The Hon. Muhammad Faizal

¶ 01 Bismillah ir‑Rahman ir‑Rahim. Assalamu Alaikum! Ayubowan! Vanakkam!

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, I am grateful to Allah for granting me the chance to participate in this debate on the Presidential Address that opened the first session of the 10th Parliament, and I thank you for the opportunity to speak.

¶ 03 I thank the National People’s Power and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna—its leader, His Excellency President Anura Kumara Dissanayake; the Hon. Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya; the JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva; the NPP General Secretary (Dr.) Nihal Abeysinghe; and the NPP’s Puttalam District leader, (Prof.) Chandana Abeyrathna—as well as all our comrades. I also thank the people of Puttalam—the Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim communities of the Puttalam electorate including Vidathaltheevu/Virudaiyodai and beyond—who delivered resounding victories at both the presidential and parliamentary elections.

¶ 04 Under the 1978 Constitution, proportional representation was introduced, yet for decades Puttalam failed to secure parliamentary representation through a national party. After 35 years, the NPP has now secured such representation through me. This is historic; the Puttalam people will long be grateful for this change.

¶ 05 This success stems from national programs that transcend ethnic, religious, linguistic, and regional divides, building the identity “We are Sri Lankans.” As a result, the NPP won in 21 of 22 districts in the parliamentary election, and for the first time, a national party based in the South won in Jaffna and Vanni.

¶ 06 The message to the whole country is clear: we must unite beyond divisions. Before the election, the President visited the North and said that political decisions made by dividing North and South must end. In opening the 10th Parliament, he noted that parties formed on provincial, ethnic, and religious lines strengthened division and suspicion; when chauvinism rises in one place, it calls forth chauvinism in another. Despite differences in region, culture, language, and religion, this election showed people uniting behind a common purpose. The long‑held dream of national unity has found a path. Politically, we may differ, but from now on there will be no space for ethnic or religious chauvinism. We have suffered enough—our rivers have carried our tears. Let us not leave such a country to our children. No one will be allowed to weaponize chauvinism to grasp power.

¶ 07 Sri Lanka is a multi‑ethnic nation. Our failure to unite beyond differences is why we lag. At Independence, we were second to Japan in Asia economically; 76 years later, many who were behind us have overtaken us. We have the resources, but they have been plundered. Post‑Independence rulers did politics by dividing people. Under the NPP Government led by President Dissanayake, the era of national renewal is at hand. That is the people’s expectation. Thank you. Wassalam!