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KUANTAN, Dec 29 — 2019 was a historic year for the Pahang royal institution when Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah ascended the throne and was proclaimed the sixth Sultan of Pahang.
The proclamation of the new Sultan of Pahang on January 15 was rather unexpected as ascension to the throne will usually take place following the predecessor’s death, but Al-Sultan Abdullah ascended the throne when his father Paduka Ayahanda Sultan Ahmad Shah was still alive.
However, rumours that Al-Sultan Abdullah would be replacing his ailing father as the Sultan of Pahang were rife as it was publicly known that Sultan Ahmad Shah was gravely ill and after the Pahang Royal Council held a special meeting at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur on January 11.
On January 12, Tengku Muda Pahang Tengku Abdul Rahman announced the appointment of Al-Sultan Abdullah, 60, as the next Sultan at Istana Abu Bakar in Pekan.
In making the announcement he said the proposal on the succession was unanimously agreed by the royal family members as they had accepted the fact that their father could no longer shoulder the duties and responsibilities as Ruler.
Tengku Abdul Rahman said that the Pahang Royal Council meeting had agreed to approve an amendment to Part 1 of Article 9A of the state constitution to give the Pahang Royal Council the power to ask the Ruler to abdicate due to his grave illness, effective January 11.
About two weeks after Al-Sultan Abdullah was proclaimed as Sultan of Pahang, the state once again witnessed a historic ceremony on Jan 29 at Istana Abu Bakar, when Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, 59, was proclaimed as the fifth Tengku Ampuan of Pahang in the modern era of the Pahang sultanate.
The Tengku Ampuan Pahang title was last bestowed 31 years ago, and the ceremony was more meaningful as it coincided with the proclamation of the royal couple’s eldest son, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, 24, as the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang who will serve as the Regent of Pahang as long as Al-Sultan Abdullah took up residency at the Istana Negara.
Tengku Hassanal, who was born on September 17, 1995 was at that time still undergoing military training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, United Kingdom.
He graduated recently on December 13 and is expected to return to Pahang in early January.
While still overjoyed in welcoming a new head of state, the people of Pahang were saddened by news of the death of Sultan Ahmad Shah at the National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur at 8.50 am on, May 22. Sultan Ahmad Shah who ruled Pahang since May 7, 1974 died at age 88.
As Sultan Ahmad Shah had been ill for several years Al-Sultan Abdullah formerly known as Tengku Abdullah had been serving as Pahang Regent since Dec 28, 2016.
After the funeral rites were completed, the remains of HIs Highness were flown by a special aircraft to the Kuantan Air Base and laid to rest at the Royal Mausoleum on May 23.
The remains were interred next to the grave of his wife Tengku Ampuan Pahang Tengku Afzan Tengku Muhammad, who died on June 29, 1988.
As a mark of respect for the late Ruler, the state of Pahang observed a 40-day mourning period with the state flag flown at half-mast for three days, while members of the Pahang royal family observed 100 days of mourning. — Bernama
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