The Hon. Faiszer Musthapha, PC

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, firstly, I thank the Hon. President for the humanitarian effort in saving those Iranian cadets.

¶ 02 It has been five months since Cyclone “Ditwah.” What is the present need for emergency law? Under emergency, ordinary law is suspended and regulations prevail. The Government says “Ditwah” is over but the emergency is needed to make the State machinery efficient. As I said before, the regulations are those brought during the Aragalaya period. Is it ethical to reintroduce these emergency regulations now? Emergency negates ordinary citizens’ legal protections. Is an emergency required to make the State efficient and to provide relief to those affected by “Ditwah”?

¶ 03 The President has also declared certain services as essential public services by Gazette. I will read a few: all services related to power supply; production and distribution of petroleum and gas; all services for the treatment of patients in hospitals and similar institutions; public transport of passengers and goods; roads, bridges, ports, airports, harbours and railways—facilities for transport and tourism; water supply and drainage; supply, protection and distribution of food and essential items; services by District Secretariats, Divisional Secretariats, and all relevant officials including Grama Niladharis; ambulance services; the Central Bank and all State banks and insurance; local authorities’ services for water, electricity and drainage; all road maintenance; telecommunications, broadcasting and media; flood control and land reclamation; agriculture and agricultural insurance; and more. Virtually the entire State apparatus is declared essential.

¶ 04 The legal framework: once services are so declared, if employees do not report to work, they can be imprisoned from two to five years; their property can be confiscated; and their professional registrations (as doctors, lawyers, etc.) can be cancelled. This is a severe blow to freedoms and trade union rights. Remember, you came to power with the help of trade unions. Declaring these as essential means that if they do not report, they can be jailed, their property seized, and registrations cancelled. I ask: in the aftermath of Cyclone “Ditwah,” why declare all these as essential?

¶ 05 You say you have not used repression—I accept that. But not using repression and creating the legal framework to enable repression are two different things. To rebuild what was damaged by Cyclone Ditwah, do you need to make all these 15 categories essential public services? This is a heavy blow to those workers, leaving no legal space for industrial action in those sectors. I request the Government: without declaring such services essential, improve efficiency by other administrative means. Do you have any threat that justifies extending emergency now? If not, do not proceed.

¶ 06 Thank you.