Accordingly, all relevant parties, including the arrival of the Hon. Members of Parliament, are expected at 8.45 a.m. The hearse carrying the remains of Hon. Joseph Michael Perera is scheduled to arrive near the main steps of the Parliament complex by 9.00 a.m. Thereafter, Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Prime Minister, Hon. Ajith Rajapakse, Deputy Speaker, Hon. Angajan Ramanathan, Deputy Chairperson of Committees, Hon. Party Leaders, Mr. Dhammika Dasanayake, Secretary General of Parliament, Ms. Kushani Rohanadeera, Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament will receive the remains of the late former Speaker.

The Serjeant-at-Arms, Deputy Serjeant-at-Arms and Assistant Sergeant-at- Arms will then escort the remains received, along the red carpet and will be kept at the special ceremonial hall located in the front hall of the Parliament building.

The remains of the late Hon. Joseph Michael Perera will be placed from 9.00 a.m to 10.00 a.m, the Secretary General said. The President Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe is also scheduled to pay his last respects to the former late Speaker of Parliament.
The Secretary General informs all Members of Parliament, former Members of Parliament, Ambassadors as well as the staff of the Secretariat of Parliament, former members of staff and staff affiliated to the Parliament to pay their last respects to the late Hon. Joseph Michael Perera, a former Speaker of the Parliament.

Born on September 15 th , 1941, Hon. Joseph Michael Perera served as the 17 th Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from December 19 th 2001 to February 7 th , 2004. Hon. Joseph Michael Perera Joined active politics as an elected member of the Ja-Ela Urban Council in 1964-1967. In 1967-1970, he was appointed as the Vice Chairman of Ja-Ela Urban Council, and in 1970-1971, he became the Chairman of Ja-Ela Urban Council. In 1971-1976, he worked as the Chief organizer for the Opposition.

From 1976-1977 he was an elected Member of Parliament to the First National State Assembly and from 1977-1978 he served as an elected Member of Parliament to the Second National State Assembly. He has also served as an elected member to the first Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka from 1978-1988.
Hon. Joseph Michael Perera held a number of ministerial positions including Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Labor and Minister of Fisheries from 1989 to 2015.