KUALA LUMPUR: His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah appreciates the government’s driving the Madani agenda to build a society that values courtesy, upholds the principles of justice and practises tolerance.
His Majesty in his speech at the National Maal Hijrah 2023/1445 celebration at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today called all Malaysians regardless of race and religion to unite to develop the nation in line with the Madani agenda.
Elaborating on unity His Majesty said, the unification of the Muhajirin and Ansar people 1,400 years ago is the spirit of Hijrah that should be the main guideline for managing the diversity in the country.
“The theme for this year’s Maal Hijrah celebration “Perpaduan Teras Malaysia Madani” is very fitting for the diverse society in the country.
“The spirit of Hijrah in nurturing trust and integrity must always be part of every Malaysian. In conjunction with the new Hijrah year let us be grateful for the peace and prosperity that we have achieved,” he added.
His Majesty invites the Malaysians to form a society that is gentle in speaking, subtle in advising, harmonious in brotherhood, honest in working, trustworthy in carrying out duties and powerful in creating success.
The King also advised all Malaysians to avoid jealousy, slander, judgmental and negative thoughts that bring no benefit to the people and the country.
At the event, it was announced that the recipient of the national-level ‘Tokoh Maal Hijrah’ went to the former Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) director-general Datuk Dr. Abdul Monir Yaacob.
Meanwhile, the Grand Mufti of India Al-Allamah Sheikh Abu Bakar Ahmad Al-Malibari was named as the ‘Maal Hijrah International Icon’.
His Majesty Al-Sultan Abdullah presented the awards to the two recipients. Also, present at the national-level Maal Hijrah 1444H celebration were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.
As reported by Bernama, Abdul Monir received the award for his contributions to Islamic development in the country among others he had proposed the wearing of headscarves for female police officers in 2002 when he was chairman of the Prime Minister’s Department Integrity Committee.
Pahang-born Abdul Monir was named as the recipient of the state Maal Hijrah award for the 1427H/2006AD Maal Hijrah celebration and won the National Book Award for the best research book in 2016.
Meanwhile, the 92-year-old Sheikh Abu Bakar is the founder of Jamia Markaz Education Centre or Mazkazu Saquafathi Sunniya which was established in 1978 that provides educational and humanitarian services.
The Jamia Markaz has more than 130 branches and is the largest centre of learning in India, which has also introduced an Open University system with a unique curriculum.
Born in Kerala, India he is a member of Aal al-Bayt Royal Islamic Thinking Institute in Jordan and a part of the Muslim Elders Council UAE.
Sheikh Abu Bakar has also authored and published more than 45 books on various subjects in Arabic, Urdu, English and Malayalam and possesses an authentic commentary text of Al-Bukhari. – Malaysia World News
