [David Buell Sabapathy Jeyaraj] - journalist, storyteller of a nation's pain, and for many of us in the Tamil diaspora, a moral compass. I want to be honest. He was not a regular churchgoer. But I have known many regular churchgoers who made no impact on the world around them. They attended every service. They followed every religious rule. They were seen in all the right places. And yet - when they were gone, the world continued exactly as it was. Nothing changed. No one was challenged. No truth was spoken that cost them anything. And then there are others. People who may not sit in a church pew every Sunday - but who carry something far more costly. Something that Jesus called a cross. DBS Jeyaraj carried that cross. He wrote about things that powerful people did not want written. He named what others were too afraid to name - not only injustice from outside his community, but wrongs committed within it. That kind of honesty does not make you popular. It makes you a target. And he knew that. He paid for it in ways that many of us will never fully understand. And still - he kept writing. His last article was published on April 1st, 2026. He died on May 17th. He came from a Methodist family. His grandfather was Arlvarpillai - a Tamil pandit. His mother's brother was Rev. M. A. Ratnarajah, a Methodist minister. Faith was woven into his roots - even if his life's work was not in a pulpit but at a desk. And I was told that his favourite psalm was Psalm 23. That did not surprise me at all. Because there is one line in that psalm that I believe he understood better than most - "𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐧𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞." David did not write that line from a place of comfort. He wrote it from experience - from real danger, real loss, real darkness. And a man who spent decades writing truth in the shadow of intimidation, who lived in exile and kept going anyway - that man knew something about dark valleys. He did not stop walking. He did not put down his pen. He walked through - and he kept writing. I read his articles when I lived in Sri Lanka. I followed his website from Canada. He shaped how many of us understood our own history and our own community. That is not a small thing. There are people who are religious all their lives and leave no mark. And there are people who live for truth - at great cost — and leave the world a little more honest than they found it. DBS Jeyaraj was the second kind. May he rest in the presence of the Shepherd he trusted. "𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫." - Psalm 23

According to the NCPA submissions the victim’s mother took money from Hemarathana on the same day she dropped her to the monk. The monk paid her 100,000 rupees according to the mother’s statement. She had said, “Puthe, I am taking this money because of our poverty.” examiner.media/police-delayed…

As a monk, Hemarathna is also subject to monastic discipline. According to the vinaya sexual intercourse is one of four grounds for the involuntary de-robbing of a monk. examiner.media/police-delayed…

On earlier court dates, no separate legal counsel appeared on behalf of the child — this led to outrage on social media. But today, about 50 lawyers were seen at the court, offering to take on the case. Asith Siriwardena and six other lawyers are now appearing on behalf of the child. examiner.media/police-delayed…

Issue #34: NCPA alleges police delayed arresting top monk accused of child rape 🧵

Just out: Pallegama Hemarathana, the chief prelate of Anuradhapura's eight sacred Buddhist sites suspected of raping a 14-year-old girl, received bail from the Anuradhapura Magistrate's Court today. Our Headline investigation will be out in a few hours.

This is my attempt to present a rational argument as to why the government should not continue with fuel subsidies. It is NOT the fault of @CBSL that the LKR is weakening - they are acting as per their mandate; distorting energy prices — particularly fuel, but also electricity through differentiated tariffs across user categories — undermines the market’s ability to curtail demand and allocate resources efficiently. Thank you Jamila Husain and @Dailymirror_SL for giving my piece front-page coverage. Link below.

The naming of the commemorative event has become a site of this contestation. Mahinda’s Vijayagrahanaya (ultimate victory) became Yahapalanaya’s National War Heroes Day. Then when the junior Rajapaksa, Gotabaya, came to power, it relapsed to Vijayagrahanaya. examiner.media/the-south-stil…

In 2024 a Chinese public security ministry delegation assisted the CID for a month to target cyber crime in Sri Lanka. They conducted joint investigations. examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

In March this year, the Chinese deputy minister of immigration met with the police to discuss “activities that threaten public security, including organized crime, human trafficking, and cybercrime.” examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

The large number of Indians arrested also suggests that Indians may be a major target. “You get Indians when you want to scam Indians.” examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

Chinese-run scam operations in Sri Lanka are not new. As far back as 2012, the police arrested at least 13 Chinese scam lords. examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

The police spokesman said there was “no trafficking” element in the recent Sri Lankan raids. However at least 13 Chinese nationals were tricked into coming to Sri Lanka on the pretext of high-paying jobs. They were subject to corporal punishment if they tried to escape. examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

Real estate agents are noticing shifts in recent months. Previously, demand for suspicious rentals was limited largely to Colombo. But this year, an agent confirmed that requests for spaces outside Colombo are increasing. examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

Gambling, investment, and e-commerce scams are common. Lately, the most popular scam has been pig butchering, where scammers fake romances with victims. The black money is finally moved and laundered through cryptocurrency. examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

Real estate agents got more queries from Chinese scam operations in the last year and a half. They said entire buildings in Colombo have been rented out, with one floor operating as a canteen, another as accommodation, and a third for operations. examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

Issue #33: Scam centre arrests double, China shares intelligence 🧵

There is likely local support for the scam operations. Local companies appear to be arranging extended business visas through sponsorship. A real estate agent said Chinese renters' visas say they are attached to local BPO companies. examiner.media/scam-centre-ar…

The government isn’t sure how much the railways’ assets are worth. The Treasury’s records indicate railway assets are worth 907 billion rupees, while the railways reported its assets at 495 billion rupees. examiner.media/why-can-sri-la…

“ Industry analysts expect the fee waiver – worth US $50 per person – to lift demand by 15-20 percent this winter, helped by the addition of Lufthansa’s new thrice-weekly Munich–Colombo service and Condor’s planned capacity increase from Frankfurt. Tour operators said they would pass the saving straight on to clients” visahq.com/news/2026-05-0…