Maintain peace and harmony to spur further development: Tuanku Muhriz

KUALA PILAH: Yang Di-pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz ibni Alhamhum Tuanku Munawir, has urged the people to maintain peace and harmony in the state to help spur further development. He said a country would be unlikely to grow and develop if it was in chaos and in an unstable situation.
"Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah), during my reign, there is peace and harmony in Negri Sembilan where everyone lives peacefully and harmoniously in diverse cultures and background.
"The peace and harmony that we have today has enabled the state government to intensify efforts to develop the state and prosper the people," he said at the investiture ceremony, in conjunction with his 70th birthday at Istana Besar Seri Menanti, here today.
Also present was Tunku Ampuan Besar Negri Sembilan Tuanku Aishah Rohani Almarhum Tengku Besar Mahmud.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and wife Datin Seri Raja Salbiah Tengku Nujumuddin and State Secretary Datuk Seri Mat Ali Hassan also attended the ceremony.

Tuanku Muhriz said that despite the global economic uncertainties, the state economy continued to grow and was on the right track and he was of the view that the state's development should be inclusive, involving all districts.
"This development efforts need to be felt by both the urban and rural communities. One of the tangible effects that will be felt is the creation of job and entrepreneurship opportunities.
"Through the implementation of those development plans, I believe that the people's standard of living will be improved, and hence prevent the migration of rural people to urban areas," he said.
Tuanku Muhriz said the state government, under the principle of increasing prosperity of the people, had been prioritising the three basic elements of society, namely education, housing, and assistance to the less fortunate, by implementing policies such as the Knowledge Valley policy, Negri Sembilan Housing policy and Social Security Network policy.
"We hope all this policies which aimed at prospering the people will continue to be implemented and to be enhanced, apart from creating new ones for the sake of the community as a whole," he said.
Meanwhile, Tuanku Muhriz's son, Tunku Zain Al-Abidin, led the list of 144 recipients of the state awards and medals at the investiture today.
Tunku Zain was conferred the Darjah Seri Setia Tuanku Muhriz Yang Terbilang (SSTM).
Among other recipients were Negri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Dr Awaludin Said and Malaysian activist behind Nobel-prize winning anti-nuclear group, Datuk Dr Ronald McCoy, who were conferred the Darjah Seri Setia Negri Sembilan Yang Amat Cemerlang (SSNS), which carries the title 'Datuk Seri'.
The ceremony began with a royal guard-of-honour by the 71st Royal Signals Regiment of the Sungai Besi Perdana Camp, comprising three officers and 103 personnel led by Major Nik Mohd Syakri Nik Yusof. — Bernama