The Hon. Lal Premanath

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, today I thank Hon. V.S. Radhakrishnan, Member of Parliament for Nuwara Eliya, for bringing this matter during the Adjournment. We are also pleased that we have the opportunity to present points from our side regarding the proposal he has brought.

¶ 02 Madam Presiding Member, for several past decades, the traditional leaders of the plantation sector treated the Malaiyaha people as their vote bank. Sometimes they used them as a tool to gather crowds for their political campaigns, rallies, and May Day events. During that time, they made big promises for them, drafted letters and documents, brought circulars, and created various organizations. Having done all that, even today you, the Opposition, still say that these Malaiyaha people must further be protected by the Government. From your own proposal, it becomes clear that over the past decades the then Governments—especially yours—did not intervene appropriately on their behalf. That is my view.

¶ 03 As soon as our Government came to power, we significantly changed the culture of this country for the better. In line with our policy statement “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life,” our President unveiled the “Hatton Declaration.” From that point we began to work without dividing the people of this country by religion, ethnicity, caste, or where they live. We think the greatest victory of the people who appointed this Malima Government is exactly that. Such a victory cannot be obtained merely by spending money. When you look at Parliament and at the Government benches, that difference is clearly visible. You can see how we work in unity to build this country by looking at the Government side before you.

¶ 04 For many years we have completely defeated divisive and communal politics in this country, Madam Presiding Member. Likewise, the habit of looking at the plantation people only as estate labourers, that entrenched notion and attitude, we have shattered from the roots. Even today, everywhere in your proposal I saw references such as “people of the upcountry,” “people of the estates.” The very words in your proposal place those people on another lower level, in an inferior position, as second-class citizens. Do not do that. The Malaiyaha people are a dignified people. They are the people who earned dollars for this motherland with their labour, tears, and sweat. Please grant them that respect through your words as well. They should no longer be treated as second-class citizens of our country, but as dignified Sri Lankans.

¶ 05 Madam Presiding Member, accordingly, we have taken several steps spiritually and attitudinally. Primarily, defeating all forms of nationalism, separatism, and regionalism, we have already done a great deal for social cohesion. A people who were cut off from the common society, cornered and used for political desires—we have now placed them in a different state. That is confirmed by their representation and their strong interventions these days. Moreover, we have not confined their land rights, right to livelihood, and housing rights to mere papers. We are lawfully carrying out the task of granting those fundamental rights. Having freed ourselves from the “list room” culture and “list room” mentality, we have ensured that they too are treated equally with all other citizens in this country. We are working for those people to such an extent that bringing such proposals would not even be necessary. We are doing the maximum we can for them, and we are improving the infrastructure in those areas and uplifting their living standards.