Perak's Sultan Nazrin Shah today called for the basic elements contained in the Federal
Constitution to be maintained and not compromised despite the change of the government.

He said the basic elements among others were those that touched on the Malay monarchs, the Islamic religion, the national language, the special privileges of the Malays and the natives and the legitimate interests of the other races in accordance with Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

“These matters should not be sensationalised by any party. There should be no individual or body who wants to be a champion, bringing up the past or press on demands on those basic principles that have been agreed upon and enshrined in the constitution.

“The act of trying to undo the agreement and social contract agreed upon during the enactment of the Merdeka Constitution will only invite disharmony that could undermine political stability and public order.

“The people should not have to be victims, like a mouse deer, squeezed in between two fighting elephants,” he said while officiating the first sitting of the 14th Perak State Legislative Assembly in Ipoh yesterday.

Also present was Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim.

Earlier, His Royal Highness consented to inspect the Guard of Honour consisting of three officers and 102 other ranks from the First Battalion of Northern Brigade, General Operations Force of Hulu Kinta.

In addition, Sultan Nazrin wanted the new government elected during the 14th general election to fulfil the people's hopes and trust other than carrying out its responsibilities with dedication, sincerity, honesty and integrity.

“The GE14 has gone by 88 days. During campaigning, various promises were announced. The majority of voters are willing to risk, shifting their mind to change the government over the optimism for a change that brings a betterment to the people's lives and the well-being of the nation.

“The majority of voters who chose to change the government wants a government that will implement good governance,” said the Sultan of Perak.

In the context of the Perak state, he wanted the Pakatan Harapan who had the mandate to form the new government to not practise corruption, abuse of power, using their position for personal and family gain,
damaging the state’s treasures or discrimination and persecution.

“The post and power are trusts from God, endowed by Allah to His servants as a test, which may be withdrawn at any time,” the Sultan said.

Sultan Nazrin said the state government had set up a State Tourism, Arts and Cultural Consultative Council aimed at drafting strategic plans to develop the tourism sector in a more rapid manner.

“Although the data shows that for five consecutive years, the state of Perak was categorised as among the two states receiving the largest number of domestic tourists, efforts will be focused to promote the
tourism products to attract more foreign tourists from abroad,” he added.

The sultan also said that the state government would focus on implementing programs and projects and would continue to explore new sources to increase the state’s revenue without affecting the sustainability of the environment.

“At the same time, my government will also be detailing the cost of management, pioneering the thrifty efforts to minimise spending while optimising the level of productivity of the administrative machinery,”
said Sultan Nazrin.

On the tahfiz schools, he wanted attention to be given to the aspects of infrastructure comfort, building structure security, electrical wiring and the flame retardant that could potentially cause dormitory fires as well as the aspects of the feasibility of the educators and holistic integration with the education
system.

“Parents expectations and the future of the students could not be sacrificed without effective control mechanisms to determine the teaching quality,” said Sultan Nazrin.

- Bernama