SULTAN SALLEHUDDIN INSTALLED AS 29TH KEDAH RULER
Ceremony steeped in tradition and custom of Kedah Malay sultanate
SULTAN Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah was installed as the 29th sultan of Kedah in a ceremony steeped in tradition at Balairong Seri (Throne Room) of Istana Anak Bukit here yesterday.
Following the installation, His Royal Highness will henceforth be addressed as “Al Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah”.
The installation was held in the full tradition and custom of the Kedah Malay sultanate, a historic ceremony considering that the last installation was held almost six decades ago, in 1959, when Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah ascended the Kedah throne.
The sultanah of Kedah, Sultanah Maliha Almarhum Tengku Ariff; Raja Muda of Kedah, Tengku Sarafudin Badlishah Ibni Sultan Sallehuddin, and his consort, Che Puan Muda Zaheeda Mohamad Ariff; Tunku Bendahara of Kedah, Tan Sri Tunku Abdul Hamid Thani Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah and consort, Puan Seri Datuk Nora Abdullah; Tunku Temenggong of Kedah, Tan Sri Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz Almarhum Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah; Tunku Laksamana of Kedah, Datuk Tunku Shazuddin Ariff Ibni Sultan Sallehuddin; Raja DiHilir of Perak, Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Sultan Idris Shah and Raja Puan Muda of Perak, Tunku Soraya Sultan Abdul Halim, attended the ceremony.
Also in attendance were the representatives of the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam; Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Muizzaddin Wadaullah and Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah Pengiran Haji Salleh Ab Rahaman; the Regent of Kelantan, Tengku Dr Muhammad Faiz Petra; the Regent of Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and Tengku Puan of Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah; Yang Dipertua Negeri of Penang Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas and his wife, Toh Puan Majimor Shariff; Yang Dipertua Negeri of Melaka Tun Dr Mohd Khalil Yaakob; Yang Dipertua Negeri of Sabah Tun Juhar Mahiruddin and Toh Puan Norlidah R M Jasni; Yang Dipertua Negeri of Sarawak Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud and Toh Puan Ragad Kurdi Taib; Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail and Raja Puan Muda of Perlis Tuanku Hajah Lailatul Shahreen Akashah Khalil; Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah; Yang Dipertuan Muda of Terengganu Tengku Muhammad Ismail Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin; Raja Muda of Perak Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa; Tunku Besar Seri Menanti of Negri Sembilan, Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz and Tunku Temenggong of Johor, Tunku Idris Iskandar Sultan Ibrahim.
Present were Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali; Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim; and Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and his wife, Tok Puan Norzieta Zakaria.
The ceremony began with Sultan Sallehuddin and Sultanah Maliha entering the Balairong Seri, accompanied by the bearers of the Cogan Agama (Sceptre of Religion), Cogan Alam (Sceptre of the Universe), Cokmar (The Mace), the royal swords and lances, as well as the military and police escorts, led by the Head of the Ceremony, Datuk Bijaya Indera Datuk Paduka Syed Unan Mashri Syed Abdullah Shahbuddin.
As Their Royal Highnesses entered the Balairong Seri, the selawat (salutation to Prophet Muhammad) was recited and the royal musical ensemble sounded the nobat. Their Royal Highnesses sat on the throne while the bearers of the royal regalia took their positions.
The head of the ceremony approached Their Royal Highnesses and sought the consent to begin the ceremony. Then, the “Datuk-Datuk Bergelar” titled chieftains brought in the instruments of installation and placed them on a special table.
These items included the Quran, letter of the proclamation, royal oath of office, state keris, gold tengkolok (headgear) and a chest containing valuable items that symbolise the powers and richness of the sultan of Kedah.
Kedah Mufti Datuk Sheikh Fadzil Awang, accompanied by Datuk Setia Jaya and Datuk Murshid DiRaja, led the recitation of the doa and verses from the Quran.
The head of the ceremony then approached the sultan and presented the Quran. The sultan kissed the Quran and placed it on the special place reserved for the Holy Book.
Mukhriz read out the proclamation on the installation of the sultan of Kedah. The head of the ceremony approached the sultan and presented the Scroll of the Royal Oath of Office and the sultan stood up and read out the Royal Oath of Office.
Then, the head of the ceremony approached the sultan and presented the State Keris, which the sultan unsheathed, kissed, sheathed and placed on the special stable. The State Keris symbolises the greatness of the sovereignty and authority of His Royal Highness.