The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I will briefly correct my learned friend. The maxim about clean hands applies to equity, but the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament went to CIABOC not for equity but for justice. Let the authorities investigate and the truth emerge.

¶ 02 Today is significant for me. I have submitted my first Private Member’s Bill to the Secretary-General of Parliament. When I went, she was not there, and I handed it to an officer. Since the Secretary-General is now present, I bring this to her notice and hope she will take it up.

¶ 03 Holding the Digavapi Vihara under control, the Jathika Hela Urumaya went to the Supreme Court and effectively blocked for nearly 14 years the tsunami housing scheme funded by the Government of Saudi Arabia in 2011. Trees have grown into the houses; they are crumbling. During his visit to Akkaraipattu, His Excellency the President said he would resolve this immediately. This housing scheme is for those affected by the tsunami in the Eastern Province—especially in Kalmunai, which I represent, where about 10 percent of Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim residents lost their lives. The Muslim community was most affected and left homeless, unable to reside within the coastal reservation under law. Saudi Arabia funded 500 houses, largely for Muslims, and also 100–160 houses for Hambantota, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee. After construction, since most beneficiaries were Muslims, an FR application (SC FR 15/2010) was filed and the process was stayed. Later, it was ordered that houses cannot be given only to them but must be allocated to the general homeless population nationwide, applying national ethnic ratios—70 percent to the Sinhalese majority and 30 percent to minorities. In that quandary, I have presented a solution.

¶ 04 I have submitted the “Nurachcholai Housing Project (Special Provisions) Bill.” Under this Bill, irrespective of prior judgments, the Minister in charge of Housing can decide to allocate these houses to the truly affected. Parliament has full power to legislate; we are 159 Members. If needed, even the Opposition can support. Parliament has previously enacted laws that effectively altered the impact of several Supreme Court decisions. The Minister of Justice would know this.