Humble and prudent monarch
WHEN Sultan Muhammad V ascended the throne as the 29th Sultan of Kelantan in 2010, celebrations were held throughout the state with the Ruler organising thanksgiving and prayer sessions.
The Ruler, who is known for his humble ways, insisted on being frugal and has toned down celebrations as his own way of cutting down on state expenditure.
On the eve of Nov 10 for the past seven years, a thanksgiving prayer session would be held at the Muhammadi state mosque attended by his brother, Tengku Mahkota Tengku Dr Muhammad Faiz Petra Sultan Ismail Petra (now Acting Sultan of Kelantan). There would be no pomp or pageantry except for religious ceremonies lined up over the next two days.
A palace official who declined to be named said everyone would be invited to the Sultan’s religious functions and there was no protocol except for his security men watching over him.
“Anyone is allowed to pray with him and there is no restriction. The people are always seen to be milling around Tuanku after the prayers and they will not leave the mosque until they shake hands Signing ceremony of the ‘Sub-Lease and Throughput Agreement’ between Tok Bali Supply Base and Astral Far East Sdn Bhd in January 2015. Shaking hands are Tok Bali Supply Base Sdn Bhd chairman Tengku Temenggong Kelantan Tengku Datuk Mohamad Rizam Tengku Abdul Aziz (left) and Astral Far East director Datuk W. Zulkifli W. Muda. Behind (from left) are shareholder of Tok Bali Datuk Leon Le Mercier, MIDA deputy chief executive office Datuk Rajendran Narayanasamy and AZRB chairman Raja Tan Sri Aman Raja Ahmad.
with Tuanku. But Tuanku has advised his security officials to be ‘invisible’ and not intimidate his
subjects,” the official said.
The palace official added that His Majesty had been laid-back when it came to his personal security because he wanted his subjects to feel as close to him as possible.
On another matter, Sultan Muhammad V believes that his subjects will prosper if the road networks are improved.
He has raised this concern at almost all his speeches when he opens the state legislative assembly.
Sultan Muhammad V reminded the Kelantan government that despite the state being ruled by an Opposition party, it must cooperate with the Federal Government to improve the lives of the people.
Among the major projects undertaken by the Federal Government with the cooperation of the Kelantan government are the Kota Baru-Machang highway and the Machang-Kuala Krai highway projects. The project to build and upgrade the Kota Baru-Kuala Krai route was included under the Central Spine Road project, with a distance of 61.5km and involving a cost of RM1.8bil.
The project would be built in stages and divided into three phases – Package One from Wakaf Siku to Kadok (11.4km), Package Two from Kadok to Bukit Tiu in Machang (28.9km) and Package Three from Bukit Tiu to Kuala Krai (21.1km).
The first and second phases of the project had been carried out in April 2016 and April this year, respectively. The balance of the stretch would be implemented under the 11th Malaysia Plan.
Another mega project that came to fruition was the oil and gas (O&G) project in Tok Bali, Pasir Puteh. Tok Bali will be Malaysia’s third O&G supply base after the 30-year-old Kemaman and Labuan supply bases. It will bring investments into Kelantan and help spur economic activities in the state.
It is aimed at servicing the needs of the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area, which is closer than Kemaman further south in Terengganu.
The Tok Bali supply base, which was launched by Sultan Muhammad V in November 2015, is slated to provide spin-off projects with the availability of commercial activities and jobs.
His Majesty has said that such projects will help the local economy and improve the people’s standard of living. He called on more projects to be planned that will help improve the lives of Kelantan folk and bring positive changes to the state.