KUALA LUMPUR (April 29, 2008): by Husna Yusop and Llew-Ann Phang
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin opened the first meeting of the 12th Parliament today, with a call to all lawmakers to have the nation's interests as their primary objective and not use the Dewan Rakyat for their individual political interests.
He expressed the hope that they will discharge their duties and responsibilities "with dedication, sincerity and honesty and show exemplary conduct".
"The people's respect for and confidence in Parliament as the supreme legislative body depends on the role played by the members of parliament. Use this august House as the stage to put forth constructive criticism and enlightening views," he said in his royal address.
Tuanku Mizan asked all quarters to take on the responsibility of ensuring unity among all the races and thwart attempts to disunite the people because the success of the nation resulted from political stability and racial solidarity.
Although the King did not elaborate on this in his address, the 11th Parliament had seen debates where some parliamentarians had made sensitive remarks that had offended certain communities, and some of these remarks became fodder for political campaigns during the last general election in which the Barisan Nasional (BN) lost its two-thirds majority and control over five states.
The royal address also touched on many matters of state. They include:
> Subsidies and other forms of assistance as a response to rising fuel prices
He said the government would strive to retain such assistance to enable the people face the consequences of rising world fuel prices. He said more than RM36 billion has been allocated for the purpose and so far various forms of subsidy and assistance had been made available to offset higher prices for goods and ease the burden of expenditure on the people.
The King said he was saddened to learn that certain quarters had abused the subsidy facility by hoarding essential goods and also smuggling them out of the country to make huge profits for themselves. "These are despicable acts which impose difficulty on the people and violate their rights."
He also reminded the people to be prudent in spending.
> Revamp of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and the setting up of a parliamentary committee on anti-corruption.
"I hope these efforts will raise the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of measures to wipe out corruption in the country," he said, adding that the economic achievement and development enjoyed thus far would be meaningless if corruption, abuse of power and irregularities continued to take place.
> Judicial reforms
This reflected the commitment of the government to ensure that the judiciary is just, respected and independent of any influence "A just and effective judicial system is important for raising the people's confidence in the national judicial system."
> Five regional economic development corridors
The King wants these regional projects to benefit all the people because they were not confined to specific areas but covered the whole country, and had the potential to create more than 12 million jobs in various sectors.
> The economy
"I extend my congratulations to the prime minister for leading the nation to economic success in the face of external challenges such as a moderate world economic growth, rising world crude oil and food prices, and stiff competition in terms of trade and investment."
He said the country's economy exceeded the 6% target to register a growth of 6.3% last year and the per capita income rose to more than RM23,000 while the inflation rate was kept low, at 2%, and the rate of unemployment maintained at 3.3%.
Tuanku Mizan said he also wanted the government re-evaluate the priorities accorded to the development programmes and projects of the ongoing Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) during the mid-term review of the plan so as to achieve the objectives of the National Mission.
"I appreciate the determination of the government in the implementation of the development projects under the 9MP. Up to last March, RM81.7 billion or a sum equivalent to 40.8% of the total allocation of RM200 billion, has been spent.
"This has given a positive impact to the nation's economic growth, particularly in the construction sector and construction-related industries. I hope this rate of sustainable growth can be maintained."
> Eradicating poverty
Tuanku Mizan said he was proud of the government's success in reducing the poverty rate to 3.6 per cent compared to the 75% when the nation achieved its independence, with the hardcore poverty rate having dropped to 0.7%. "I am confident that hardcore poverty can be wiped out by 2010."
> On social ills
The King wants the government to adopt firm integrated measures to fight social ills to ensure that human capital development and spiritual growth were in accordance with the Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam) approach. "I view with concern social ills such as drug addiction, deviation of faith and so on which can undermine the sanctity of Islam."
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