The Hon. Mujibur Rahuman

¶ 01 Thank you, Madam Deputy Chairperson.

¶ 02 A new Government with a new public mandate has been formed. We wish the President and the new Government the ability to deliver the political change our people expect from this mandate. I also thank the people of Colombo District for electing me for the third time.

¶ 03 In the debate on the President’s Throne Speech, Members on both Government and Opposition sides highlighted the need to end racism and religious extremism and to heal divisions among our communities so we can embark on a new journey. It is regrettable that 76 years after Independence, we still must discuss this in Parliament. As a nation, we remain in a primary stage because we still debate rejecting racism and religious bigotry. Since 1948, we have failed to build a unified Sri Lankan identity and move forward. That failure led to a 30-year war that devastated our resources and economy. Yet countries like India, Malaysia and Singapore managed their diversity, respected it, and harnessed it to progress. South Asian peers have surged ahead while we continued to argue.

¶ 04 All political parties represented here must accept responsibility. Whenever unity was attempted, parties thwarted it by pushing religious and racial ideologies, creating divisions. Historically, parties stood against uniting our people.

¶ 05 Now we speak of moving forward, leaving history aside. That is positive. Your Government has received a mandate that can unite diversity and defeat racism and religious extremism without suppressing diversity — by recognizing and understanding it and bringing everyone together for a Sri Lankan identity.

¶ 06 Only thus can we move ahead. To recover from economic precipices, we must first forge unity within our diversity. Even in India, when extreme elements gained power, they maintained the foundations laid by Nehru and Gandhi to hold diverse nations together. Singapore and Malaysia too brought different language groups under a unified national vision with leaders like Mahathir Mohamad and Lee Kuan Yew. Use your mandate not to suppress diversity but to bring it together. Democracy is allowing majorities to function while safeguarding minorities. If we try to suppress diversity, we will go backwards again.

¶ 07 This is a rare mandate. Similar breadth was once given to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, but she could not produce a durable solution to the national question. Today, the people have entrusted such a mandate to the NPP.

¶ 08 Let me add, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya stands against racism and religious extremism. Much of the Opposition shares this stance. We are ready to cooperate with any programme that builds a Sri Lankan identity and unity within diversity.

¶ 09 I must also recall the President’s emphasis on the Rule of Law. I urge focus on upholding it. He spoke of five cases in his campaign; notably, the Wasim Thajudeen case. He elaborated on it even as an MP. He knows why it stalled. I remind him: the Dialog company did not provide critical data — call records linked to the then DIG Anura Senanayake, and records of then Chief Judicial Medical Officer Ananda Samarasekara. Hans Wijayasuriya, then head of Dialog, failed to cooperate; today he serves as the President’s adviser on the digital economy. This is troubling. Why were Thajudeen’s killers not brought to justice? Wijayasuriya had close ties with those then in power, and Dialog’s non-cooperation shielded the crime. He is now a presidential adviser. Likewise, another official with serious corruption allegations from the Mahinda Rajapaksa era has been appointed adviser to the Ministry of Public Security. How, while appointing such figures, will you establish the Rule of Law?

¶ 10 Finally, I cite The Island’s report that, during a recent incident of assault on development officers, one person apprehended and handed to police was identified as a Military Intelligence officer who had infiltrated protesters and incited self-harm. We recall serious allegations against Military Intelligence even regarding the Easter attacks. As a new Government, have you dismantled this deep state? With that question, and thanking you for the opportunity, I conclude.