His Majesty’s first royal address covered a very extensive range of issues — from cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties, economic development, enhanced government efficiency, parliamentary efficiency, to promoting intercommunity harmony, among many other things.

In his opening speech at the First Meeting of the Third Session of the 15th Parliament on Monday, His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar used the word “saya” when addressing himself in first person, instead of the more formal “beta.” This shows how down-to-earth and humble the new King is!

Less than a month since he officially took office on January 31, His Majesty said humbly that he was still “new” and that there were plenty of things he needed to learn.

However, His Majesty also said he was well aware of his position and duties as the country’s constitutional monarch for the prosperity of the nation and the well-being of the people.

His Majesty’s first royal address covered a very extensive range of issues — from cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties, economic development, enhanced government efficiency, parliamentary efficiency, to promoting intercommunity harmony, among many other things.

In the speech, His Majesty emphasized that he would not entertain any request attempting to disrupt the country’s political stability, insisting that all quarters must accept the reality that the Unity Government is now in charge, and any attempt to change the government will have to wait until the next general election.

His Majesty said the success of the country’s development does not lie with the prime minister alone, but all 222 Members of Parliament mandated by the rakyat, adding that he hoped all lawmakers would focus on improving the destiny and well-being of the country’s 33 million people and not just their partisan or personal interests.

He therefore urged lawmakers on both sides of the political divide to stand united and work harder for the country’s development and interests.

His Majesty also expressed his dissatisfaction with parliamentary efficiency, adding that he felt ashamed of the behaviors of some MPs in the past. He gave the Dewan Rakyat Speaker green light to suspend any misbehaving MPs.

He said the Parliament is the august house for legislating and amending laws, and that all Members of Parliament are lawmakers. As such, it will be absurd for any lawmaker to break the rules of the house.

He hoped all MPs would set a good example by being courteous and disciplined and refrain from swearing while sitting inside the hall.

His Majesty also urged all parties to accept and respect the reality that the Unity Government is the government of the day, meaning he is not going to entertain any request to topple the sitting government. He said this would ensure political stability, allowing the Unity Government to rule effectively until the next general election.

In many past parliamentary sittings, it was common for some MPs to toss abusive words in an attempt to waste everyone’s time and disrupt the parliamentary process. Such unruly acts of cursing opponents and humiliate female reps in the august house must be condemned by all.

We hope the Speaker will not only take heed of His Majesty’s advice to bar misbehaving elected reps, but also publish the list of MPs who fail to attend full sessions of the parliamentary sittings or make disrespectful remarks, so that the voters will get to know who have not conscientiously performed their mandated duties, come the next election.

Indeed, elected reps on both sides of the divide should put aside their differences and work together for the well-being of the rakyat and nation, respect the democratically elected government, and refrain from raising sensitive 3R issues, as this is the only way to consolidate national unity and the country’s development.

His Majesty said that while Islam has been recognized as the country’s official religion, all Malaysians have the right to freely embrace the religious faiths of their choice. In view of this, exploitation of religious issues must be stopped at once.

On governance, the King urged the Unity Government to draw up policies on the basis of promoting national unity and harmony.

It is unfortunate that after more than 60 years of nationhood, some Malaysians still have poor command of the national language today, and have very limited understanding of the lifestyle and cultures of other ethnic communities, and this does not augur well for greater national integration and solidarity.

His Majesty believed that right attitude must be instilled into Malaysians at a young age in fostering intercommunity understanding and unity.

He also said he would vet all government expenditure to ensure public funds are spent for the right purposes. He said he was disappointed with the country’s growing debt levels due to the Treasury’s chronic deficit position since 1998, and that this burden must not be left for the future generations to bear.

He said a weak financial position would prevent the government from implementing development projects or giving fiscal injections to stimulate economic growth. He therefore supported any austerity drive, including the implementation of targeted subsidization.

He said more holistic policies must be introduced, including the Public Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2023 towards more transparent and responsible governance and public finance management.

His Majesty hoped the government could achieve a fiscal surplus during his reign, and curb leakages and misappropriation of public funds.

He also hoped the government would more actively push for reform agenda to strengthen the country’s economic competitiveness.

“The government must provide more attractive incentives, and streamline all processes through effective governance.

“Policies enacted at the federal level should be adapted to suit the varying environment in individual states, as the conditions are different in every state, especially in real estate development sector.”