(From second left) King and Queen being welcomed by Asfia (left) and Awang Tengah (right).
LAWAS (Sept 7): Heavy rain fails to dampen the spirits of the Sarawak welcoming party here this evening for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.
About 4,000 locals from the Malay, Kedayan, Lun Bawang, Tagal, Chinese and Iban communities braved the downpour to accord a warm welcome at the scenic Lawas Waterfront , preceded by another welcoming group at Pengalih village.
In their first-ever Kembara Kenali Borneo tour to get to know Malaysians living in Sabah and Sarawak, Their Majesties were welcomed by acting Head of State Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, and local community leaders around 8pm.
Persistent heavy downpour in western part of Sabah and northern Sarawak, and today has resulted in relatively smaller crowds lining up along roadsides compared to previous stopovers in Sabah.
Rain poured down in Lawas since 2pm affecting the welcoming party crowd in Lawas town that had geared up for the entourage arriving in town scheduled around 3.30pm.
@theborneopost The King and Queen arrives in Lawas despite heavy rain. #KembaraKenaliBorneo #theborneopost #Lawas #Sarawak #istananegara ♬ original sound – The Borneo Post
Palpable excitement of the local communities in Lawas was evident in the run-up to welcome the King and Queen and their children in this tour which endeared them to many East Malaysians who were enamoured by their down-to-earth, humility, friendliness and sporting spirit.
One longhouse chief Munit Entalang and fellow villager Rabai Entalang were already up by 5am this morning in their enthusiasm to grab this lifetime opportunity of seeing and interacting with the King and Queen in person.
The tour, from Sept 3 to 13, started in Tawau, Sabah and will end in Telok Melano, Sarawak, covering a distance of 2,154km via the Pan Borneo Highway which connects Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. This presents a golden opportunity for the people of both states to meet the royal couple and their entourage and offer feedback to the monarch.
The entourage would later depart for Brunei where they would stay overnight.
In addition to Lawas, Their Majesties are scheduled to stop over in Miri, Bintulu, Sibu, Sri Aman and Kuching that will cover 1,198 kilometres of the Pan Borneo Highway for the Sarawak leg.
The entourage will depart Brunei for Miri on Sept 9 for a visit to the Miri Handicraft Centre before stopping for lunch at Coco Cabana and resuming the tour to Kampung Pangkalan Lutong.
The following day, Their Majesties will visit Kampung Bungai for a community sports carnival and lunch before heading to Bintulu.