KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 – The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, today opened the first meeting of the first session of the 13th Parliament by calling on the people to discard attributes which caused disunity.
His Majesty said the people should instead seek out areas of understanding to foster and strengthen unity.
The king also expressed the hope that the position of Islam should not be questioned and manipulated in the interests of anyone to the extent of distorting the faith of Muslims.
“Our government is committed to upholding Islam based on the Maqasid Syariah and will continue to maintain the position of Islam as the religion of the federation,” he said.
Earlier, at 10 am, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Hajah Haminah, were accorded a warm welcome upon arrival at Parliament Square by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang.
Also present to greet Their Majesties were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor; Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his wife, Puan Seri Noorainee Abdul Rahman; cabinet ministers and members of the diplomatic corps.
Tuanku Abdul Halim and Tuanku Hajah Haminah were escorted to the Banquet Hall to take the salute before the guard-of-honour. The ceremony was held indoors instead of at Parliament Square because of the haze.
The inspection of the guard-of-honour of 103 officers and men of the First Battalion Royal Malay Regiment could not be carried out due to the restricted space in the banquet hall.
The ‘Negaraku’ national anthem was played by the central band of the Royal Malay Regiment and a 21-gun salute was fired.
At 10.50 am, the bell was rung and Their Majesties were escorted into the Dewan Rakyat for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to deliver the royal address.
In his address, Tuanku Abdul Halim also touched on public order and national security, which he said remained a priority of the government.
The government would continue to strive to rectify the gap between perception and reality on the aspect of security in the country, he said.
His Majesty extended condolences to the families of security forces personnel killed while defending the nation against Sulu terrorists in Lahad Datu and Semporna in Sabah last March.
“The service, dedication and sacrifice of the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Royal Malaysia Police and civilians as well as all quarters engaged in maintaining security in eastern Sabah are highly valued and respected,” he said.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong also referred to the economic performance and issues pertaining to education, tourism, youths and women and the initiatives to check corruption as well as the nation’s commitment at the international level.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong drew attention to the fact that Malaysia’s economic performance had improved and that the country was recognised as most competitive among 30 countries with a gross domestic product per capita of less than US$20,000.
Besides, Malaysia was also recognised as the 12th most business-friendly nation in the world and occupied the 10th position as the choice destination for foreign direct investment in the Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index 2012.
“Congratulations on the outstanding performance in 2012. I hope that this year the country will achieve the projected economic growth of between five and six per cent,” he said.
Tuanku Abdul Halim said the government would continue to be the facilitator and provide a conducive atmosphere to step up the role of the private sector as the driver of economic growth.
He also said that the government would continue to provide and develop a more conducive eco-system for investors to draw more value added and high-tech investment that could propel Malaysia as a country providing innovative and creative services.
Tuanku Abdul Halim said the government’s efforts led to approval of RM49.3 billion in investments in the first three months of this year, an increase of 44 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.
He urged the people to continue to support the tourism industry, particularly the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 programme, by fostering a positive culture and practices which could captivate tourists.
He said it was also hoped that civil servants would continue to improve on the government delivery system in three aspects – speed, accuracy and integrity – besides being creative and innovative and stepping up productivity.
The Dewan Rakyat will sit for 16 days between now and July 18 while the Dewan Negara will sit between July 22 and Aug 1.
– BERNAMA
