Set up Wilmot Perkins Fund to help Carimac student

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Dear Editor,

As I watched the late news on CVM TV on February 10 and heard the tributes from Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, former Prime Minister PJ Patterson and former Speaker of the House and Minister Delroy Chuck, I wondered why Wilmot Perkins was not given a national award on Heroes Day on October 17, 2011, when he could have appreciated it.

Are they now considering a posthumous award? "Give me flowers while I am alive, not when I am dead," some say.

Mr Perkins has been the most fearless modern-day journalist in Jamaica. He was not afraid to challenge the status quo, and he took on Government, Opposition, institutions, individuals and business. He was the people's advocate.

I remember speaking to him on Perkins on Line mid-2011 when a vital tool of trade was detained by Jamaica Customs and the Ministry of National Security refused to grant a permit to clear the item through Customs. I told him that it was needed to check bodies for items of an explosive nature, for example, a pacemaker and other metallic objects like bullets. He inquired if people were walking around with explosive devices in their bodies. I told him that a pacemaker could explode during cremation as it contained plutonium, and cremation was done at a very high temperature so if the device was not removed before, it could explode and cause serious injury to the operator and damage to the crematorium.

Mr Perkins was my mentor. When I called his programme and gave my name, I would be put to the producer who would allow me to speak to Mr Perkins as soon as a line became available. If this was not possible they would take my number and call me back, to my delight.

The late Morris Cargill, John Hearne, Professor Carl Stone (Petra) and Wilmot Perkins (the unmuzzled ox) were often accused of bringing down the Michael Manley PNP government of the 1970s through their columns in the Gleaner. What a fearless quartet!

Mr Perkins was a litigant in several libel cases which he successfully defended. We shall surely miss him for his singing and his quotes.

I would suggest that an offering be taken at his funeral service to establish the Wilmot "Motty" Perkins Fund to send a needy student to Carimac.

I wish to say to Mr Perkins' widow Elaine, his grandchildren and the management and staff of Power 106, to take consolation in the fact that Mr Perkins changed the shape of Jamaica through his writings as a columnist and as a talk show host. He will be sorely missed. I believe the Hallelujah Chorus should be sung at his memorial service. May his soul rest in peace and light perpetual shine upon him.

Joseph M Cornwall Snr

tranquillityfh@yahoo.com