The Hon. Hector Appuhamy

¶ 01 Mr. Chairman, as time is limited, I will be brief.

¶ 02 During my last visit, I observed people on the road outside the prison tying stones to drug packets and throwing them into the prison throughout the day. On one occasion, when such a packet was thrown, a stone hit an inmate on the head causing injury, as an officer informed us. Therefore, I make a special request. Too often in our country, we act only after an incident occurs—this happens in the public service as well as in households. We seek solutions only after a problem arises.

¶ 03 Accordingly, I request that a proper survey be carried out in every Grama Niladhari Division to identify persons who have erred, those suffering due to legal proceedings, and those suspected under the law, and to allocate funds for that purpose. Especially for the sake of the children and women of this country, allocate resources to study how these individuals erred, and whether the causes are economic, social, familial, educational or related to character development. Based on that research, prepare a report and present it to Parliament. That would be very important for decision-making in this country—not only for law, courts and prisons, but also specially to rebuild the economy.

¶ 04 When the Head of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs is taken up, we will speak about women. You have not allocated funds for programmes needed to empower women and increase their incomes. For many women who end up in prison, this has a profound impact. With the narcotics problem, women and children are now often being drawn into it.

¶ 05 Remember this: you failed to properly stand up against the underworld when a person inside the court dock was murdered. Not only that—if that gun had been turned the other way at that moment and aimed at the lady judge, what would the situation be today? What would the world think of this country? Who would come here? How would our people behave thereafter? Keep in mind that judges carry a great responsibility, and all other state officers working in those courts are now under severe strain. Do not think this only affects police and other security personnel. Decisions must be taken responsibly. We know many in our country act according to responsibility and evidence. It is the Government’s duty to ensure their security.

¶ 06 Fulfil that duty correctly. You failed the first time—we do not know how many more times you will fail. Today, people are hacked to death, clubbed to death, strangled to death; we keep speaking and then more shooting happens. Yet, the woman who aided the court murder is still not arrested. So, no matter what stories we tell, it is futile because we do not see an orderly plan from you.

¶ 07 While I was in Tanzania, I watched your speeches in Parliament on Facebook. There, we discussed how to protect youth, children and women. Those people speak with concern about their own. But when I watched our Parliament that evening, I saw you compiling lists of dirt on others, scolding and insulting people. After the Budget debate, read the Hansards and see what was said—80% is abuse, mudslinging, and lists. The lists you should table are those needed for this Budget.

¶ 08 We have serious issues about the judiciary as an institution, and we also have issues about prisons. In Italy, for example, remand prisoners can be monitored by wearing a GPS-linked electronic bracelet—“braccialetto”—and remain at home. The Government does not spend even five cents. The suspect bears the cost and cannot go out; if he does, the nearest police are alerted and he is arrested, and his punishment changes. The State incurs no cost for food, medicine, water or electricity. They have developed such methods.

¶ 09 You should also propose improvements and develop our systems. You spend money to build bigger toilets and structures at home and call it development. Go to the Colombo Court Complex and look at those buildings—like box shops, crowded, with no space even to hear cases. Provide the necessary facilities to hear cases at least properly. Some walls and toilets are crumbling. There is no need to keep those places in that condition.

¶ 10 I also request programmes specifically for women and children. We know children under five are in prison with their mothers. If we want, we can design a process to hold such persons in a more suitable place, and we can find the necessary funds without government spending—there are many institutions worldwide willing to help. Create such programmes to set women and children on the right path. A child who spends the first five years seeing only the wrongdoers behind bars absorbs that environment. What will that child do outside? They will see the world in comparison to prison life, and we end up creating wrongdoers. If a mother did wrong, we ourselves are creating a wrongdoer of the child.

¶ 11 Therefore, the Government must implement programmes to change that situation. Create a process to stop children from becoming addicted to drugs. As you form political organizations in villages, let us all sit together with those organizations to combat the drug menace. As a team, let us work together and eradicate this threat. Why cannot we do that? You do not need to fight with us. Propose such programmes to us—even if these are not in your manifesto or on paper. We are ready to help. We want to rebuild this country and its people.

¶ 12 Do not take lightly the studies carried out by Hon. Sajith Premadasa as Leader of the Opposition. He studies every subject thoroughly—origins, errors, how to correct them, how to plan for the future, what to retain or change, or whether to create new processes. He lays out the issues one by one. He keeps reminding us to be ready to work for the people. That is our path. We are here to rebuild the country—not to destroy you to take this Government, not to conspire to topple you, not to sling mud. We have lots of information, but we are not ready to act crazily.

¶ 13 You were given power with 159 MPs. Use that power to implement necessary programmes. Even if you get angry at our proposals, keep them in mind and act rightly. Scolding will not help or gain anything. To build the country, think humbly and plan well. We will present other matters in the future. It is clear that you often rely on wrong officials and listen to wrong advice, and set up many misguided programmes. We will point those out for correction. If you do not correct them, you will not move forward. That is the pressure you face; it is not our conspiracy.

¶ 14 You spoke about fuel; social media is full of press briefings tonight saying no orders for fuel will be placed from tonight. I am not happy about that. If orders are low, stop it; it is dangerous. Think about it. It is dangerous. Create a programme to stop it. That is what the people are watching. Even today, I pumped fuel after queuing—there were only four or five vehicles in the queue. Do not rush to attack us. You will ultimately face the people who voted for you and the officials.

¶ 15 Thank you very much.

¶ 16 [6.07 p.m.]