Hon. S. M. Marikkar

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I support the motion by Hon. Mujibur Rahman. Dehiwala–Ratmalana–Moratuwa has over 35,000 Muslims. Every child has the right to be educated in their preferred language and receive religious education in line with the national syllabus. For years, Meelad has lacked facilities. The government must resolve this—but without giving oxygen to those trying to create Sinhala–Muslim or Sinhala–Tamil tensions.

¶ 02 As Hon. Samanmali said, two municipal councillors from the Pohottuwa party are trying to exploit this. Do not give them space. Ensure children’s rights and provide facilities. Making S. D. S. Jayasinghe Vidyalaya a National School is timely; make it tri-lingual to bring Sinhala and Tamil children together. Meanwhile, because elections are near, agitation may rise. Therefore, use unutilized government buildings or land in the area to provide immediate relief and secure these children’s rights. Thank you.