KLANG: Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali today dismissed the notion that he was left out of the awards list in conjunction with the Selangor Sultan's 69th birthday because of the protracted tussle over the Menteri Besar position this year.
He advised members of the public not to misinterpret Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah's decision to award the Darjah Kebesaran - Dato Paduka Mahkota Selangor (DPMS) award to two state executive councillors and not to him.
Instead, he congratulated both excos, Datuk Iskandar Abdul Samad and Datuk Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi, and emphasised that they had contributed greatly to the people and were appropriately given due recognition.
"No (the awards to the excos does not precede me). I have only served as MB for two months,"
"Do not misinterpret that it is related to the MB crisis," he told reporters after attending an investiture ceremony in conjunction with the Selangor Sultan's 69th birthday outside the Balairung Seri, Istana Alam Shah, here, today.
He added that his focus now was to devote his attention full time to work and serve the Selangor citizens, especially in matters of development.
Azmin was commenting on speculation that the Sultan of Selangor was sending a message that he was unhappy with Azmin over the ousting of former MB Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim by not giving him a datukship.
In reference to Sultan Sharafuddin's instruction to work hard and deliver to the people in an exclusive interview with an english daily, Azmin said the state government will pay attention to the sultan’s advice and with the support of the civil servants, Pakatan will continue to serve the people.
Earlier in his speech of allegiance during the investiture ceremony, Azmin said he had personally witnessed and experienced the concern of the Sultan towards the problems and the hardship of the people in 2008 when a landslide occurred at Bukit Antarabangsa.
"His Highness personally visited the site of the landslide to comprehend the difficulties of the people in the constituency which I represented," he said, adding that under the ruler's reign, Selangor has become the most developed state in Malaysia, contributing 23.7 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
He gave assurance to the Sultan that the state government will adopt a philosophy to generate quality growth and practice fairness in distribution.
He also added that the state’s wealth will not be monopolised by the rich but will be distributed equally.
"I am assisted by civil servants who serve with integrity and professionalism based on good administration principles to develop and prosper the country.
"Selangor is a country rich with culture, races and religions. The many religions will not be used to create conflict or prejudice but the diversity will be made as a strength.
"My administration will ensure the harmony of your Highness's people is maintained so that there is no chaos and conflict in the composite society," he said in his speech.