29th Sultan of Kedah’s installation ceremony among state’s highlights in 2018

ALOR SETAR: The installation ceremony for the 29th Sultan of Kedah in full tradition and customs of the Kedah Malay Sultanate held on Oct 22 was one of the most significant and historic events this year.

After almost six decades, the installation of Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah as the 29th Sultan of Kedah was a repeat of a historical event as the last installation was held on Feb 20, 1959, when Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah was installed as the 28th Sultan of Kedah.

There were five main ceremonies for the installation of Sultan Sallehuddin, namely the ‘Istiadat Letak Kerja’ to mark the launch of ceremonies for the sultan’s installation; ‘ Istiadat Ziarah Makam’ (visit to the ancestors graves); ‘ Istiadat Siram Tabal’ (royal bathing ceremony); ‘ Istiadat Perarakan’ (royal parade); and the ‘ Perbarisan Kehormatan’ (guard- of-honour) and ‘Istiadat Pertabalan Sultan Kedah’ (installation of the Sultan of Kedah).

Sultan Sallehuddin was installed as the 29th Sultan of Kedah on Sept 12, 2017, replacing Sultan Abdul Halim, who died a day earlier.

Historian Datuk Dr Wan Shamsudin Mohd Yusof in a special report published by Bernama on Oct 16, was quoted as saying that the installation ceremony as the 29th Sultan of Kedah was the third coronation conducted in accordance with the actual customs of the state.

Wan Shamsudin, 86, who is also Malaysian Historical Society Kedah branch chairman, said according to the ‘ Manuskrip Peringatan Raja-Raja Kedah’ ( Manuscript on Reminders to the Rulers of Kedah) written in 1914, the first Kedah ruler who was installed in accordance with the royal customs was the 22nd Sultan of Kedah Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Shah.

The second ruler to be installed in accordance with the royal customs was the 28th Sultan of Kedah Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, he said.

Meanwhile, the Pakatan Harapan ( PH) victory in wresting the state government from the Barisan Nasional ( BN) was another highlight that attracted the attention of various parties, both from within and outside the country.

In the 14th general election in May, of the totalof 36 state seats contested, PH secured 18 seats, and went on to form the state government despite not having a simple majority, with PAS trailing closely behind at 15 seats, while the other three seats were won by BN.

The PH victory created another milestone in Kedah when Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir was appointed as Kedah Menteri Besar for the second time after resigning in February 2016 when it was reported that he had lost the support of the majority of the assemblymen( Kedah was under BN rule then).

In terms of state politics and administration, the absence of a comfortable majority by any party in the state also caused Kedah to face problems to appoint the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, which prompted rumours on the possibility of a snap state election.

However, the crisis was resolved when three BN assemblymen, namely Datuk Dr Ku Abdul Rahman Ku Ismail ( Guar Chempedak), Datuk Norsabrina Mohd Noor ( Bandar Baharu) and Datuk Suraya Yaacob ( Sungai Tiang), decided to support the PH candidate as the State Speaker.

The move allowed Kuala Kedah MP Datuk Ahmad Kassim to be appointed as State Speaker in July.

However, the opposition bloc was caught by surprise when Dr Ku Abdul Rahman’s decided to quit BN and become an independent assemblyman to support the Kedah PH government. — Bernama