Selangor sultan: I can't hide my sadness and disappointment over political turmoil

 

Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has expressed disappointment over the recent political turmoil, reminding state reps to stop excessive politicking and fighting for power or positions.

In his royal address at the Selangor state assembly sitting, he also reminded the assemblypersons of their duties to the people.

“In this opportunity, I would like to remind all Selangor state assembly members to not engage in too much politicking and fighting for power or positions, forgetting your main responsibility to serve the people.

“I cannot hide my sadness and disappointment when I see the country’s political turmoil, conflict and uncertainties which have recently become more glaring,” Sultan Sharafuddin said.

The current sitting is the first meeting for the fourth term of the 14th Selangor state assembly.

Further, the ruler said it appears there are elected representatives who refused to learn from history, where power-grabbing had caused countries to fall and sowed disunity among the people.

“Aren’t the honourable members (of the Selangor state assembly) aware that when political leaders fight for power and cause instability, it would be the rakyat who suffer?

“It seems that the honourable members do not want to learn from history and the fall of a country due to power struggles that led to divisions in society,” he said.

Malaysia has seen its third prime minister and change of federal government since the last 14th general election in May 2018, with the appointment of Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Muhyiddin Yassin’s successor.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob

Sultan Sharafuddin said the elected representatives should also check on their constituents to find those who need assistance, including those who lost their jobs or loved ones to the pandemic.

“Help them, find them, not just look for them to get votes during elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, the sultan in his speech also highlighted various efforts undertaken by the state government since last year to manage the Covid-19 pandemic, including financial aids and prevention initiatives.

“As of August 2021, a total of 177,823 individuals were screened via mass and targeted testing.

“Another 100,000 individuals will also be screened for free through phase 2 of the ‘Kita Selangor’ package, along with distribution of 60,000 self-test kits,” he said.

At the same time, Sultan Sharafuddin noted that the initial phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (NIP) did not focus on densely populated areas, including industrial zones in the Greater Klang Valley.

“Because of that, Covid-19 had spread in densely populated areas and triggered out of control factory clusters.

“...now it is too late, the lives of my people who died of Covid-19 cannot be recovered. What is important is for us to move forward with positivity and hope that the mistakes will not be repeated,” he said.

Selangor had in recent months topped the list of states reporting new Covid-19 infections, with the national daily tally peaking at 23,000 cases.

However, new cases in the Klang Valley had reduced due to increased numbers of fully vaccinated adults. - Mkini