Hon. M.A.M. Thahir, M.P.

All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC)· Digamadulla

Profession: Businessman

Roster profile ↗

Speeches 58 #85 of 225·#1 in party

Attendance 3/8 days present (of recorded)

Speech history

58 speeches

24 July 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir supported education reform while cautioning that it should not focus only on credentials, but should produce disciplined, culturally grounded students with proficiency in all three languages. He argued that curricula should be better aligned with local and overseas job-market needs. He also called for reforms affecting teachers, including merit-based recruitment, stronger training, better pay and improved working conditions to enhance teaching quality and student outcomes. Adjournment Debate: Proposed Educational Reforms (continued) EducationEmployment Read →
20 June 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir supported the objectives of the Stamp Duty Order and import/export regulations but questioned whether increased stamp duty revenue would be sufficient for local authorities to progressively bear staff salary costs, and urged that other revenue streams be restored to local bodies. He criticized the Government’s conduct in forming local authority administrations and argued that public confidence, particularly among Muslims, had declined despite earlier support for the NPP. He also condemned Israel’s actions against Iran, recalled Iran’s assistance to Sri Lanka, and urged the Government to express support for Iran and pay greater attention to issues affecting the Muslim community, including representation and past arrests under the PTA. Debate: Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act Order and Imports and Exports (Control) Act Regulations Foreign AffairsEthnic Reconciliation & DevolutionPublic Finance Read →
12 March 2025 AI summary M.A.M. Thahir raised concerns that Muslims had been excluded from senior public service positions and economically harmed, including through attacks on traders’ shops and past government policies. He urged the Minister to prevent further injustice, specifically citing the need to rehabilitate bunds and tanks to protect agriculture, and called for proper development of the area. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Ethnic Reconciliation & DevolutionAgricultureCorruption & Governance Reform Read →
12 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir urged the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to prioritize irrigation development and rehabilitation in the Ampara District, noting its major contribution to national paddy production through the Gal Oya scheme and Senanayake Samudraya. He called for deepening and upgrading Senanayake Samudraya, speedy technical assessments for flood-damaged bunds, canals and roads, rehabilitation of minor tanks, and implementation of the long-delayed Clan Oya project to expand cultivation and address drinking water shortages in Pottuvil. He also requested urgent action to fill vacancies in Tamil-language Agrarian Service Centres and Agricultural Research and Production Assistant posts, arguing that inadequate staffing hampers farmer support and national food production. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage: Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation AgricultureInfrastructure Read →
11 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir supported the Government’s digital economy initiatives but argued that they must begin with school and university-level reforms, including stronger language, computer, and IT training, expanded technology intakes, and training for graduates to access foreign employment. He urged wider implementation of digital payment systems such as GovPay, including in the private sector, and cited countries such as India, Singapore and Malaysia as examples of revenue generation through digital services. He also raised concerns about teacher transfers, shortages, poor school infrastructure in Ampara and Pottuvil, and the financial burden on parents, calling for increased education funding and better transfer policies. He concluded by urging the Government, given its electoral mandate, to focus on economic development and anti-corruption reforms rather than actions perceived as politically motivated. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Committee Stage Debate (Heads 186, 196, 227) EducationPublic FinanceEmployment Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir called for the withdrawal or revision of a previous statement, arguing that it was inaccurate or inappropriate. He began to raise an issue concerning the establishment of university colleges in six provinces, specifically referring to the situation in the Eastern Province. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Seventeenth Allotted Day – Committee Stage Education Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir urged Hon. Archchuna, as an elected representative, to work cooperatively with all communities in the country. The remarks were framed as a closing appeal emphasizing inclusive public service. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Seventeenth Allotted Day – Committee Stage Ethnic Reconciliation & Devolution Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir requested an additional two minutes to continue his remarks during the debate. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Seventeenth Allotted Day – Committee Stage Parliamentary Procedure Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir highlighted inadequate school infrastructure, including shortages of desks and chairs, poor toilet facilities affecting girls, and the lack of night watchmen and sanitation workers. He requested direct Government funding for these needs instead of indirect contributions from parents, and called for hygiene and female-friendly toilets to be prioritized in future school plans. He also raised concerns about Tamil and Muslim HNDE English teachers posted to Sinhala areas in Ampara District, urging resolution of language and transport difficulties and action on English teacher vacancies in Akkaraipattu and Sammanthurai. He further requested graduate appointments and internal placement policies for long-waiting graduates and teachers, and briefly responded to remarks by Hon. Dr. Archchuna concerning Islamic religious matters. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Seventeenth Allotted Day – Committee Stage EducationReligion & CultureEmployment Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir welcomed the Government’s Rs. 6,000 support for students but argued that weaknesses in teacher transfers, long commutes, and reduced teacher engagement are undermining free education and driving students toward private tuition, including for the Grade 5 scholarship. He questioned why the 2025 education allocation for Ampara District had reportedly been reduced to about half of the 2024 allocation. He urged the Education Ministry to develop a proper national plan for preschool education with qualified teachers and adequate facilities, and also highlighted shortages of school buildings, furniture, and other infrastructure affecting students. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Seventeenth Allotted Day – Committee Stage Public FinanceInfrastructureEducation Read →
