This Content Is Only For Subscribers
KUCHING, June 24: Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg will make his first official visit as Regional Islamic Da’wah Council of Southeast Asia and the Pacific (RISEAP) president to New Zealand on Sunday (June 25).
This is the Premier’s first official visit to a member country since he was elected as RISEAP president earlier this year.
The Premier and his entourage comprising Deputy Minister for Utility and Telecommunication II (Utility), who is also in charge of Islamic affairs Datuk Dr. Abdul Rahman Junaidi, State Mufti Datu Kipli Yasin, and RISEAP Honourary Secretary Dato Mohamad Marzuki Mohamad Omar, are scheduled to arrive in Auckland before midnight on Sunday.
RISEAP, now with 24 member countries, was formed in 1980 with the late Malaysia’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj as its founding president primarily to bring together Muslim-minority countries in East Asia and the Pacific in order to pursue collective ambitions in the Islamic cause.
Abang Johari will be received upon arrival at Auckland airport by members of The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) led by the federation’s president, Ibrar Sheikh.
On Monday (June 26) morning the Premier is scheduled to meet representatives from Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Following that, he will also meet imams and FIANZ officials at Al Rahman mosque in South Auckland before taking part in a tree-planting ceremony and visiting another mosque in the afternoon.
The Premier and his entourage will end the two-day visit on Wednesday (June 28). — DayakDaily
