King celebrates birthday at tea party
Royal celebration: Tuanku Abdul Halim and Tuanku Hajah Haminah jointly cutting the birthday cake at the Istana Negara. At the special occasion are (from left) Tan Sri Tunku Puteri Intan Shafinaz, Najib, Rosmah, Tunku Soraya and Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain. — Bernama
He was accompanied by Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah and Tunku Panglima Besar Kedah Tan Sri Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.
Also present were Perak Raja Di Hilir Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Sultan Idris Shah and his wife Tunku Soraya Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali were also present.
About 3,000 guests, who included Cabinet ministers and foreign dignitaries, attended the tea party.
Tuanku Abdul Halim later performed the ceremonial cake cutting.
There were 29 other cakes with the royal birthday theme presented by leading hotels throughout the country.
Veteran singer Datuk Yusni Hamid and Mohammed Rauzan Alwi, better known as Roy, entertained guests, with music provided by the Orkestra Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Kuala Lumpur was given the honor to be the official caterer for the Royal Tea Party that saw the presence of national and international leaders, politicians, captains of industry, ambassadors, high commissioners and officials from every level. They received many excellent commendations and encouraging feedback from officials from the National Palace as well as the Prime Minister's Department for a job well done on the impeccable quality of food and service. Chef Rene Ottlik, Chef Arif Zihan, Chef Kamaruddin, Chef Tan, Chef Claus Olsen, Chef Danny, Chef Amar and Chef Razak along with a platoons of chefs took days to prepare the culinary feast. Resident Manager Richard Johnson and Assistant F&B Director Arul Paramchothy were also present to oversee the smooth running of the operations at the auspicious event.
