Brunei Sultan surprises Anwar by driving him to Seri Perdana

SUBANG: The Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in a surprise move took over the wheel of the official vehicle and drove Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to Seri Perdana, Putrajaya in his special visit to Malaysia today.

Earlier, at about 11.45 am, Anwar who was seated in the front passenger of the limousine was seen waving to media practitioners.

Also seated in the vehicle was the son of the Sultan, Pengiran Muda 'Abdul Mateen Bolkiah.

The BMW made its way to Putrajaya from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang about 41 kilometres away while being escorted by a team of outriders and security vehicles.

Earlier, Anwar was on hand to receive the arrival of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah as well as a delegation from Brunei at the RMAF base in Subang at 11.40 am.

Moments upon arrival, the Sultan inspected a guard of honour mounted by the Malaysian Army, led by Major Mohd Faudzi Che Hashim. Also greeting the Sultan was the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali.

The sultan's visit to Malaysia was his first meeting with Anwar as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia.

The Prime Minister also hosted a luncheon for Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah as well as Pengiran Muda 'Abdul Mateen and the delegation from Brunei.

According to a Wisma Putra statement, the Sultan's last visit to Kuala Lumpur was from March 4 to 6, 2019 to attend the 22nd Annual Leaders' Consultation between Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

Malaysia and Brunei have a long special relationship via common heritage and culture as well as the people's ties.

Based on this special relationship, the two leaders will take the opportunity during the visit to assess the progress of existing cooperation, while also exploring new potentials to improve relations and cooperation that benefit both countries.

In 2021, Brunei was Malaysia's 30th largest trading partner and the sixth largest in ASEAN with total trade worth RM8.03 billion (US$1.94 billion).

-- BERNAMA