KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, hopes that attention and allocation for development will be distributed fairly to all towns in Malaysia’s 13 states.
His Majesty believes that if all states can be developed together, the migration of people to big cities can be reduced, and congestion would be better controlled.
“The economic development in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya has opened up many job opportunities and has led to the migration of people from other states to the Federal Territories.
“Therefore, the government must develop more efficient public infrastructure to address traffic congestion and meet the needs of these increasingly dense urban populations.
“The question is, is it because these Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan) are directly governed by the Federal government, a lot of development funding is concentrated only in these three territories,” Sultan Ibrahim said.
The King was speaking today during the investiture ceremony for Federal Territories awards, medals, and honours at Istana Negara.
The ceremony was also attended by Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, the Queen of Malaysia,
Meanwhile, His Majesty called on the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to constantly monitor cleanliness in its areas and reminded all Malaysians not to litter.
“Everyone knows that I like to drive my car myself, so I am able to see the condition of the roads and the surrounding areas. What I see is that there are still some places in Kuala Lumpur where the cleanliness is not satisfactory.
“My government is not a garbage collection government. To the enforcement officers, carry out your responsibilities with honesty, sincerity, and trust,” said the King.
In conjunction with Ramadan, His Majesty also advised all Muslims in the country not to be wasteful when spending on iftar meals and when preparing for Hari Raya Aidilfitri later.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all Muslims a blessed fasting month.
“Do not be wasteful because wastefulness is a despicable trait that will diminish the blessings of Ramadan,” said Sultan Ibrahim.
At the investiture ceremony, the King conferred Federal awards, medals, and honours on 33 recipients, led by Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Kamarulzaman Mat Salleh, who received the Darjah Kebesaran Seri Mahkota Wilayah (SMW), which carries the title Datuk Seri.
Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
— Bernama
