Health and Media Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa told Parliament today (21) that the government has not made any decision to remove professional identification stickers displayed on vehicles belonging to doctors and lawyers.
He made this clarification in response to a question raised by Kalutara District MP Rohitha Abeygunawardena, who asked whether the government had decided to remove stickers from doctors’ vehicle windshields.
Minister Jayatissa explained that such stickers serve an important purpose, particularly for medical professionals.
“Displaying these stickers on vehicles provides a practical advantage for professionals such as doctors, especially when entering hospital premises or during emergencies. Therefore, the government has no plans to remove such stickers, and no decision has been made in that regard,” he said.
With this clarification, the Minister officially confirmed that the rumours circulating about the removal of stickers from doctors’ and lawyers’ vehicles are baseless.
The discussion on removing professional stickers began earlier following a proposal reportedly considered by the Sri Lanka Police and the Ministry of Public Security. The proposal aimed to instruct the removal of all unnecessary stickers from the front and rear windscreens of vehicles. Reports indicated that the primary objective was to prevent criminals and offenders from using fake professional stickers to evade the law.
However, once the proposal became public, it drew strong opposition from professional associations, particularly the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) and other medical unions. They argued that medical stickers are essential for doctors to reach hospitals quickly during emergencies, to enter hospital premises without delay, and to confirm their professional identity during disaster situations or under curfew.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) also raised similar concerns, noting that lawyers’ stickers help facilitate access to court premises and support the smooth execution of their professional duties.
