The Hon. M. S. Uthumalebbe

¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chairperson, please give me one more minute.

¶ 02 Having thus received those votes, in the last Parliamentary Election you won entire electorates with 22,000–23,000 votes. Today the people there have high expectations. If you wish to honor your leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, first forget the old political traditions. Now I am deeply pained by one matter.

¶ 03 Madam Deputy Chairperson, Hon. Wasantha Piyathissa spoke in this House about my leader, Hon. Rauff Hakeem. I must respond. What did he say? They say, “Let us all unite; no problem. Brothers, let us come together and build new systems.” But can he say my leader cannot come to the Eastern Province? Please, make a clarification. That is our right. If not for Rauff Hakeem of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, at that time all Muslim people would have been forced—within democratic rights, as you know—towards the LTTE. Our late leader Mr. Ashraff built this party and brought Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim people together. When such statements are made, it becomes difficult for us to extend the expected support to your President. Please set aside these small issues and old cases. Let us build the country. With this appeal, I conclude.