Priority must immediately be assigned to public awareness campaigns regarding narcotics to address the growing drug crisis, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Hector Appuhamy said.
Speaking during the debate on the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill on 22 October, he emphasised that educating children and society on the dangers of illegal substances would safeguard families and preserve vital national funds.
Highlighting economic distress across the island, he noted that citizens have been forced to pawn gold worth Rs. 1,010 billion simply to settle their tax burdens.
Appuhamy questioned the government's foreign policy conduct, contrasting the heavy security assigned to a visiting Indian dignitary with the lack of official protocol provided to the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand during a recent public bus journey.
He expressed serious concern over proposed anti-terrorism legislation, alleging that the new law seeks to bypass the judiciary by establishing an independent body empowered to detain individuals for up to two years without trial.
He further cautioned that political opponents, dissidents, or ordinary citizens targeted over personal grudges risk being arbitrarily branded as terrorists and imprisoned under the prospective legal framework.
Concluding his address, the parliamentarian urged legal professionals and the public to scrutinize the proposed measures while holding the executive accountable for deteriorating living standards.
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