The Hon. K. Kader Masthan

¶ 01 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, the motion to defer and debate the scandal regarding the import of dairy cows is truly welcome. The bribery and corruption that have permeated from top to bottom, and waste of public resources, must stop. Various programmes were undertaken to increase domestic milk production, including importing dairy cows and strengthening indigenous breeding, but in the process a massive fraud occurred during the so-called “good governance” period. Nearly 20,000 cows were to be imported from Australia; only about 5,000 arrived, and no one knows what happened to the remaining 15,000. Those involved must be punished; merely tabling reports is not sufficient.

¶ 03 People brought this Government to power expecting corruption to be eradicated and governance to be fair and honest. In forming administrations in local authorities, some fear that certain corrupt individuals will escape accountability by lending support to the Government. We do not believe that will happen. Members should vote for those best suited to lead councils, but ensure that those who committed corruption are punished.

¶ 04 On another matter: a colleague, Rushdie, was proceeded against under the PTA for pasting a sticker condemning the killing of Palestinians. I opposed that then, calling for amendment or repeal of the PTA. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka later held his arrest under PTA was wrong and awarded him Rs. 200,000 compensation. We request that in future such wrongful actions not be repeated.

¶ 05 It is regrettable that yesterday, a motion for an adjournment debate on the Israel–Iran war situation—an issue of international significance—was disallowed citing Standing Orders. Standing Orders have been suspended previously for other matters; it should have been allowed yesterday too. The Government appears to have deliberately blocked it. In future, Parliament must be a forum to express the people’s sentiments on such issues.

¶ 06 On 13th, Israel first attacked Iran, killing Iranian nuclear scientists, engineers, senior security officials and civilians. Iran thereafter began retaliatory strikes. We believe the Israeli Prime Minister orchestrated the attack to distract from a no-confidence motion and from the massacre of starving Palestinian civilians. Many countries condemned Israel’s attack. Yet Sri Lanka has not expressed condemnation. We learn a Sri Lankan nurse was injured in Israel. About 20,000 Sri Lankans work there. They must be rescued and brought home safely; we cannot risk lives for jobs.

¶ 07 Thank you.