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By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Sept 13: The antics of the rakyat (citizens) meeting the royal family during their recent ‘Kembara Kenali Borneo’ royal tour continue to amuse netizens.
Among them is when an individual mistakenly referred to Tengku Panglima Raja Kol Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah as ‘driver’.
In a TikTok video posted by @vie_rvella, a man dressed in traditional Iban attire can be seen attempting to halt the car briefly in order to take a selfie with the Regent of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who was seated in the rear left side of the car.
In the video, it appears that the man referred to Tengku Hassanal as ‘Tengku Handsome’, prompting Tengku Hassanal to ask the man what he had called him. The man’s response, ‘Tengku Handsome’, was met with laughter.
In an attempt to take a selfie with Tengku Hassanal, however, the car is seen moving slowly, prompting the man to exclaim, “Oop oop (signalling to Tengku Amir Naseer Ibrahim, who is also the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah’s son, to stop), eh driver stop! Break, break, sekejap, sekejap! (wait a moment)”.
In the background, Tengku Hassanal can be heard laughing as he utters the words, ‘Driver stop’.
The man skillfully took a selfie and then left the car as others approached Tengku Hassanal. He greeted them with fist bumps.
The video was initially uploaded to Tengku Hassanal’s Instagram story (@this.7) before it was uploaded to TikTok by other netizens.
Many commenters on the TikTok video expressed sympathy for Tengku Amir because he was not recognised.
However, the man who stopped the car for the selfie demonstrated initiative by posting an apology message on his Facebook account on Monday (Sept 11).
The man identified as Ronnie Apit Megong has acknowledged his mistake in using inappropriate language towards Tengku Amir, whom he mistakenly referred to as ‘driver’.
Apit’s apology message read: “Selamat Tengahari, saya yang mengaku bersalah diatas kesilapan saya semalam kerana tersasul bahasa atau pun kasar bahasa terhadap Tengku Amir yg dianggap driver, bukan saya sengaja tetapi beliau yg duduk di kerusi pemandu ketika itu, minta maaf beribu ampun tuanku, berharap tuanku memaafkan segala terkasar bahasa semalam. Mohon sembah patik beribu ribu ampun tuanku. (Good afternoon, I plead guilty to my mistake yesterday because I used rude language towards Tengku Amir who I considered the driver. I didn’t do it on purpose. He was sitting in the driver’s seat at the time. I am sorry my lord. I hope that you will forgive all the rude language yesterday. Please forgive me my lord.)”.
The royal family, who began their ‘Kembara Kenali Borneo’ royal tour on Sept 3, return to Kuala Lumpur today (Sept 13) as their royal tour of Sabah and Sarawak has come to an end.
During a state banquet held at a local hotel last night (Sept 12), the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah shared that he and his family had driven 2,192km from Tawau, Sabah to Kuching, Sarawak during their inaugural ‘Kembara Kenali Borneo’ royal tour.
The Agong also expressed his hope that the Pan-Borneo Highway can be constructed to be high quality. He mentioned his desire to visit Sarawak again by the year 2030, if possible.
The King explained that he proposed the ‘Kembara Kenali Borneo’ royal tour in order to learn more about Sabah and Sarawak, the way of life of the locals, and the condition of the infrastructure in both States. — DayakDaily
