King Salman Centre to be built in Putrajaya

PEKAN (July 10): A permanent structure for the King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP) will be built on a 16ha piece of land in Putrajaya, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

He said the matter was decided after a discussion with the assistants to Saudi King Salman Abdulaziz al-Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed Salman who visited his official residence in Putrajaya on Saturday night. “The construction of [the] KSCIP in Putrajaya reflects the importance of the institution, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia himself will come to Malaysia to launch the centre together with me.

“This is because King Salman could have chosen any other country to build the centre, but the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques still chose this country.”

Najib said this in his speech at the Aidilfitri open house hosted by him and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor in Taman Tasik Sultan Abu Bakar here yesterday, which was attended by more than 50,000 people.

The KSCIP currently operates from Kuala Lumpur, and the government has been given two years to build the new centre, which is a brainchild of King Salman aimed at deflecting the influence of extremism and terrorist activities, as well as promoting universal peace.

Najib urged the people not to be critical of what the government had done for the country, as it was only for their own well-being. “What we do is not only welcomed, but has also earned praise and recognition from other countries including Saudi Arabia.

“That’s why it’s not true if the opposition says that the country is a failed state, and needs to be saved. In fact, we have been safe and successful, as well as commended by foreign countries.

“For those who say that the country needs to be saved ... even our leaders in the past had never received such acclaim from that country (Saudi Arabia), so there is no need to ‘save’ Malaysia,” he said.

On Saturday’s meeting, Najib confirmed that the additional haj quota given by the Saudi Arabian government to Malaysia would be maintained, and talks on the construction of two Tabung Haji complexes in Makkah and Madinah were still underway.

Najib, who is also the Pekan member of parliament, said if the complexes are built, it would help reduce the cost of Malaysians performing the haj in the future. — Bernama

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 10, 2017.

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