Installation of Malaysia's sovereign
The installation of Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta'in Billah as the sixteenth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia took place in a Malay Royal Ceremony at the Balairong Seri, Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 30 July 2019 at 10 a.m. He was elected earlier by the Malay Rulers in the 251st Special Meeting of Conference of Rulers which was held at Istana Negara on 24 January 2019. The meeting was held upon the abdication of the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan who abdicated from his post on 6 January 2019. Abdullah held the position for a period of 5 years beginning on 31 January 2019.
The installation ceremony was held months after his election to allow the planning committees to make adequate preparation for it. During the ceremony, he read his Oath of Installation, and gave his first speech from the Throne. Celebrations took place across the country and commemorative coins, and stamps were issued. It was broadcast live on multiple media outlets such as television and through YouTube. This installation ceremony was a special occasion for Abdullah as it was held on his 60th birthday.
Taking of the oath.
On 31 January 2019, the 251st Special Conference of Rulers was held in conjunction with the Ratification of the Ceremony and Signing of the Oath of Yang di-Pertuan Agong XVI and was followed by the declaration of office.
Abdullah of Pahang and his queen consort, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah departed at 9:15 a.m. on a special aircraft from the Royal Malaysian Air Force Base (Kuantan), Kuantan, Pahang and landed at the Kompleks Bunga Raya, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Both were welcomed by the Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah and Tengku Laksamana of Selangor, Tengku Sulaiman Shah as representatives from the Selangor Royal Family. Their arrival were also welcomed in a simple arrival ceremony, conducted by the Guard of honour, consisting of two officers and 26 members of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment, led by Captain Abdul Munir Mohani @ Che Omar. The couple then headed to Parliament Square for a formal reception by the country's leaders and was welcomed by the Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad and his wife Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali along with Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and husband Anwar Ibrahim, before leaving for Istana Negara.
At the Istana Negara, Abdullah received the royal salute from the First Battalion of Royal Ranger Regiment consisting of three officers and 31 soldiers, and led by Major Mohd Azwan Ariff Mohd Azawi. At the same time, the Royal Ranger Regiment Center Band consisting of an officer and 33 members led by Major Abdul Aziz Abdullah played "Negaraku".
Abdullah was then accompanied by the Rulers and the State Governors to the Balairung Seri.
The special meeting was chaired by Sharafuddin of Selangor. The Keeper of the Rulers' Seal, Datuk Syed Danial Syed Ahmad, who was inaugurating the ceremony, appeared before the Rulers and the State Governors, to deliver the Oath of Allegiance to Abdullah. Abdullah then pronounced the Oath before signing it. The oath of office was later signed by Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu and Sirajuddin of Perlis as witnesses. Syed Danial then presented the oath of office for the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong to Nazrin Shah of Perak. He then pronounced the oath of office as the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong before signing it himself. His oath of office was also signed by Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu and Sirajuddin of Perlis as witnesses.
The event at the Balairong Seri was followed by the ceremony of signing the declaration of office by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and his deputy.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attended and presented the Decree Papers holding the office for the signing of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong and read the declaration that Abdullah was officially the Head of State in accordance with Federal law and Constitution.
The ceremony was concluded with a prayer reading and a photo session with the Rulers, as well as all the State Governors, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chief Ministers.
Ceremony preparations.
Abdullah was unable to be formally installed at his home state, Pahang after ascending the throne as the Sultan of Pahang. This is due to the short period between the date of his ascension as the Sultan and his appointment as Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which was only 2 weeks apart. Therefore, Tunku Azizah, as the Raja Permaisuri Agong, personally took part in the preparation of the ceremony to ensure the smoothness of the event.
Public holiday.
On 30 May 2019, the Pahang state government announced 30 July 2019 as a public holiday in conjunction with Abdullah's birthday. Following two different events that fell on the same day, the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister), Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail in a statement issued by the Office of the Menteri Besar of Pahang, had said that the State Council Meeting on 12 June 2019 had determined that 30 July and 31 July 2019 would be a public holiday for the entire state of Pahang by virtue of the powers conferred under Subsection 9 (1) of the Holidays Act 1951 (Act 369).
The Government of Malaysia also declared 30 July 2019 as an additional public holiday throughout Malaysia in conjunction with Yang di-Pertuan Agong XVI's Coronation Day. The declaration was made by the Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia, Ismail Bakar, under Section 8 of the General Holidays Act 1951 (Act 369) of Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan.
The throne and the heritage outfit.
For the first time in Malaysian history, the reigning royal couple are the children of the late Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the late Ahmad Shah of Pahang and Iskandar of Johor, the seventh and eighth Yang di-Pertuan Agong, respectively. Therefore, both of them, especially the Raja Permaisuri Agong, wished to restore sentimental value by reusing the thrones and royal outfits that were used during their father's installation. Thus, the thrones was brought back from the Royal Gallery of the Jaafar of Negeri Sembilan. The thrones undergo a refurbish process in order for them to be ready to be used in the installation ceremony. Tunku Azizah chose and bought songket from Brunei to be used as the cover for the throne's seat. The tapestry hang behind the throne was also designed to bring out the element of the old palace.
