KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 — As the opposition continues to rally against Barisan Nasional’s (BN) polls victory, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong called on all parties today to accept the Election 2013 outcome and help move the country forward together.

The King also expressed confidence in the Najib administration’s ability to continue with its flagship transformation programme and make Malaysia a high-income economy by 2020.

“I urge all quarters to accept and respect the results of the 13th general election that was conducted based on the pillars of democracy and move towards working together shoulder-to-shoulder (berganding bahu) so that the country can move forward to achieve the nation’s high-income objective by 2020,” Tuanku Abdul Halim Muad’zam Shah said in his opening address of the 13th Parliament today.

“I believe the commitment of the government in realising the national transformation agenda… that will benefit all layers of society be it from the economic, social, security and political aspects,” he added.

The King’s statement comes amid widespread opposition protest against alleged fraudulence in the recently-concluded Election 2013.

Apart from holding a series of street protests dubbed “Black 505”, the opposition has also mounted a massive legal action to challenge the results in more than 30 seats to force a re-election in these constituencies.

Najib’s Barisan Nasional (BN) fared poorer in this year’s polls, winning seven seats fewer than what it garnered in 2008 or 133 seats against Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) 89. It had also lost the popular vote.

Insisting that the results and polls process were legitimate, the government claimed the protests were aimed at misleading and sowing anti-establishment sentiments among the public.

Putrajaya also claimed the opposition’s disputation of Election 2013 results was stalling development, a view the King appeared to support when he advised the opposition to accept the outcome in his birthday speech that was broadcast live on television earlier this month.

Although he did not specifically name PR, the message was clearly aimed towards the opposition.

In his royal address today, Tuanku Abdul Halim again advised “all quarters” against any action that could hurt Malaysia’s image.

“Remember as elected members of this sacred institution, they must not act or do anything that can hurt the image of the country,” he said.

Putrajaya leaders had previously claimed the opposition was tainting the country’s reputation with its polls fraud allegations and street protests.

Tuanku Abdul Halim, however, insisted that the relevant agencies, including the controversial Election Commission (EC), had ensured a clean and fair election

The King added as Parliament has convened, he urged all MPs to look forward and work constructively to support the government’s development programmes.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim earlier this month claimed that the King’s speech calling for the people to accept Election 2013’s result came from Najib’s office to solicit support.

Putrajaya has so far remained silent on the matter.