The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I think the Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs will wind up. The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Faiszer Musthapha, PC, and Hon. Ajith P. Perera raised important questions. None were answered.

¶ 02 A Special Gazette, signed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, was issued on 28.11.2025. Has anyone read it? Part I – General—no issue. Part II – Taking Possession of Premises and Requisitioning of Vehicles… Minister, please tell us plainly: are you expecting to take over property and vehicles under this Regulation? If not, remove Part II.

¶ 03 Part III – Right of Entry: any place may be entered. There is some justification when forces must access disaster-hit locations—that can be rationalized. But Part IV – Search and Arrest: what is the nexus between the Dicha cyclone and search-and-arrest powers? Under the Public Security Ordinance you have gazetted arrest and search—this has no connection to disaster relief.

¶ 04 Part V – Offences and Penalties follows. As a new MP, I never expected to oppose a Gazette under the PSO signed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. When the cyclone struck, we were first to suggest that, if unavoidable, you may need an emergency. You initially refused, then issued regulations, and now seek a second month. The core problem remains: there is no nexus between the reason for these Regulations and their content.

¶ 05 I will tell you why. When the Presidential Secretariat asked for an emergency Gazette, they lacked a proper brief of the necessary clauses for a disaster-specific emergency. So they simply cut-and-pasted prior public security regulations. Deputy Minister Aruna Jayasekera, you did not articulate why, post-cyclone, particular powers were needed. This is the result. I urge you to correct it.

¶ 06 We will call for a vote next time.

¶ 07 Thank you.