Agong at Parliament to open parliament sitting

KUALA LUMPUR: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V was at Parliament today to open the first meeting of the sixth term of the 13th Parliament.
He arrived at Parliament Square at 10.40am and was welcomed by Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia and Dewan Negara (Senate) President Datuk Seri S. A. Vigneswaran.
Also present to greet the king on his arrival were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and wife, Datin Seri Hamidah Khamis.
Sultan Muhammad V was then led to the royal stage, "Penterana Diraja" to receive the royal salute mounted by the Royal Malay Regiment Central Band, which was led by Major Muhamad Nor Azizan Yahya.
At the same time, the royal flag was hoisted, accompanied by a 21-gun salute and the national anthem Negaraku.
Sultan Muhammad V then inspected a guard-of-honour mounted by four officers and 103 members from the First Battalion Royal Malay Regiment, Sungai Besi Camp, led by Major Azlan Shah Baharom before returning to the royal stage to receive the royal salute for the second time, which was the followed by the national anthem.
After the ceremony ended, Sultan Muhammad V was led to the Royal Room at the parliament building for a group photo session and then to Parliament House to deliver his speech.
Parliament will sit for 20 days until April 5, while the Dewan Negara will sit for nine days from April 16 to 30. — Bernama