The Hon. Mujibur Rahuman

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity during the Committee Stage debate on the President’s Office and several other institutions.

¶ 02 Today we saw Government Ministers, the Chief Government Whip, the Leader of the House, the Prime Minister and others presenting various lists. Ninety-nine per cent of those relate to irregular and unnecessary expenditures during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure.

¶ 03 Those very leaders who now shout about Rajapaksa-era waste committed a great political wrong in 2005. I was in the anti-Rajapaksa camp then, working to defeat him. Today those who now decry waste were then on the stage saying “Mahinda is the man.” You took the wrong decision then; now you are reading your own verdict. You knew the Rajapaksas were corrupt but brought them to power. “Helping Hambantota” emerged when Mahinda was Prime Minister.

¶ 04 (Interjections by Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe)

¶ 05 Hon. Minister, let me speak. You say you made sacrifices. True, you struggled to gain power; now you enjoy the fruits – well-dressed and well-groomed. Those who truly sacrificed were in 1971 and 1988–89 for a Leninist-style revolution – but the Government you have formed is not that; it is like what we in the SJB advocate.

¶ 06 (Interjection: “Then why oppose?”)

¶ 07 We are not opposed to good actions; we oppose hypocrisy. Say openly you have left Marx, Lenin and Engels; then the issue ends, and I will even join you. But you still carry Lenin’s photo and chant “sacrifice.” Today all of you are living well – good for you. We too are struggling in the Opposition since 2019, and will continue until the next election. People gave you 159 seats to govern, and sent us to the Opposition to point out your mistakes. Accept criticism when it is right. Do not glare at us when we speak of Rajapaksa thefts; you brought them to power. In 2005, had you contested separately, Mahinda, who won by 180,000 votes, would have lost. Then we would not be talking about the Rajapaksa family today. Post-2005 came corruption, family rule, and the underworld. We opposed “Helping Hambantota” in the Supreme Court through Hon. Kabir Hashim; you knew of it and still made him President.

¶ 08 Under this Budget, look at the President’s Head. There are 94 institutions under him, receiving 27 per cent – nearly a third – of the Budget. Even J.R. Jayewardene, who created the Executive Presidency, kept only Defence and even appointed a Deputy. He did not keep so many institutions. From JR onwards, every President – including Anura Kumara Dissanayake – now holds a vast array. Is this system change? You say system change is cutting expenditure – fine – but it is more than that. You promised transparency in State administration and merit-based appointments, de-politicized. Has that happened?

¶ 09 The President’s Secretary is a former senior Customs officer – fine – but there were SLAS officers more qualified. The Defence Secretary is a political appointee from your party circles. Many Secretaries are political appointments. The UGC appointments too. The transparency you promised is absent.

¶ 10 Eight ambassadors have been appointed from outside the Foreign Service. Your manifesto said ambassadors would be appointed from the Foreign Service. One appointee even contested from your party in Colombo and lost; he is now appointed Ambassador to Cuba. Is this system change? Reducing waste alone is not what people expected. They expected transparency in governance and appointments.

¶ 11 Before I conclude, a cricket note: our Leader of the House said Michael Holding was the fastest; but Jeff Thomson of Australia was faster. Like Jeff Thomson, you formed the Government in great haste. You promised to bring Arjuna Mahendran back, jail Ranil Wickremesinghe, and many more. In the end you sold us tickets to watch “Sinhabahu” for Rs. 680,000 – and now you show us “Andarela.” When power fails, you say a toad fell on the transformer. One says, do not eat coconuts or your head will become a coconut. The President said pets eating more rice is affecting rice supplies. Will we feed chickens “Tipi Tipi” instead of rice? Remember, today you are empty—