The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake

¶ 01 Yes, to secondary crops in Yala, and moving into the upcoming seasons. The Opposition said we could not even run a small shop. Today, you know how many closed factories have restarted—especially in the North. Hon. Sunil Handunnetti went and restarted a brick factory in Oddusuddan—an area under LTTE control for 30 years. After that, you went and revived another: Elephant Pass. Salt for the whole of Sri Lanka will come from the Elephant Pass factory. Hon. Ravi Karunanayake thinks the Government is going to do all business. No, not like that. But the Government must be a player. If there is no salt, the Government falls. Salt scarcity is worse than a dollar shortage.

¶ 02 Milco had losses of Rs. 1.8 billion when you left. As I see it, by now part of that debt has been repaid. Those are success stories. We have shown results.

¶ 03 On reducing electricity tariffs: the PUCSL has the authority to effect reductions. But tariffs have in fact been reduced. Why hesitate to acknowledge it? That reduction helps industries. Do you think, by spreading falsehoods on social media, people will accept them? You said all we do is talk, and cannot deliver; that the 68 are modern but cannot work. In four months, we have disproven both.

¶ 04 Hon. Presiding Member, look at the young talent visible here. We await them eagerly. With all respect, I do not even know some of our own young MPs’ names yet—I must quickly learn them; they are brilliant. New MPs have come and we have seen them, respectfully dismantling the arguments of so-called great economic masters. Recently, an MP took a phone and told a lie about an “SPIRITUAL leader of the JVP.” Who replied? The youngest woman MP in this House took it on, correctly, under Standing Orders, in order, and very politely.

¶ 05 People say “you get old.” Who are elders? Wisdom comes through experience. To truly be an elder, you must grow. When the root rots, leaves on young trees turn yellow. Some so-called elders are like that; their hair is white from sinus, not wisdom.

¶ 06 Hon. Presiding Member, the time is up? I will conclude briefly.

¶ 07 The Opposition said we lack strong foreign relations or international support. I saw some SJB MPs thanking Hon. Wijitha Berugoda—under the President’s leadership—for steering foreign relations properly. I thank those MPs. You know, recently the President undertook three State visits—to India, China and Dubai. In Dubai, he was the chief invitee at the State leaders’ summit. Our President is not one who manufactures invitations. Even so, he does not travel excessively. Internationally, at a global level, we have sustained very good diplomatic relations—with India, China and all.

¶ 08 On rule of law, I will conclude. You know about the Easter Sunday attacks. Investigations are underway. I do not know details, but I have firm confidence that those conclusively involved, and those who planned them, will be punished. You know the former IGP is now in custody. Within three weeks of our Government assuming office, we received information regarding an Arugam Bay incident as well. The President, very professionally, without panic, studied it thoroughly, convened multiple Security Council meetings, and resolved it smartly—without harming business, without denting tourism, without compromising security, without muddling international politics, and without rousing chauvinism. What would have happened if some others handled it? They would have been beating drums at Hatpola.

¶ 09 We have strengthened the rule of law. Give it a little more time to mature. You tried to make a big issue out of an incident at the Fort Magistrate’s Court. But, as I see, it has been resolved.

¶ 10 Finally, let me say this. Our total investment is USD 5.8 billion. In rupees it is not as clear. This Government is the largest investor this year. Capital expenditure is USD 5 billion. We are starting the Central Expressway. We will build major ports. We are also bringing in private sector investments required for large industries. We are attracting investors from around the world; some have already arrived. Many expect to move forward alongside our Budget.

¶ 11 Therefore, I say, this Budget is, on one hand, a social justice Budget; on the other, we can present it as one that anchors industrialization. Without industrialization, you cannot change social culture. When objective conditions are changed, how do people change? A small example: people do not behave at Pitakotte Bus Station the way they behave at the Makumbura Multimodal Center. At Pitakotte, people are agitated; at Makumbura, the environment itself disciplines people. That is what we call industrialization—it is not merely talking of an investor; it relates to the people’s conduct too. Why do Japanese work on time? Because if not, the factory cannot run. Why are Germans highly time-conscious? If you do not arrive on time, the factory chain cannot function. So punctuality must emerge. When did the minute-hand come into the world? During the period of capitalism, around 1815–1820. The first places to mount clock poles were factories; in our country, they took clocks on poles to estates long ago. Factories demanded time; punctual work is linked to industrialization; discipline too is linked to industrialization.

¶ 12 Respecting roles and jobs is essential. In our country, that is lacking. We respect high-paid people, not low-paid. Why? Because we do not have robust industrialization. In a well-industrialized country, they know how important it is to build solidarity between the person on the factory floor and the person making tea. We see in Germany or Europe that every profession is respected in communication. That is our point. We present this Budget with such a plan.

¶ 13 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member, for allowing me extra time. Once this Budget is passed today, from tomorrow morning we shift to a new gear. We invite the whole country to watch us over the next 3–4 months—how we deliver. We have shown we have the capacity to do this. Even the Parliament staff meet us on the corridor and say, “Sir, keep going; we will take this carefully forward.” We proceed calmly, without panic. We have another 56 months, Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. What will you do now? What is your media strategy? It is to keep saying, “this was not done, that was not done.” We have time to do those things. We will do everything properly, measured. Finally, to the people: we are working, safeguarding the popular mandate you gave us. We end the era of “all talk, no work” and invite even you to step into the new context. Thank you to those who criticized fairly. I conclude.

¶ 14 Thank you very much.