KUCHING: The Queen of Malaysia, Her Majesty the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Raja Zarith Sofiah attended a banquet held last night (June 29) in conjunction with her visit to this city.
Arriving at the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Banquet Hall around 8.20pm, Her Majesty was warmly welcomed by Puan Sri Datuk Amar Juma’ani Tun Tuanku Bujang, the wife of Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.
The event was also attended by Her Highness Tunku Soraya Almarhum Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah; Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi and his wife, Toh Puan Fauziah Mohd Sanusi; Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and his wife, Datuk Dayang Morliah Awang Daud; and Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah.
During the dinner, Her Majesty was entertained with an array of cultural performances, starting with the ‘Tarian Puteri Sarawak’, followed by the Iban Ajat Indu dance; the Bidayuh Sigar Dayung dance; the Orang Ulu Datun Julud dance; the Melanau Menyambut Tuo Labih dance; and the Chinese Moonlight Lover dance.
These performances were presented by City Dancers, the Dayak Cultural Foundation, and The Dance Academy, of which are under the guidance of the Sarawak Arts Council.
Additionally, the evening featured musical performances by Sarawakian artists, including Valerie Thiam Mei Lee, Raquel Then, Suzie Kay, Adam Yaman and Firdaus Materang, who entertained the audience with a diverse selection of ethnic and contemporary songs.
The banquet concluded with a grand finale which featured the traditional Malay Nopeng Kinek dance.
Earlier in the evening, Her Majesty was also presented with souvenirs from the Astana Negeri Sarawak and the Sarawak government as tokens of appreciation.
Her Majesty is set to return to Johor today (June 30).
