KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 25 — The Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, chaired the 262nd Meeting of the Conference of Rulers at Istana Negara here today.

The meeting was last held on February 22 and 23, presided over by Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.

Before chairing the meeting, Sultan Ibrahim took the salute at the Grand Guard of Honour mounted by officers and men of the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment at the Main Square of the palace.

Sultan Ibrahim then planted a Mentega tree (Diospyros blancoi) in the garden of Istana Negara as a symbol of His Majesty’s presiding over the meeting.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah accompanied Sultan Ibrahim at the tree-planting ceremony.

The Grand Guard of Honour and the tree-planting initiatives were mooted by Al-Sultan Abdullah and had never been done before his appointment as Malaysia’s 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The Grand Guard of Honour was first mounted at the 254th edition of the meeting, while the tree-planting initiative was introduced at the 255th meeting.

Among those who attended the 262nd meeting, being held over two days from today, were Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah, Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Sultan of Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, Sultan of Kedah Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah and Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.

Pahang was represented by Regent Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah, Perlis by Regent Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail and Kelantan by Tengku Mahkota Tengku Dr Muhammad Faiz Petra.

Also present were Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, Melaka Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Rustam, Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin and Sarawak State Assembly Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Asfia Awang Nasar, who was representing the state.

At the meeting, the Malay rulers were accompanied by their respective menteri besar, the Yang Dipertua Negeri were accompanied by chief ministers and the Sarawak Speaker was accompanied by the state’s Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

Apart from the 262nd meeting, the Malay rulers are also scheduled to attend the 263rd Meeting (Special) of the Conference of Rulers at Istana Negara on Friday to deliberate on matters concerning the election of the 17th Yang di-Pertuan Agong. — Bernama