Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

Speaking in the context of a debate on village defence raised by Hon. Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Kariapper acknowledged the significant security role played by volunteer village guards in rural areas such as Kalmunai, Ampara, particularly during periods of conflict along the Mahaweli Oya. He noted that the majority of these guards are paddy farmers who served to protect their own communities while maintaining their agricultural livelihoods, and were equipped with shotguns rather than military-grade weapons. He argued against redeploying them to urban sentry duties in Colombo, which he characterised as unsuitable, and proposed instead that they be integrated into productive rural programmes such as agricultural support or human-elephant conflict mitigation. He also noted for the record that the parliamentary session was being held on Medin Full Moon Poya Day.

## Summary Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper delivered a speech strongly condemning US President Donald Trump and Israeli actions, characterising them as the primary threats to world peace and accusing them of violating international law. He expressed the anger of Muslim voters and constituents at the President of Sri Lanka's failure to condemn recent actions against Iran during his address to Parliament. On domestic matters, Kariapper alleged that Sri Lankan military intelligence had cultivated links with extremist cleric Zaharan Hashim's cell from 2012 onwards at the direction of the then political leadership, purportedly to manufacture a new target group following the defeat of Tamil separatism and to inflame Sinhala–Muslim tensions, and called for these connections to be fully exposed in order to dismantle what he termed the "parallel state." He concluded with an extended biblical and Quranic allusion comparing himself to David confronting Goliath, asserting that world peace would only be achieved when Trump was removed from political power.

## Summary Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper raised concerns about Sri Lanka's failure to establish a complete national hydrographic charting system as required under the 1974 SOLAS Convention, arguing that this gap allowed private foreign companies to collect approximately USD 25 per vessel per chart box across 27 boxes from around 1975 to 2014, revenue he estimates could have yielded the State roughly USD 51 million annually. He acknowledged the passage of the National Hydrographic Act No. 7 of 2024 and the appointment of a National Hydrographer as positive steps, but noted that full charting remains incomplete due to the absence of a deep-water echo sounder. He called on the Government to immediately allocate USD 0.7 million to procure the necessary equipment and complete national hydrographic charting, and expressed concern that certain NARA officials had challenged the Act in the Supreme Court, questioning who stood to benefit from the continued absence of state-controlled charting revenue. The speaker indicated conditional support for the bill under debate while pressing for this specific budgetary action.

## Summary Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper cautioned against premature self-congratulation over Sri Lanka's improvement on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) from rank 121 to 107, noting that the country's best ranking was 52nd in 2002 and that a score of 35 remains well below a satisfactory threshold. He argued that petty corruption is primarily driven by economic hardship and cannot be resolved within one or two years. While affirming the Opposition's full support for anti-corruption efforts, he challenged the Government to demonstrate genuine confidence in its progress by completing Select Committee proceedings and holding Provincial Council elections within three months.

Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper raised a point of order under Standing Orders 92(2), 101, and 102, arguing that the Proposer's verbal deletion of a reference to Provincial Councils Elections in the Motion was procedurally insufficient. He contended that since the Proposer had acknowledged the matter was already before an existing Select Committee, a formal withdrawal and resubmission of an amended Motion was required, as an oral deletion does not alter the written terms of the Motion.

Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC acknowledged a mistake and stated his intention to introduce a Bill to correct it. He also confirmed that he has already submitted a Private Member's Bill to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper criticised the Bill to abolish the MPs' pension scheme as politically motivated — aimed at public approval rather than genuine reform — arguing that removing a legally conferred right without providing an alternative is unjust. He cited the case of former MP Anandasangaree, who relies on his pension for independent living, to illustrate the human impact of abolition without replacement. Drawing on the New Zealand model, Kariapper proposed a contributory welfare fund for retired MPs in need, financed by Members themselves rather than the Treasury, and announced he has drafted both a formal amendment and a fallback Private Member's Bill to this effect. He also announced that he has separately submitted to the Secretary-General a Private Member's Bill to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and incorporate terrorism offences as a distinct chapter within the Penal Code, triable under ordinary law with bail jurisdiction vested in the High Court — holding the Government to its own manifesto pledge.

Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper raised a privilege matter concerning the alleged improper processing of a development proposal by the Kalmunai Divisional Secretariat. He stated that he had submitted a proposal under the Rs. 2.5 million MP allocation through the Divisional Coordinating Committee (DCC) to convert the first floor of the disused Narpittimunai market building into a community hall, noting that the area currently lacks such a facility. He argued that the Divisional Secretariat's failure to properly process the proposal constitutes a breach of parliamentary privilege and requested approval for the project to proceed.