On 22nd November the Sultan of Johor celebrated his 65th birthday. Born in 1958 Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandaris of Johor is the son of the late Sultan Iskandar ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail and his first wife Yang Amat Mulia Enche’ Puan Khalsom binti Abdullah (born Miss Josephine Ruby Trevorrow). His Majesty has ruled the Sultanate of Johor in the south of Malaysia since 2010 when he succeeded his father.
Married to Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah since 1982 the Royal Couple has five children; four sons and one daughter. A fifth son had also been born to them but he sadly passed away in 2015 at the tender age of 25. Both the eldest son and the daughter are already married. All the surviving children and grandchildren took part in the splendid celebration.
Great care had been taken in the planning of the celebration. Though the official birthday was moved forward to March to coincide with the date of His Majesty’s coronation (23rd March) the actual day was also celebrated this year with a military review and a magnificent investiture ceremony. Both outside Istana Besar, one of the royal palaces in Johor, and inside all the necessary preparations had been made. A previous residence the Istana Besar is now only used for certain ceremonies and banquets by the Royal Family. Istana Bukit Serene is the official residence of the Sultan.
For several years the birthday of the Sultan has been a less glittering affair. Not that it has lacked in pomp and circumstance. But looking back on photos from these events the Royal ladies have either not been present, or when present they have chosen to not wear a lot of jewels. This has been a bit of a shame to the Royal watchers around the world as the collection of jewels in the Johor Royal Family collection is very interesting and varied. This year, however, the Sultan’s wife, daughter and daughter-in-law were all present. And both Her Majesty and Her Highness had chosen to wear tiaras from the family’s magnificent collection.
Previous to the arrival to the Palace of the Sultan and the Permaisuri (“Queen Consort”), however, the Royal Couple’s four surviving sons gathered in a building close to the main Palace in the complex. Maybe the readers here would be able to confirm whether it was at the mosque nearby or at one of the smaller buildings in the Palace grounds. Inside this building prayers were said before the procession towards the main Palace began.
All four sons of Their Majesties wore splendid uniforms. The Sultan’s heir His Royal Highness Tunku Mahkota (“Crown Prince”) Tunku Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim lead the procession consisting of Palace staff and soldiers. Dressed in his dark uniform of a Major-General in the Royal Johor Military Force the Crown Prince wore the pale blue Sash and Breast Star of the Order of Loyalty of Sultan Ismail of Johor (Knight Grand Commander, 2010). In addition His Royal Highness wore the Breast Star of the Royal Family Order of Johor (First Class, 2009), the Neck-tie and Breast Star of the Order of the Crown of Johor (Knight Grand Commander, 2005) and the Breast Star of the Order of Sultan Ibrahim of Johor.
His Majesty’s second eldest son, His Highness Tunku Idris Iskandar Al-Haj ibni Sultan Ibrahim, the Tunku Temenggong of Johor, wore his white uniform of a Commander in the Royal Malaysian Navy. With this he wore the Collar and Breast Star of the Royal Family Order of Johor (1st Class, 2012), the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Crown of Johor (Knight Grand Commander, 2008) and the Neck-tie and Breast Star of the Order of Sultan Ibrahim Johor (Grand Knight, 2015). Additionally His Highness wore several medals pinned to his tunic, the first one being the Sultan Ibrahim of Johor medal (1st Class, 2017) and the Sultan Iskandar Coronation medal.
The Tunku Panglima of Johor, His Highness Tunku Abdul Rahman Hassanal Jefri Al-Haj ibni Sultan Ibrahim, also wore a white uniform. He is now the third of Their Majesties’ sons after the death of his elder brother in 2015. His Highness was seen wearing the same Orders as his elder brother; the Collar and Breast Star of the Royal Family Order of Johor (1st Class, 2012), the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Crown of Johor (Knight Grand Commander, 2009) and the Neck-tie and Breast Star of the Order of Sultan Ibrahim Johor (Grand Knight, 2015).
Finally, the Royal Couple’s youngest son His Highness Tunku Abu Bakar Mahmood Iskandar Ibrahim Al-Haj ibni Sultan Ibrahim, the Tunku Putera of Johor, was also seen donning the very smart white ceremonial uniform of the Royal Johor Military Forces. The Prince was also wearing the Collar and Breast Star of the Royal Family Order of Johor, the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Crown of Johor and the Neck-tie and Breast Star of the Order of Sultan Ibrahim Johor.
Arriving at the Palace the procession stopped at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the Palace entrance. Here a small dais had been placed for the occasion covered with a bright blue fabric and the same fabric had been laid on the stairs all the way up. Troops had been lined up on the parade ground in front of the Palace. From the dais the Crown Prince then took the salute from these troops while his brothers took their place on the right side of it. Everything was now ready for the arrival of the Sultan.
