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MPs book-borrowing hit by pandemic closure 

20 Jan 2022

  • Parliament source claims pre-2021 borrowings high, in response to Speaker admonishing MPs 
By Buddhika Samaraweera  Following the Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s statement on 19 January that only 330 books have been borrowed from the Parliament library by Parliamentarians (MPs) in 2021, the Parliament informed that the number of books borrowed by MPs has decreased as the Parliament was closed for a considerable period last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. When contacted by The Morning yesterday (20), an official of the Parliament noted that the number of books borrowed by MPs had decreased as the Parliament had been closed for a considerable period of time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He also said that the number of books borrowed by MPs in the years before 2021 was at a high level.  “Usually, many MPs read. The Speaker only asked for data for last year. However, the number of books that were borrowed last year was somewhat lower compared to previous years due to the closure of the Parliament. Also, in addition to books, there are thousands of other documents in the library such as Hansard reports, annual reports and gazette notifications. MPs regularly refer to such documents,” he said. When queried about the number of books in the Parliament library, the official said that it had approximately 30,000 books written in all languages including Sinhala, Tamil and English. He further noted that nearly 1,000 new books are purchased each year. However, he said that due to the high value of the books, most of the books in the library are reserved for use only within the confines of the library, and not for borrowing. Delivering the opening statement of the second session of the ninth Parliament on 19 January, Abeywardena said that only 330 books had been borrowed by MPs last year.  “Out of those books, 122 have been under the fiction category. 94 on political science, 27 on sociology, 11 on economics, five on science, four on law, three on technology, and one each on education and Sinhala literature,” he explained. Claiming that it is something embarrassing for a House of 225 MPs, the Speaker said that the lack of preparation and knowledge on subject matters have led to various insults, lies, false allegations, and un-Parliamentary terms being part of the speeches made by the MPs. This finally escalates to shameful un-Parliamentary conduct, he noted. He further added: “When I, as a MP, first spoke in the Parliament, I did it after weeks of preparation, reading in the library and listening to speakers such as the slain MPs Gamini Dissanayake, Ranasinghe Premadasa and Lalith Athulathmudali, etc. As new MPs, we wanted to give the best impression of ourselves in the Parliament, but today, very few MPs prepare for their speeches in advance.”


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