King, Queen to set off on Sarawak leg of Borneo tour on Sept 7

KUCHING: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah will set off on the Sarawak leg of their "Kembara Kenali Borneo (Getting to know Borneo)" tour from Sept 7 to 13.

Sarawak Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the King’s convoy will travel 1,198km, starting from the north to the tip of southern Sarawak, spanning the Merapok Immigration, Customs and Quarantine (ICQ) entry point in Lawas right down to Telok Melano.

"Officially, His Majesty’s entourage will arrive at the Merapok ICQ in Sarawak on Sept 7 from Sabah and head into Bandar Lawas, onwards to Tebingan Lawas before continuing into Brunei Darussalam.

"The King and his entourage will be in Brunei for three days from Sept 7 to 9, and arrive in Miri to continue the tour in Sarawak,” he said at a press conference here Monday (Aug 28).

According to Abdul Karim, among the locations that will be visited by the convoy in the northern part of the state are Coco Cabana Miri, Kampung Penan Muslim Batu 10 and Rumah Panjang Raymond Plen in Sebauh, while the middle section will include Tokong Yu Lung Tian En Si, Kampung Bandung Sibu and Pasar Central Sibu.

They will travel along the Borneo Highway to the southern part of Sarawak to Masjid Bahagian Sri Aman right up to Zero KM Pan Borneo Highway in Telok Melano.

"I am responsible as the accompanying minister and will be with the King and Queen throughout the tour from Sept 7.

"In addition, there will be Sarawak ministers and deputy ministers stationed at different locations to welcome the entourage,” he said.

He added that the Sarawak government has prepared various attractive programmes at each location, including exhibitions, handicraft demonstrations, cultural activities and culinary presentations to showcase the uniqueness of Sarawak cuisine.

"The most important aspect is that the King’s entourage will be able to get to meet the people of Sarawak, in line with the main objective of the tour, which is to get to know them,” he said.

The "Kembara Kenali Borneo" tour is scheduled to start in Tawau, Sabah, on Sept 3 and end in Teluk Melano, Sarawak on Sept 13, covering a journey of 2,154km.

Abdul Karim said traffic control matters have been organised by Istana Negara in collaboration with the state government, Royal Malaysia Police and the offices of the Sarawak Divisions’ Residents.

He also advised the public to always obey instructions from authorities throughout the tour. - Bernama