Sultan: Find out why youths join militants

IPOH: The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, said the arrests of those involved in militant groups will not stop extremist activities, and a more effective approach is needed.
"We have to find out the factors and reasons that influence the minds of the young generation who chose to join these groups, said Sultan Nazrin, adding that some were influenced by extremist teachings to the point of leaving the country to join militant groups in other countries.
"Some of them have lost their lives on foreign soil. There is a need to narrow down the root cause of such influences," he said at the opening of the first meeting of the third term of the 13th Perak state assembly sitting here today. The session will begin tomorrow and end on April 11.
Sultan Nazrin also called on civil servants in the state to maintain the public sector's image by rejecting corrupt practices in the administration.
"They should oppose any form of abuse which can affect the collection of revenue in the state. To strengthen and improve the civil service, administrators must think and act rather then focus on systems and procedures."
The sultan also commended civil servants who were brave in embracing new approaches and transformation.
On the issue of housing, Bernama said Sultan Nazrin decreed that private developers build more affordable homes, instead of mansions, some of which are sold to foreigners.
"It's my government's desire to see private developers balancing business goals with social responsibility for the people, by building more affordable housing," he said.
Sultan Nazrin said in helping the low-income group, the state government had introduced the "Rumah Amanjaya Satu" at a price of RM42,000 per unit and "Rumah Amanajaya Dua" at RM70,000, with 1,258 units built last year.
He also said that projects related to water security and drought risk management, should be considered, especially in strategic water catchment areas.
The Sultan said although Perak received more than 2,400mm of rainfall a year, uneven spatial distribution and temporal variability of rainfall caused the availability of water to vary between regions.
He also pointed out that Perak's 997,604 hectares of permanent forest reserves could produce 181,364 tonnes of oxygen per year and this was enough to supply oxygen to 30 million people.