Kembara Kenali Borneo lingers on in people’s minds

MIRI (Dec 27): The Kembara Kenali Borneo tour from Sept 3 to Sept 13 this year is indelibly etched in the minds of all Malaysians, especially Sarawakians and Sabahans.

The convoy, led by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah; started in Tawau, Sabah on Sept 3 and concluded in Telok Melano, Sarawak on Sept 13, spanning 2,154km through the Pan Borneo Highway.

Also participating in the convoy were Their Majesties’ sons namely Regent of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, Tengku Panglima Raja Colonel Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah, Tengku Arif Bendahara Tengku Muhammad Iskandar, Tengku Ahmad Ismail Mu’adzam Shah, daughters and entourage.

Inspired by Al-Sultan Abdullah, the tour provided the royal family an opportunity to build a ‘bridge of friendship’ between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

People from all walks of life and every nook and cranny of Sabah and Sarawak came together in unity to have a glimpse of the royal family and extend the warmest of welcomes to their Majesties.

The royal entourage was greeted with frenzy and much enthusiasm by thousands who gathered beforehand to get a better view of Their Majesties, shake hands and even have pictures with them.

It was certainly a momentous occasion for many Sarawakians, including Wan Jok, 68, and wife Singa Jingong from Long San in Belaga.

The couple was in Miri for their monthly health check-up at the Miri Hospital when they learned about Their Majesties’ visit to Miri.

“We have never had the opportunity to have a glimpse of the royal family, so we extended our stay just to wait for their arrival,” said Wan Jok.

Among the many highly publicised events was when Tunku Azizah ‘adopted’ a Sarawakian girl named Missclyen who suffers from congenital generalised hypertrichosis (CGH) syndrome or ‘werewolf syndrome’.

The Queen pledged to pay for Missclyen’s school expenses and medical treatments to help ease the family’s financial burden.

Over the course of the 11-day trip, the royal tours became less formal and more approachable, breaking away with protocols – as told by a food operator Hamidi Fikir.

Hamidi hails from Pahang but has been residing in Sarikei and is operating a food stall by the roadside.

He shared his unforgettable moment when the King and his sons stopped at the roadside in Sebongkoi to tuck into some of his ‘nasi bungkus’.

“What was more touching was that they just opened the doors of their car, opened the packets of rice and ate like commoners – no protocols,” said Hamidi, who shared his close encounter with the royal family on his ‘Jenggo Merah’ Facebook page.

Al-Sultan Abdullah was quoted at the closing ceremony of the tour and dinner hosted by the Sarawak government as saying that the tour had allowed him to meet the people in Sabah and Sarawak up close and personal, to which he had seen and heard much more than what he had expected.

“This tour provides an opportunity to build a new bridge where there is no river and the bridge is a bridge of friendship.

“My presence and that of my family and my entourage represent part of the people in the peninsula.

“I, representing the Malay rulers, am extending my arms to all as one Malaysian family in our beloved country,” said His Majesty, while extending his deepest thoughts and appreciations to the people in Sarawak and Sabah for their ‘unexpected’ warm hospitality throughout their visits to the two states.