The National Palace ; Old and New

(picture from Bernama)

The old National Palace at Jalan Istana

Today mark the historic moment in the history of Malaysian Constitutional Monarchy. The old National Palace located at Jalan Istana, Kuala Lumpur officially closed today after serving as the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia for 54 years, ended with pomp and pagentry. The ceremony continued with a team of flag bearers comprising 10 members of RAMD who lowered the Yang di-Pertuan Agong royal standard as the last post being played to signify the shifting of Istana Negara (National Palace) at Jalan Istana to the new Istana Negara at Jalan Duta.

The ceremony continued with the procession of the flag bearers with the ceremonial horse squadron to the palace main enterance to present the flag to Istana Negara Grand Chamberlain, Datuk Tengku Farok Husin bin Tengku Abdul Jalil who represented Istana Negara in signifying the palace's completion of duty. The flag was presented by Acting RAMD First Battalion Officer in Command, Major Mohd Kadri Abu Bakar. As symbolic closure of the monumental building with its golden dome, the Grand Chamberlain later directed the Istana Negara officer, Rosli Asri to lock the main enterance of the palace signifying all duties at Istana Negara had completed before moving to the Istana Negara at Jalan Duta for another flag raising ceremony. The teams in attendance comprised RAMD First Battalion and the Ceremonial Horse Squadron with three officers and 69 men of various ranks with 12 horses.

Among those present to witness the flag lowering ceremony were Senior Deputy Secretary General of the Prime Minister's Department who is also the chairman of National Official Ceremony, Datuk Othman Mahmood; Armed Forces (ATM) Chief of Staff Lt Gen Datuk Raja Afandi Raja Mohd Nor and ATM's Deputy Chief of Staff Maj Gen Datuk Abdul Aziz Ibrahim.

The new National Palace at Jalan Duta

Meanwhile, at the Istana Negara in Jalan Duta, a ceremony to raise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's royal standard began at 10.25am when the Grand Chamberlain handed over the flag to a team of flag bearers to signify the commencement of duty of the Malaysian Armed Forces at the Jalan Duta Istana Negara square.

The new palace in tune with technology today uses an automated flag raiser unlike the manual approach at the old palace. Istana Negara began shifting its operations to the new complex in Jalan Duta in stages since Oct 19 while the assignment of guards from ATM began today. The bungalow was bought by the Selangor State Government and renovated to become the residence of Sultan Selangor, Sultan Sir Hishamuddin Alam Shah. The building which was made a palace of Sultan Selangor was later acquired by the Federal Government as the official residence of the first Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Rahman Tuanku Muhammad, a few weeks before the declaration of independence. Meanwhile, the new Istana Negara built with Islamic and traditional Malay features is located on a 96.52 hectare site compared to 11.34 hectare at the old palace.

It will witness the installation of the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah of Kedah in December.