Mohamed Faiszer Musthapha,PC,MP is aSri Lankan lawyer and politician. He was the Minister of Sports and Provincial Councils and Local Government and a member of theParliament of Sri Lanka. Faiszer Musthapha is married to Fathima Rifa who is also a lawyer. They have two daughters.
Faiszer Musthapha chose the legal profession as his career following in the footsteps of his fatherFaisz Musthapha. Faiszer Musthapha had specialized incompany law and established a very successful practice eventually earning the title of President's Counsel. It was the first time in the history of Sri Lanka that both a father and son had attained the title of President's Counsel.[1] He also held the position of Vice Chairman ofSri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC) 2002-2003 and subsequently, Vice Chairman ofNational Housing Development Authority (NHDA) 2002–2004.
In the subsequent parliamentary elections in2010, Musthapha contested for reelection as a member of theSri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). With Faiszer as its candidate, the SLFP was able to achieve Muslim representation in Parliament from the Central Province for the first time in 54 years. He was then appointed a Central Committee member of the SLFP, a position he continues to hold.
In 2005, he was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Tourism and later functioned as the Minister of Tourism Promotion (non-cabinet), the Deputy Minister of Environment, the Deputy Minister of Technology and Research and thereafter as the Deputy Minister of Investment Promotion.
As the Deputy Minister of Environment, in April 2010, the Hon. Faiszer Musthapha led the Sri Lankan delegation to the 34th session of theWorld Heritage Committee held inBrasília,Brazil, where he played a key role in convincing the members of the World Heritage Committee to approve the inscription ofHorton Plains, Knuckles Conservative Forest and Peak Wilderness (forest area aroundSri-Pada) asWorld Heritage Sites.[2]
He had previously served as a member of the Cabinet sub-committee appointed to look into and identify Laws and Regulations Obstructing Investments and as a Member of theCommittee on Public Enterprises (COPE).
He was one of many SLFP MPs who crossed over to the opposition in support ofMaithripala Sirisena to campaign against former PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa in the2015 presidential election, which would be won by Sirisena.[3] In the cabinet reshuffle that followed, Mustapha was appointed as State Minister of Aviation from which he resigned barely a month later. Soon after, he was appointed as Legal Advisor to PresidentMaithripala Sirisena.
Following his appointment asMinister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, Musthapha identified numerous flaws in the Delimitation Report, which was to be the basis on which the forthcoming local government elections were to be conducted according to the Local Authorities (Amendment) Act 2012. He postponed the local government elections indefinitely until the delimitation report was rectified, although it was beyond the legally permitted term. He defended his decision stating that the original delimitation report was designed to the whims and fancies of the previous government and would have resulted in a mockery of the democratic process if remedial action was not taken. However, this decision received much criticism from citizens and politicians alike.[4]
