KUALA LUMPUR – Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Mustafa Billah Shah and Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah ended their reign as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong today.
A ceremonial send-off for the royal couple to their home state will be held to show the gratitude of the Malaysian government and its people for Their Majesties’ services and sacrifices.
The special ceremony is expected to be brief but steeped in Malay traditions and customs that symbolise the uniqueness of the royal institution in the country.
Al-Sultan Abdullah, 64, who took the oath of office as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong on January 31, 2019, and Tunku Azizah will leave the Istana Negara at about 8am accompanied by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz as the minister in attendance.
The sending-off ceremony will involve several locations, including the Istana Negara and Parliament Square, as well as several main roads from the federal capital leading to the Bunga Raya Complex and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where Their Majesties will board a plane back to Pahang.
Al-Sultan Abdullah was proclaimed the sixth Sultan of Pahang on January 15, 2019, to succeed his then-ailing father, Sultan Ahmad Shah Al-Musta’in Billah, who died on May 22, 2019.
Al-Sultan Abdullah will be replaced by the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, who has been elected as the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong for five years starting tomorrow. – January 30, 2024