Fix the problems fast, Johor Sultan tells govt
Published on: Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Selangor: The Sultan of Johor has told Putrajaya to "immediately" resolve the political and economic crises the country is facing.In an address marking the 50th anniversary of the Special Forces Regiment, he also told elected representatives to "set aside personal differences" and "shoulder the public responsibilities entrusted to them."Excerpts of the royal speech were uploaded to the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page.ADVERTISEMENT Acknowledging that he could not interefere in political matters, he said he nevertheless was "responsible for the well-being and prospereity" of his subjects."I am aware and sensitive to the concerns of my subjects," he said."The unstable political and economic situation the country is in now, is a major issue which has to be dealt with immediately."Therefore, I urge the ruling government to deal with the problems we are facing now, among which is the deteriorating value of the ringgit."ADVERTISEMENT He rebuked the government for what he said was its attempt to hide the truth from the public."The rakyat today are a generation of smart and learned people who can dissect information they receive," he said.
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"So please do not take them as fools by feeding them rosy news and information to hide what is really going on. Deal with the problems at hand immediately."The ringgit is Asia's worst-performing currency in the past one year, attributed to the worsening global outlook, China's devaluation of the yuan, plunging commodity prices and the current political scandal linked to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.Najib is facing intense scrutiny over the US$700 million (RM2.6 billion) "donation" from an unknown Middle Eastern donor into his personal accounts. At the same time, his brainchild, state investment firm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) faces multiple probes over alleged financial irregularities.The country is also suffering from a perception of political interference following the abrupt dismissal of Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as the attorney-general, and police raids and arrests of officers at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), linked to alleged leak of information related to 1MDB.The ringgit rout continues as markets opened today, falling to a record low of 3.08 against the Singapore dollar. The currency is also at a 17-year low against the greenback, opening this morning at 4.2630 per US dollar.The ringgit was pegged at 3.80 against the US dollar from September 1998 until 2005.Sultan Ibrahim also advised "outsiders" who did not understand Johor's history to refrain from interfering in the state's affairs.Although no names were mentioned, the remark came after Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said last Friday that the Johor ruler believed only Umno could unite the Malays.The Umno vice-president said this was the impression he had come away with after his meeting with Sultan Ibrahim.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"His Royal Highness is not a politician, he does not want to interfere in politics, he is above politics, but his hope is for the Malays to unite."And in that unity, although HRH did not say so, I am confident that he is counting on Umno alone to unite the Malays," Zahid had said when officiating the Kota Tinggi Umno annual general meeting on August 21.