Sri Lanka’s former Speaker of Parliament, Karu Jayasuriya, has urged the government to reconsider its decision to slash pensions for retired Members of Parliament.
Speaking in his capacity as Chair of the Retired Parliamentarians’ Association, Jayasuriya said that around 490 former MPs and their widows currently rely on the pension benefit—many of them struggling to make ends meet.
He noted that some even depend on it for basic needs such as food and medication.
“Not everyone who has served in Parliament is corrupt. There are those who have dedicated their lives to public service and are now living in hardship,” he said, calling for a compassionate approach.
Jayasuriya also highlighted that providing pensions to former legislators is standard practice in democracies such as India, the UK, the United States, and across Europe.
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