By Haslinda Zainal
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- His Majesty, Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia and Her Majesty, Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia today met Malaysians in Brunei in an afternoon reception here.
The royal couple arrived in Brunei at 11. 25 am to commence a three-day visit to the country until Tuesday.
Also present were the Tunku Temenggong Johor Tunku Idris Iskandar Sultan Ibrahim, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir, Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin and Malaysia's High Commissioner to Brunei Datuk Mohd Aini Atan.
About 300 Malaysian diaspora attended the event, including businessmen as well as members of Persatuan Warganegara Malaysia (Malaysian Citizens Association) and Persatuan Kebajikan Melayu Se-Malaysia.
Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah also consented to a photo session with members of the Malaysian High Commission to Brunei and took time to mingle with the Malaysian diaspora before leaving the ceremony.
Earlier, Mohd Aini in his welcome speech said the presence of His Majesty was a manifestation of the integrity and privilege of the relationship between the two brotherly countries, as well as being the main highlight in commemorating the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Malaysia-Brunei diplomatic ties this year.
He said the approximately 25,000 Malaysian community in Brunei had made achievements in various fields, especially the economy, which saw Malaysians as one of the main pillars of big businesses in the country.
"There are also many professionals from Malaysia who play important roles in various sectors such as medicine, education, law, finance, construction, information technology and so on," he said.
The High Commission of Malaysia in Bandar Seri Begawan, he said, is always committed to ensuring that the welfare and well-being of Malaysians in this country remains preserved.
Mohd Aini said that despite being abroad, loyalty to the king and the country remained strong in the hearts of Malaysians in Brunei.
"I am representing the people of Malaysia in this country in pledging our undivided loyalty to Tuanku. May the bond of love between the king and the people remain intact across all corners of the world," he said.
Meanwhile, the president of Persatuan Warganegara Malaysia in Brunei , Azlan Ahmad said the association was very honoured and excited to be able to meet Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah who made their first state visit to Brunei after ascending the throne on Jan 31.
"We are happy that His Majesty is both willing to go out of his way to meet Malaysians, members of the association who were unable to attend also share their joy with His Majesty's presence," he told Bernama.
He said the association was established more than 30 years ago and has more than 5,000 registered members while 554 active members are professionals, students, lecturers and businessmen.
-- BERNAMA
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