By Suhaila Shahrul Annuar
SELAYANG, Jan 1 — Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari has offered his assurance that the welfare of the multiracial and religious populace in Selangor will remain his administration’s top priority.
He stressed that assistance and initiatives by the state government will continue to be offered to all citizens, regardless of skin colour and creed.
This, he said, is evidenced in the numerous aid channelled to the community, including houses of worship of various religions and schools of different mediums.
“We are also a state that offers gazetted land for places of worship, meaning they do not need to pay premiums as was the case in the past, when these fees were prohibitively high, preventing the establishment of such houses.
“Why do we do this? Because we believe in the principle of the Rukun Negara, namely ‘belief in God’. It has become the government’s responsibility to ensure that houses of worship, including mosques, Hindu and Buddhist temples, and churches are properly preserved.
“The state government will continue to carry out its responsibilities to ensure the well-being, peace and stability of all citizens in this state,” he said during the New Year celebration programme at the Sri Ramar Alayam Temple, Selayang Baru, here, today.
In view of this, Amirudin urged the people of various ethnicities to always respect the beliefs of other religions, ensuring peace and harmony.
“Be respectful and understanding towards other religions. We must uphold this because day by day, I see more people trying to incite disharmony.
“Derogatory words and insults do not benefit anyone. We must understand and respect the various groups in our society. This is what we have been defending for so long, and which was later translated through the formation of the Unity Government,” he said.
Earlier, at the same event, Amirudin presented food hampers to 15 excellent students from the Selayang Baru Indian community.
Meanwhile, Sri Ramar Alayam Temple board trustee M. Pushpagaran said the RM100,000 channelled by the state government last year has been utilised to build a new multipurpose hall to conduct various community and educational activities.
