KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia today expressed hope that attention and allocation for development would be distributed fairly to all towns in the 13 states in Malaysia.

The King said that if all states could be developed together, the migration of people to big cities could be reduced and congestion would be better controlled.

"The economic development in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya has opened up many job opportunities and has led to the migration of people from other states to the Federal Territories.

"Therefore, the government must develop more efficient public infrastructure to address traffic congestion and meet the needs of these increasingly dense urban populations.

"The question is, is it because these Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan) are directly governed by the federal government, a lot of development funding is concentrated only in these three territories,” His Majesty said in his address at the investiture ceremony of Federal Territories awards, medals and honours at Istana Negara today.

The ceremony was also attended by the Queen, Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah.

Meanwhile, Sultan Ibrahim called on the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to constantly monitor cleanliness in its areas, and reminded all Malaysians not to litter.

"Everyone knows that I like to drive my car myself, so I can see the condition of the road and the surrounding areas. What I see is that there are still some places in Kuala Lumpur where the cleanliness is not satisfactory.

"My government is not a garbage collection government. To the enforcement officers, carry out your responsibilities with honesty, sincerity and trust,” His Majesty said.

In conjunction with Ramadan, His Majesty also advised all Muslims in the country not to be wasteful when spending on iftar meals and when preparing for Hari Raya Aidilfitri later.

"I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all Muslims a blessed fasting month.

"Do not be wasteful because wastefulness is a despicable trait that will diminish the blessings of Ramadan,” said His Majesty.

At the investiture ceremony, Sultan Ibrahim conferred federal awards, medals and honours on 33 recipients led by Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Kamarulzaman Mat Salleh who received the Darjah Kebesaran Seri Mahkota Wilayah (SMW) which carries the title Datuk Seri.

Also present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as well as Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa. — Bernama