The Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha

¶ 01 Thank you, Madam Deputy Chairperson.

¶ 02 I extend my respectful thanks to the nearly 110,000 who voted for the Samagi Jana Balawegaya in Kurunegala to elect me for a fourth time, to the 58,971 who marked preferences for me, and to the people of Bingiriya who delivered the highest vote percentage in the district. I am also in a way pleased that a movement begun from the working poor has now come to power. As someone who, as a young man, showed sympathy to that movement then, and cast my first, maiden vote when the party with the “Flower Pot” symbol polled 90,078 votes, I am pleased—but on the other hand I am saddened that the leaders of today’s political movement in power through that working-class struggle seem to have forgotten Rohana Wijeweera.

¶ 03 When he was asked near the end of his life whether he feared death, he said, “No, I am not afraid of death. I knew that because of this politics, I would die.” But I think he never imagined that when his political movement came to power and its leader delivered the Throne Speech in this House, his name would be forgotten. I regret that.

¶ 04 The President began his Throne Speech by speaking about discipline in Parliament and the need to establish it—especially opportune with many new MPs. That is good. But is establishing discipline only within this Parliament sufficient? The whole country needs discipline. At a time we must rebuild discipline, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ruhuna, Prof. Sujeewa Amarasekera, was someone who tried to instill discipline in that university, standing against ragging. We saw junior students being abused by seniors, including sexual harassment; even torture chambers operated; some lecturers did not even cover syllabi. He worked to restore discipline. But after this Government came to power, the example set was to remove the Vice Chancellor’s functions. As I understand, they may not have removed his title, but his powers have been taken away. Is discipline only for Parliament? Shouldn’t there be discipline in universities and state institutions? Are only these 225 to be held responsible for the country’s bankruptcy? Shouldn’t others also be held to account and reformed? While you speak of discipline here, you have stripped power from those who enforced it elsewhere. I express my regret.

¶ 05 The President also spoke about the public service—saying people are dissatisfied with it, and that public servants themselves are dissatisfied. We accept both. He also said the economy is in a very precarious state—an economy hanging by a thin thread. We accept that too. But knowing that, you sought a mandate—promising that the IMF conditions harmful to the people would be resisted and that, even within debt restructuring, you would secure outcomes favorable to the people. On that promise you gained a mandate. Now your President says, “We cannot play big games or expect big turns; we must continue on this path.” But that is not what you promised. The IMF says there are about 1.5 million in the public service and it should be reduced to 1 million. Are you planning next year, or after the next Budget, to cut the public service accordingly? Say so. The overwhelming majority of public servants—about 80 percent—voted for you. Is this silence an indication of impending cuts?

¶ 06 Do not betray the mandate with false promises. We, too, said—our Hon. Harsha de Silva and our Hon. Leader of the Opposition—that we would work for certain reforms within the IMF framework; we did not seek votes promising to change the foundation. That was our consistent position. You said you would change the foundation—tear down the base. But today you have neither torn down the base nor even repainted the room; you are carrying forward Ranil Wickremesinghe’s agreement intact, without altering a comma or a dot. Is this what you received a mandate for?

¶ 07 We recognize the economic crisis. We look at you optimistically—we think you will not engage in theft. But your effort matters. If you believe Ranil Wickremesinghe’s rope-bridge is the only way, we cannot agree. We expect more from you—turn your optimistic rhetoric into action. We enjoyed your speeches—by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Vijitha Herath, and our current Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya back then—but the people gave you power because of those speeches. Now do justice to that mandate. Do not keep saying that if we adjust the IMF deal a little, the thread will snap and the rope-bridge will fall. Show commitment. You will not achieve everything quickly; you cannot realize all promises in a short time; you cannot pivot the economy at once. We still cannot see whether your economic programme leans left, center, or right. Though you began as a left, working-class movement, now it is unclear whether you follow liberalism. Do the right thing—that is not our issue. Forgetting Wijeweera is your problem, not ours. Do not forget your origins—Uppatissa Gamanayake, D. M. Ananda, the heroes of 1971 and 1988–89. Even if you now go by NPP, most here are JVP MPs. Remember your roots; only then can you take the right path.

¶ 08 One Member said agriculture collapsed after 1977. What a falsehood. After 1977, with the Accelerated Mahaweli and other major projects and agri-tech, by the mid-1990s our country achieved self-sufficiency in rice—the very “’76 curse” you spoke of notwithstanding. By 1988–1992, due to the Accelerated Mahaweli and the major irrigation network starting from Gal Oya, Sri Lanka became self-sufficient in rice. At Independence in 1948, only about 35 percent of rice needs were produced locally; two-thirds were imported—Burmese rice, Chinese rice, various varieties. So do not keep reciting the old refrain of a 76-year curse. Recognize the facts: value free education, and—as I see—you now value the open economy; value it, and value an export-led economy.

¶ 09 Move beyond a purely production economy to a supply and services economy; do not remain confined to the village nor confine the nation. I heard Hon. Sunil Handunnetti speak about state factories. Hon. Prime Minister, decide whether the Government will continue to run state-owned enterprises. We can imagine the outcome if the state continues to run them; I will not elaborate. We look optimistically and expect you to take the economy beyond where it is now—not anchored solely on IMF conditions, but creatively beyond them. Wishing you well, I conclude. Thank you.