Hello! My name is Jayantha (Jay) Wickramatunga, and I am currently a Director of Radio 4EB. I had the privilege to be the Convener, Secretary and Deputy Convener of the Sri Lankan Group successively in the past. Also, I have functioned as a live Presenter and a Panel Operator of the Group and am now taking a break from programming.
I am involved in two radio programs: One of them is called Arunella on FM 98.1. It goes on air on Sunday from 9 am to 10 am, and the other one is Sandella which goes on-air from 9 pm to 10 pm. Arunella is a structured program and Sandella is a light entertainment program.
I got involved at Radio 4EB back in 2000, when Dr Jay Bandaralage (Deputy Convener) who I met at the Sri Lankan Temple at Forest Lake invited me to join the radio 4EB as a member. I was then invited by Aravinda Rubasinghe (Ex SL Group convener who sadly passed away a few years ago) to present the first guest program in June 2000. Since then, I was involved in every bit of 4EB. It is fun, meeting people of different ethnicities from all walks of life. I feel like I am working for United Nations in Brisbane.
The best piece of advice I’ve been given is think before you speak.
When I was a child, I wanted to be an engineer.
I’m excited to share with all the 4EB community that I am currently the President of the Queensland Chapter of the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka. I am really excited about the upcoming social night in May which I am organising with the rest of my colleagues. It is the first-time engineers from Sri Lankan origin living in Queensland will come meet at one place to have fun with their families and with engineers form other communities.
My favourite book is The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama.
If I had a free ticket to go anywhere in the world, I would go to Sweden to meet ABBA members Agnetha Faltlskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
Someone who made a big impact in my life is my father, who was my role model. He shaped my life with morals to lead on principles with honesty and integrity.
If you give, you get more to give more is my personal philosophy.
What’s one thing I couldn’t live without? I don’t think I am able to live without visiting my relatives and school/Uni mates in Sri Lanka every year. It is somewhat like topping up the fuel in the car every so often until you reach the destination. You can take a person out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of a person – they say.
While I’m writing this, I’m listening to Sri Lankan music.