Adza Danial Haiqal Martias, 25, with the Hari Raya card he received in reply from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah dan Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah.

KUALA LUMPUR: It all began in 2017 for Adza Danial Haiqal Martias when he decided to keep alive a tradition that was started by his father when he was eight years old - sending Hari Raya greeting cards to the Malay Rulers and other royalty, including the Sultan of Brunei.

At first, Adza Danial Haiqal, 25, thought it was impossible for dignitaries such as the Royal family who were often busy with various affairs, to respond to the Raya cards that he designed himself and sent by post.

Almost every day, he checked his mailbox, hoping for a "miracle", until he unexpectedly received his first Raya card in reply from the fifth Sultan of Pahang, the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah in 2017.

"The first ever Raya card I received was from the late Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah. It got me very excited, and proud too because His Highness had replied to me even though I am not from Pahang," he told Bernama.

The saying that "Raja dan rakyat berpisah tiada (the Ruler and his people are inseparable)" couldn’t have rung truer, as in 2017 and 2018, Adza Danial Haiqal also received Raya cards in reply from the late Sultan of Kedah Sultan Abdul Halim and the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

"Because I am from Kedah, I really love the Sultan of my birth state. I felt compelled to relay to His Highness, the late Sultan Abdul Halim how proud I was because he had just finished his term as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for the second time," he said.

He continued sending Raya cards until 2020 but stopped for a couple of years due to the implementation of the movement control order (MCO). This year, he has sent a total of 38 Raya cards to the Malay Rulers, Cabinet ministers and MPs, with stamps costing RM1.50 per piece for delivery within the country and RM4.50 for the one to the Sultan of Brunei..

In 2019, he received Raya cards from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, the Sultan of Kedah Al Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, the Raja of Perlis Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, and the Sultan of Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V.

He also received Raya card replies from Tunku Temenggong Kedah Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz Sultan Abdul Halim, Raja Muda of Kedah Tengku Sarafudin Badlishah Sultan Sallehuddin, Tengku Mahkota Kelantan Tengku Dr Muhammad Faiz Petra Sultan Ismail Petra and the Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah.

For Adza Danial, receiving Raya cards from the palaces with the signatures of the Malay Rulers and the royal family members was very gratifying, especially in this modern and fast-paced era when Aidilfitri greetings are sent digitally.

The first child of the late screenwriter Martias Mohd Ali and Adza Irdawati Adenan, Adza Danial said that before sending the Raya cards, he learned the ins and outs of the Royal terms or palace language to ensure that the language used was appropriate, besides sending the cards as early as possible before Ramadan.

"I inherited a strong talent for writing from my late father who loved the art of the Malay language, where he often emphasised courtesy and taught us not to use slang and avoid using abbreviations in writing," he said.

He added that this year so far, he had received Raya cards from Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Rais Yatim and Bentong MP Young Syefura Othman.

"Since I ran out of time to design my own Raya cards this year, I bought 10 sets of Raya cards with four pieces in each set. In 2018 and 2019, I designed my own Raya cards using software on my laptop," he said.

He said, apart from Raya cards, he had also once sent an official letter to Kensington Palace in London in 2017 and received replies in the form of postcards following the announcement of the pregnancy of Prince William's third child and on Prince Harry's birthday. - Bernama