In a recent statement, Kandy District candidate Rishad Mahroof of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) highlighted the absence of Muslim representatives in the newly appointed Cabinet, despite 70% of Sri Lankan Muslims voting for the National People’s Power (NPP) government. Speaking to the media at the SLPP office in Colombo, Mahroof expressed the community’s dissatisfaction, noting that this marks the first time since independence that a government has formed a Cabinet without Muslim representation.
He pointed out that during the election, the NPP had promised to include members from the Muslim and Tamil communities. Mahroof questioned the rationale behind the lack of appointments for Muslim leaders, suggesting that it raises concerns about a potential hidden agenda. He recalled that former Minister Ali Sabry served as the Muslim representative in the Cabinet during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration in 2019. While the current Parliament features several Tamil representatives and even the first vision-impaired MP, Mahroof lamented the absence of any voice from the Muslim community.
