KUCHING (Sept 13): The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah have departed back to Kuala Lumpur this afternoon after completing a 10-day ‘Kembara Kenali Borneo’ tour in Sabah and Sarawak.
According to Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas), The King and Queen, as well as the princes Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, Tengku Ahmad Ismail Mu’adznam Shah and Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Tengku Arif Bendahara Ibrahim arrived at the Kuching International Airport at 3.33pm.
Sending off the royal family at the airport were acting Head of State Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nasar and wife Puan Sri Dato Fatimah Mohd Iskandar, and Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and wife Puan Sri Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tun Tuanku Bujang.
Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof, Deputy Premiers Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki and state Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah were also present.
Others included Food Industries, Commodities and Regional Development Minister Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom, and Deputy Minister in the Premier of Sarawak’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations), Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.
Members of the public were also seen outside the airport bidding farewell to the royal family and the special plane transporting the royal family took off at 4.22pm.
Their Majesties completed the 2,154-kilometre ‘Kembara Kenali Borneo’ tour travelling via the Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah and Sarawak after arriving at the Mile Zero of the highway, located at the southern tip of Sarawak at Telok Melano.
The ‘Kembara Kenali Borneo’ tour began in Tawau at Sabah on Sept 3 before entering the Sarawak leg of the Pan Borneo Highway on Sept 7. The distance in Sarawak covered 1,198 kilometres.