The Hon. M.A.M. Thahir

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

¶ 02 Mr. Presiding Member, Aswesuma is not new; successive governments have branded cash handouts for electoral advantage. In 2023, amid a tight economy, the scheme was introduced using 22 data points in an automated process—not by Divisional Secretaries, development officers, GNs or Samurdhi officers. Yet about 35% of those who should be compulsorily included remain excluded. Though the new Government promised changes, many eligible are still out.

¶ 03 Meanwhile prices of essentials, electricity, water, and fuel have risen. With fish or meat at Rs. 1,500 per 500g, how can a family of five or six live on Rs. 5,000, 7,500 or even 15,000? Instead of copying old approaches, reduce prices—utilities and essentials—so people truly cope.

¶ 04 Many households mortgage property, borrow Rs. 800,000 to Rs. 1,000,000 to send a member abroad due to elder healthcare and children’s education costs. Those families are then denied Aswesuma while the State extracts fees from the migrant. Neither the worker nor the family benefits—this cannot be the plan to “eradicate poverty.” Devise alternatives that generate jobs from our own resources.

¶ 05 Lands cultivated seasonally have been seized under various programmes, often with ethnic bias; in the North and East, Tamil and Muslim lands were taken. Return them for cultivation. Fisherfolk and small self-employed are excluded merely for owning a boat, a three-wheeler, or a motorbike; peri-urban families in concrete-slab two-storey homes are excluded by asset value—these criteria should be revisited so genuinely poor are included.

¶ 06 Cash often goes to other pressing bills; we see families in arrears for water, power, school and medical expenses. Instead of only cash, consider in-kind support through co-operatives, with clean administration.

¶ 07 Free education and healthcare are under strain. In the East, public health services have been disrupted; patients, including CKD sufferers, are forced to seek costly private care. Resolve these issues urgently.

¶ 08 We support education reform, but you embedded elements universally rejected by all religions—sexually explicit content—then claim ignorance, which is like hiding a pumpkin in rice. Remove such items and proceed with proper reforms from this year. Thank you.