No show by Hizbullah and son at CoPE hearing into Batticaloa Campus, Hira Foundation

• Duo inform they are out of country on pre-scheduled foreign visit
• CoPE postpones inquiry till 9 Oct.
• Asks for written explanation for their absence
• Higher Education Ministry officials fail to provide satisfactory answers on establishment of controversial campus

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

Former Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, and his son, Hiraz Hizbullah, failed to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (CoPE) to take part in the scheduled investigation on the controversial Batticaloa Campus Ltd. and Sri Lanka Hira Foundation.

Former Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah

The duo cited had informed CoPE, through officials of the Higher Education Ministry who were present at the Committee hearing, that they were out of the country on a pre-scheduled foreign visit.

The officers of the Batticaloa Campus Ltd. and Sri Lanka Hira Foundation, who maintained 14 accounts at Bank of Ceylon (BoC), were to face questioning by the Committee yesterday, along with the officers of the Bank and the Ministry of the Higher Education, on the questionable transactions and approvals to run the education institute. However, the officers of the BoC and the Ministry were present before the CoPE.

Unable to continue with the investigation in the absence of responsible officers from the Batticaloa Campus Ltd. and Sri Lanka Hira Foundation, CoPE Chairman JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti wanted all officers of both establishments to be present before the CoPE on 9 October at 2.30pm, with written submissions for their absence.

MP Handunnetti also ordered to inform Hizbullah and his son to submit a detailed report on their pre-scheduled foreign visit as well.

Meanwhile, Higher Education Ministry officials failed to provide a satisfactory answer to Handunnetti’s question as to why the Ministry accepted Hizbullah’s proposal, which was printed on the letterhead of Sri Lanka Parliament, to establish the controversial education institute, when Parliament had been dissolved at that time.