His Majesty’s car drove up in front of the dais only minutes later. Out of the car stepped the Sultan and his wife. Dressed in a black uniform His Majesty was seen wearing the Collar and Breast Star of the Order of Sultan Ibrahim of Johor (Founder). Across his chest from his left shoulder was also the yellow Sash of the Royal Family Order of Johor. He was greeted by his sons and took his place on the dais which had been left vacant by the Crown Prince.
Her Majesty wore a purple velvet gown with red laced appliqué cuffs and a headscarf in the same red colour. On top of the headscarf the fabulous Emerald tiara from the Johor collection could be seen and around her neck the Permaisuri wore a Diamond necklace with an exquisite large single emerald as pendant. She also wore the Collar and Breast Star of the Royal Family Order of Johor.
By now the rest of the close family of the Sultan had also joined him. Che’ Puan Besar Khaleeda binti Bustamam, the consort of the Tunku Mahkota (Crown Prince), had chosen a very elegant gown in aquamarine blue. With this Her Highness wore a lovely Diamond tiara, Aquamarine earrings and an Aquamarine ring. Over her shoulders rested the Collar of the Royal Family Order of Johor (1st Class, 2019). The Breast Star of the same Order could be seen pinned to her gown. Additionally she wore the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Crown of Johor (1st Class / Knight Grand Commander, 2015).
Their Majesties’ only daughter Tunku Tun Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah binti Sultan Ibrahim was accompanied by her Dutch-born husband Dato’ Dennis Muhammad Abdullah. The Princess looked lovely in a pink gown donning the Collar and Breast Star of the Royal Family Order of Johor (1st Class, 2012) and the Sash and Breast Star of the Order of the Crown of Johor (1st Class / Knight Grand Commander, 2015). Unlike her mother and sister-in-law Her Highness did not wear any tiara. A lovely Diamond and Ruby bracelet, however, could be seen worn on her right wrist and Diamond earrings to the ears. Her husband was dressed in a white tunic and black trousers. Apart from the medal pertaining to the Order of Sultan Ibrahim of Johor his Neck-tie and Breast Star has been difficult to identify so far as they are giving off different signals. (He was awarded the Order of the Crown of Johor 2nd Class in 2019 but the Breast Star doesn’t seem to match that Order. The colours in the Neck-tie ribbon do match this order though).
Again the troops presented arms and the Sultan took the Royal salute. Afterwards the Sultan inspected the Guard of Honour. For this he was touchingly joined by his eldest grandson Tunku Iskandar Abdul Jalil Abu Bakar Ibrahim.
Concluded the inspection the Sultan together with his family ascended the stairs and entered the main Palace building. In the Throne Room there was a three tiered dais where two golden thrones stood under the sumptuous canopy with a baldachin in rich blue heavy fabric. One step down stood another two thrones, one on each side. Somewhat less ornate but still gilded and upholstered in the same blue luxurious fabric, they were designed for the Crown Prince and his consort.
Many people in their best, some wearing ceremonial uniforms others in colourful traditional attire, had already gathered in the Throne Room where chairs had been placed in several rows. Between these chairs and the thrones stood more elaborate chairs elevated on a small dais blue and facing the aisle. These were designated to the rest of the Royal Family. When the Royal procession entered the room everybody rose and showed their respect as the Sultan and his family past them as they walked towards the thrones. While everybody was still standing the Johor National Anthem was played. Then the Sultan sat down before the rest of the congregation did the same.
Heading the list of recipients of State honours was the Indonesian Minister of Defence. The Minister has known the Sultan for many years having first met during their military training. His Majesty awarded Minister Prabowo Subianto the highest class (Knight Grand Commander) of the Order of the Crown of Johor. This Order, together with that of the Royal Family Order of Johor, is the oldest of their kind in Malaysia having been founded in 1886. It was only some 30 years later that the rest of the Malaysian States introduced their own honour system having relied previously on the British one. Minister Subianto was, however, not present at the investiture ceremony. He will thus receive the honour at a later date which is still to be determined.
One that was present was Johor’s First Minister (the Menteri Besar Johor) Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghanzi. He was awarded the highest grade of the Order of Sultan Ibrahim Johor. This Order was founded by the current Sultan in conjunction with his coronation in 2015. The colour scheme for this Order is stripes of pale blue, white, yellow, white and pale blue. His Majesty himself invested the First Minister with the Collar of the Order.
Also receiving their insignia from the hands of the Sultan were four Johor nationals who were decorated with the lower grade of the Order of Sultan Ibrahim Johor. Their insignia included the badge of the Order suspended from a ribbon in the Order’s colour scheme. The four decorated were Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat, Chief of the Johor Police, the Johor deputy state secretary Ismail Abu, State Chief Syariah Court Judge Datuk Muhammad Khaldun Mohamad Sharif and the Vice-Chancellor of the Tun Hussei Onn University of Malaysia (UTHM) Professor Dr Ruzairi Abdul Rahim.
Additional information and photographs can also be found on the excellent blog of The Royal Watcher:
REGAL EVENTS 