The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Hon. Radhakrishnan raised issues regarding education in the estate community. We recognize there are multiple challenges, including severe teacher shortages. This recruitment of a little over 23,000 teachers is being done pursuant to a Court Determination, and we must adhere to it. However, we accept the need for special interventions for the estate community. Recently, we met with officials of the relevant division in the Ministry of Education to discuss specific issues in that province. We will give special attention to deploying some of the recruited teachers there and tailoring training accordingly. Thank you for consistently bringing this to our attention.

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is disappointing to hear some Opposition Members at a time like this. We must understand what we are facing: a global crisis. Sri Lanka, having struggled through an economic and political crisis, is again facing a new challenge. A responsible Opposition should reflect on how to respond. Unfortunately, many in the Opposition are focused on contriving opportunities to regain power—by toppling the Government before the next election—by highlighting alleged diplomatic weaknesses, fearmongering, and exaggerating public issues, rather than winning a mandate for better policies through elections.

¶ 03 Do they have a superior plan to lift the country from the current situation—more intelligent, informed, and feasible than what we are implementing? We all know the condition of the country when we took over and who led it there. Those same people now want to topple a democratically elected Government by any means.

¶ 04 Investigations into allegations against them are moving swiftly, challenging their political survival. Hence their desperation. They try to frighten people—warning of power cuts and fuel shortages—even encouraging conditions that exacerbate problems. A responsible Opposition should understand the situation and intervene constructively, at least refraining from statements that damage our diplomacy.

¶ 05 This crisis is not a result of our Government’s failure. Globally, commodity prices and oil have risen. Compared to other South Asian countries, our fuel price increases have been relatively lower. Other countries have reduced working days; industries and supply chains are affected worldwide. We are not alone. How do we respond?

¶ 06 The Middle East war is about 20 days old. We have taken multiple decisions: closely monitoring fuel supply, studying market movements with rising prices, and maintaining supply through our diplomatic channels—as the Hon. Foreign Minister explained. Yet supply constraints can arise, so we must manage consumption. That is why we reintroduced the QR code. It has been five days since relaunch; over five million registrations have already been made. We know there are issues; we will fix them, as we did the first time after a few weeks of adjustments.

¶ 07 Given the risk of an energy crisis affecting essential services and industries, we must preserve the 2025 growth gains of 5 percent. We do not want to see a reversal in 2026. To sustain economic stability and essential services, Cabinet subcommittees are meeting daily to take decisions and find solutions.

¶ 08 We also anticipate stress on incomes, especially for informal workers and small businesses. We have appointed a separate committee chaired by Hon. Upali Pannilage to propose social protection measures for affected populations. We promised, when elected in 2024, that we would work for the people. We are a people-centered Government. We did not seek power for personal gain.

¶ 09 I have seen commentaries saying the public is now ahead of the Opposition. When we speak to people, we understand the reality on the ground—they see through attempts to derail progress. At events like yesterday’s Iftar, business leaders told us not to be distracted by Opposition rhetoric and to continue the work; the people are with us. Our responsibility is to safeguard public welfare, security, and stability. We invite the Opposition to act with political maturity, to work together for the country rather than scramble for short-term power through shortcuts. Otherwise, they will fail.

¶ 10 Thank you for the time.