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EXCLUSIVE: By WONG CHUN WAI
The StarThe Sultan of Selangor wants politicians in the state, regardless of which parties they belong to, to put politics aside and refrain from bringing up contentious issues ahead of the 50th National Day celebrations.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said he did not want anyone to dampen the mood of the celebrations but to instead instil the Malaysian spirit.

“The celebrations are a once-in-a-lifetime event, keep the politics out for the time being. I want the people to focus on the common issues and be proud of Malaysia as one people.

“The politicians, regardless of their parties, can have all the time they want to talk about politics after National Day but for now, I do not want to hear any issues that can hurt the feelings of any community,” he said.

The Sultan said he wanted Malaysians to understand that the country’s independence was achieved through the unity of all the major races.

He said that unity, through the sharing of political power, had continued until today and that it should be emphasised by the politicians.

“National unity, involving the Malays, Chinese and Indians, brought us independence and subsequently, through the unity of the other ethnic groups, helped us form Malaysia.”

“Let no one forget that we achieved independence because of that. No one race could have brought Malaysia to what it is today,” he said in an interview.

The Sultan expressed his unhappiness over statements brought up by various politicians of late on race and religion, saying these were issues that no one should harp on.

The state head of Islam said Islam was the country’s official religion and its position must be respected.

“But I also want Muslims to respect the religions practised by other Malaysians.”

He said no politician or group should attempt to gain popularity by stirring up such issues, as Malaysia was a multi-racial country.

“This country belongs to all Malaysians regardless of their race and everyone has a right to feel as Malaysians. This should be emphasised, particularly as we celebrate the National Day together,” he said.

He also said that in such a short time, Malaysia had attained notable economic success because of the country’s political stability.

Malaysia, he said, was blessed and Malaysians had often taken for granted that stability because they had never gone through hardship, especially the post-Merdeka generation.

Sultan Sharafuddin also said that he has directed all government agencies and schools in the state to fly the national flag.

“The national flag can take precedence over the Selangor flag in this period,” he said.

He said Selangor wanted to stress the purpose of national unity by flying only the Jalur Gemilang.

The Sultan said that on Aug 27, all the palaces of the Selangor royal house would fly the national flag, which had never been done before.

Source: http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/newsncom.php?itemid=7219

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