Former Speaker Karu J laments Parliament’s lapses

Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, over the weekend, urged political parties, represented in Parliament, to pay attention to the urgent need to enact the laws necessary to meet the challenges ahead. Jayasuriya, who served as the Speaker during the 2015-2019 period, in a statement issued on Saturday (09) stated that the Parliament seemed to be slow in addressing the issues at hand.

The following is the text of statement issued by Jayasuriya, in his capacity as the Chairman of National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ): The NMSJ reiterates that it is the responsibility of all Members of Parliament (MPs), including party leaders, to properly understand the power possessed by the Parliament, and perform their duties properly, despite them having been subjected to certain limitations due to the 1978 Constitution based on the Executive Presidency.

It is a democratic process to participate in common courses and hold debates based on certain important issues that have an impact on the entire nation, but the main responsibility and duty of the Parliament is to “enact the laws necessary for governance”, and it seems that there is some backwardness in the Parliament of Sri Lanka in such regard.

Considering the crucial need to update a number of laws and ordinances that can greatly affect the future of the country, we are of the view that the Parliament should pay more attention to it. We must not forget that some of the laws and ordinances in force in Sri Lanka are more than a hundred years old. They need to be revised to suit the modern world. Towards that end, the primary responsibility and task lies with the Parliament.Therefore, we request all MPs to take into consideration the country’s present situation as well as the difficulties faced by the people, and take positive measures so as to ensure a better future for generations to come.”