The Muskat and the Royal Tengkolok belong to the late Ahmad Shah of Pahang. They were used at the time of his installation as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 1979 and had been lent to the late Iskandar of Johor for his installation 5 years later. Iskandar of Johor did not ordered new Muskat and Tengkolok for himself because he originally wanted to wear military uniforms in his installation ceremony, as he often wore while attending official events in Johor. However, Mahathir Mohamad, who at that time was the fourth Prime Minister, had met the Sultan a week before the ceremony and begged him to wear the outfit. Iskandar decided that there wasn't enough time to ordered a new muskat to be made, therefore he borrowed the muskat from Ahmad Shah.
Although Abdullah wished to wear his father's muskat, he was unable to do so as his arm does not fit the muskat's sleeve. Therefore, Tunku Azizah ordered for a new muskat to be made, which has similar design as the old muskat.
The outfit of the Raja Permaisuri Agong was designed by Rizalman Ibrahim, a Malaysian fashion designer who had 15 years of experience in designing the Queen's outfit. Six of Tunku Azizah's outfits made in conjunction with the ceremony are made out of "fabrik tenun Pahang" (Pahang's woven cloth) which were woven by occupants of Penor Prison and Bentong Pahang Prison. Elements of Johor and Pahang were inserted into the fabrics on Tunku Azizah's request. Rizalman maintained a modern Baju Kurung rounded collar design, with wrinkled shoulder that has become her identity. A few pieces of gold from the jewellery collection of her mother, Enche' Besar Hajah Kalsom binti Abdullah was also sewn, bringing the element something borrowed into the outfit. He also added a layer of thin scarf to cover her chest, suitable for her style, as she wears tudung. Besides designing Tunku Azizah's outfit, Rizalman was also entrusted to design the outfits of the Sultan's children.
Invitation.
Royal invitations (Malay language: Warkah Persilaan) were sent out beforehand to the other Monarchies of Malaysia to formally invite them to the ceremony and to confirm their attendance. It was a tradition that had been practiced since the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan's installation ceremony. The royal invitations were designed by Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah herself. She instructed the makers to print all coat of arms of the Monarchies in Malaysia on the letters to symbolise unity of the monarchs.
The royal invitations were handwritten in Jawi alphabet in khat form, using the Malay language. They were written in royal dialect, and followed the protocol closely. The roval invitations were entrusted to be written by a few selected individuals. First, a khat artist named Abdul Baki Abu Bakar, from Sik, Kedah. He had also written the royal invitations to the previous installations of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, had been devoted himself to the task since 2003. Another person was a khat expert, Jainal Sakiban from Batu Pahat, Johor, who was the Raja Permaisuri Agong's Islamic religion teacher. He has experience in writing the royal invitation for the wedding of Tuanku Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor and Tuanku Raja Zarith Sofiah.
The messengers of the royal invitations are a representative from Istana Negara, "Datuk Paduka Maharaja Lela", Azuan Effendy Zairakithnaini, a representative from the Prime Minister office, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, a minister in the Prime Minister department, and a representative from the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal office. The invitations were presented to the respective monarchs in a gold coloured cylinder tube, which was put on a gold coloured tray. In a few states, the messengers were ordered to read the invitation in front of the monarchs.
Royal invitations were also sent out to a few foreign monarchs, including Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and Ali Al-Hussein of Jordan. Their royal invitations were written in jawi alphabet and in Malay language but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will translate them into their respected language.
Installation ceremony.
Guests.
Guests started arriving at Istana Negara as early as 8 am. General guests were immediately ushered to their seat at Balairung Seri by the palace officials, while the main guests were shown to Dewan Seri Maharaja.
The commencement of the ceremony was marked by the arrival of the King, the Queens and the First Lords of the State at 9 a.m. The "Pecah Bendera" ceremony, in which the personal flags were broken and fluttered to mark the arrival of the main guests of the palace was held. The following is a list of guests arriving at the Main Gate of the Istana Negara in order of arrival. They arrived according to the Malaysian order of precedence, from lowest to highest.
Arrival honours.
The arrival of both Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong at the Istana Negara at 10:00 a.m. MYT was welcomed by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister to the Istana Negara, preceded by the sounding of fanfare trumpets of the Central Band of the Royal Armoured Corps. The arrival honours to their Majesties was done by a guard of honour company of the 1st Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment, wherein the Central Band of the Royal Malay Regiment played the National Anthem "Negaraku" upon his arrival and later on following the King's review of the company and the battalion's King's and Regimental Colours.
Ceremony.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Raja Permaisuri Agong then went to the Seri Maharaja Hall. Later, the main guests arrived to take their places at the "Balairong Seri" (throne room) together from the Seri Maharaja Hall according to the order of precedence.
Abdullah and Tengku Azizah entered the "Balairong Seri" on 10:45 a.m. The couple were escorted in by the Grand Chamberlain of the Royal Household ("Datuk Paduka Maharaja Lela"), Azuan Effendy Zairakithnaini, and palace officers bearing the Regalia of Malaysia together with their aides-de-camp. The royal couple took