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» Maria J.Dass and Karen Arukesamy at the Selangor State Assembly yesterday
‘Focus on common values to unifyy races’
SELANGOR’S Sultan Sharafuddin
Idris Shah says democracy means
taking into account what the people
want and that the people’s perception
is an indication of the success of an
administration.
He called for a stop to politicising
of racial issues which ruin the image
of the country.
People should start concentrat-
ing on common values to unify the
races, the sultan said, and policies
implemented should not isolate any
parties.
Speaking at the opening of the
first meeting of the second session
of the Selangor state legislative as-
sembly, he said: “Democracy means
that it is the people who determine
their destiny. The people’s opinion is
the best measure of the success of a
state’s administration, as supported
by the Federal Constitution and the
state laws.”
Stressing on the need for racial
unity, the sultan said: “Of late, there
have been some groups that have
been creating discord by embarking
on street demonstrations which have
disturbed the peace, harmony and
racial unity in this country.
“I urge those involved to stop all
actions that may tarnish the image
of the country and start focusing on
efforts to unify the races.”
The sultan said it was unfortunate
that racial issues are politicised in
Malaysia and stressed that there
Nazrin: Malays must safeguard culture, tradition
BANGI: The Raja Muda of Perak
Raja Dr Nazrin Shah has called on
Malays to safeguard their culture
and tradition as these are crucial to
their survival as a race.
He said Malays already had a
unique identity, one “which is tied
by customs, knotted by language
and coated by religion”.
He also called on them not to take
for granted the Malay privileges as
provided for in the Federal Constitu-
tion, namely in clauses pertaining
to Islam, Rulers’ Institution, Malay
customs, Malay language and spe-
cial privileges.
Raja Nazrin said the survival of
the Malays as a race hinged on the
very factors which had given them
identity, namely religion, language,
should be a paradigm shift among
the people where common values
are emphasised instead of differ-
ences.
“Building racial unity and
harmony is no simple task but nev-
ertheless with commitment, good
example at the highest level of the
administration as well as the support
of the people, it is not impossible,” he
said adding that state policies should
benefit everyone and not isolate any
parties.
Speaking on the state’s economic
performance, Sultan Sharafuddin
said he was worried about the eco-
nomic performance of the state for
2009 but was satisfied with the state’s
performance thus far which was
average but consistent with national
growth and the measures in place to
address job losses in the state.
On the water restructuring efforts
in the state, he acknowledged this
was a complex issue but said it needs
to be wrapped up as soon as possible
as he did not want the people of Se-
langor to suffer from water shortage
as a result of a delay in negotiations.
He also lamented about the state
of the transportation system in Se-
langor and called for a more efficient
and integrated system which would
promote a 50:50 public and private
transportation ratio and a one-hour
transportation module which trans-
lates to one hour travel time from
point to point in Selangor.
culture and traditions, and the Rul-
ers’ Institution.
It would be unfortunate, there-
fore, when attempts were made
to undermine the traditions and
institution, he said.
“It would be to the great detri-
ment of the survival of the Malay
race if traditions and institutions
are no longer respected and seen
instead as antithesis to rational
thinking, modernity and science.
“How unfortunate would it be for
a generation to view traditions as
‘an ignorant practice, inconsequen-
tial and dogmatic’,” he said at the
launching of a book, The Malays,
at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM) here.
The book is written by Prof
Demo-
cracy
means
that it
is the
people
who
determine
their
destiny.
Online declaration of assets
THE declaration of assets by Selan-
gor state executive councillors will
be available online by the end of the
week. The call for the assets to be
made public as soon as possible was
made by Selangor Sultan Sharafud-
din Idris Shah during his speech at
Anthony Milner, an Asian history
professor at the Australian National
University.
Raja Nazrin said that in wading
the tide of globalisation and in fac-
ing political dynamics currently tak-
ing place in the country, the Malays
could be caught in crossroads and
faced with two possibilities.
The first, he said, was that they
would continue to survive and
thrive, and emerge as a supreme
race in a globalised world.
“The second possibility, God
forbids, is that they would be swept
away by the tide of globalisation
and become weak, devoid of any
cultural root.
“In the end, the Malays would
remain only as a name in folk tales,”
the opening of the first meeting
of the second session of the state
legislative assembly yesterday.
He said the declaration of the
assets which the public can access
online is a step towards good gov-
ernance.
he said.
It was, therefore, important
that the Malays avoid committing
the folly of Pak Kadok, a character
in the old Malay fable who lost
his village because of his foolish-
ness.
He also cautioned Malays to
be wary of what he said as “radi-
cal attempts” to undermine their
strength.
Raja Nazrin also expressed ap-
preciation to Prof Milner’s recogni-
tion of the Rulers’ Institution as an
important heritage of the Malay
race.
The least they could do, he said,
was to make the book a compulsory
reference for students taking Malay
studies. – Bernama
| WEDNESDAY MARCH 11 2009
KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/THESUN
Sultan Sharafuddin inspects a
guard of honour prior to opening
the Selangor state assembly
session yesterday.
NGOs call for
dissolution of
Perak state
assembly
IPOH: Twenty-eight non-govern-
mental organisations (NGOs) in
Perak are appealing to Sultan Azlan
Shah to dissolve the state assembly
for fresh elections.
Ten thousand signatures have
also been collected in a signature
campaign in kampungs in the state
calling for the dissolution and new
elections.
Among the 28 NGOs are 23
Chinese associations, the Perak
Bloggers Network and four Islamic
associations consisting of Jamaiy
Negeri Perak (25 NGO Islam Negeri
Perak), Kumpulan Prihatin Pertu-
buhan Islam Bukan Kerjaan Negeri
Perak (KPPIBKNP), Yayasan Amal
Perak (YAP) and the Biro Kebajikan
Pusat Khidmat Sosial Islam Negeri
Perak.