KANGAR, March 14 — The state government and every elected representative should work harder to forge better ties with the federal government so that matters related to the development of the state will run smoothly, Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail said.
“The interests of the people must be put first and given priority by setting aside political beliefs,” he said in his royal address read out by the Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail at the opening of the First Session of the 15th State Assembly here today.
Raja Puan Muda of Perlis Tuanku Hajjah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil was in attendance.
“I’m sure the federal government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be able to give good cooperation and will not marginalise Perlis from the national development,” he said.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin also called on the state government to spend according to priorities and to focus on matters that will have a direct impact on the economic and community development of the state.
“Waste and expenses that are not focused on the people must be avoided,” he said.
The ruler said the state government should wisely explore new resources that could bring about revenue to the state.
“It’s high time for the state government to think critically and seriously to diversify the state’s revenue and not rely solely on the collection of land tax and premiums,” he said.
Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin also noted the state’s economic performance which had shown a positive growth of 1.5 per cent in 2021, compared to a 6.0 per cent decline in 2020.
He said several sectors had contributed to the increase in the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), namely the service sector which expanded by 2.3 per cent, the manufacturing sector (5.4 per cent) and the construction sector (0.2 per cent).
“With his, I’m confident that Perlis will be able to contribute to the national GDP through improvements in key economic sectors such as services and logistics, mining and quarry, tourism, agriculture, entrepreneurship and digital-based economy, as well as the manufacturing industry,” he added.
