Tuanku Abdul Halim takes oath as 14th Agong

The Sultan of Kedah, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'azam Shah, today took the oath of office as the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong at a ceremony steeped in royal traditions at Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur.

This is the second time that Tuanku Abdul Halim has been chosen as Agong, the first time was from Jan 21, 1970 to Sept 20, 1975, having been appointed to the post at age 43, making him among the youngest Malay rulers to hold the post.

Tuanku Halim was chosen by the Malay rulers the second time for the post at the 226th (Special) Meeting of the Conference of Rulers held at Istana Negara on Oct 14, 2011 for a five-year period, effective today.

Tuanku Abdul Halim, 84, who was before this the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong since Dec 13, 2006, replaces the Sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, who ended his term as the 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong yesterday.

The rotation system for the post of Yang di-Pertuan Agong among the nine Malay hereditary rulers began since the country's independence on Aug 31, 1957.

The ceremony today was the first held at the new, magestic and sprawling Istana Negara which bears Islamic and Malay architectural elements and located on a 96.52ha site in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur.

The ceremony began at 11.15am, with the 227th (Special) Meeting of the Conference of Rulers convened in conjunction with the taking of oath and signing of the instrument of office at the Balairong Seri(Throne Room).

The meeting was chaired by the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail.

The Keeper of the Rulers' Seal, Datuk Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, presented the instrument of office to Tuanku Abdul Halim, who was in a Kedah royal attire called Sikap consisting of a short jacket with a high collar, tenggolok (headdress), long pants, sampin, bengkung(cummerband) and complete with a keris (Malay dagger).

Tuanku Abdul Halim then made the pledge and signed the instrument of office before the other rulers.

The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, and Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah, were the witnesses to the signing of the document.

Earlier, Tuanku Abdul Halim and Tuanku Haminah Hamidun arrived at the Bunga Raya Complex of the KL International Airport at 9.07am from Alor Setar where they were greeted on arrival by Information, Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim and his wife 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 Tuanku 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 Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and wife 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. 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 colours 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 Wan Zahidi Wan Teh. This was followed by the royal salute and the singing of Negaraku.

The royal couple then granted an 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.

30,000 in Kedah send off royal couple

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 Azizan Abdul Razak and wife Faekah Sheikh Hamzah, as well as members of the Kedah Council of Regency.

- Bernama