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 today.
Their Majesties arrived at 8.30am to the accompaniment of the national anthem, Negaraku, followed by a fly-past formation of five armed forces 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 armed forces, Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), and RMAF, followed by a 21-gun salute by the 41st Battery of the Royal Artillery Regiment (Ceremonial), led by Major Hafizan Mat Ghani.
Sultan Ibrahim then inspected the parade, consisting of 25 officers and 503 personnel of all ranks from all three branches of the armed forces, led by the Commanding Officer of the 21st Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Firdaus Sa'ad.
Clear weather with temperatures around 26°C accompanied the nearly hour-long parade, which also featured a combined performance by the armed forces Central Band led by Lieutenant Colonel Muhamad Nor Azizan Yahya, showcasing patriotic songs.
After the inspection, the 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 aircraft before Their Majesties left the square at 9.25 am.
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 Armed Forces Chief 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 today, in conjunction with the Official Birthday of the King on June 3.– BERNAMA