The Hon. Sunil Rathnasiri

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, there is a saying: “What the teacher does standing, the pupils do running.” I say this because our Hon. Leader of the Opposition came early and uttered a big falsehood. Some Members then followed that path.

¶ 02 He claimed that in Trincomalee District, Port Authority lands long cultivated by farmers are being forcibly used for a solar power project. We asked repeatedly which year the approval was given; he avoided the answer. Having spoken to the District Secretary and obtained the project report, I state the approval was given on 01.07.2023. Who was in power then? Why is the Leader of the Opposition afraid to say the name?

¶ 03 Following his line, Hon. Chanaka Madugoda said youth clubs are being set up for NPP political work. I remind him that with the intervention of our Hon. State Minister Eranga Gunasekara, 14,033 youth clubs—the largest voluntary organization in South Asia—are being formed under “A Tomorrow for Youth” to build the country for our children. He seems to have forgotten. He should also remember the misuse of National Youth Services Council funds to bring six dance troupes, four vans and a cab for a UNP rally in Kuliyapitiya.

¶ 04 Further, during the 2024 pre-presidential election period, despite directions by the Election Commission to halt, Rs. 308.25 million from the Presidential Secretariat and Rs. 90 million from Treasury provisions were allocated to NYSC. Of the Rs. 90 million, Rs. 89.96 million was spent; of Rs. 308.25 million, Rs. 191 million has been spent and Rs. 54 million remains payable. This is how they used youth for politics.

¶ 05 We came to the Tenth Parliament nearly eight months ago. When we took over, the country was speeding into a dark abyss—lawless, an economy collapsed, a blacklisted state before the world. We faced two immediate tasks: revive and rebuild the economy swiftly, and re-establish rule of law. Accordingly, within these eight months, numerous laws and regulations were brought and passed: amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure Act; the Proceeds of Crime Act, No. 5 of 2025; further amendments to strengthen the justice system; recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments (Act No. 49 of 2024); and today, amendments to the Companies Act, No. 7 of 2007.

¶ 06 I see “economy gurus” in the Opposition with political dementia advising us to throw globally accepted amendments into the dustbin. If the Opposition brings good proposals, we will gladly accept. But now they try to remove these reforms, claiming investors fear to come. In truth, investors stayed away when they governed: tourism collapsed, worker remittances fell, FDI dried up. Should we accept the words of dementia-stricken economists, or the standards of the FATF?

¶ 07 When we took over, it was a lawless, dark state. Today, nationally and internationally, we have strengthened laws and advanced. Sri Lanka is again seen as a safe destination for tourists; worker remittances this year will exceed USD 6 billion—the highest ever; halted foreign investments are reviving, with many new FDIs lined up. All this is due to strengthening and enforcing the law.

¶ 08 Thank you for the time.