The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah today urged the people to show mutual respect and not to violate each other's religious boundary.

He said Malaysians were from different races and practiced different religions and cultures, hence building harmony in the country was a collective responsibility.

"Muslims and the institutions responsible for Islamic affairs need to be aware of the sensitivities of the followers of other religions and at the same time, non-Muslims must understand and respect Muslims' religious sensitivities.

"They should be sensitive to the feelings of Muslims when they choose to touch on Islam, more so when they openly criticise Islamic rulings and Allah's command as contained in the Quran and life guidance as given in the Sunnah (sayings and practices of Prophet Muhammad."

The ruler who was appointed as the 35th Sultan of Perak on May 29 following the demise of his father, Almarhum Sultan Azlan Shah, was speaking at the 187th Conference of the Perak Islamic Religion and Malay Custom Council (MAIPk), here, today.

That was also his last speech as MAIPk president. The first time he chaired the MAIPk conference was on Aug 28, 1997.

Recalling his first speech at the 118th Meeting of MAIPk, Sultan Nazrin said he had touched on five important points then.

The points included MAIPk to act strategically to avoid controversies that could tarnish its image, Muslims should have strong discipline and resilience in facing the era of globalisation and information technology, and the increasingly worrying problem of social ills must be tackled with intelligence and wisdom.

The other points were on intensifying religious programmes involving the young and enlivening mosques with various activities, and beautifying with landscaping and ensuring the cleanliness of mosque surroundings.

"These points are still relevant and need to be given attention. Up to today's conference, I have chaired the (MAIPk) conference seven times," Sultan Nazrin said.

Sultan Nazrin also thanked the members of MAPIk and ulama for their advice and guidance in carrying out his responsibilies when heading the council, and hoped for continued guidance and advice from them as the state's ruler.

The Perak Sultan said a new president for MAIPk would be appointed to replace him, while as ruler, we would be monitoring and following the activities of the council.

Sultan Nazrin also thanked all those were directly or indirectly were involved in the funeral arrangements and burial for the late Sultan Azlan Shah.

He said the presense of streams of people in the Balairong Seri, Istana Iskandariah to pay their last respects on the late Sultan Azlan Shah was an invaluable "classroom" lesson for him on the people's loyalty and love for their ruler.

At the same time, Sultan Nazrin said, it made him even more aware as the current ruler on the need to rule fairly, to show love for the people and to take a deep interest in their lot.