SHAH ALAM (June 6): Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah wants all parties to take a wise and orderly approach with a high spirit of tolerance in dealing with sensitive religious issues.

“For the sake of unity and the future of the country, any religious polemics should be resolved immediately,” he said in a statement posted on Selangor Royal Office’s Facebook page on Tuesday (June 6).

In this context, the sultan also called for the spirit of unity among the people to continue to be instilled and nurtured at all levels along with the noble values of community life, in order to maintain harmony.

Sultan Sharafuddin also shared the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s sentiment in reminding the people in the country not to turn religious issues into political polemics and disputes.

On Monday (June 5), Al-Sultan Abdullah in his speech during the investiture of federal awards and honours in conjunction with his official birthday celebration at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur, expressed deep concerns over the issue of the use of the word “Allah” which he feared would become a prolonged polemic and could affect national unity and the well-being of the country if not resolved immediately.

According to the statement, Sultan Sharafuddin is of the opinion that the content of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s speech was very good and impressive and should be taken seriously by the people.

Just like the King, the Selangor sultan also expressed concerns regarding the issue of the use of the word "Allah" which is feared to become a protracted polemic that may affect national unity and the wellbeing of the country, the statement read.

“The sultan wants all parties to respect the position of Islam as the religion of the federation as stated in Article 3 of the Federal Constitution, where all citizens must also respect the position of the Malay Rulers as the head of the religion of Islam,” it said.

In order to build a successful, credible and dignified country, the sultan said all citizens and politicians should discard any rhetorical agenda that could lead to factionalism.

“Without factionalism, Malaysia has great potential to grow into a fully developed and respectable nation,” he added.