By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama  

Even though 70 percent of Sri Lankan Muslims voted for the National People’s Power (NPP) government, no Muslim representatives were included in the recent Cabinet appointments, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Kandy District candidate Rishad Mahroof said.  

Addressing the media at the SLPP office in Colombo, he said that the Sri Lankan Muslim community has expressed their displeasure over the matter.  

“During the election period, the NPP claimed that several representatives from the Muslim and Tamil communities would be appointed. This is the first time a government has decided to form a Cabinet without any Muslim representation since the country gained independence,” he said.  

“When the current government came to power, they relied heavily on Sri Lankan Muslim votes and even acknowledged that fact. It is questionable why no Muslims were appointed as Cabinet Ministers, and it raises suspicions that this might be part of some other agenda,” he added.  

Former Minister Ali Sabry represented the Muslim community in the Cabinet during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government in 2019.  

The current Parliament includes several Tamil representatives and even the first vision-impaired MP, but none from the Muslim community, he said.