The Sultan of Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin has called on the people to respect the principle of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy which had been the basis of the formation of Malaysia.

He said this system should be maintained in addressing every issue while urging that obsessive hatred towards leaders and political parties and closed-mindedness should be cast aside.

Sultan Mizan (above) said this in his speech text which was distributed to state assemblymen present at the opening of the third session of the 14th state assembly sitting held behind closed doors at Wisma Darul Iman in Kuala Terengganu.

He also reminded that the Federal Constitution and state laws must always take precedence over personal and political interests.

"I am confident that Terengganu and the people will continue to enjoy peace, harmony and prosperity if everyone respects one another and obeys the laws," he said.

In addition, he urged the state government to seriously look into the potential of the Sultan Mahmud Airport as it could serve as a cargo hub for the Asia Pacific market, given Terengganu’s strategic regional positioning.

He said the cargo hub could increase value-added activities on products manufactured by the people of Terengganu for the global market, while adding that the airport could be developed with a host of other aviation-related economic activities.

Sultan Mizan also hoped that the state government will focus on efforts in promoting the state as a competitive ecotourism destination in the region, and towards this end, the emphasis should be on diversifying tourism products on the mainland.

He said considering the uniqueness of the state’s tourism products and the potential of the Terengganu River estuary, there is great opportunity to promote the state as a luxury cruise liners’ destination.

Sultan Mizan said the state government should pay more attention to agricultural development as many, especially the B40 group are low income earners involved in the sector.

He also proposed that 2021 be declared as State Agriculture Year whereby efforts and financial allocation should be focused on improving this sector.

He said in 2018, Terengganu had recorded a GDP growth of 2.5 percent, compared with 5.9 percent in 2017 and 3.1 percent in 2016 which was an indication of the state's unstable economic growth.

"As such, it is very important that the agricultural sector is given the opportunity to grow as the sector promises high economic returns if the projects are well-implemented," he said in the text.

In his speech, the Sultan also congratulated the state government for aligning itself with the federal government and hoped the cooperation would benefit the people and the state.

He also commended the state government for its efforts towards human resource development, sports excellence, bringing success to small and medium enterprises (SME) as well as education, tourism, Industrial Revolution 4.0 and propagation of Islam.

- Bernama