Tuanku Abdul Halim arrives for swearing-in ceremony as 14th Agong

SEPANG (Dec 13): The Sultan of Kedah Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah
arrived at the national capital on Tuesday morning for the swearing-in
ceremony as the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Tuanku Abdul Halim
and Tuanku Haminah Hamidun earlier arrived at the Bunga Raya Complex of
KL International Airport at 9.07am from Alor Setar where they were
greeted on arrival by Information, Communications and Culture Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and wife Datin Seri Maznah Rais.

Twenty-nine officers of the Sixth Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment mounted a static guard at the airport.

The royal couple the proceeded to Parliament Square in Kuala Lumpur for a royal welcoming ceremony.

Tuanku Abdul Halim, 84, was elected the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a
five-year period effective today, at the Meeting of the Conference of
Rulers on Oct 14.

This is the second time Sultan Abdul Halim was elected as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after the first one on Sept 21, 1970.

Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V was elected the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The royal herald, comprising 20 personnel of the Second Regiment of the
Royal Armoured Corp, sounded the trumpet to announce the arrival of
Tuanku Abdul Halim and Tuanku Haminah at Parliament Square.


Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah
Mansor, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and
wife Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman greeted the royal couple on arrival.

Tuanku Abdul Halim and Tuanku Haminah were then ushered to the dais,
passing a royal spear guard force. This was soon followed by the royal
salute performance. The national anthem "Negaraku" was then played by
the Royal Malay Regiment band led by Lt Nor Azizan Yahaya.

Simultaneously, the personal colour of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was raised, to the blast of a 21-gun salute.

Tuanku Abdul Halim then inspected the guard-of-honour comprising 103
personnel of the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment led by
Major Muhammad Abdullah.

The national ceremony proceeded with
the recital of prayers by Federal Territory mufti Datuk Wan Zahidi Wan
Teh. This was followed by the royal salute and the singing of Negaraku.

The royal couple then granted audience to cabinet ministers and senior
officials before proceeding to Istana Negara in Jalan Duta for the
swearing-in ceremony as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Earlier in
Alor Setar, 30,000 people joined the royal procession to the Sultan
Abdul Halim Airport, marking Tuanku Abdul Halim's departure from Istana
Anak Bukit to Istana Negara.

The royal couple, accompanied by a
motorcade, arrived at the airport at 7.30am, with people from all
walks of life lining up both sides of the 5.3km road.

They
were greeted on arrival by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak
and wife Datin Seri Faekah Sheikh Hamzah, as well as members of the
Kedah Council of Regency. - Bernama