PARLIAMENT OF MALAYSIA, 12 December – His Majesty the King Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, and Her Majesty the Queen Tuanku Hajah Haminah, arrived at the Parliament Square today for the Sending-Off Ceremony for the royal couple.
Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, His Majesty the King and Tuanku Hajah Haminah, Her Majesty the Queen were received by The Hon. Prime Minister, Dato' Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak upon the royal couple’s arrival at the Parliament Square for the Sending-Off Ceremony.
Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, 89, who was proclaimed as His Majesty the King XIV on 11 April 2012, and Tuanku Hajah Haminah left the Istana Negara at about 8.20 a.m.
Their Majesties The King and Queen arrived at the Parliament Square to the sound of the ‘nafiri’ (trumpets) played by 14 members of the Royal Armoured Corps and were welcomed by The Honourable Prime Minister, Dato' Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak and his wife Datin Sri Rosmah Mansor.
Their Majesties were escorted to the dais, and walked past the Guards of Honour who stood in salute before the national anthem was played by the Royal Malay Regiment Central Band led by Captain Muhammad Nor Azizan Yahya.
At the same time, the personal colours of His Majesty the King was lowered followed by a 21-gun salute.
His Majesty the King Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, inspected the Guards of Honour of the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment during the Sending-Off Ceremony for His Majesty at the Parliament Square.
Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah then inspected the Guards of Honour which was made up of 103 members and four officers from the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment led by Major Izham Ahmad Rashidi.
The state event proceeded with the recital of a prayer by the Federal Territory Mufti Datuk Dr. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, followed by a Royal Salute and playing of the national anthem.
Their Majesties then shook hands to bid farewell to the members of the Cabinet, heads of government departments and foreign diplomats before continuing their journey to the Bunga Raya Complex of the KL International Airport (KLIA).
As the motorcade of Their Majesties proceeded along Jalan Parlimen, people from all walks of life including the government and private sector employees, lined both sides of the road to bid farewell to Tuanku Abdul Halim and Tuanku Hajah Haminah.
His Majesty the King Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Her Majesty the Queen Tuanku Hajah Haminah, waving good-bye to the crowd before leaving the Parliament Square.
Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah created history for having reigned as The King (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) twice, which was as the fifth Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 21 September 1970 to 20 September 1975, and as the 14th from 13 December 2011 to 12 December 2016.
His Majesty will be replaced by the Sultan of Kelantan, Sultan Muhammad V as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
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