The Hon. M. K. M. Aslam

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, today we consider two orders under the Motor Traffic Act and three regulations under the Special Commodity Levy Act.

¶ 02 The Opposition Leader’s camp complains inconsistently. One of his loyalists opposed the estate wage increase in court; another called for blanket intelligence probes of all Muslims; today he speaks of women’s rights—clearly a performative opposition.

¶ 03 Regarding the Waqf Board raised today: before appointing Waqf members, we first reconstituted the Hajj Committee with neutral, capable persons, and all sides accepted it. We have short-listed Waqf nominees but not finalized them. Some claim they are political picks. Historically, municipal councillors, close friends of MPs and Ministers, served on the Waqf Board. Today they bring up a Major General—he is now an ordinary citizen. What matters is appointing the best Waqf to manage 2,826 registered mosques.

¶ 04 The NPP government is acting against corruption across the board. If there was corruption in Waqf administration, we must clean that too and appoint a proper board. Dr. Shafi himself said Anura Kumara Dissanayake first spoke for him. The MP who spoke here belonged to the “good governance” government when Digana was burned and the Easter attacks occurred; the then Deputy Leader, Sajith Premadasa, was a key minister. Those who burned Hettipola now cry for Muslims; a religious leader who vilified Muslims now lectures on Waqf. Who is feeding them selected information, and why try to create confusion in Waqf appointments?

¶ 05 We will not politicize the Waqf Board. We will not seek political gain. Our Hon. Deputy Minister, Muneer Mulafer, is being unfairly targeted. We intend to form a competent, inclusive, intellectually guided Waqf Board that can manage mosques and resolve issues. As our Minister Bimal Rathnayake says, the biggest Buddhist, Tamil, and Muslim parties are all the NPP—meaning we represent all. With Ramadan beginning tomorrow, we pray for a peaceful fast. In due course, appropriate members will be appointed per proper criteria, including all jamaaths, to resolve long-standing mosque issues. Thank you.