The Hon. Ajith P. Perera

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, while supporting these important regulations, I will briefly raise three issues.

¶ 02 First, the power sector accounts for about a third of the economy. There is a serious issue with the coal supply tender for Lakvijaya Power Plant. We observed tender conditions being altered—deadlines shifted—to favour a particular company. The winning company has imported substandard coal; electricity output per ton is below tender specifications, requiring more coal, with an estimated loss close to Rs. 100 billion. This is a clear fraud and corruption. Who is responsible? Is it the whole Government, the subject Minister, or officials misleading the President and Minister? As former subject Minister who cleaned up coal procurement with zero cases against me, and as Chair of the Parliamentary Energy Subcommittee, we are investigating and will identify those responsible.

¶ 03 Second, the judiciary. Appointments, transfers and promotions have caused grave concern within the legal community. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) wrote on 2025-12-29 to the President calling for due process and transparency in Magistrate and District Judge appointments and higher court elevations—seniority alone is not the sole criterion, but if deviated, standards and criteria must be transparent. As Opposition, in November 2025 we noted appointments disregarding seniority that shook the judiciary. We proposed a Special Parliamentary Committee to examine this, consistent with Article 4(c) of the Constitution—judicial power is exercised through courts established by Parliament and funded by Parliament; Parliament has oversight. Our proposal, tabled over two months ago, has yet to be placed on the Order Book.

¶ 04 [Portions of the Member’s remarks were ordered to be expunged.]

¶ 05 Hon. Speaker, do not repeat past errors in rejecting legitimate oversight. Excessive delay in a matter so vital to justice is unacceptable.

¶ 06 Finally, today marks 17 years since the assassination of our dear friend Lasantha Wickrematunge—lawyer, political figure, former private secretary to PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike, parliamentary candidate, and editor of The Sunday Leader, famed for investigative journalism exposing corruption. Successive governments promised justice, including the present President and Government. If a government with a two-thirds majority and an executive presidency cannot deliver justice for Lasantha, it is a profound defeat for our democracy. May he attain Nibbana. Thank you.