12 January 1960 marked a historic moment for the Colombo Municipal Council, as M.H. Mohamed (Mohamed Hanifa Mohamed) became the first Muslim to be elected mayor in its history.
The Colombo Municipal Council was not unfamiliar territory for the Mohamed family, nor was politics. M.H. Mohamed’s grandfather, M.D. Abdul Rahman, was a member of the 1876 Legislative Assembly. His grandsons, M.I.M. Hanifa and H.L.M. Shainuddin, served as municipal councillors on the Colombo Municipal Council from 1894 to 1900 and from 1900 to 1907, respectively. This was during colonial rule, against which the Mohamed family actively resisted. As a result, they were strongly aligned with left-wing political ideologies.
The family maintained close ties with prominent leftist figures such as Dr S.A. Wickramasinghe, Peter Keuneman, and Dr N.M. Perera. Influenced by the family’s political leanings, M.H. Mohamed’s father, N.M.M. Hanifa, joined A.E. Gunasinghe’s Ceylon Workers’ Party — a party in which both Ranasinghe Premadasa and V.A. Sugathadasa began their political careers under Gunasinghe’s mentorship. Later, UNP leaders Dudley Senanayake and J.R. Jayewardene successfully persuaded Premadasa and Sugathadasa to join the United National Party (UNP).
After the UNP suffered a crushing defeat in the 1956 general election, J.R. fielded V.A. Sugathadasa in the local government elections in Colombo. Sugathadasa won, defeating Prime Minister Bandaranaike — the architect of the 1956 wave — and Minister Philip Gunawardena, who had been viewed as the man who sealed the UNP’s political downfall.
While Sugathadasa became mayor, M.H. Mohamed, who had entered leftist politics, also served on the Colombo Municipal Council. Following in his family’s footsteps, he contested his first municipal election in 1947 as an independent candidate representing Maligawatta. Like Sugathadasa, Mohamed enjoyed widespread popularity, particularly among Colombo’s working-class communities.
Dudley and J.R. later advised Sugathadasa to contest the general parliamentary election, and they selected Mohamed to succeed him as mayor. From 1947 to 1965, Mohamed never lost an election.
In recognition of his popularity and political strength, Dudley and J.R. chose Mohamed to contest the Borella seat in the 1965 general election. At the time, Borella was held by Vivian Gunawardena, a firebrand of the left. Many UNP candidates were reluctant to challenge her, but Mohamed accepted the task and defeated Vivian in a stunning upset. Dudley immediately brought the first-time MP into the Cabinet, appointing him Minister of Labour, Employment, and Housing. In 1977, J.R. entrusted him with the Ministry of Transport.
D.S. Senanayake, the UNP’s founder, cultivated a tradition of eliminating caste and religious barriers, elevating Sinhala-speaking Muslim MPs to senior leadership roles. Baqir Marker, A.C.S. Hameed, and M.H. Mohamed were products of this inclusive political culture. They defended the country and their party with conviction and loyalty. During 1970–77, when the UNP was at its weakest and conflicts emerged between party leader Dudley and opposition leader J.R., Mohamed aligned with Dudley, while Hameed supported J.R. Yet the two men helped unify the party.
Before the 1977 general election, J.R. summoned Hameed and made a remarkable offer:
“I have never said this to anyone before. Tell me which ministerial post you want — I will give it to you.”
Hameed requested the foreign ministry, and J.R. agreed. Traditionally, the Prime Minister retained the foreign affairs portfolio, but J.R. honoured Hameed’s request.
When Premadasa became president, Hameed was appointed as his peace envoy, tasked with negotiating with Prabhakaran and mediating with the JVP through the Inter-University Students’ Federation.
In 1994, following the assassination of Gamini Dissanayake, tensions arose between Gamini’s supporters and Ranil Wickremesinghe over party leadership. It was Hameed who crafted the compromise: offering the presidential candidacy to Gamini’s widow and the party leadership to Ranil.
In later years, the Mohamed, Hameed, and Baqir Marker families grew disillusioned with Ranil, who they felt had marginalised them. If leaders like Mohamed had remained prominent, some believe the UNP may not have declined as it did.
Perhaps this is why Samagi Jana Balawegaya leader Sajith Premadasa is now cultivating a new Muslim leader in the tradition of Mohamed and Hameed — Dr Ruwais Hanifa, M.H. Mohamed’s grandson.
Dr Hanifa is an accomplished professional. A respected medical doctor, he is a lecturer at the Colombo Medical College, a former president of the Medical Association, and vice president of the Sri Lanka Professionals Association. He serves on the World Health Organization’s Community Health Policy Framework Committee and was a United Nations coordinator during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the war, he courageously travelled to the North — under gunfire — to provide care to both military personnel and Tamil civilians. He has also contributed significantly to community health in Colombo.
Hanifa did not enter politics to follow his grandfather’s path. Mohamed remained in parliament until 2010, yet Hanifa focused on his medical career. He only entered politics 15 years later, at Sajith Premadasa’s invitation. Had he intended to follow directly in his grandfather’s footsteps, he might have entered politics earlier.
Mohamed was affectionately known in Colombo as “Sinhala Mohamed.” As Minister of Transport, he introduced free bus travel for Buddhist children attending Dhamma schools — a gesture that earned him deep respect among Buddhist monks, hence the nickname.
Today, Sri Lanka needs not only “Sinhala Mohameds” but also peace envoys like Hameed. It is into this environment that Dr Ruwais Hanifa steps onto the political stage.
Will he win the Colombo mayoral race?
It is still too early to say.
