Agong urges that Quran be used as guide in all matters

The King said the Muslim community should follow the messages in the Quran for them to be united and avoid all things divisive as only through unity, the community could be strong.

Opening the 57th International Quran Reciters' Assembly and Quran Memorising event here, Tuanku Abdul Halim said disunity would only make the Muslim community weak, backward, and in a state of chaos, anarchy or instability, which could result in crime, killings, brutality and such.

The King also noted that one of the things that threatened unity among the people now was the differences in ideology between Muslims and misuse of the social media such as disseminating false news, provoking and defaming others.

"In my opinion, advance information technology should be put to good use for society's benefit. Therefore, every level of society should be wise in screening all the information disseminated.

"I also urge that all levels of society should be grateful for the peace they enjoy, besides striving to preserve unity among them," the King said.

Earlier, Tuanku Abdul Halim and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah were welcomed on arrival at the Putra World Trade Centre for the opening ceremony by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom and wife Datin Seri Fatmawati Saidin.

Jamil Khir, in his speech, in line with this year's theme, 'Unity the Pulse of National Transformation', called on Muslims to hold strong to the teachings of Islam which enjoined them to forge solidarity.

The five-day event from Tuesday will see 38 participants for the Quran recital and 30 for the Quran memorising category from 56 countries, including first-timers Hong Kong and Italy.

In the recital category, Malaysia will be represented by the national-level winners Muhammad Syazani Jemy and Farihah Zulkifli in the men's and women's sections respectively.

In the Quran memorising category, the Malaysian representatives are Ustaz Wan Ainuddin Hilmi and Siti Husnaa Hassan, winners in the national-level competition.

The champions in the recital category will each receive a gold bar worth RM70,000 sponsored by the Malaysia Islamic Economic Development Foundation (Yapeim), a trophy and cash of RM40,000.