6 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir raised health service shortages in Ampara and other districts, citing vacancies in doctors, nurses, support staff, ambulance drivers, pharmacists, a surgeon, a radiographer, and an accountant, as well as shortages of medicines. He requested completion of stalled hospital projects at Sammanthurai and Pottuvil, new facilities and dialysis services at Thirukkovil, PMC branches in poor villages, an Osusala outlet, a Phaco machine for Sammanthurai, and recruitment of Indigenous Medicine graduates. He also urged the Ministry to address health-sector salaries and warned that shortages in public hospitals were increasing reliance on private pharmacies. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage: Ministry of Health and Mass Media Healthcare Read →
5 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir raised concerns that recent actions in Kalmunai, reportedly citing “Islamic extremists,” risk stigmatizing the wider Muslim community, while affirming the community’s cooperation against threats to national sovereignty. He questioned funding for sustaining the former “Saubhagya” production villages, sought clarification on savings of Samurdhi beneficiaries excluded from Aswesuma, and requested Divisional Secretariat-based selection mechanisms for fairness. He urged greater development of fisheries, including dredging and operationalizing Oluvil Harbour, establishing an ice factory in Sainthamaruthu or Kalmunai, restoring the deep-sea telecom tower, and acting on the Danish geotechnical study. He also requested increased allocations for inland fisheries development in tanks across Akkaraipattu, Nintavur, Pottuvil, and Irakkamam. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Committee Stage Continued: Heads 124, 151, 331 InfrastructureCost of LivingReligion & Culture Read →
4 March 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir criticized the limited development allocations to Ampara Divisional Secretariats, arguing that Rs. 3.2 million per division is inadequate for meaningful local infrastructure work. He questioned the Government’s commitments on reducing prices and ensuring clean governance, citing an alleged unpaid political meeting at the Nintavur Pradeshiya Sabha auditorium and asking for an explanation. He urged the Government to hold Provincial Council elections, protect powers under the 13th Amendment, continue the “Urumaya” title deed programme, increase local and Eastern Province funding, and seek a united, consultative solution to the Kalmunai North/South issue rather than politically driven division. Appropriation Bill 2025 — Twelfth Allotted Day — Committee Stage Public FinanceEthnic Reconciliation & DevolutionCorruption & Governance Reform Read →
20 February 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir supported the 2025 Budget’s increased allocations for some regions but asked whether it includes specific funding for Eastern Province priorities in agriculture, fisheries, water, transport, health, education, and tourism. He called for better use of Senanayake Samudraya water, rehabilitation of the Oluvil fisheries harbour and coastal erosion measures, release of lands held by state agencies and security forces, implementation of the Heda Oya drinking water project, and revival of freshwater fisheries through tank cleaning and fingerling supply. He also requested road and bridge repairs in Ampara District, improvements to hospitals and older school buildings, establishment of Medicine and Agriculture Faculties at South Eastern University, and improved tourism connectivity including a Batticaloa-Arugam Bay rail extension and SLTB bus links. Budget Bill 2025 - Second Reading Debate InfrastructureHealthcareAgriculture Read →
23 January 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir requested that restrictions on imported items be implemented in a way that does not unfairly affect lawful traders. He urged the authorities to take appropriate measures to protect legitimate business activity while applying import controls. Debate: Regulations under Imports and Exports (Control) Act and Related Economic Measures Public Finance Read →
23 January 2025 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir, speaking during the debate on regulations under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, said flood-related releases from Senanayake Samudraya had damaged more than 25 percent of paddy cultivation in Ampara District, which supplies a significant share of national rice, and warned this could increase the need for rice imports. He requested coordinated planning by the Government Agent and Irrigation Engineers to maintain protective bunds and manage reservoir levels proactively, along with relief for affected farmers. He also called for a fair inquiry into the transfer of senior nursing officer Umar Ali from Nintavur Base Hospital, and urged that any restrictions on imported vehicle beautification items be implemented without unfairly harming legitimate traders. Debate: Regulations under Imports and Exports (Control) Act and Related Economic Measures Public FinanceAgricultureHealthcare Read →
4 December 2024 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir described repeated flood damage in the Ampara District, noting that rehabilitation work worth about Rs. 300 million following the 2023 opening of the Senanayake Samudra floodgates had been damaged again by recent floods. He requested government attention to restore irrigation and agricultural infrastructure, warning that only about one month of irrigation water remained before harvest. He also thanked community organizations involved in rescue and recovery efforts in Mavadippalli, Karaitivu, Sainthamaruthu and Kalmunai, and called for relief for residents of Navithanveli, which he said had been entirely submerged and left people unable to work. Adjournment Motion: Compensation for Damaged Crops and Victims of Adverse Weather (Cyclone Fengal) EnvironmentAgriculture Read →
3 December 2024 AI summary Hon. M.A.M. Thahir thanked his party and constituents in Digamadulla and then focused on the deaths of eight people, including six students from Kashiful Uloom Arabic College, during floods at Mavadippalli on 26 November. He questioned the preparedness and response of officials despite prior weather warnings, noted delays in Navy rescue efforts, and called for accountability beyond the college staff currently in custody. He urged the Government to compensate the victims’ families and prioritize rehabilitation of the Mavadippalli and Kittangip bridges, citing repeated loss of life and transport risks. He also asked that Islamic religious affairs be considered in national programmes, that deserving people excluded from the Aswesuma welfare scheme be included, and that politicized police OIC appointments be addressed as part of restoring civil administration. Debate: President's Policy Statement (Continuation with Maiden Speeches and Responses) InfrastructureLaw & OrderJustice & Human Rights Read →