Colombo: A glossy 100-page brochure of MRIA (Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport), which was distributed among the distinguished guests including diplomats heading overseas missions in Sri Lanka, at the launch of the Mattala Airport last month, comprised numerous embarrassing linguistic and grammatical errors.
According to reliable sources, the matter has been brought to the attention of the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, to institute relevant action against the editorial staff and those responsible for the ludicrous English.
The staff are reportedly attached to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, under whose guidance around 10,000 copies of the brochure had been circulated.
Below is the list of faux pas extracted from e-mails doing the rounds…
"Today the era which is following to speedy development? In the meantime existed the insurgency of the year 2005, His Excellency the President did not putting the development to backside and carried to forward the development works."
"We are salute to the Minister of civil Aviation Hon. Priyankara Jayaratna of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, which sponsored of pioneer leadership to Independent Media Association of Sri Lanka, to publish this commemorating educational book with this magnificent message of carrying amongst to the world from Sri Lanka. We are doing offer, honour of our association to which sponsored for International Aviation Institutes and all other Institutes about the success of this magnificent duty."
"It is happening in the name of S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake former Prime Minister, which generated Sri Lanka Freedom Party and in the name of him borned the first International Air Port in SriLanka and with the becoming of second Airport from even today, which providing the leadership to the party His Excellency The President Mahinda Rajapaksa."
SriLankan Airlines, one of the major stakeholders, claimed it had little to do with the publication of the brochure, even though it had contributed a message to it.
The distribution of the gaffe-ridden brochure had been swiftly suspended during the glamourous proceedings, and guests were subsequently issued with 'alternative' literature when the errors were detected by a perceptive official.
Reportedly in the UK, the head of the Sri Lankan mission, Dr. Chris Nonis, refrained from distributing the offending copies among the guests who attended the Ambassadors Panel of the Global Economic Forum 2013.
Repeated attempts by Ceylon Today to contact AASSL Chairman, Prasanna Wickramasuriya, proved futile.
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