Colombo- Sri Lankan Malays lament over the non-representation of their community in the legislature and appeal from the All Party Representative Committee to grant opportunity for the non-represented communities in a future constitution.
Sri Lankan Malay community numbers well over 70,000 although some say the statistics of the census is wrong as they are often misidentified as Muslims. They are spread all over the country and cannot win a seat in the parliament in the current context.
Malays say that they had an opportunity under the 1948 constitution for parliamentary representation through the six seats offered to be appointed from the non-represented communities until the 1972 republican constitution shed the provision.
They say that only once a Malay was appointed from the national list after 1978 and it was during the President Premadasa`s time.
Source: www.colombopage.com (19 Juli 2007)
