Tuesday, 1 October 2013 01:15
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The 48th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka Chamber of Small and Medium Industries was held on 26 September 2013 at the chamber office. A large number of its members were present at the AGM and a remarkable feature was the attendance of two of its founder members and past presidents, Granville Perera (1972-1973) and Pathmasiri Dias (1978-1985) who headed the chamber then known as ‘All Ceylon Industries Association and Sri Lanka Chamber of Small Industry’. They were presented with mementos in appreciation of their invaluable services to the chamber by the outgoing President Aloy Jayawardene.
A former Vice President of the Chamber and Former President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Sri Lanka, Deshabandu Macky Hashim was guest speaker. Aloy Jayawardene, a founder member who held the post of President for nearly 18 years on three different occasions, stepped down from the post and Mohideen Cader, Vice-President since year 2008/2009 was unanimously elected President.
Macky Hashim in his address said that the presence of three founder presidents at the AGM is itself of great significance for a chamber of this nature. He elaborated on the great milestones the Chamber has achieved during its 50 years of existence and the able guidance given by Aloy Jayawardene who has spent almost half of his lifetime as a member and half of his industrial career as president of the chamber.
Obtaining scholarships for technical training abroad, ADB grants, international exhibitions and international trade delegations were some of the “firsts” that the chamber had done before any chamber had done in this country. He commended the professionalism and expertise with which the past presidents carried out their duties in leading the chamber during good and bad times of the past.
Speaking about Aloy Jayawardene, Hashim said that Jayawardene leaves behind a historic landmark for himself and the chamber with the monument of the brass cast Buddha statue erected at the Viharamahadevi Park. The credit to the chamber is for the training that Jayawardene got in Japan under the scholarships the chamber got.
Hashim wished Jayawardene many years of good health as the Chamber of Small and Medium Industries is a “part of his life”, he said.
He suggested that it is fitting to name Aloy Jayawardene as “President Emeritus” of the chamber in appreciation and gratitude of the yeoman service rendered by him. This was later proposed by Kumara Semage, a past president of the chamber and approved unanimously by the members present.
Macky Hashim also congratulated and wished the new President, Mohideen Cader all success in his new office and assured him of his whole hearted support and cooperation to the newly elected executive council in carrying out some their major tasks ahead.
Mohideen Cader, the newly elected President thanked the outgoing president, Aloy Jayawardene for his services to the chamber and for the excellent standards that the chamber has maintained in the past. He also thanked the members present for electing him to the new responsible position and solicited the support and co-operation of all to do his best. He stated “I cannot change the direction of the wind, but will always adjust my sails to reach our destination”.
