The Hon. M.S. Uthumalebbe

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, on behalf of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, I extend deep condolences for those who died in the recent cyclone and floods; reports say 474 deaths, 356 missing, 448,817 families and 1,586,329 people affected, with all 25 districts impacted.

¶ 03 We must recognize that natural disasters are acts of God; they do not occur because one government came or another left. Sri Lanka faced a severe cyclone in 1978 and the 2004 tsunami, when few understood what a tsunami was. Since then we have drills and awareness.

¶ 04 Our disaster management framework is weak; government must strengthen it. Nature provided tanks, rivers, and seas, and natural drainage; human activity blocks these by settling on waterways, causing water to stagnate and harm people. Every year we discuss and forget. This flood has devastated the motherland; this is no time for politics. Learn lessons and plan for the future.

¶ 05 I saw heart-wrenching scenes—children pleading to recover their mother’s body. This is like a country of funerals now. We must unite—government, opposition, and officials—to rebuild. The President convened MPs on the 27th at 9.00 a.m.; I am on the National Disaster Management Council and attended the 7.00 p.m. meeting with Tri-Forces leaders and officials. We took several steps. Counting victims is still incomplete as numbers rise daily by dozens. In this sorrowful time, let us all move forward together.

¶ 06 I must add: three days ago at the party leaders’ meeting, the Opposition requested time to debate this disaster, but the Government did not agree, and the Opposition walked out. Today all sides are speaking here; had we debated then, we might have built even greater camaraderie.