The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, I seek your leave to move the Votes of Condolence.

¶ 02 First, I wish to move the Vote of Condolence on the demise of the late Hon. Kosala Nuwan Jayaweera, who served as a Member of the Ninth Parliament.

¶ 03 Representing the Kegalle District under the National People’s Power, he was elected to Parliament in 2024 and rendered service both to his district and to the country. I place before this august House the proposal to express our condolences on his demise.

¶ 04 Born in 1987 at Napawala, Dehiowita, to Mr. Hapuaarachchi Jayawira and Mrs. Lokuhapuaarachchi Chandrani, Hon. Jayaweera studied at Dehiowita Gurugalla Junior School and Eheliyagoda Janakala School, and pursued higher education at the Open University of Sri Lanka. Entering politics there, he became President of the University’s Main Students’ Union. He served on the National Committee of the Socialist Students’ Union of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and was also the Kegalle District Organizer of the Socialist Students’ Union, as well as the Kegalle District Organizer of the Socialist Youth Union of the JVP, a role he held until his demise. In his 12-year political life, he served as a member of the Dehiowita Pradeshiya Sabha and as Chairman of the Ruwanwella District Coordinating Committee, making a significant contribution to local development.

¶ 05 Elected to Parliament with the second-highest preferential votes in the Kegalle District, he was recognized as a dynamic young politician in the National People’s Power Government.

¶ 06 As a Member of Parliament for about five months, he established himself as a strong participant in the national endeavour and showed the qualities of a leader poised for a long political journey. He served as a member of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE). The COPE Chairman himself acknowledged his performance. While he was on the rise, at the young age of 38, he passed away suddenly on 6 April 2025. In recognition of his public service, we, as a party and as Parliament, pay our respects and ask that the condolences of this august Assembly be conveyed to his parents and family.

¶ 07 Every Member elected here is important. But about Hon. Kosala Jayaweera, I must say he lived a short but magnanimous life. He was deeply people-oriented, practical, and a fiery organizer. His demise is a great loss to us and to his family.

¶ 08 Next, I wish to move the Vote of Condolence on the demise of the late Hon. Mavai S. Senathirajah.

¶ 09 Representing the Jaffna District under the Tamil National Alliance, he was elected to Parliament in 2001, 2004, 2010 and 2015, serving continuously. Born in 1942 in Jaffna to Mr. Somasundaram and Mrs. Dayalnayaki Sengamaisundaram, he studied at Nadeswara College, Kankesanthurai, and at the Jaffna Technical College. He obtained a basic degree from the University of Peradeniya and later a Master’s in Political Science from Annamalai University, India.

¶ 10 From 1964 to 1966, he was Secretary of the Dravida Youth Students’ Movement, began his political career through the youth wing affiliated to the Tamil United Front (later TULF), and worked actively in that movement. He secured his parliamentary seat repeatedly under the TNA, and from 2014 served as Leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK). Married in 1980 to Mrs. Bhavani Senathirajah, he was the loving father of two sons and a daughter.

¶ 11 As a Member of Parliament for about 24 years, he rendered great service to the entire country. He passed away on 29 January 2025 at the age of 82. I note additionally that I had about 10 years alongside him in Parliament while we were in Opposition. He entered Parliament from a politics of emancipation and remained steadfast to his goals despite political changes. We pray that, according to his faith and beliefs, his hopes be fulfilled, and we request that the condolences of this Assembly be conveyed to his beloved wife, children and family.

¶ 12 Further, I move the Vote of Condolence on the demise of the late Hon. Donald Dissanayake, who represented the Gampaha District for the United National Party in 1989.

¶ 13 Born in Colombo in 1941 to J.M.D. John Dissanayake and Mrs. Matilda Nandawan Ranasinghe, he studied at Gampaha Siri Kurusa, Sri Siddhartha, St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, and Wayamba Central College, Veyangoda, before entering politics. He served as a Municipal Councillor of the Gampaha Municipal Council in 1965, its Deputy Mayor in 1970, and as a Member of the Western Provincial Council in 1988. Elected to Parliament in 1989 for the UNP, he served as Deputy Chief Government Whip and as Project Monitoring MP at the Ministry of Transport and Highways. He married Mrs. Indra Ranaseeli Dissanayake in 1968.

¶ 14 He served as an MP for about five years and passed away on 6 April 2025 at the age of 84. We pray for peace for the late Hon. Donald Dissanayake and request that the condolences of this Assembly be conveyed to his beloved wife and family.

¶ 15 Next, I move the Vote of Condolence on the demise of the late Hon. J.R.P. Suriyapperuma, who entered Parliament in 2010 via the National List under the United People’s Freedom Alliance.

¶ 16 Born in 1928 to Don Edmund Peiris Suriyapperuma and Don Yashodhara Rajapaksa, he studied at Dompe and Hanwella Central Colleges, obtained his first degree from the University of Peradeniya and a doctorate from the University of Kelaniya. A controversial and forthright figure, he was a gifted orator who fearlessly presented his views in parliamentary debates. Married in 1961 to Mrs. Vimala Suriyapperuma, he was the loving father of two sons and a daughter.

¶ 17 He served in Parliament for about five years and passed away on 2 January 2025 at the age of 96. We pray, according to his faith, for peace for the late Hon. J.R.P. Suriyapperuma, and request that the condolences of this Assembly be conveyed to his beloved wife and family.

¶ 18 Thank you.