No songkok, no entry: Some get turned away from Melaka investiture ceremony

MELAKA: Reporters from the vernacular press and some politicians were unable to witness the first session of the investiture ceremony held in conjunction with the 81st birthday of Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob because they did not have a 'songkok' headgear.

They were not told beforehand that this was a requirement and were not allowed into the hall at Seri Negeri complex on Saturday (Oct 12).

When news of this got around to Chief Minister Adly Zahari, he said the state had not given any directive to compel those entering the hall to wear songkok for the ceremony.

“We only wanted to standardise the dressing code during the investiture ceremony this year and did not specifically state a need to have a songkok on.

“Anyway, we will review the procedures for entering the hall,” he said.

Previously, those entering the investiture ceremonies were not required to wear the songkok as Melaka is not a sultanate.

Meanwhile, on other matters, Adly said investments in Melaka in the first six months of the year came to RM327mil.

He said the figure was based on facts from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), with domestic investments totalling RM194mil and foreign investments, RM133mil.

The Chief Minister said the state government was working on development projects in various sectors, especially in developing new tourism products with investments of RM1.7bil.

"The amount is not inclusive of the property sector worth RM4.2bil.

"The state government will continue to promote Melaka as one of the (most) conducive investment destinations in the country," he said.

According to Adly, last year Melaka achieved a moderate gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.9%, with the state's unemployment rate remaining the lowest in the country at 1.1%.

Labour participation was at 66.5% and inflation rate remained the lowest at 0.8%.- Star