Sultan: Declare assets online - Star

March 11, 2009

SHAH ALAM: Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has called on the state’s exco members to declare their assets as soon as possible in line with good governance.

The declaration of assets should also be accessible to the public online, said Sultan Sharafuddin in his opening speech at the state assembly seating yesterday.

The Sultan also emphasised the need for good governance in all aspects of the state’s administration, and added that integrity and accountability practised by the current state government be upheld.

He also said that the state had come to a stage whereby the acknowledgement of the rights of every Selangor resident was the basic principle of its administration.

“This is important in regard to the land of the Orang Asli community,” said the Sultan.

“In the last few years, the Orang Asli community has undergone an erosion of identity and it is time their rights be returned to them, with the resolution of their land problems that has been in existence for a long time.

“I want to stress the need to acknowledge and preserve the Orang Asli land which had been seized from them in the last few years.”

He also urged the state government to expedite the identification and gazetting of Orang Asli land.

“They should be given the land which is rightfully theirs,” he added.

The Sultan said the community had a rich history with its own tradition, culture, values and perspective, which need not be sacrificed in the name of development. He said the dialogue initiated by the state government with the community recently should be continued.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the asset declarations submitted by Selangor exco members and Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim were undergoing scrutiny before being posted online for public perusal.

Khalid’s political secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the date for the declarations to be posted online was yet to be set, but added that he believed everything would be concluded by next week.

The method of scrutinising the declarations was based on changes to the asset portfolios since the exco members and Khalid took office after March 8 last year, said Nik Nazmi, who is also Seri Setia assemblyman.

The information is expected to be posted on the state’s official website http://www.selangor.gov.my.