KUCHING, Sept 13 — Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s journey here from Sibu in conjunction with the Kembara Kenali Borneo tour took over 15 hours as a result of the people’s excitement over His Majesty’s visit to Sarawak.

Al-Sultan Abdullah and his entourage arrived at the Pullman Hotel here only at about 12.20am. The convoy started their journey to the capital of Sarawak at 9am, after visiting the Sibu Central Market, the first stop on the 10th day of the tour.

Upon arriving in Kuching, Al-Sultan Abdullah dan Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah graced the closing ceremony of the tour and a dinner hosted by the Sarawak government.

Also present were Their Majesties’ children, the Regent of Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, Tengku Panglima Raja Colonel Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah and Tengku Ahmad Ismail Mu’adzam Shah.

Earlier, throughout the entourage’s journey involving a distance of approximately 398 kilometres (km) through the Pan Borneo Highway, most of the road shoulders were filled with people waiting for Al-Sultan Abdullah to pass by.

When the convoy was passing by the Pakit Camp until Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Melugu, both in Sri Aman, massive crowds lined up the streets as they excitedly waved to the King and Queen and the entourage.

Many a time, the convoy had to go slow and even had to stop due to the overwhelming crowd numbers, and this was quite evident in Serian, about 61km from here.

Bernama newsmen who had been following the convoy said some of them had been waiting for over five hours to get a closer look at the King for the first time, which in the end turned out to be worthwhile.

The joy on their faces was clearly evident when they had the opportunity to shake hands, take selfies and get the Royal Family’s signature as a memory.

The Kembara Kenali Borneo programme will end tomorrow in Telok Melano in Sematan, Sarawak after kicking off in Tawau, Sabah on Sept 3.

The journey, which was held for the first time and to realise the dream of Al-Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah to reach out to the people of Sabah and Sarawak, ended in Sabah on Sept 7 before entering Sarawak via Brunei.

The 11-day trip involved a distance of 2,154 km along the Pan Borneo Highway that connects Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. — Bernama