PAHANG SULTAN EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ISSUES OF GRANTING PR, CITIZENSHIP

KUANTAN, Jan 24 (Bernama) -- The Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, today expressed concern over the issue of granting permanent resident (PR) status and citizenship, stressing that the matter goes far beyond administrative procedures.

His Royal Highness said citizenship touches on trust, integrity, justice and the dignity of a sovereign nation, and should never be treated lightly or handled carelessly.

“Citizenship is not merely a document or legal recognition. It is a pledge of loyalty, an oath of allegiance to the King and the homeland.

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“It is not a reward that can be bought or sold, not a gift of power, nor an easy ticket into the fold of the nation. It is a symbol of the highest trust bestowed by the country upon an individual.

“Therefore, I wish to remind all those entrusted with this responsibility that firmness in this matter is not tyranny, but a bulwark of national sovereignty. If the door to citizenship is opened without fair and rigorous screening grounded in integrity, public trust will erode, and the nation’s dignity in the eyes of the world will fade,” said the Sultan.

Al-Sultan Abdullah said this at the Royal Youth Discourse Programme 2026, which was also attended by his son, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah.

Also present were Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Mordi Anak Bimol, Pahang Communications and Multimedia, Youth, Sports and Non-Governmental Organisations Committee chairman Fadzli Mohamad Kamal, and Malaysian Youth Council president Mohd Izzat Afifi Abdul Hamid.

Al-Sultan Abdullah further stressed that national sovereignty must never be compromised for the sake of investment, political pressure or short-term gains, adding that the dignity of the nation is not for sale and sovereignty is not something that can be mortgaged.

Touching on loyalty to the King and country as the foundation of national stability, the Sultan called on youths to voice their views responsibly and to offer criticism with wisdom, order and factual grounding.

“If you seek change, change with knowledge and moral values, not with anger and insults. Loyalty to the King and country is the foundation of national stability. Without it, freedom turns into barbarism and courage into arrogance,” he said.

The discourse brought together 500 participants, including leaders of youth organisations,  students from institutions of higher learning and stakeholders in youth and national development.

The programme is also a strategic initiative to strengthen literacy on nationhood among the youth, particularly on the role, function and position of the Constitutional Monarchy as the cornerstone of national stability and sovereignty.

-- BERNAMA