110,000 Hari Raya Visitors to Nurul Iman Palace









QURATUL-AIN BANDIAL AND RAFIDAH HAMIT
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

SWELTERING heat did not diminish the festive spirit of thousands of well-wishers at Istana Nurul Iman during the last day of the royal family’s annual Hari Raya meet and greet, which saw more than 100,000 visitors descend on the palace.

Some 39,943 people made their way to the palace on the final day of the open house, bringing the three-day total to 109,642.

This year’s number is the second highest that was ever recorded. The highest volume of visitors was recorded in 2012, when 110,728 people visited the palace.Dressed in their finest attire, visitors queued for hours for the rare opportunity to meet the monarch and other royal family members. The day was divided into morning and afternoon sessions, each lasting about two hours.

Receiving male guests in the Baitul Rahmah Hall were His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam; HRH Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office; HRH Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade; HRH Prince Hj Jefri Bolkiah; HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah; HRH Prince ‘Abdul Malik; HRH Prince ‘Abdul Mateen; and HRH Prince ‘Abdul Wakeel.

In an adjoining room, Her Majesty Duli Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hjh Saleha received the female guests, accompanied by HRH Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Hjh Zariah; YAM Pengiran Bini Hjh Faizah; HRH Princess Hjh Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah; HRH Princess Hjh Muta-Wakkilah Hayatul Bolkiah; HRH Princess Hjh Majeedah Nuurul Bolkiah; HRH Princess Hjh Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah; HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah; HRH Princess Ameerah Wardatul Bolkiah and HRH Princess Hjh Amal Umi Kalthum Al-Islam.

People from all walks of life were among the visitors yesterday, including grassroots leaders, officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs, new converts, senior citizens groups, special needs groups, as well as members of the business community.

Guests were served with a wide selection of food upon arrival at the Istana before queuing up to meet the royal family.

As a token of appreciation, visitors were given embossed yellow boxes containing traditional Hari Raya cakes.

Former Brunei Barracudas forward Michael Pilgrim was among the visitors yesterday.

“This is my first time visiting the palace during Hari Raya, I never had the chance when I was playing in Brunei before so it is definitely a unique experience,” he said.

Pilgrim is back in Brunei to play for Easyway basketball team in the upcoming Mum Bakery Cup on July 25, held in conjunction with His Majesty’s birthday.

Easyway team manager Wira Pori said it had become a team tradition to bring the players to the Istana each year for the annual Hari Raya meet and greet.

The annual open house at Istana Nurul Iman is one of the much-anticipated highlights of the festive season and is attended by thousands of Bruneians, foreigners and tourists each year.

Last year, 96,555 people visited the palace while 105,786 visitors was recorded in 2013.

Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brunei Royal Wedding 2015: Profile of Royal Bride Dayangku Raabi'atul Adawiyyah

Image
DAYANGKU RAABI'ATUL ADAWIYYAH BINTI PENGIRAN HAJI BOLKIAH Yang Mulia Dayangku Raabi'atul `Adawiyyah binti Pengiran Haji Bolkiah was born on the 27th October 1992. She is the second child of Pengiran Haji Bolkiah bin Pengiran Haji Jaluddin bin Pengiran Haji Tajuddin with Pengiran Hajah Noor'aismah binti Pengiran Haji Ismail bin Pengiran Haji Tengah. Her eldest brother, Awangku Abd. 'Aziz Hafizuddin bin Pengiran Haji Bolkiah, works at the Royal Brunei Airlines. Her other siblings are Awangku Mohd Ainul Yaqien; Dayangku Noor Batuul 'Afiqah; Dayangku Izzatul `Afifah; Dayangku Duratul Majeedah; Dayangku Nur Hidayatul Maheerah; Awangku Mohd Zainul ‘Ariffin; Awangku Mohd Irfan Hakeem; and Awangku Mohd Izzul Yamin @ Abdul Razeeq. (Note: Direct descendants of the Brunei Sultans carry the hereditary title of Pengiran. However as children and young adults, they are normally styled Awangku (for male) and Dayangku (for female) until they marry, when the title conver
Read more

Family Titles in Brunei

Image
On my recent blog on Brunei's Time Line , one commentator got carried away and she started to talk about events in the past before moving on to nicknames. I enjoyed what she wrote and I offered for her to write a whole blog about it and I will put it up. But up to now, I have not received anything from her. So, Hajah Yati, if you are reading, my offer still stands. And for the rest of you readers out there, if you don't have your own blogsite, I am most ready to offer my site for the occassional blogs that you want to write - just make sure the blogs are Brunei related. You can set up your own blogsite once you feel comfortable. As someone later on commented, it will be nice to read someone else's blogs too on this website. At least on this one, you get an instant 300+ readers a day. So, please, my e-mail is admin@bruneiresources.com. Do write. I don't have much on nicknames to write on as suggested by Hajah Yati. I remembered when I was at school (primary), I have fri
Read more

Pulau Cermin - Brunei's Historic Island

Image
Since I was already on the water visiting the Jong Batu at one end of the Brunei River, I thought I might as well go to the other end and visit the other historical site of Brunei, Pulau Cermin. Pulau Cermin as many Brunei historians know it is the site of the temporary palace of Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin, the 13th Sultan of Brunei and is the site of the only civil war in Brunei History. Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin took the throne after assasinating Sultan Muhammad Ali. It was quite a bloody time in Brunei history and I remembered one classic book written by Yura Halim entitled "Mahkota Berdarah" regarding the episode. Pulau Cermin - view from the River In a nutshell, Sultan Abdul Hakkul Mubin was the Bendahara when his son was killed by the son of Sultan Muhammad Ali. He requested that his son's death be avenged but Sultan Muhammad Ali denied him. So Bendahara Abdul Mubin went amok killing a few people at the palace and with his followers took the Sultan and killed him (No
Read more