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Monday, 4 March 2019 00:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Senashia Ekanayake
Bangung, or rise/wake up, set up with the intention of demanding/asking for Malay representation at Parliament, held a press conference in Colombo last week.
Accompanied by Al Haj Anver Kamiss, Haroon Cader and MNH Emran the briefing was chaired by President Al Haj TK Azoor.
In order to seek representation in Parliament, which Malays cannot achieve by contesting, Bangung seeks to attain by aligning with the candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election who allies best with the asks of Bangung.
Upon identifying the most suitable candidate, Bangung will then sign an MoU with the candidate to both secure the votes of all Sri Lankan Malays in his/her favour as well as to ensure that a Malay candidate will be appointed through the national list if the candidate wins and is appointed president.
When asked, the representatives of Bangung stated that they were not interested in contesting for the Provincial Council Elections as it is only through a Parliamentary representative can the community be granted their requests.
“Malays have been in Sri Lanka for three centuries. However, since 1993, there has been no Malay representative in Parliament. The first milestone we hope to achieve is the restoration of a Malay representative,” said Bangung President Al Haj TK Azoor.
Azoor was previously in the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress in the capacity of deputy leader and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramunawhere he was appointed a member of the Colombo Municipal Council.
A few other asks that Bangung has included are the restoration of the Malay language paper at the Ordinary Level examination that was withdrawn in 2010, reinstatement of ‘SuaraMelayu’, a program in the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation that was extracted as a result of the lack of sponsors, recommencement of ‘Selamat’ a program in SLRC, the placement for the post of Malay Muslim registrar with all-island jurisdiction and the preservation of the Malay heritage sites.
“There have been consistent representations made to successive governments to make allowance for the appointment of a Malay representative in Parliament,however this has fallen on deaf ears. The first representation was before the Select Committee of Parliament on Electoral Reforms in 2003 chaired by Dinesh Gunawardena; the second to the Select Committee of Parliament to Recommend and Report on Political and Constitutional Measures to empower the people of Sri Lanka in 2014, chaired by Nimal Siripala de Silva and finally the third representation was to the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms in 2016 chaired by Lal Wijenayake and as it has been an ongoing process since, we are confident that it will not go anywhere at this point,” said TK Azoor.
Bangung also has a membership/loyalty card that is being promoted amongst the Malay community, which when purchased is a considered a symbol of support and solidarity.
Bangung also intends to put forth requests for equal opportunity and treatment for Malays in the fields of admission to state universities, employment, housing, health and social welfare, sports, armed forces and police. The last census taken in 2011 reported an estimated 40,189 Malays living in Sri Lanka, a negative 26.7% since the previous census estimate in 2001. However, during the briefing it was revealed that an estimate of 80,000 Malays live in Sri Lanka with nearly 50,000 above the age of 18 and with voting rights.
