Members of the royalty, dignitaries, representatives of foreign missions and people from all walks of life thronged the grounds of Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar today to pay their last respects to the late Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah.  

They began arriving at the palace from about 8.30am and were allowed into the Balairong Seri (Throne Room) 30 minutes later to pay their last respects.

The remains of Sultan Azlan Shah were on a three-tier catafalque, draped in yellow, in front of the throne. Eleven yellow velvet cushions bearing the late sultan’s awards had been placed around the catafalque.

The casket bearing the sultan’s remains, draped in royal yellow songket, was brought into the throne room by eight officers from the police, navy, army and air force and placed on the catafalque.  

Then, the awards were brought and placed on the cushions by 11 officers.   

Thirty-six personnel then brought the royal umbrellas into the throne room.  

Several groups comprising students, mosque officials and officers from the Perak Islamic Religious Department read verses from the Quran as an atmosphere of melancholy prevailed.

The Raja Permaisuri Perak, Tuanku Bainun; the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah; the Raja Puan Besar, Tuanku Zara Salim and other members of the royal household were present in the throne room.

Also present were Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir and state dignitaries.

People in mourning attire kept entering the throne room to pay their last respects.

Dignitaries pay last respects

Also paying their last respects were Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor; Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his wife Norainee Abdul Rahman; cabinet ministers and menteris besar and chief ministers.

Land Public Transport Commission chairperson Syed Hamid Albar, the two candidates for the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election, Mah Siew Keong and Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, as well as several opposition leaders also paid their last respects.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Haminah; the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah; the Sultan of Kelantan, Sultan Muhammad V.

The Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah; the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir; the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail; the Yang Dipertua Negeri of Malacca, Mohd Khalil Yaakob, and the Yang Dipertua Negeri of Sarawak, Abdul Taib Mahmud, also paid their last respects.

The Sultanah of Johor, Raja Zarith Sofiah and the Tengku Puan of Pahang, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, also paid their last respects.  

The Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, was among the foreign dignitaries who paid their last respects.   

Chief of Defence Forces Zulkifeli Mohd Zin and inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar were also among those who paid their last respects.   

The Regent of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah, was proclaimed the new Sultan of Perak before the burial ceremony began.

- Bernama