The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem.

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Speaker, being called upon to pay tribute to the listed past Members of the House, I would like to begin with one of my former Cabinet Colleagues and a fellow Party Leader in this Parliament, the Hon. (Prof.) Tissa Vitarana. In this House, he gave leadership to the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which was part of the then People’s Alliance as well as its successor coalitions, of which I, too, was a member several times.

¶ 03 The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is one of the oldest parties in Parliament with a pre-Independence history. It had celebrated leaders of the calibre of Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, Dr. N. M. Perera, his own uncle, as well as other members like Mr. Batty Weerakoon and Mr. Bernard Soysa, who also represented Colombo Central several times.

¶ 04 Though the left politics has seen many ups and downs, the Hon. (Prof.) Vitarana remained forthright and committed to the ideals of his party and his anti-imperial attitude in this House would always be remembered. He took that fight even in the Cabinet against many policy decisions which seemed to favour the capitalist class.

¶ 05 I remember his contribution to some of the Committees in Parliament. While I served as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, he was a Member. Then, subsequently, when he served as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, I was a Member and he took his work so seriously and brought a very conscientious approach to all decisions.

¶ 06 More than anything else, I would remember him as someone who stood for devolution of power for minorities. He served as the Chairman of the All Party Representative Committee, which was set up by the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa to resolve the ethnic conflict, and to date, its Report is considered one of the best reports submitted on resolving the ethnic crisis — the “Tissa Vitarana Report”. His contribution to that Committee, to which my party, too, was a party, and several other All Party Conferences and Select Committees in Parliament would be fondly remembered.

¶ 07 Also, being a medical professional and a scientist, his contribution had been unparalleled. He pioneered the establishment of SLINTEC in the nanotechnology sector while he was the Minister of Science and Technology. He also served as Director of the Medical Research Institute, looking into epidemics such as cholera and engaging in serious research.

¶ 08 As far as my community is concerned, he is fondly remembered for the forthright stand he took when our community was traumatized by the policy to cremate all the COVID-19 corpses — janazahs — of Muslims against their religious faith. Though he was part of the then coalition, he openly criticised the Government’s racist policy. I convey my condolences to his family.

¶ 09 The late Hon. Chandradasa Galappaththi entered this House when I did in 1994. Having originally worked in the Gal Oya Project, he moved into politics, became the first Chairman of the Ampara Urban Council and helped the UNP win the Ampara Electorate after decades. He served the Ampara District faithfully, including as Chairman of the Eastern Provincial Council when our party’s member was Chief Minister. I convey condolences to his wife and children.

¶ 10 I next mention two Members from Anuradhapura — Hon. S. C. Muthukumarana and Hon. Janak Mahendra Adhikari — representing electorates where I spent my childhood. My late father was principal of Kalawewa Muslim Central College and Horapola Muslim Vidyalaya, in the Kalawewa and Kekirawa electorates respectively, which these gentlemen later represented. I often shared fond memories with them. The Hon. Janak Mahendra Adhikari, elected in 1989, was the youngest SLFP MP then; both he and Hon. Muthukumarana were popular and served their people well. I extend condolences to their families.

¶ 11 Finally, Hon. T. Kanagasabai of Batticaloa, elected in 2004 representing the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi. During the 2002 peace talks between the Government and the LTTE, I served in the Government delegation. As that process waned and Tamil parties regrouped under the TNA to ensure proper parliamentary representation of Tamils in the peace process, Mr. Kanagasabai entered this House. His calm demeanour and responsible service to his district are remembered. I convey condolences to his family and conclude. Thank you.