Hon. (Dr.) Hiniduma Sunil Senevi - Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity to briefly respond in this important debate. Ours is the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs. As stated earlier, our Ministry spans a wide field: 9 departments, 7 statutory boards/state institutions, 4 self-financing institutions, and 3 state funds.

¶ 02 Addressing all questions raised would take time, but let me highlight a few. Under Paragraph 36 of the Budget Speech by the Hon. Minister of Finance, a significant allocation was made for a housing project for artists and media professionals. Under the Chinese assistance programme “Shenhebei” at Poththuaruwatta, Kottawa, 1,996 housing units are being built, of which 108 are allocated to artists and media professionals.

¶ 03 We showed this morning how much the arts, culture, and religious sectors uplift our citizens’ lives. This is the Ramadan period. We received 50 metric tonnes of dates from Saudi Arabia as a donation and we distributed them fairly among 2,700 mosques across the country. When I posted about this on Facebook, some commented that in the past such donations were misused. This is how some attempt to tarnish religious harmony.

¶ 04 Recently, I visited the Ratneshwaram Kovil in Ratnapura. We permitted the National Maha Shivaratri festival there. Minister Sundaralingam Pradeep, I, and others went. Do you know that just across the wall from that Hindu Kovil is the Boan Bodhiraja Vihara? They are separated by a single wall. About 100 meters away is the Almakkiya Muslim School. This is the religious and ethnic harmony of our country—we live separated by very thin walls; we are very close. Unfortunately, for decades politicians have exploited these close ties to divide people for political gain. Henceforth, we must make it clear: we will not allow divisions by race, religion, caste, or region. If we truly want national and religious harmony, there is one thing to do: we must all act sincerely. That is why on the 14th I and others went to Kandy, worked hard with the organizing of the Dalada Perahera Exhibition activities, and that same evening rushed back to Colombo to celebrate Iftar with our beloved Muslim community. If we work sincerely and are committed, we can do this.

¶ 05 An Opposition MP said we should get used to abusive language and insults in Parliament. Should we get used to it? No. We must end abuse and cultivate decorum. That is exactly why this Ministry exists and why public funds are allocated to it.

¶ 06 On Hajj, a matter was raised. From our country, 3,500 devotees go to Makkah. This involves commercial aspects. The final recommended fee was Rs. 2.1 million set by the Hajj Committee. We all wanted it reduced so that innocent Muslim devotees could go. I went to the Holy City of Makkah in Saudi Arabia, signed the agreement, and also visited Al-Madinah. People there said I was the only non-Muslim Sri Lankan Minister to visit Al-Madinah. Many Ministers only spent two hours there; I stayed four days, working from 8.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., meeting many organizations and service providers to discuss facilities for our pilgrims. If we want to achieve results, there is one thing to do: work sincerely and hard.

¶ 07 There is much more to say, but let me conclude with this: for 2025, beyond these budget heads, we are identifying more projects, conducting situation analyses and feasibility studies. We hope to establish an International Performing Arts Centre, an Artists’ Academy, a New Renaissance Multicultural Centre network, and an Institute for Spiritual and Philosophical Studies to bring the essence of Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, and Catholic philosophies clearly to society.