The following is the royal address by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V at the first meeting of the 14th Parliament yesterday.
PRESIDENT of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Members of the Senate and Members of the House of Representatives.
Alhamdulillah. We express our utmost gratitude to Allah the Almighty, for it is with His Munificence, and His Leave, we are gathered here today for the opening ceremony of the first session of the 14th Parliament.
Today will mark a historical day for this august house with the second opening of Parliament within the same year with a significant number of new members of parliament.
Honourable members,
The 14th General Election has just concluded on May 9. We congratulate the new government led by the prime minister that has been given the mandate by the people.
We would like to thank all parties involved, especially the Election Commission, the security forces and various government agencies for ensuring the smooth running of the general election without any untoward incident.
We congratulate all members of parliament who have been elected by the people to represent them in this august house.
It is an enormous responsibility entrusted upon all honourable members, who are expected to perform their duties with dedication and integrity.
We believe the honourable members will take this opportunity to participate in healthy, mature and dynamic debates, to find and to uphold the truth, by conveying ideas as well as critics with wisdom and civility.
May this parliamentary institution continue to be well respected and highly regarded by the people and the world over.
The people have chosen. Therefore, all parties should accept and respect the result of the general election without being emotional, narrow-minded or having prejudicial and slanderous thoughts that are influenced by sensationalism and speculation.
We hope all parties will work together in striving towards a genuine and pure unity, as well as finding solutions for the good of the people and for the survival of the nation.
Honourable members,
We hope the newly-elected government will bring more success in various fields that have been achieved to date.
The public and private sectors, as well as the people, must work hand-in-hand to achieve greater heights, especially in improving the economy of certain quarters that are still marginalised.
Championing the rights of marginalised groups should not be looked upon as discrimination but an effort to establish social justice that is long overdue.
On the international front, we applaud the role taken by Malaysia in enhancing cooperation with the world, especially Asean, for the well-being of the people and the nation.
Honourable members,
We welcome the government’s efforts to enhance transparency among others, by fully disclosing the government’s financial position and re-evaluating expenditures, as well as practising prudent financial management.
In order to curb the rising cost of living, we support the move to abolish the goods and services tax (GST) as well as to stabilise fuel prices and to extend the Bantuan Sara Hidup so as to ease the people’s burden.
We also applaud the people from all walks of life for their show of patriotism by donating to the Tabung Harapan.
Honourable members,
Global economic uncertainties, political conflicts, humanitarian crisis and the threat of radicalism have significant repercussions on the world’s geopolitics as well as economies. We hope the government will continue to address such challenges for the well-being of the people and nation.
The ability to forge ahead in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a new challenge for all countries. Hence, we welcome the government’s initiatives through the formation of policies, strategies and legal frameworks to meet the challenges. We hope the benefits will not be solely economic, but also in terms of social development as well as in many other aspects.
The mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan: New Direction 2018-2020 will be tabled this year as among the measures taken to face the challenges of the national development agenda.
The review is aimed at re-evaluating the directions and status of all programmes and projects that have been approved. We encourage all honourable members to participate in debating the said review and give useful input to the government.
Our government will continue the implementation of various programmes and projects to ensure that the people, including those in Sabah and Sarawak, can reap the benefits of development.
This is in line with the government’s policy to provide better living standards for the people as well as ensuring just and fair distribution of the nation’s wealth.
Honourable members,
The contribution of almost 15 million workers is significant to the nation’s development. We hope that the workers will reap the reward from the introduction of initiatives, such as establishing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, standardising the minimum wage and creating more jobs.
The contribution of women towards the nation is monumental in various jobs and skills. We are confident that the role of women can be further enhanced.
Therefore, proper measures should be instituted to tap on their potential and talent so that they can further contribute to the nation and society.
At the same time, the stability of the family institution will always be a priority.
While we are progressing towards modernisation, religious duties and good moral values must be preserved. We urge all parties, including government agencies, non-governmental organisations and scholars to work together in finding solutions to curb social ills and negative elements that are affecting our societies.
We applaud the government’s efforts to strengthen integrity, good governance, and the rule of law. Effective measures have to be taken to convince existing investors as well as to attract new investors to Malaysia.
Honourable members,
Ethnic, religious and cultural diversity such as in Malaysia are said to be the perfect recipe for disaster. Nonetheless, we are grateful that as a nation, we have proven otherwise. We urge every citizen to preserve and strengthen this peace and unity.
We must put an end to all the negative elements as well as the irresponsible actions that threaten the essence of peace, well-being of the people and stability of the nation.
Stop the bickering on racially-sensitive issues and we welcome the suggestion to form the Majlis Perundingan Rakyat to help promote and enhance unity through various programmes.
We thank and appreciate the commitment of all who have contributed towards safeguarding and ensuring the security, peace and sovereignty of the nation that has enabled the country to progress and reap the benefits as planned.
Lastly, we pray that Malaysia and her people will continue to be blesssed by Allah the Almighty with His Grace and Beneficence, so that we will always remain peaceful and united under His protection.