King calls on graduates to appreciate country's independence history

KUALA LUMPUR: Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has called on graduates to always remember and appreciate the country's independence history.

His Majesty said it was important for graduates to value the country's history because it could help instill love for the nation and appreciate the prosperity enjoyed by the country today.

"As the heirs of the nation, the younger generation should always appreciate and learn from history so as not to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

"That's why many world scholars say that the national identity of a country is closely related to history," Al-Sultan Abdullah said in his royal address at the Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) 17th and 18th Convocation Ceremony here today.

Also in attendance was Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah. UniKL pro-chancellor Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid who is also Rural Development Minister and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) chairman Datuk Seri Azizah Mohd Dun were also present.

Al-Sultan Abdullah who is also the UniKL Chancellor, said 'Bangsa Malaysia' (Malaysian Nation) can be established through the understanding and appreciation of a country's history.

"Therefore, the efforts to instil the spirit of nationalism and a sense of appreciation of the country's history should go hand in hand," said His Majesty.

Meanwhile, Al-Sultan Abdullah praised UniKL for being the pioneer in various new technologies such as sustainable energy, electric vehicles, big data, Internet of Things and aerospace.

As such, His Majesty wanted UniKL to continue to explore new fields of knowledge for community capacity building and to put the country at par with other developed countries.

At the ceremony, Al-Sultan Abdullah also proclaimed Mahdzir and Azizah as the new UniKL pro-chancellors and presented the instrument of appointment to both of them.

The 13-session convocation ceremony which began today until Aug 17 saw a total of 10,547 graduates from the class of 2020 and 2021 receiving their scrolls.

-- BERNAMA