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Kiriella: What is the point in govt issuing gazettes to control price of rice when they are ignored?

Published

6 years ago

2020/11/24

By Saman Indrajith

Chief Opposition Whip Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella told Parliament yesterday that the government had published more gazettes than the number of cassettes released by popular singer HR Jothipala.

Opening the third reading debate on the budget 2021 form the opposition, MP Kiriella said: “Although the government printed gazettes on price control, there is no price control in the market. During the time of our government we had a rice company, called Ape Shakthi, to control the rice market. This government dissolved it after coming to power. Now, the rice mafia of Polonnaruwa determines rice prices arbitrarily.”

MP Kiriella said that the government was undoing democracy by implementing the provisions of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. “Today, the separation of powers is not to be seen especially with regard to the list of institutions whose budgetary allocations are being debated today. The Supreme Court, the Appeal Court, the Human Rights Commission, the Police Commission, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and the Finance Commission were independent under the 19th Amendment. The Constitutional Council had the power to reject even a nomination by the President. Its successor the Parliament Council does not have that power. It has just to endorse the nominations made by the President. The President can make appointments to 75 top posts in key institutions. Even in the US, the Senate has the power to reject persons nominated by the President. Those nominated to top posts have to come before the Senate and respond to thousands of questions and those sessions are aired live on TV. Imagine what will happen under the present system here now. Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake gave a ruling on Divi Neguma Bill against the government wish, she was summoned to parliament and removed.

Chief Government Whip Highways Minister Johnston Fernando: We do not see anything wrong in that process. We stand by what we did because whatever we did we did so in accordance with the constitutional provisions. We followed the process outlined in the Constitution to remove her. But what you did when your government removed Shirani Bandaranayake’s successor Mohan Peiris. Soon after you formed the government Azath Sally went to his house and told him to resign within one hour and threatened to throw him out otherwise. That was the procedure you followed.

MP Kiriella: I am not aware of such a thing. There are many instances that could be taken from the Indian Supreme Court rulings. Now, laws could be passed to change the status quo of separation of powers. Today, there is no separation of powers here.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has stated that military men are not suitable to rule a country. It is there on the web. You can show a mountain to the military and order them to capture it. They would duly follow the order and capture it but they cannot rule. Because they do not know how to maintain a dialogue and discussion aimed at reaching an agreement. Unfortunately, today there is no dialogue. We are sliding towards the abyss of authoritarianism.

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Malaysia declares emergency in Sarawak as haze from Indonesia worsens

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/5

Priyan

This aerial photo taken from a commercial plane shows haze from Indonesian forest fires blanketing a residential district in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo, on September 5, 2026 (Aljazeera)

Malaysia has declared a state of emergency in a district in Sarawak state after haze caused by wildfires in neighbouring Indonesia increased air pollution to “hazardous” levels.

King Sultan Ibrahim “has consented to the declaration of emergency throughout Serian Division, Sarawak, following haze conditions that have reached air pollution levels hazardous to public health and safety”, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s office said in a statement on Thursday.

The declaration followed a formal request from the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee after the region’s Air Pollutant Index reached levels warranting consideration of a local emergency.

Under the order, 647 schools in Serian will close from Monday until at least the end of next week, alongside government and private offices, plantations, construction sites and quarries, with only essential services continuing to operate.

The state’s disaster management authorities said a three-day cloud-seeding operation launched on Thursday would be extended to at least Monday, citing forecasts of “more conducive cloud formations” during that period.

Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee chairman Douglas Uggah Embas, speaking at a news conference in Kuching, stressed that the emergency applied only to Serian, not the entire state, but urged residents there to take the situation seriously.

“Please minimise outdoor activities and avoid strenuous activities outdoors,” he said.

Sarawak, in the northern part of Borneo island, has been heavily affected by haze for weeks, as have the neighbouring states of Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.

(Aljazeera)

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Sun directly overhead Moratuwa, Kesbewa, Handapangoda, Idalgashinna, Yudhaganawa, Kotiyagala and Panama about 12.08 noon today (05)

Published

5 hours ago

2026/09/5

Priyan

The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is
overhead today (05) are Moratuwa, Kesbewa, Handapangoda, Idalgashinna, Yudhaganawa, Kotiyagala and Panama about 12.08 noon

News

Namal remanded until Sept. 18 over Airbus deal investigation

Published

6 hours ago

2026/09/5

Thilina Walpola

Namal Rajapaksa being brought to the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser and Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa was yesterday remanded until September 18 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court following his arrest by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) in connection with an investigation into the controversial SriLankan Airlines Airbus aircraft transaction.

Rajapaksa appeared before the CIABOC at around 9.15 am yesterday to record a statement after being summoned over the transaction. He was taken into custody following several hours of questioning and subsequently produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate.

The investigation centres on allegations surrounding the acquisition of six Airbus A330 and eight A350 aircraft by SriLankan Airlines in 2013, in connection with an alleged USD 2 million bribe.

Former SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Officer Kapila Chandrasena and his wife, Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayake, had previously been named in connection with the alleged bribery.

Chandrasena was arrested on March 12 as part of an investigation launched by the CIABOC under the Anti-Corruption Act and was subsequently released on bail. He was later found dead on May 8 while on bail, with police suspecting that his death was a suicide.

Open warrants have been issued for the arrest of Wijenayake, who is named as the second suspect, and Shamindra Rajapaksa, named as the third suspect, in the case pending before the Fort Magistrate’s Court in connection with the Airbus transaction.

The investigation has also received assistance from Airbus, with a delegation from the company’s parent group in France visiting Sri Lanka during the first week of August. The delegation provided statements and other assistance to the CIABOC as part of the ongoing inquiry.

Rajapaksa’s arrest and remand yesterday mark a further development in the widening investigation into the controversial aircraft deal.