PUTRAJAYA: His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, and Her Majesty the Queen, Raja Zarith Sofiah graced the Trooping of the Colours ceremony held at Dataran Pahlawan Negara here on Saturday (Sept 14).
Their Majesties arrived at 8.30am to the accompaniment of the national anthem, Negaraku, followed by a fly-past formation of five Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) helicopters led by Major Mohd Fazruzaman Md Faril of the 10th Squadron, Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
The helicopters carried the Jalur Gemilang and the flags of the ATM, Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), and RMAF. The 41st Battery of the Royal Artillery Regiment (Ceremonial), led by Major Hafizan Mat Ghani, then gave a 21-gun salute.
Sultan Ibrahim then inspected the parade, which consisted of 25 officers and 503 personnel of all ranks from all three branches of the ATM, led by Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Firdaus Sa’ad, the Commanding Officer of the 21st Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment.
Clear weather with temperatures around 26°C accompanied the nearly hour-long parade, which also featured a combined performance by the ATM Central Band led by Lieutenant Colonel Muhamad Nor Azizan Yahya, showcasing patriotic songs.
After the inspection, the ATM Central Band set the stage for the ceremonial march of the five Colours of the King, carried out with full military honours.
The five Colours paraded were of the Royal Malay Regiment, Royal Ranger Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps, RMN and RMAF.
The Colours are a national honour bestowed by the King upon regiments or corps from the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
The ceremony concluded with three shouts of “Daulat Tuanku” by the parade participants and a prayer led by Armed Forces Religious Corps director-general Major General Datuk Mohd Rashidi Bujai.
Sultan Ibrahim once again received a fly-past salute from the five ATM aircraft before Their Majesties left the square at 9.25am.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Chief of Defence Force General Tan Sri Mohammad Ab Rahman.
The ceremony is held three times during the five-year reign of each Malay ruler appointed as the King – during the first, third, and final years of the reign.
This ceremony marks the last of six events scheduled from June 2 until Sept 14, in conjunction with the Official Birthday of the King on June 3. – Bernama