King, Queen grace Royal Tea Reception

KUALA LUMPUR, July 27 (Bernama) -- His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim and Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, King and Queen of Malaysia, graced the Royal Tea Reception at Istana Negara here today.

The Royal Tea Reception was one of the events specially organised in conjunction with the Installation Ceremony of Sultan Ibrahim as the 17th King of Malaysia on July 20.

Present at the event held at the Main Banquet Hall were the royal couple’s children, Tunku Temenggong Johor Tunku Idris Iskandar, Tunku Panglima Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tunku Putera Johor Tunku Abu Bakar, as well as Tunku Tun Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah and her husband, Datuk Dennis Muhammad Abdullah.

The event, which started at 3 pm, was attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and approximately 1,200 guests, including Cabinet ministers, Members of Parliament, foreign envoys and heads of government departments.

Also in attendance were Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil, who also chairs the Special Committee for the King’s Installation Events, and his wife, Azrina Puteri Mohamed Mahyuddin.

Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, chief executive officer Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj were also present.

A video presentation of the installation ceremony from last Saturday was among the highlights of today’s event, alongside an orchestral performance by the Malaysian Army Cultural Troupe.

Earlier, as Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah entered the hall, the national anthem was played, followed by a prayer recital by Istana Negara religious officer Datuk Munir Md Salleh.

After the reception, the royal couple spent some time mingling and taking photos with the guests.

Events in conjunction with the installation ceremony began on July 18 with the Yasin Recital and Doa Selamat at the National Mosque, followed by a Special Friday Sermon the next day.

A Royal Banquet was also held at Istana Negara on Saturday night following the installation ceremony, and Raja Zarith Sofiah’s visit to the Gombak Orang Asli Hospital took place on Tuesday.

Additionally, the ‘Raja Kita’ exhibition is currently being held at the National Museum until Sept 29.

Sultan Ibrahim took the oath and signed the instrument of office as the 17th King on Jan 31.

-- BERNAMA